Prison Of Mine

Darkness.

Void.

Nothingness.

How long had he been here? Hours? Days? It was always hard to tell time here.

He took a deep breath. It should be starting soon.

The door opens.

The chains unlock.

It was time.

Crawling out of the empty space, the disheveled man is welcomed to the world once more. A dimly lit stone corridor. The door behind him shut on its own and the chains inside rattled.

How many times had he done this?

What would he find this time?

Whatever he finds, wherever he ends up, he will find her. She was the key. The key to this place.

He had to move and get as far away as he could from here. Walking down the hall he passed by several doors. Sometimes they were open, sometimes they were locked. Never truly sure what would be behind any of them, as the signs above each door were illegible, but it was the only way to get around.

Stepping through the door, he was greeted to the outside. He was in the outer bailey of the castle, the night sky visible above him. It was a welcomed surprise to end up here, he rarely ever managed to get a chance to enjoy the fresh air. But he had never managed to stumble this far outside of the castle.

Glancing around, the area was fairly well lit with lanterns as if in expectation for some sort of event or gathering. The bushes and array of flowers were trimmed and well-kept. The walkways were clean, levelled, and edged. Honestly, Gabriel was surprised by how immaculate the place was.

But there was no time to admire his surroundings, he had to keep moving forward. Gabriel failed to notice someone behind him until they cast a shadow over him.

Turning around, a giant of a man stood before him looking down at Gabriel. The man stood several feet over him and was wider than a barrel carrying a large sack over his shoulder. He stared at Gabriel, looking at his clothes that were slightly worn.

“Are you the help?” he said with a foreign accent.

“Uh.”

Without waiting for a response, the man tossed him the sack, knocking the wind out of Gabriel and nearly knocking him over.

“Come with me. We have much to do.”

Finally catching his breath, Gabriel watched as the man walked away and grabbed another sack off the ground. Although he could just leave, there weren’t any other doors in sight and he might lead him in the right direction. And honestly, he was afraid of getting the giant mad at him.

Carrying the sack, Gabriel caught up with the giant, struggling to keep up with him.

“Huff- who are you?”

“I am Grant. I am groundskeeper. You must be new.”

“Uh… not really. Just never seen you. Where are we going?”

“Other side. More bags. Baby trees. Need to plant.”

“At night?

“Best time to plant. No one bothers you. Plants sleeping. Air is cool.”

Along the way, Grant picked up several buckets that were scattered on the ground, carrying all of them by the handle in one hand. They passed by several freshly planted saplings, which Grant told Gabriel to be careful around. They’re sleeping and need to rest so that their roots can grow properly. Gabriel would’ve questioned it if one of the saplings hadn’t let out a soft snore just as they passed.

The two eventually arrived at the other side where two rows of holes had already been dug out. Off to the side were several plants, all of which had their roots in tied up bags.

Setting the buckets and the sack of dirt down, Grant grabbed the top of the sack Gabriel was holding and undid the knot at the end.

“You pour dirt next to holes. Not in the holes. Need just a little less than it takes to fill each hole. I will do this row and get plants ready. You do that row.”

Gabriel looked around, he hadn’t seen a single doorway while walking with Grant, and still couldn’t spot one. There had to be one somewhere.

“Hey. I will finish before you start.” Grant said, revealing that he was already a quarter of the way through with his row.

“Oh.”

Gabriel began to pour dirt beside the holes in his rows. They were roughly the right amount, except for the last one which only managed about halfway before the bag was empty.

Turning around to see the other row, Grant had already placed a single plant by each of his holes and was seen walking back towards Gabriel with the buckets from earlier, now all filled with water.

“Good, you finished.” He said, dropping one of the buckets beside him.

Grant proceeded to place a bucket by a certain few of the plants, the smaller leafy shrub like plant. Once he finished, he beckoned Gabriel over.

“This is two-man job. This is why I needed help.”

Grabbing the leafy shrub, he presented it to Gabriel.

“This is mandragora. Very beautiful plant once matured, very sensitive to light, and very loud.”

“Loud?”

“Yes. Can go deaf if you hear it. To keep her from screaming, you must keep roots in darkness. When moving, you must pour water on them while covering roots in dirt. After I untie bag and put in hole, you will pour water while I scoop dirt in. Water will keep her calm while I put her back in darkness.”

“…”

“Question?”

“How did you get it in the bag?”

