VIBRANCE IN THE DEADENED VOID

The air thickened with haunting sounds—a relentless chorus of moaning and mewling unsettled the senses. High-pitched moans pierced the air, reverberating with an unnerved intensity, sending shivers through the screamer's body. Their fear radiated, overshadowing the listeners' apprehension around them.

Yet, this was a unique terrain she discovered herself traversing. Despite Sarah's efforts to block out the jarring sounds in her ears and cloud her mind, the noise continued to surge, relentless and menacing.

Sarah felt the familiar sensation of anxiety rising within her.

Her fingers darted across her skin, probing the scabs that marred its surface. An overwhelming desire to taste them drew her to reach for them. Those familiar with her would find it hard to accept, and she would have preferred to conceal it. Despite the cameras surrounding her, she recognized their presence yet opted to disregard them. They captured her for all to witness, revealing every nuance without offering her any opportunity to preserve her dignity—the sensation Sarah experienced in the moment. She opened her eyes to an expanse of pitch blackness, the night surrounding her. The noise intensified, echoing around Sarah, wrapping around her like a tightening grip. Sarah's complete failure to understand the consequences of her actions ignited the turmoil. Yet, the most daunting challenge she faced was the shadows wrapped around her, and an icy grip of fear seized her heart.

The darkness surrounded her, filled with chaotic possibilities; they twisted and turned into unexpected results, leaving her blind to what awaited her in the future. She faced something she knew eluded her grasp—an unpredictable, unseen force surprised her. She arrived with a reply everyone would acknowledge as essential. She opened her eyes to a foreign landscape, where the air hung heavy with the unmistakable scent of decay. She moved through the eerie landscape.

The barren terrain stretches, a poignant quietness permeating the atmosphere, casting an upset calm over everything in sight. The ground is cracked and barren, stretching across a desolate expanse without any sign of life. The air is thick with an oppressive stillness, where once there was a bustling ecosystem; now, only the slightest remnants linger, hinting at a former abundance since vanished. A dense fog shrouds the environment.

Upon her entrance, unmistakable signs enveloped her, marking the threshold into a peculiar and unexplored territory. Vultures soared above, their ominous presence marked by their dancing large shadows across the ground. Below, dark silhouettes of ravens perched on twisted branches, creating an evocative scene in the stillness of the air. Hyenas nipped and barked at her heels, a vivid tableau revealing a level of complexity Sarah had never anticipated.

“Keep your distance, you vile creatures of rot and ravenous predators!” she shouted, her voice rising in panic as the hyenas tugged at her sweater and pant legs from behind. Their sharp teeth gripped the fabric, pulling her backward into the chaos of the dead zone. She surged forward, her body fueled by adrenaline, as the hyena's mighty jaws snapped just inches from her, a menacing hunger evident in such a brief encounter.

“I will bring you to your knees; trust me, crossing me today is a mistake you do not want to make.” She stood tall, her presence dominating the room, radiating an undeniable authority. As she moved forward, her foot caught on an object she thought was just like a body, her stomach crashing into a cold, rigid hand, its fingers clenched.

“What in the world?”

“Who’s the individual?” She crashed into the motionless figure, understanding her sole option was to use the body as a barrier against the approaching hyenas, fighting to keep a safe distance from them. As she stood up, she hoisted the lifeless form beside her. With a sudden surge, the hyenas lunged at her from behind once more, prompting her to relinquish the lifeless body to their ravenous jaws.

“Gaze in the direction, you fools. You’ll fill your time for a bit,” she remarked. Determined, she shifted to the left, her steps firm as she ventured into the thick shadows surrounding her.

The ghouls moved closer, their figures emerging from the fog. Each step echoed with a chilling certainty as they drew nearer, their intentions clear and foreboding. The ghouls slinked through the darkness, shunning the light as they pursued human heads. Their relentless craving for the brains within propelled them forward, each step taken with a sinister purpose. Their victims transformed into a banquet, with the remains providing long-lasting nourishment for extended periods. Ghouls experienced a prolonged period of fasting for an entire year. Every year.

The hoot of an owl pierced the silence as she stepped into a desolate expanse, a landscape teeming with potential, where encounters with both the living and the departed awaited her presence. She felt a sudden clarity wash over her: the likelihood of coming across one was low. Confronting both, free from their influence, felt like a miracle ready to emerge into reality.

