VOID OF PRIDE

“You can’t go home. I’ve been trapped here for fifteen years boy.” The old man tells Drake.

Drake refuses to give up and begins to bang the dark force field with his hands, screaming, crying, till he is tired.

“What have I done?” Drake asks this question that only he can hear. He faces the old man who already is sitting on the sand, ready to give it all up. “Is there no other way out?” he asks dropping to the floor, his hands lay on the sand as well.

“I do not know boy. My time is up in the real world. Soon my soul would be buried here by the shadows.” The old man now using his elbows to elevate his back from the ground, he laughs. “You remind me of my grandchild before my daughter took him from me. He has your hair, your thick eyebrows--- his name is Jaden. I miss him, but don’t want to ever see my daughter.”

“Don’t you love your daughter too?” Drake asked.

“I do of course. Just, she disappointed me, and I will never, ever, forgive her for that.” He starts crying.

“The shadows are coming Drake. They are coming for me, you must leave me.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Yes you can Drake, go!”

Drake stands and looks to the sky, thunder starts rumbling and lightening – striking. Sand storm filled with shadows begin to make its way to them. They can here the screams of thousands of souls from the storm of shadows.

“Go to the east, when I left there, it was much peaceful, I have a friend there. She’s just about your age. GO!” He says. Drake after hearing this as he stood in fear of the approach of the shadows, comes back to awareness and makes a run for it, not looking back, he hears the scream of the old man too as he joins the storm of shadows.

He keeps running and finds shelter in the forest. Tired from the chase and horror he just faced, he lies on the ground, and falls asleep.

“Drake-- Drake.”

“Sarah, what are you doing here? Are you here to finally save me?” Drake asks Sarah.

She covers her hand with her mouth. “Mhahahahaha— I would rather die than come to help you, you proud fool.”

He wakes. “A dream. It’s dark.” He places his hand on his throat because of the change in his voice. It’s no longer that of a child, it’s that of a teenager; a little deep, and the hair on his head reaching his shoulders. He put his hand back on his chest.

“I’ve grown.” He sits up, and looks around. “I wonder where this is now.” He stands and continues walking east like the old man had told him. According to the compass on his watch, his also going the right way.

Sarah, Drakes beloved. When he was still in the real world, when he was still home, he loved her. What made him hate her he seems not to remember anymore, the more time he spends in this realm, the more her—no, their memories fade. At least good ones, soon all will be the bad.

As he walks, he hears a branch break. Someone or something has been following.

“Who’s there?” He says, folding his hands into fists.

All he gets back is the bush shaking. He bends to pick a stone.

“Come out!” He yells.

“Hisssss.” A huge shadow snake comes out of the bush and attacks him with its tail, throwing him to quite a distance.

“Shit!” he says as he stands up. The shadow disappears. Drake is panting. “Where is it?”

He looks around slowly and tries to normalize his breathing.

“Hissssskhhh.” It charges at him this time with its open mouth.”

“Leave him, serpent! How dare you come to my realm?” She strikes the shadow snake with bright light beam from her hands. “Leave this place at once, serpent.”

“Roar—milady, you are fighting a lost battle—he belongs to ussss!”

“He doesn’t belong to you. He still has time, be gone!” She strikes it with more power and it flees. Everywhere turns dark again.

“Are you okay?” She asks, as she lands on the ground softly.

“Yeah, I’m—o—kay.” Drake manages to say and falls to the ground. His body cold from what just happened, he is shaking. “I just—I just need to rest.” He lies on the ground, chest on the floor, he falls asleep.

“Damn it, I have to carry him.” She says.

  ***

“You’re awake?” Drake’s savior says.

“Sarah?” he asks.

“So you still love her. Why then don’t you go look for her?” She asks.

“Where am I?” He stands on his feet. She also stands, and turns to face him.

“Welcome, to the East realm!” her voice echoes.

The east realm is a realm with the space of Kaleidoscopes.

“It’s beautiful here, like nothing I’ve ever seen… Thanks for saving my ass back there.”

“You’re welcome.” She says. “Who directed you here?”

Drake looks down. His face looks sad.

“My friend, an old man, he—”

Her eyes widen. “Jerry.”

“Sorry?” Drake asks.

“The old man, Jerry. He’s not too tall, plumb, got tanned skin.”

“Yes. How do you--?”

“He was my—he is my friend. He dwelt in my realm for sometime but his ego didn’t allow him to pass. One day he left and swore to find his own way out of this world.” Her voice is low and sad.

“You’re the friend he spoke of. He is late now, the shadows had him.”

There is a sudden rumble; one of the kaleidoscopes starts to turn black, pitch black.

“They found us.” She takes steps and stands in from of him. “No time. My name is forgiveness, if you understand me and accept me, and truly you mean it in your heart, you will find your wife once more.”

“I thought you were supposed to be younger.” Drake says.

“It’s how you see me right now, your soul growing, it’s in the teenage stage, so will it see me.” She says.

“How did the old man see you?”

“When he came here he was a child.”

The rumbling becomes more constant. “We found you.” The shadows say. Their voice echoes through the space, the darkness begins to draw close to them.

“I’ll hold them back. Drake, you must leave here.” She tells him.

“Not again, I can fight too.” He says.

“Not this fight Drake, your battle awaits you at the exit of this realm. If you win that fight, then you will win yourself back and maybe your wife. You will be able to return home.”

“You cannot stop us, Forgiveness, he is—ours!” The shadows say.

“Now Drake, leave this realm!” she yells.

The Kaleidoscope begins to fall, revealing the total blackness just behind it. There is also sound of thunder.