“I didn’t. No more questions. Grab bucket, I will do this as fast as I can.”

Gabriel wasn’t sure what he signed up for, but he was too deep in to say otherwise. Grabbing the bucket, Gabriel held it above the hole as Grant began to untie the knot at the base of the leaves, looking over at him to ensure that he was ready to pour. With a nod, Grant held the plant over the hole and pulled off the cloth to reveal the vaguely child-shaped roots that were no bigger than a potato. It moved on its own, uncomfortable with the night air before being bathed in water where it seemed to calm down as Grant quickly scooped the dirt over it before it returned to its slumber.

“Good. Only a few more to do and you are done. I can do saplings myself.”

“Really?”

“Yes. They are very shy. Do not like others touching them.”

Gabriel wasn’t going to question that, considering what he had just seen.

“Um, just so that I know. Where is the nearest door back in?”

“If you go straight, there is door on left.” Grant replied, pointing along one of the walls of the castle. “Where we came is about same distance.”

“Ah… good.”

“Now, three more to go.”

The two continued to soak and bury the plants in the hole far apart from each other. Per Grant, they did not do well being too close to each other, they do well with other plants but not of the same type. And you can’t just dunk them in a bucket, it stunts their growth. The only way to do it solo is to wait for heavy rain, or get someone that’s already deaf to do it.

Once they had finished, Grant let out a laugh and patted Gabriel’s back, almost knocking him over.

“Good job. You are free to go my friend. Come back anytime if you wish to learn more about my plants.”

Standing up, Grant proceeded to go grab a few of the saplings he hadn’t set up and begin to transplant them, letting Gabriel go and return to the castle.

After placing a few of them in their new spots, another person arrived and announced themselves to Grant.

“Who are you?” Grant questioned.

“I’m… the help? Prince said you needed help.”

“Help? I already got help. He just left.”

The new person raised a brow, but then shrugged before walking away.

Grant stood there, scratching his head.

“Who was that? I didn’t ask his name.”

Gabriel was already out of sight and entering the castle by the time Grant began to wonder.

***

Entering the building once more, Gabriel was in a hall lined with doors. Where would the next one take him? Opening the door to the right, Gabriel was greeted by darkness.

Pitch black.

And soon… growling.

A multitude of red eyes opened within the void, rows of teeth appearing below each set as the sounds grew louder. The loudest came from the farthest side of the room. No teeth were shown, its eyes not reflecting the light that came through the doorway. But as it began to roar, its two circular eyes lit up, each casting a beam of light forward towards the doorway at Gabriel.

Slamming the door shut, Gabriel immediately turned around and went into the opposite room. Locking it behind him once inside.

Everyone inside was now staring right at him

Gabriel was in the grand hall, which was lined with people.

“Oh no…”

He was in the court of Prince Georgie.

At the very end of the hall was a throne with a child no more than eight years old seated upon it, wearing an overly elaborate royal outfit and holding a scepter. Beside him were his advisors, who seemed more like his parents who had lost all control to their spoiled child.

Seems like Prince Georgie wasn’t paying too much attention and hadn’t noticed him yet. Hopefully the line can keep him distracted long enough… but with all the dirt on his clothes he stuck out like a sore thumb. Maybe if he snuck behind the line…

“Uncle Gabe!”

… fuck.

Jumping off his throne, the child ruler ran up to him and immediately grabbed his hand to lead him back towards the throne.

“Hello Your Highness. I’m a bit busy…”

“Uncle Gabe, I got so many things today. I just got horses, a puppy and a dragon, and and a book that talks.” Prince Georgie began to rattle on as he led ‘Uncle’ Gabe to the throne, where one of the knights had set a standard wooden chair beside it.

Georgie was an easily excitable child and had taken a liking to Gabriel after his previous visits to his court, deeming him his uncle. And in his court, his word was law. So, he became the uncle of a monarch who would not let him leave his side.

Climbing up on his throne, Georgie waved to Gabriel to sit beside him.

“I really shouldn’t…” he began to protest, but a knight stepped behind him and firmly grasped his shoulder before leading him to the chair so as to seat him.

Gabriel looked up at the knight, staring at the empty suit of armor that followed the will of Georgie. The knights were living suits of armor, unable to be slayed or defeated by conventional means. There was no chance of beating them head on short of crushing their entire body, the only chance of victory against them was escaping. But how was he going to manage that?

With the two seated, a man at the front of the line presented themselves to Prince Georgie.