“Your presence here comes as a surprise. Sarah, this place does not welcome you,” the voice warned.

Sarah struggled to discern whether the voice came from the living or the silence of the dead. Tremors coursed through her body, and beads of sweat trickled from her breastbone to her waist. She wiped away the moisture gathered above her upper lip and on her forehead. Her heart pounded, echoing in the stillness, while her breath flowed like a gentle breeze in the chaos. A wave of unease washed over her, yet the source remained elusive. Her stomach twisted with tension, a churning mass of anxiety creating a deep knot within her belly.

“Declare who you are!” the voice said.

“What do you want from me?” Sarah expressed her thoughts with clarity.

“Darling, I did not enter your domain.” 

"You have stepped into my domain," the voice declared with authority.

“Did you believe I had any grasp on how to manage you?” Sarah inquired.

“I did,” the voice said.

As the two concluded their conversation, the still figure engaging with Sarah extended a hand and seized her by the arm. Sarah emitted a sharp scream.

“Agh!” Set me free at this moment. Your hand on me sends a chill through my body I’d never experienced, and I can’t stand it,” Sarah exclaimed.

“Take a moment to unwind.” The contrast between a living body and a lifeless one is stark; the vibrant warmth of life yields to the frigid stillness of death. 

"Adapt to the temperature necessary for survival if you intend to stay with us," the lifeless figure declared, its voice reverberating in the oppressive quiet of the dead zone, where the air hung around them. The atmosphere saturated with a disquiet silence shook her fear to new levels each time she remembered where she was.

“What makes you think I wish to remain in this place?” Sarah's tongue flicked, and her clever quip landed with unexpected precision, leaving everyone stunned.

“I thought you came here to abandon the realm of the living.” Tension hangs in the air as people struggle to define their positions. Bullies exert their dominance, creating exclusive groups on the principle of exclusion while others bear their suffering. In a landscape where individuals seek validation through displays of superiority, their attempts lead to emptiness and despair.

“Do you recall it?” Sarah shared her reflections.

“Certainly.” “How old do you think I am?” the still figure asked.

“I refuse to spend any additional time on this matter.” Activity is crucial. “Excuse me,” Sarah called out. She lunged forward, taking six giant steps, only to stumble once more, this time over the motionless body of a child. A crib rested next to the baby. The baby let out a wail, then became quiet. The lips and cheeks displayed a striking blue hue, their icy touch unmistakable. The infant's body was rigid from the onset of rigor mortis, giving away the fact that it had been there for a while. The baby was silent, and the air thick with an eerie stillness followed the initial cry, leaving an uneasy void where sound once resided.

Sarah stumbled over a chaotic array of drug paraphernalia strewn across the ground. Syringes lay scattered, their needles glinting in the dim light. Spoons rested beside knives, while crumpled rolling papers collected dust in the corners. Acid vials lurked in the shadows, their contents menacing, and meth patches clung to surfaces, with a fine layer of cocaine dust saturating the air. A diverse group of individuals engaged in the misuse of these substances, from the young to the old, gathered beneath the overwhelming presence of drugs. Some faced fatal overdoses, while others suffered the consequences of contaminated needles. Many people contracted Hep C, and illnesses linked to drug use claimed their lives.

Nothing more came of it, and Sarah understood she had to navigate past the heap of lifeless bodies tied to the drugs. She needed to escape the realm of the deceased or at least distance herself from the tragic life she was in.

As Sarah immersed herself in her calculations, she pressed on without hesitation to reflect on her journey into the realm of the deceased. She struggled with the vivid memories of her arrival while hearing the echoes of others who had also entered this barren land. This daunting challenge loomed large, obstructing her path to mental clarity. Amid her eerie surroundings, she remained unaware of the true nature of her predicament. The irony of her situation lingered in the atmosphere, palpable and inescapable.

The air temperature plummeted, plunging into the sharp, biting cold characteristic of a desert night, perhaps even sinking lower. The day's warmth lingered just beyond her grasp, a distant memory of what had been as if the sunlight hours had faded into oblivion. Sarah felt tension surging through her body, her heart pounding like a deer darting through the underbrush.

“What kind of person faces their demise without memory of the events or motivations?” the voice mourned. The mewler continued its unyielding cries, saturating the atmosphere with a constant, sorrowful noise.

“What has slipped from my memory remains beyond my control. I didn’t do anything wrong,” Sarah asserted with conviction.

