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Writer's pictureColleen Tews

How Does One Escape An Abyss?

We are weeks away from the launch of the Birth Of A Vixen sequel. It's about time you got to read some of the revised work. Wouldn't you agree?

Enjoy Virus Within Chapter One:

Getting lost in my dreams used to be a favorite past time. They were an easy escape from Thais, from the guilt for surviving that night on the highway -when every other member of el Diablo Cebo died, from the hunger. Trapped in Origin, escape meant giving up.


There were no distinguishing dreams from reality. There was no night. There was no day. Nothing but eternal darkness encompassed me and those occasional creepy creatures with glowing red-eyes.


Most scurried like rats. They had hard shells, bony legs, and tentacles. Worse part was they were the only thing I had to eat. I doubt the fluid within them was blood, but it kept me alive.


That old familiar icy chill of hunger raged in my veins. It never really went away. No matter how many of these things I devoured. I was always hungry.


With my eyes closed, I listened as the little monsters scrambled and slithered along the bits of bedrock. Some hissed with the high pitch cry of a dying vacuum. Others chortled a sound reminiscent of an electric mixer.


Stones tumbled against my foot. I froze. The crisp smell of electrified wood wafted from it. Feeling its presence, I assumed it was about the size of a medium size dog. It sensed me, too, and flinched.


The ground gave way. The sand mixed and chunks of rubble swallowed me up to my knees. I scrapped and pulled, but slipped deeper.


Digging nails into the ground, I clawed my way across the terrain. Slithering toward the frightened beast. It took off at a fast pace the second my feet hit the top soil.


I pounced. It squealed. Blood spilled from my ears. I grappled with the tentacles. A feeler wrapped around my leg, it squeezed tight enough that I lost feeling in my toes. Another tentacle had my hair; it yanked my head away. Hair be damned, I pulled against its grip with everything I had in me. The skin on my forehead stretched. Hairs were torn from my scalp. Intertwined we rolled downhill.


My fingers crushed the shell, pierced into its the slimy flesh. The creature tensed. It shrieked louder than a stadium of preteen cheerleaders. My nails pierced its jellyfish like skin. A cold liquid burst forth. My fangs anchored around the open wound. I fed.


The cold liquid reminded me of stale coffee –drinkable, but nasty. The creature eased into my arms as it died. I placed my hand above its heart. The thumps weakened. Seconds before death I stopped feeding. I learned my lessons. Never would I accidentally swallow another being’s soul again.


A chill swept down, combined with the icy hunger, cold food, and lack of clothes, that was freezing. I curled into the fetal position, pulling the husk of the dead animal over me for shelter.


While I wished for sleep juices trickled along my body, pooling around me. Were I human I would have vomited from the scent of stomach bile, urine, and ammonia. Instead, it only fueled my never-ending hunger. My stomach churned. I ignored it and focused instead on a glowing dot by my feet.


I tossed aside the morbid blanket. This was the first ounce of light I’d seen in God-only-knows how long. I splashed away the creatures remains and dug away the sandy rubble. The closer I got the deeper the mystery became. I heard voices.


“We don’t even know what it is?” Was that Primus Grump? The light grew brighter and wider.


“But we know it’s killing us and that he’s in town. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out 2 + 2 = 4.” That sounded like Raphe. Still the light grew brighter and wider.


“Since when are you not a genius?” Meisha said. “I thought you knew everything.” The light grew brighter and wider.


“Don’t put words in my mouth, woman. I haven’t been sitting on my ass this time. Look, it’s been a decade. That’s ten years longer than this asshole should have had out there. What’s it going to take to get him?”


Did he say a decade?


The wind picked up. A shiver ran down my spine. In a blink of an eye the light blazed. I leaned forward and scarcely made out a few members of the Cabal Ministry of Kent. I tumbled through the opening.


The juices coated me. The stench was trapped in my nostrils. This was exactly what I imagined being birthed felt like, no wonder babies forgot it. It was gross.


I landed with a heavy thud and splat. There was a shriek and a ‘Holy shit!’, but I couldn’t tell who said what. I was still traumatized by the transdimensional birth canal.


I saw Raphe. He had trimmed his black hair. It was shoulder length now. But those eyes, I would never forget his beautiful icy blues. “Raphe.”


I passed out.


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