“From the kingdom of Halamaha, we hope you enjoy our most valued treasure oh noble prince.”

A knight stepped forward, taking a box from the representative at the front of the line and taking it to Prince Georgie who was busy picking his nose. Opening the box, it was filled to the brim with golden coins.

Many in the line murmured, questioning the choice of gift to the royal.

Reaching out for one of the coins, Prince Georgie played with it for a moment, studying it, then grabbing it with both hands and bending it in half. Gasps could be heard from the line. But the prince simply smiled. Taking the wrapping off, he revealed that it was a box of chocolate coins and quickly threw the foil to the side so as to stuff his little face with the sweet.

While he was still chewing, he grabbed several more coins and placed them next to himself on the seat before waving the knight away.

“Thank you.” He told the representative, who simply bowed and walked away.

At least the kid was in a good mood today…

The next representative came up, bowing to Prince Georgie before introducing himself as one of the court wizards of Galadrea. A rather young man… at least younger than expected when you hear wizard.

“Greeting Your Highness, the kingdom of Galadrea humbly offer you my services. As one of the court wizards, I am well versed in several fields of magic. This includes…”

Arching his hand over his head, a trail of fire emanated from the palm of his hand and extinguished in the air.

“Fire.”

Raising his hand up into the air and pointing a single finger upward, multiple arches of electricity spawned from it and danced onto the floor around him.

“Lightning.”

Rubbing his hands together, the wizard opened the palm of his hand in front of his mouth and blew an icy wind in front of him, causing a mountain of snow to form before him.

“Ice.”

Stepping forward toward the snow pile that was roughly as tall as he was, the wizard tapped the mound and caused the snow to dissipate, revealing the ice statue of Prince Georgie that was hidden beneath it.

“And many more.”

Georgie was clapping. He was thoroughly entertained by the small show of abilities the wizard had presented him.

“More!” he cheered.

The wizard, not prepared for an encore, glanced to the sides wondering what to do next. Seeing his confusion, Gabriel had an idea.

“Georgie, I think the wizard needs an assistant. I’ll go up there and help him out.”

“I want to help!” The prince responded.

“But then how will you see what he’s doing?”

“…”

Georgie thought about it before allowing Gabriel to go help the wizard.

He quickly stood up, glancing over at the knight who had no reaction to him, and made his way to the confused wizard.

“Sir,” Gabriel whispered, “Are you capable of making me invisible? Or perhaps teleporting me? I can guarantee you that the prince would take great joy in such a feat. Especially if you can get me to the nearest door.”

“Invisibility? Well… yes. But illusions are not my specialty… but teleportation is beyond my abilities.”

“You’ll have to try. Don’t want to disappoint lil Georgie.”

The wizard nervously glanced at the prince, who was excitedly waiting for the next act while eating another of his chocolate coins.

“… very well.”

Stepping away from Gabriel, the wizard cleared his throat to grab everyone’s attention.

“Not only am I a master of the elements, but I can make this man disappear.” The wizard stated, raising his hand and snapping, “With a snap of my fingers.”

The line behind Gabriel murmured, followed by a gasp, and finally… laughter?

Even Prince Georgie was laughing, clapping with the same fervent excitement from before.

“Oh…” the wizard mumbled.

Looking down at himself, Gabriel realized the issue. He had indeed become invisible as the wizard promised… but his clothes were not.

“Seriously?” Gabriel said, turning towards the wizard even though he could not see his face.

“Umm… tada?”

Letting out a sigh, Gabriel began to strip his visible clothes off until there was nothing but a pile left on the ground, leaving everyone in the room wondering if this was part of the act. After a brief pause, a door in the far corner of the room creaked open and quickly slammed shut.

“Aww, Uncle Gabe ran away again.” Bemoaned the prince.

The wizard quickly bowed and walked off before he took the blame, hoping he would still be in the prince’s good graces.

As the prince motioned for the next representative to step forth, a loud knock coming from the main doors interrupted him. It was followed by another, even louder than the previous, growing in strength as if it were a battering ram. On the third hit, the doors swung open… without the permission of Prince Georgie.

Standing at the doorway was a shadowy being too tall to be a man, completely engulfed by a hazy darkness. Only its piercing white eyes could be seen. The guards immediately made their way towards the uninvited guest, many drawing their spears and pointing it at the ready as Prince Georgie and his advisors were surrounded by their knights who drew their swords whilst raising their shields.

