Shades of Grey
Well this is a confusing chapter but read if you want to.
Once again comments are appreciated
Sunset of Lies
Shades of Grey
"Where am I...? Wha-what am I doing h-here." His lips made the motions but no sound was heard. "Am...I finally dead?" He groaned as he opened his eyes. There was sunlight, yes, but not 'sunlight'.
"Why is everything...gray?" He slowly sat up and looked around. He was in the forest outside of the village but all the colors were just shades of..."Gray."
The sound made him freeze.
"You are undoubtedly wondering what in the world is going on but peace. All will be told in time." The hem of a robe brushed against his hand-paw but unlike the rest of the world it was a deep gold. "Please. Don't feel like you must lie down on my account, feel free to stand and take a look around."
He stood up, keeping his back to whatever was behind him. "Just what do you want?" he asked.
"Oops! I forgot. No mortal in this place may talk without my permission. I'm sorry."
"What do you mean by that?" His voice seemed louder and fuller.
"Well you could at least look at me when you ask," the voice said irately. He sighed and turned around. The figure wore a wooden mask in the shape of a happy face with the eyes as stars and small teardrops coming from them. He was clad in robes of shimmering gold and silver with intricate design work around the collar. He also wielded a wicked looking scythe in one hand that had the look of a demon's wing. The blade was cruelly serrated
He eyed at the scythe warily. The figure followed his gaze and chuckled slightly in a cheerful manner. "Oh don't worry about this thing," he held the scythe higher before it flashed three times and vanished. "It's just something I use for gathering up all those poor souls of those deceased or mad. Or both."
All of a sudden he felt a twinge of fear and, for some reason, a sense of peace. "Oh don't think you're dead, my little wolf. You're just here for a...a...hmm. Now what would we call it?" He sat down on the thin air, pondering the thought.
He just stared at the eccentric person with irritation. "You mean you forgot why you're here?" he asked and just stared.
"Oh, no, I didn't forget why I'm here!" the strange being said indignantly, standing straight up. "I'm supposed to give you a small look into the past," he said wagging a finger at him.
He just shook his head and looked away. Not that there was much to look at besides the gray foliage. "Oh so that's why I'm here. Oops." The figure turned around to come face to face with the masked figure. "Are you ready for a small history lesson my little wolf?"
He snarled at the figure. The person snickered lightly. "So, the little wolf doesn't like that name, does he?" His ears folded back in response. The figure stepped back this time in full laughter before coming to a stop, facing in the opposite direction. Suddenly the robes turned blood red. The voice that sounded sent chills down his spine and caused him to whine in submission.
"Well too bad. You have no say here. They decide who is allowed here, feel honored." The figure turned around to face him. The mask had turned into a face of blissful insanity with a black cross in the middle. "I am to show you of events held here that took place seventeen years ago.
Seventeen years ago? That was when he had first awoken on the streets. The figure laughed unpleasantly. "Don't have the look of hope in your eyes. This vision will yield no answers but only plant more questions." The figure's robes turned back to their original color.
"Anyway," the figure said pleasantly, "Shall we get underway. Just follow me and we'll get started." He started walking the other direction. The black wolf just shuddered and reluctantly followed.
He tried to hear a sound but all was eerily silent. No crunch of snow, no whisper of the wind, and no creak of the ancient timbers around them. Just pure, undisturbed silence. It was maddening to be in a forest with no sound besides his heart beating rampant in his chest.
They continued on like this for some time before they the figure in front of him stopped suddenly. "This should be the spot," the figure said in a cheery voice.
He looked around impatiently. This part of the forest looked and 'sounded' just like everything else he had seen so far.
"What is the point? Why are we here?" he asked out of irritation.
The figure turned rigid out of sheer annoyance of his constant questions.
"If you be quiet you'll see. That is, unless you want me to kill you now" the figure asked in sweet voice. This may have silenced his words but not his thoughts. This is pointless, he thought.
"And the time is now."
Color started to seep back into the landscape, filling in the somber grays, whites, and blacks. Not that there was much color because of the white snow that thickly covered everything. Sound returned once more revealing the crunch of snow as a young man with dark brown hair ran past.
"Where are you?" the man cried. Off in the distance a whimpering was heard followed by a menacing voice.
"Do you not remember your side of the bargain?" The man slowed down.
"Who is that man?" the wolf asked in a quiet voice. The figure just snickered.
"Oh, you'll see him soon enough. But probably not as soon as you'd like." He looked at the figure inquiringly but looked back to the scene.
A gong sounded off in the distance. He couldn't see the figure's face but he could tell that it had a look of distaste. His opinion strengthened when he heard his voice.
"That time already? I was hoping to give more history lessons, but it seems that they have decided to grant her request."
He looked at the robe-clad figure. "And who might she be?" he asked in a hushed tone.
The figure only smiled through his mask causing an eerie creak. "Oh you'll see." He stood up and summoned a warp portal with the now reappeared scythe. He looked over and reached for the sleeve of the robe as soon as he realized what was going on.
"Wait a minute! How am I supposed to leave?"