“Oh?” 

“Whose is it?” the voice inquired, drawing nearer with each word.

“I have no idea,” Sarah exclaimed, her voice rising with frustration.

“I’m finished with your endless demands and the ridiculousness you throw my way.” “Nothing surprises me anymore, and I fear nothing, not even death,” Sarah declared, her tone resolute.

“Your opinion is irrelevant,” the voice declared. “We will wrap up our conversation with you,” the voice said.

“Let’s begin,” Sarah declared.

The two stood firm, bracing themselves for the chaos ahead, unaware of the turmoil awaiting her. A raven perched on a branch, its keen eyes surveying the desolate terrain below, while vultures descended, drawing near to Sarah. As the fog lifted, a clear path emerged, stretching into the distance. Rats scurried across the lifeless ground, their tiny feet audible. Maggots writhed in the rotting carcasses, performing a grotesque dance of existence amid decay. Snakes glided, their scales shimmering in the faint light, while lizards darted, seeking shelter in the shadows. In the stillness, worms crawled from the dead bodies, writhing as they contributed to the relentless decomposition cycle. She pressed her hand against her mouth, struggling to suppress a scream.

The sound of the lifeless approached her, echoing in the stillness.

She seized the inert body and flung it toward the still figure of the voice. The two lifeless forms collided, splintering into countless fragments scattered in all directions. Flesh decayed and ruptured, pulling away from the bone and disintegrating into the atmosphere. Sarah gasped for air in the suffocating stillness. Before she could lift her hands to her mouth once more, she convulsed and launched a projectile vomit in the direction of the voice.

“I find myself enveloped in a profound void; your poison does not penetrate my being.”

“What a shame; it’s remarkable today,” Sarah said with a smile. “I will not stay in this place any longer.” “Just tell me how to break free, and then lead me to the exit." Understood!

“I will not comply,” the voice declared with conviction. “The scabs I possess may be flavorful.” It launched a pile of scabs toward Sarah, who opened her mouth wide, devouring each one. She plunged in with determination, her mind focused and undaunted.

The flavour rivalled castor oil's harshness and cod liver oil's sharpness. She pushed herself to swallow every last drop. As she opened her eyes, she found herself lying in her backyard.

The sun's warmth enveloped her face as she stepped away from the barren stretch she had just crossed. Light flooded her vision, bright and blinding. With steadfast assurance in her perception, she stood still, her gaze fixed on the horizon, ignoring the chaos surrounding her. Her eyes widened, and the environment crystallized into focus. In a space filled with mirrors, she felt the contrast of life and death, embodying the voice of the lifeless while being Sarah, the spirited girl caught in the grip of the dead zone.

She recognized the chilling truth of her existence—a life devoid of vitality. She understood it. Confronting her end, she ignited a flurry of questions, the reasons behind which were shrouded in mystery. For the remainder of her days, she became trapped in a void from which there was no escape. She lived in a paradox between life and death within this desolate expanse.

She relies on medication to navigate her existence; without it, she could have succumbed to despair months ago. Unaware of the lethal threat looming over her, she remains frozen, tangled in her silence. The reality of her situation escapes her. She is oblivious to it. Every minute aspect of her life becomes a weight, drowning out the vivid colours, sounds, tastes, smells, and feelings surrounding her. As the moment draws near, people surrender, morphing into strangers even to themselves, confronting their end. Their desire for release eclipses their will to persist, leading them to capitulate in the struggle for existence.

In the chapters of her life, Sarah encountered a challenging phase that affected her. Her friends seemed untouched by her hardships, intensifying her sense of isolation. She battled through numerous obstacles alone, grappling with her struggles in silence—tangled in her own experiences without companions to share her burdens. She felt no regrets about her decision to end her life.

Sarah entered a vast, unending realm as the lights flickered and vanished. In those forty minutes, she grasped all the visions confronting her at the threshold were far from the peace she yearned for in the afterlife. With a clear mind, she avoided impulsive decisions, aware of the repercussions of her recent ordeal.

Opening her eyes in the hospital, she observed the doctors and nurses keeping a deliberate distance, permitting the counsellor and medical staff to converse with her.

She recalled hearing her dead voice taunting her as she remained stuck, with no room for misconstrued understanding as there was no place for her since she began killing herself early and in the dead zone for years, dying a slow death finally caught up with her. 

THE END