The being stepped forward, the sound of hooves hitting the stone floor echoing through the hall. The guards remained unmoving.

“I don’t know you.” Prince Georgie stated, “Please leave.”

The being looked at the prince and then at the guards. Raising its hand, the shadows of the room culminated within its grasp and formed a staff. There was no color to it, just a darkness about it similar to its master. Gripping it with both hands, a blade protruded upwards out from one end, becoming a scythe.

“It’s the horseman…” one of the guests whispered, watching as they pressed their backs to the wall. “It’s Death.”

“I said LEAVE PLEASE!” Prince Georgie yelled

With that command, the guards all lunged towards the shadow.

***

Gabriel stood in the hallway.

Naked… but invisible. This could prove useful for as long as the invisibility lasts.

Traveling through the halls, Gabriel searched for another room. The branching pathways seemed to never end, only finding more halls and the occasional decorative art piece. He had already passed by a painting of Prince Georgie, as well as a few paintings of the other residents within the castle. He had already met most of them in his previous attempts to find the exit.

There was one of Gunther, the polymath standing beside his two favorite creations, a pair of stone and metal women who became his assistants. He was a short rotund man with circular glasses, always engrossed in his studies in the basement of the castle. If it weren’t for his assistants he’d likely forget to eat.

Another painting he passed was the creator of the paintings themselves, the maiden Guinevere. She was a truly devoted artist, usually keeping herself in the tower so as to work uninterrupted. Be it painting, sculpting, and even composing music, she was always able to create a masterwork of the craft.

There were a few others, some he seemed to have a faint memory of at the tip of his tongue but could never place.

Finally, he reached the end of the hall where two doors stood across from each other with a mirror placed upon the wall between them. He was faintly able to see his reflection, meaning the magic was wearing out and that he’d be in the nude if he didn’t find any clothes soon.

Considering what was on the right door the last time he opened it, he was going to stick with the left one for a while.

The doors were enchanted, changing where they lead every morning. It was impossible to map the place or know where you’d end up. Still, somehow the residents managed to get around.

This particular door seemed to have shown him the way to the armory.

Rifling through the contents of the room, Gabriel decided to don some leather armor before he became fully visible. Sure, there was plate available, but that stuff was impossible to put on by yourself and he wasn’t really keen on staying here too long.

Picking up a spare spear on his way out, by the time he left he was fully visible once again and could be mistaken for one of the regular guards.

Once he exited the room, something began to pound against the door… followed by the sound of rattling chains.

***

Gabriel traveled through the maze that was the castle, passing through all sorts of rooms and people. He made his way through the kitchen, the servants’ quarters, and eventually ended up in the wine cellar where he was stopped. This time it was by the master cook of the castle, Gustav.

“Gabriel? What are you doing in that garb? Come here, I need you for something.”

Before him was a plate of cheese paired with several bottles of wine and cups all arranged on a small table along with a few other cooks that were under Gustav.

“I really shouldn’t. In a rush.”

“It’ll only take a moment.” Gustav insisted, leading him to the cheeses. “I need you to tell me which wine goes best with this. My cooks insist that it is too subtle of a difference to notice, but we are men of culture and refined tastes. We know better. Now, prove it.”

Crossing his arms, Gustav waited for Gabriel to proceed with the sampling as the other cooks watched him.

Gabriel sighed, proceeding to sample a slice of the parmesan cheese laid out before finally taking a sip of wine from the earthenware goblet. It was okay. Nothing particular spectacular about the cheese or the wine, but they were rather enjoyable. Perhaps an undertone of bitterness in the wine.

“It’s good so far.”

“Good? Very well. Continue.” Gustav replied.

Cleaning his palate with another piece of cheese, Gabriel proceeded with the next wine which was served in a silver goblet. It was slightly sweeter, but almost not at all. He could see why they were saying the differences were too subtle to notice.

“It’s a bit sweeter. Not much, but it’s there.”

“Hmm.” Gustav recognized.

With one last slice of cheese, Gabriel took a sip of the last wine that was in a glass goblet. This one was somewhere in the middle, not as sweet but almost a hint of bitterness. It was painfully plain.

“What do you think Gabriel?”

“I think… the wine in the silver cup is better with the cheese. Barely though.”

Gustav smiled, looking over at his cooks who were all rolling their eyes.

“Excellent, just as I had said. Anything else to note?”