           ***

Again, he leaves someone behind; Drake realizes just how weak he is, especially all by himself. He is filled with fear now. What is his battle like? What will he face? Just as he thinks about his battle, a storm of shadows gather in a distance. From the where he stands he can see the sinister ahead of him. No going back, ahead of him also lays a vast arid land.

As he walks, he hears sounds from the heaven, when he looks up, something in the sky is coming down to meet him. When it is properly in sight, he sees that it is a flying white horse. He is Humility the winged horse.

He lands and bows in front of him. “I come in peace, Drake. Forgiveness sent me that you might need a lift. Fear not for I am a friend of hers.”

“Is she okay?!” Drake asks.

“Fear not for she is strong. I see you’re starting to care for others—hop on Drake. Let us go to your final journey.”

He climbs Humility, and then they fly off to the storm of shadows ahead.

                       ***

“Thank you, Humility. Why do you all have funny names in this place?”

Humility laughs. “You’ll know where you are soon enough, strange human. I wish you all the best.” He neighs and flies off.

Drake is now left, face to face with the storm of shadows. It opens up for him to go in.

“He has been waiting for you, Drake.” The shadows say.

Drake is not an adult, who he should be before he got dragged into this world of shadows, lost souls, and sparks of light. Twenty-two, when he met Sarah his beloved. He walks into the shadow not knowing what he will face next.

On the throne of the darkness sits a maleficent character, shadow born.

“I’ve been waiting your arrival, Drake. To be honest I didn’t think you’ll reach me.” It says in its sinister tone voice which echoes.

“Who are you, and what do you want with me?” Drake yells, still walking to the seating figure, and stops in his track at what looks like the center of the room.

“Who am I? What do I, want?” it repeats after Drake, and then starts laughing. “Drake, who am I, and what do I want?” It stands from its throne and forms a cloud of shadows, together with its throne, and moves violently in the air till it’s in front of him. It forms a human shadow figure.

“Drake, let me show you who I am, and what, I want.” It lifts its hands up. “Come, my children!”

With the signal from him, shadow souls started flying around, screaming in agony, the wind in the room becomes strong and loud.

“What are you doing?!” Drake yells, blocking his face against the wind and the shadows flying around.

“I am showing you, who—I—am.”

 ***

Drake now in a trance of his own remembers Forgiveness’s word before he left the east realm: “No time. My name is forgiveness, if you understand me and accept me, and truly you mean it in your heart, you will find your wife once more.”

How did everything turn out like this? How did I get here? Ah, yes, I remember now. She never did me any wrong, Sarah, she loved me. Two years after our wedding I changed, only indulging in what benefited me. I never listened to others. Now I know who you are…

“I know who you are!” Drake yells. “I know who you are.”

“Seize.” It says, raising one hand up. The room becomes quiet, and still.

“Who am I?” It asks, bending to his height.

Drake’s eyes moving around as if scanning for the answer.

“You are—you’re—me. You are my ego.”

From its hideous shadow form, it turns to Drake, eight years old Drake with tears in his eyes.

“Why Drake, why did you make me turn to a monster, a shadow?” tears dropping from his eyes.

“I—I’m sorry ego.” Drake squats to look at himself. He puts an arm on the shoulder of Ego. “It’s my entire fault, but I’m here to get us out.” He smiles at his former self.

Ego dries the tears from his eyes, and wipes the tears from his face with his hands.

“Promise, Drake?”

“Yes. I promise, I’m ready to accept I’ve been wrong.” He says in a calm voice.

“I—I didn’t think you’d change,” As Ego speaks, his voice changes from a child’s to the shadow, “you disappoint—me.”

It shape shifts into the snake that attacked him in the forest. “You—are mine—Drake.”

It opens its mouth and is ready to consume. Drake falls to the ground with his butt. At the moment everything pauses for him, all he sees are the fangs of the shadow, its open mouth, and death.

“Serpent!” Forgiveness’s voice rings in the room. She is on Humility, but jumps off as she yells the shadow’s name.

“You lose.” She turns comments in the sky, and rain down on the serpent. Bright light illuminates the room, so bright Humility rushes down and shields Drake’s eyes with his wings.

By the time the light intensity reduces, the storm of shadows is gone. There is peace, quite and colors in the air.

Drake rises from the floor. “I feel light.”

Forgiveness smiles. “We did it, you did it.”

“He did it.” Humility says.

A portal appears out of nowhere. “There’s your exit, Drake. Go meet Sarah.”

Drake smiles and starts walking towards the portal. As he is about to enter, he looks back at them. “Thank you two for everything, for saving me.” 

  ***

Drake wakes up on the couch in the hotel room he’s been staying for the past three month.

“Shit, I got to call Sarah.” He rushes to his bed, takes his phone from his pocket and dials Sarah’s home number. “Please pick please pick.”

After ringing for a while and Drake starts to feel like she’s not around the phone, he hears that it’s been picked.

“Drake?”

Her voice makes him nervous at first, he feels his voice blocked.

“He—he,” he clears his throat, “hello, Sarah.”

She starts to cry. “Drake, Drake where are you? I’m sorry, I miss you.”

“No—no Sarah, I’m the one who’s sorry. I’ve been a total—look we need to see. I hope you can still love me.”

“How can I stop?” she asks.

“I’m coming home right now. I’m sorry; you don’t know how glad I feel hearing your voice.”

She chuckles.

After hanging up, Drake dresses up and rushes down to his car to drive to his beloved Sarah and home. How about you next adventurer? Will you accept your mistake and swallow your pride?

Truly, it is up to you.