"They decide when you leave," the figure said as it stepped through the portal. "That is, if they decide to. Good-bye little wolfie."
The portal vanished as he tried to grasp the cloth. He cursed. Now how was he supposed to get out of here? He angrily kicked a tree stump and what sounded like a crack resounded throughout the quiet space. He paid little attention to the thunderous noise and sat on the same stump.
His thoughts drifted away to what had just transpired causing his attention to stay off other pressing matters such as large cracks spreading out from where he had kicked the stump. Only when another deafening crack sounded did he look up and notice what was happening. He looked at the cracks flatly and cursed.
He stood up, slipping in the snow as he did, and, after struggling to his feet, ran off. He had no idea where he was going but anywhere had to be where he was moments ago. He looked back to catch a glimpse of the ground falling in like a pane of broken glass and carelessly ran into a tree.
He held a hand paw up to his head and whined. Why did things like this always happen in a life or death situation? It didn't matter however; the shattering floor was slowly approaching, the roar of the splintering environment was like the crashing of a storm on the ocean. He sighed wearily. "Never would have thought I'd die in a some crazed world." He closed his eyes. "Right when I was getting answers," he muttered.
In a few seconds, his body fell through and was engulfed by the darkness.
* * *
"Um...hello? Sir? Are you alright?" Light slowly filtered through his eyelids. He was aware of the throbbing in his head. "Sir? If you're alive open your eyes. Please?" The voice was that of a ten-year old. He opened his eyes and was greeted by exactly that. A ten-year old girl with orange hair and gold eyes stared down at him.
"Gah!" He bolted upright and the girl shrieked. A burning filled his head as he scrabbled at his head. His paw landed in something warm and sticky.
"Oh my gosh!" she gasped. "You're hurt!"
He looked over at her blankly. "How could you tell?"
"Well there's blood matting part of your head and some on paw!"
Obviously this girl did not understand sarcasm. He shook his head and licked the blood off his paw.
She fell back in repulsion. "Ewww. That's GROSS!"
He looked up and addressed her again. "It's this or my fur becomes caked with blood, ok?" He resumed licking his paw to clear the last traces of blood.
After he finished he looked at his surroundings. They were underneath a tree that must have been millions of years old, its trunk was nearly 100 inches in diameter, and as far as he could tell it was the only one. Everywhere he looked there were grassy fields, not even a small village, for about 2 miles. The tree was on the highest point of the field.
"Do you even care that I'm staring at you?" the little girl asked.
He stood up before answering. "No. I've gotten used to it."
"Gotten used to it?" she inquired.
"Yes. Gotten used to it." He looked over at her. She was sitting on the ground with her back against the trunk of the large tree. She was wearing a white robe and had bare feet. He noticed again her orange hair but especially her eyes.
She smiled. "I've gotten used to it too." She stood up and walked over to him. "No need to be so formal you know." She handed him an apple before grabbing her own. She looked at it with those eyes. He looked out at the fields. "After all," she said blankly, "We've met in our past lives."
He stopped. "Wait...WHAT?"
She nodded in response to his reaction. "Of course that was when we were both under...normal circumstances."
He turned towards her grabbed her and started to shake her causing her apple to drop to floor and shatter against the floor. "What did you just say? We've met in a past life?"
Again, she nodded with growing dullness. "What is your name?" he asked with growing fear.
She smiled in a dead way. "In our lives I was known as Sonata." She looked up at him. "Grey...do...do you remember th-the days we spent in this field together?" Her skin started to grow cold and lifeless. The once bright sun was now being blotted out by black storm clouds.
She grew limp in his hands and fell weakly to the grass below which was starting to die. Leaves from the tree started to fall as the tree itself started to die.
She looked up at him with her golden eyes full of sorrow. "Grey...I still remember those days. The days we spent playing when...." She paused and he noticed that her breathing was labored. "When I...when we were still among the living." Tears started to rim her eyes as he helplessly watched his forgotten friend die in his arms.
Sonata closed her eyes. "Please remember Grey." Her skin started to crack just like what had happened to the forest. "Just remember Grey," she said in a near whisper. "Remember my name and it will become clear." At the moment he felt a strong connection to this dying girl and for some reason he was compelled to believe her. Tears started to form in his eyes as hers ran down her cheeks and into the harsh blowing wind.
He held her close as she started to disintegrate. He whined and closed his eyes as she started to blow away. "Oh Grey, don't cry. Seeing you cry always made me so sad," she said whispering in his lupine ears. "Don't worry. You look perfect to me." He looked down at her through his tears. She smiled as she gasped and was blown away with the wind.
He sat there. Underneath the now dead tree as the tempest raged around him ripping up the soil and throwing pieces of other miscellaneous debris. He didn't care about anything else. All he knew was that he had lost the closest friend he ever had again and that he was powerless. He didn't understand anything. He just sat there, hand paws clenched on his legs, tears coming out of his eyes and matting his fur.
He stood up and loosed a long howl that was lost in the storm. Slowly the picture faded until everything was black once more.