“These wines all tasted pretty similar. There was barely a difference between them all. Hopefully your supplier didn’t trick you.”

“Oh Gabriel, no need to worry. They’re all from the same barrel, barely fermented. Almost no flavor. I just needed to teach my latest cooks that it’s not just the wine that matters, but the cup you put it in. And although presentation is important, it must not be at the detriment of flavor. Thank you for humoring me.”

With that, Gustav shooed him away in order to continue with his lessons.

***

Continuing through the halls, the very few people he spotted along the way made no note of him. He didn’t have much time left. He couldn’t get distracted anymore.

Opening a door, Gabriel was greeted by darkness once more. The familiar red eyes were quick to spot him. He immediately closed the door.

As he shut the door, another that he had just passed in front of moments ago burst open. From it, a shadowy being emerged wielding a scythe, turning to face Gabriel.

“You…”

Without much thought, Gabriel opened the door in front of him and ran down the hall. The shadowy creature galloped after him until being tackled by the red eyed creatures. The black ashen wolf-like animals were biting and clawing the shadow, relentlessly attacking it despite being unable to make it bleed.

The horseman bashed the pole end of their scythe into the faces of hellhounds, forcing them to stand back. It was then that the eyes of the giant creature within the room began to shine. With the spotlights pointed towards the horseman, its shape was revealed, being that of a centaur and not a rider upon a horse.

With its sights set on the centaur, the creature screeched as it raced towards the doorway. In a flash, the walls exploded, causing debris to fly everywhere as a dust cloud filled the hall. Gabriel couldn’t help but turn around to see what had happened.

Once the dust had settled, the remaining hellhounds were spotted coughing as the centaur was nowhere to be seen. In its place was an object not of this world. A horseless carriage with a body of metal that stood upon four black wheels made of rubber.

It was a car… a Jeep.

How… did he know that?

The vehicle’s engine roared, attempting to pull itself out from the wall but unable to. The hounds began to dig at the rubble, hoping to free the Jeep that now blocked the hallway.

That is when Gabriel heard the all too familiar sound of rattling chains.

Every attempt he made to escape, the chains would emerge and drag him back to the depth of the castle. Emerging from the other end of the hall, the chains snaked through the air as if from their own volition. At the end of each chain was a handcuff that clicked open and close like hungry mouths waiting to bite onto him. Upon sensing their prey, the pair of chains lunged straight towards him, not realizing that the hallway was blocked with a lodged Jeep.

The cuffs dug into the chassis of the possessed Jeep, metal crunching within its jaws as it clamped shut, causing the vehicle to roar its engine in pain. The chains then yanked on the vehicle, the one that had torn into the door ripping it off its hinge before disappearing down the hall as the other slowly dragged the demon car out from the wall. The Jeep’s tires screeched against the floor as they spun, unable to overcome the strength of the chain as it pulled it back from whence it came. The hellhounds barked relentlessly towards the chain, some biting onto the bumper trying to pull it forward but only managing to get dragged with it.

Choosing not to stick around, Gabriel continued down the opposite end of the hall. He was reaching the center of this maze where SHE was… the answer to this whole place.

With Gabriel shrinking away down the hall, the rubble where the Jeep had crashed into the wall rolled down onto the floor as the hand of the shadowy being emerged and gripped onto the wall.

***

After running for what felt like an eternity, Gabriel arrived at a large atrium that featured the night sky above him. At the center of the room was a peculiar structure, a dome made of glass that exuded a soft glow. Within it, a being of angelic origin sat, singing. Although no sound escaped its prison, Gabriel could almost make out the words to her song.

It was her. The heart of the castle. She was the answer to this place. Gabriel didn’t know how or who she was… but there was a familiar air about her.

Running up to the dome, Gabriel searched for a way to release the prisoner but to no avail. There was no doorway, no hatch, no way in and no way out. Banging on the dome revealed nothing, not even gaining a reaction from the angel within.

He continued to bang his fists against the dome, only stopping when a familiar sound arose from behind him. Turning around he could hear it… the rattling of chains. Gabriel ran around the dome, hiding behind it as the twin chains emerged from the hallway in search of him. The two chains surveyed the room, scanning for him until finally locking on to the dome. They knew where he was.

Just as they had done earlier, the two chains lunged directly at him only to instead hit the dome he was hiding behind. Each rebounded with a loud bong, leaving behind a crack on the surface of the dome. This finally caused the angel inside to stop and look around.

