THE GATES
Mia yawned, covering her cavernous mouth with one hand and gazing ahead through half-open eyes. The noon sun blazed down on them as they perspired and shaded themselves from its harsh glare. Hung high overhead, it shone white gold against a blue sky devoid of clouds. Scorching the earth in its fury of loneliness. Mia squinted her eyes against the brutal glare that almost blinded her. Fatigue weighed down on her. She had been tossing and turning the previous night, unable to fall asleep as she thought about the wound on Colt’s neck. How he must have died brutally. Whether he had no memories of what happened, just like her. A pair of wrought-iron gates topped with gothic triangular spikes obscured the view of a cemetery ahead. Enclosed by a stone wall about five feet high, Mia could barely see the rows of slabs standing upright on the ground. Uneasiness crept up on her as they approached the gates, despite the rays of light engulfing them. A chill of discomfort rippled down her spine and she hugged herself tighter. Eager to return to her comfortable bed and get a good night’s rest, she crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently as Professor Liu stood in front of the gates and flashed a card. It glowed ghastly white, shrouded in a mist-like aura. Then, the elderly woman stood still and unmoving. Waiting.
Ravenous flames burst forth, licking the bars that ran perpendicular to the ground. They hissed and shot forward, curling into the shape of a skull. The same familiar skull at the Gates. Light beamed from the empty sockets, traveling slowly down from top to bottom and then back up again. Only pausing for a moment at the card before the roaming laser-like beam flickered and faded away.
“Access granted. Please proceed.”
“Wait—” Professor Liu rummaged through her pockets and fished out a rolled-up parchment “—entry permit for the kids.”
She unrolled the parchment just as two shafts of light emitted from the black holes drilled into the skull. They scanned the brown tattered parchment and rested on the hellish S symbol drawn up by a single red flame.
“Entry permit verified. Valid for forty admissions. Please proceed.” Its mechanical voice echoed over the rustle of leaves.
And the air split open. Like fabric torn apart as a crack ripped its way from behind the skull. The jagged slit swelled into a sphere of darkness, wide and tall enough to swallow a person whole. Shadows danced inside it as if someone or something was waiting for them. Then, the skull drifted aside. A shudder ran up Mia’s spine and her legs sank under the weight of its eyeless gaze.
“Okay, queue up now. We’re going back.” Professor Liu then mumbled under her breath as she counted each student that entered the sphere.
Having traveled between the two worlds at least once every day, Mia stepped into it without a second thought. Emptiness ensued once again and she couldn’t shake off the disturbing feeling.
Of belonging neither here nor there.
The crowd had thinned and the lobby was almost empty, save for a few people scattered here and there. Unlike the exit gate where there were only a receptionist and operator to verify the documents and adjust the portal, guards were stationed at the entry gate. There were lesser guards now since it was past midnight. And their footsteps rang sharply in the stillness as Mia marched along with the other students. Their muffled steps spoke volumes of exhaustion. On the other hand, just behind Mia, light tiny footsteps scampered across the floor where each step spoke of endless energy. Laughter and shrieks pierced the silence, bouncing off the solid walls and beamed ceiling.
“Swift!”
Mia snapped her head in the direction of the voice. Professor Liu was patting her chest which rose and fell with quick panting breaths. Struggling for air, she dew in mouthfuls of oxygen through her parted lips and beckoned the quadruplets towards her. The quadruplets, who had run towards the forbidden area of the lobby, paused in their tracks. A large cavernous tunnel that drove deep in the depths of the unknown gaped open behind them. Professor Liu stomped up to them with a frown on her face. Her steps slow and faltering from the fatigue of the futile chase and yet, also heavy and quivering with rage. Her lips jutted out as she fought the simmering anger building up within her. As the elderly woman approached them with a pointed finger, Fredric’s eyes dilated in fear and hid behind Cedric who stood beside Dedric. Both older siblings stood between Professor Liu and Fredric like a wall of defense. With their heads held high and their chests puffed out, they wore the same determined expression—an expression that said they hadn’t commit any grave mistake that deserved to be punished.
“You!” Professor Liu shook her pointed finger at each of them then raised her arm and pointed at the winding tunnel. “Forbidden area. Cannot enter. Now leave.”