She spun in place, searching for the source of the sound, but seemed unable to spot anything going on outside of her prison.

Once the twin chains oriented themselves, they once again lunged at Gabriel, prompting him to jump back to dodge them. Without thinking, Gabriel flipped the spear he had and plunged it straight into the ground towards one of the cuffs. He lodged the spear in the loop at the base of the cuff, causing it to go limp and act like a regular chain.

There was no way this thing was dead… it was never alive to begin with.

Before he had time to contemplate on it, the other chain shot up from the ground straight for his arm, clamping shut around it. Grabbing onto it, he tried to pull it apart, but couldn’t. It was going to bring him back to the beginning.

And then, in the distance, something was approaching them… fast.

Whirling through the air like a saw blade, a weapon that exuded nothing but darkness sliced through the chains and lodged itself into the globe prism. Gabriel had been released from the grip on the cuff as it now laid lifeless on the ground beside the other.

The blade of the scythe poked through to the inside of the angel’s prison, allowing her to quizzically poke at it.

That was it.

Running to the other side, Gabriel pulled the scythe out of the globe and yelled at the angel to stand back through the small opening.

Reeling back, Gabriel prepared to swing down on the prison but was held back. The scythe refused to be moved, pulling back against his grip. Turning his head, he could see the horseman was suddenly right behind him, holding the end of the scythe in their grip. How did they get here without making a sound? The scythe was pulled out of his hands and returned to its rightful owner.

Gabriel stood there, frozen. His legs would not move.

The horseman raised their scythe to Gabriel, pointing it straight at their head before raising it up and sliding it down until the end hit the floor.

Gabriel looked up in confusion.

The horseman leaned forward and held out their hand towards him.

What?

Gabriel’s eyes darted between the shadow creature and their open palm. They had been running from this creature for months… it destroyed everything in its path. This had to be some sort of trick.

Stepping away from the being, Gabriel had his back against the globe as the horseman continued to extend their hand closer towards him. Seeing that he wasn’t grabbing it, they reached forward to grip Gabriel’s shoulder, only for him to slip down and run.

Going around to the other side of the globe, Gabriel stood beside his spear that was still staking the immobile chain to the ground. If he took it out, the chain would surely ‘awaken’ once again and go after him… but if he didn’t then he’d be absolutely defenseless against the horseman. Gabriel needed something to buy him some time… maybe…

The being approached him, its pace no longer leisurely but in hurried annoyance. If they got close enough to him, they would undoubtedly grab him.

With his hand around the shaft of the spear, Gabriel pulled it out from the ground prompting the horseman to stop in its tracks. It readied itself for Gabriel to point it at them… only for him to drop it and run past them until they were behind the creature.

The shadowy being looked towards Gabriel in confusion before the sound of moving chains made it realize what he had done.

With a well-timed swing, they barely managed to deflect the lunging cuff.

As long as Gabriel stood behind the horseman, they would have no choice but to defend themselves from the chain. With any luck, they’d slip up and be dragged away by the chain, hopefully leaving behind their scythe in the process.

With each strike of the chain, the horseman was forced to take a step back. Spinning their scythe to block as well as attempting to counterattack in order to subdue the chain. With each step, Gabriel also stepped back to ensure he wasn’t accidentally run over and to ensure he was always opposite of the chain.

Taking a step backwards, Gabriel nearly trips as something slithered under his foot. Looking down, he spotted the other broken chain snaking across the grass in search of something. The chain approached a stray broken link on the ground and pressed itself against it, the broken link twisting and contorting until it managed to attach itself to the rest of the chain.

It was repairing itself.

He didn’t have time to wait. Looking at the chain relentlessly attack as the horseman parried without fail, Gabriel needed to accelerate this battle to get that scythe. With little thought, he raised his hand and slapped the rear end of the horseman.

The being reared up, surprised by the sudden assault on its backside. Distracting it just long enough for the chain to strike and clamp itself around its arm.

Pulling back, the horseman resisted. Fighting back against the chain and raising their other arm up so as to strike it down with its scythe… but something else was pulling on her as well. The being turned its head to see Gabriel had latched himself onto the scythe, attempting to take it from its master.

The shadow creature shook their scythe to get Gabriel to let go, all whilst being slowly dragged towards the hall that they had all emerged from. With one solid swing, they were able to fling Gabriel away several feet before impaling their scythe into the ground. They continued to be dragged for several feet until finally stopping in their tracks… and then pulling back on the chains.

Gabriel stared in amazement. No one had ever been strong enough to resist the chains. Although they only ever hunted him, others had been captured in his stead on numerous occasions. But they were all dragged away, only the horseman managed to resist and gain ground.

There was no time to watch and admire this show of strength, Gabriel needed that scythe but there was no way he’d pull it from the horseman’s grip. He had to make them let it go.

Getting on his feet, Gabriel ran towards the horseman and did the only thing he could think of. He jumped and punched them in the face.

With a fist in its face, the horseman’s grip failed them, letting go of their scythe and their only leverage against the pull of the chain.

They reached out towards Gabriel, but they were already too far away. Inching towards the hall they desperately tried to get to him as if pleading for his help. The sight of this fearful being, being dragged across the ground, grabbing anything they could… it was almost pitiful.

But Gabriel couldn’t just stand and watch. He was running out of time.

Grabbing onto the weapon, he ran towards the globe, screaming through the crack to stand back as he prepared to strike.

The angel inside nodded, standing at the opposite end of her prison as the blade pierced through the walls. Gabriel continued his assault, treating the scythe like a pickaxe, breaking away pieces of the orb until finally opening a hole larger than his hand.

The two were finally able to see each other, face to face. She stared at him, a look of disbelief across her face, of familiarity and also of despair. There was no fear in her eyes as she ran up to the opening to verify what it was that she was seeing. Looking him in the eyes, she mouthed some words, unable to make a sound at first until finally speaking.

“Gabriel? Is that you?”

He blinked.

How did she know… wait.

“Yes… Sarah… it’s me.”

She reached out through the opening, reaching for him as if though to confirm he was really there.

Dropping the scythe, he grabbed onto her hand and placed it on his cheek. Sarah brushed her thumb against his stubble before she began to cry.

“It’s really you.”

“It’s okay, I’m here now. We can finally-”

The noise of chains rattling interrupted him before the sensation of cold steel enveloped his wrist.

Before he was pulled away, Gabriel latched his free hand onto Sarah’s.

“NO!” she yelled as she gripped his hand.

It felt like his arm was going to be pulled off, his grip failing as the chain increased the gap between the two. With each second that passed, cracks propagated from the opening of the orb.

“Sarah!” Gabriel yelled, “I will find you again! I promise!”

As he uttered those words, their grip failed, and the pull from the chains sent him flying back. Back to the dungeon.

“Wait for me!”

Those were his last words to her before the world was plunged into darkness once more.

***

Her eyes open, staring up at the ceiling. Streams of tears running down the sides of her face.

She saw him.

Sitting up in her bed, she leaned forward over the side and cupped her face into her hands. She took a deep breath… sitting up and looking over the empty half of the bed.

It was just a dream…

***

“I’m sorry Mrs. Garner, but it appears the therapy isn’t showing as much promise as we had hoped.”

Mrs. Garner was a human woman in the hospital with a doctor, an Anubis, who was looking through a clipboard with the results from last night’s session with the unconscious man on the bed before them. One of the nurses, a Nightmare who was rubbing her right cheek as if it were bruised, leaves the room after checking his vitals to give them some privacy.

“Your husband Gabriel has been here for a year ever since the car accident, and we have tried every treatment we have available with no measurable improvements.”

“Is there nothing we can do for him?”

“Hmm… we could do some of the procedures again, but repeated sessions could cause the mind to create additional barriers, further trapping him inside his own mind. I would highly suggest against that.”

Looking over to her husband, she welled up inside seeing him like this.

“There has to be something…”

“Continue what you’re doing. Visit often. Talk to him. Remind him of times you two spent together. Sometimes… sometimes that helps bring them out. I will do what I can, and I will let you know if there’s any new developments.”

Walking over to the patient, the woman held his hand.

“I will… always.”

“Now, before I leave, I would suggest we have your husband transferred to another room. If you could please follow me so that we can get the paperwork signed for that and then you can continue with the rest of your visit.”

“Alright…” she stated, turning back to her husband. “I’ll be right back. Love you.”

Letting go of his hand, she grabbed her purse and followed the doctor out of the room.

Once the door had closed, Mr. Garner was left alone with only the machines keeping him company. No one was here. No one was around.

No one to see his fingers curl around the hand that was no longer there.

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