“Hmph!” Cedric and Dedric took hold of Fredric’s hands and pounded past Professor Liu.
A triumphant smile played on Professor Liu’s mouth for a moment before it drooped. She scratched her head in confusion as she pointed at the retreating figures of Cedric, Dedric and Fredric, and then back again, pausing for a second longer on each of them.
“Let me go!”
Professor Liu swiveled and Mia followed the direction of her gaze. At the end of the dark tunnel emerged a silhouette of a man. With something struggling on his shoulder. Of a child whose limbs were flailing as his arms pounded the man’s back while his legs kicked the man’s chest. His hazel eyes gleamed in anger at the captor who didn’t seem to be mildly hurt by what he did. As the shadowy figures approached, light shone from the lobby, revealing the identities of the man and child—a guard and… Kedric.
A gasp escaped Professor Liu’s mouth and she ran towards them, humbly bending down as she apologized to the guard for troubling him.
“I’m sorry. My student—”
“It’s nothing to apologize for. Kids nowadays are curious.” With one hand on Kedric’s back and another hand holding his legs, the guard knelt down and placed him on the ground. “The more you say ‘no’, the more they want to know.”
As soon as Kedric’s feet touched the ground, he dashed towards the tunnel again. And almost immediately, the guard shot his hand out, blocking him from taking a step further. Kedric sulked and threw a tantrum as he pushed all his weight against the guard’s strong arm. He wailed loudly when he was denied access to the mysterious place at the end of the tunnel.
“It’s no use, child. You can’t enter anyway without a pass.” The guard smirked and flashed a card. Unlike Professor Liu’s card which glowed ghastly white, the card in his hand was ablaze with a red flame. Hues of scarlet and maroon. The crimson shade that spoke of blood. Of the flame that twisted into the hellish symbol of the alphabet ‘S’ on the exit permit. Fascinated and not daunted by the flame, Kedric reached for the card. But no matter how high he jumped, he always fell short—either missing the card entirely or grazing the corner before it was pulled out of his grasp. And just like how a pet owner teased his cat with a feather wand toy, the guard waved the card above Kedric and lifted it higher whenever he jumped. “Even if you did get my pass, another guard will carry you back. Or worse, you might be brought to him instead.” His mouth compressed into a thin line as he turned towards Professor Liu. “Professor, do keep an eye on your students. I don’t think you wish to incur his wrath over such unauthorized entry.”
“Yes, yes. I understand. It won’t happen again.” Professor Liu bade the guard goodbye and clutched Kedric’s hand. As they approached the rest of the students who had paused to see the commotion, Professor Liu’s face was as white as a sheet. Her forehead was beaded with sweat as her legs trembled with each step.
Whoever he was, he had the power to instill fear in others.
The brilliant white crescent moon hung low in the night sky, casting a silvery light on the lone tombstone in the middle of the clearing. It didn’t take them long to locate the tombstone labeled with their school name among the long rows of numerous tombstones. As soon as they found it, Professor Liu had swiftly sprinkled the gray-white powder and ushered them to hurry. Once they arrived at the cemetery in front of the school, Professor Liu took attendance again, ensuring that all forty of the students had returned to school safely. An undercurrent of whispers and rustling of footsteps in dry leaves broke the still night air as they made their way to the school.
“Did you hear that someone transmigrated during Psychology class?”
“Yeah, yeah. They were having an assignment to counsel each other based on what they’ve learned in class. And somehow one of them managed to fulfill her peer’s unfulfilled wish.”
Mia slowed down and adjusted her pace such that she was walking in step with the two girls who were muttering at the side of the path.
“Unfulfilled wish, huh? I might just know what mine is if I knew how I…”
The sentence trailed off into gloomy silence. The unspoken word lingered in the air like a knife that threatened to fall upon them. No one wanted to be here. And yet, everyone would one day end up here.
“I heard there’s a book that records the details of everyone’s d-death.”
Emerald eyes widened. Her ears perked up as Mia unconsciously took a few steps nearer to them.
“Really? Are you serious?”
“Yes, I’m sure of it. Didn’t you see how heavily secured the forbidden area is? That’s cause the book is off-limits.”