Euphoria Leak: The Heaven Called Hell: Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Trouble In Paradise

- 657:45:00 (4:15:00 Day 1)

Elena unlocked her door and trudged into the cool. For spring, it sure was hot outside. She threw her bag down by the steps and walked up to her room on the second floor, slamming it shut behind her. If her mother were there she surely would’ve shouted at her for it, but she wouldn’t be for another two hours, thankfully. Elena didn’t think she could handle any nagging now.

Flopping down on her bed, she sighed, staring at the poster of the wolf that hovered above her bed. White and fierce, ruler of the tundra, its icy stare seemed to speak to her. Awaken. Come forth. Your destiny awaits you, Aurelia. Elena closed her eyes, stifling another sigh. Had she just imagined it? That voice in her mind that told her these things. Phantom surely hadn’t said that. It had to be her imagination. Why else would it call her Aurelia?

So why did it cause her to lose consciousness, even if only for a moment? She shook her head. ‘Because I’m going insane,’ she told herself. That had to be it, right? She rolled over on her side. The second she saw the dog her mind shouted ‘FRIEND, I’m a FRIEND!’

Elena sighed and rolled over again, closing her eyes. Whatever it was she decided she wasn’t going to worry about it anymore. It was all in the past, right.

- 657:39:11 (4:21:49 P.M. Day 1)

The tip of her shoe hit the step and she flailed her arms, almost stumbling, but she kept her balance. She continued up the steps to her house.

Kiara forced her way through the door and sloughed off her bag, heading towards the kitchen to get a soda and then straight to the computer where she automatically signed on to the internet and AIM. CayandaPayei713 and AoiHiRiot16 were Aiming her instantly. She had her friendly names on so it read Jasmine and Valerie. “Jasmine 3:22:05 P.M.: OMG YOU’RE FINALLY HERE.”

Kiara smiled and sent an IM back. “Kiara 3:22:17 Sorry I’m late. I stopped over at Malise’s house. . she wasn’t home.”

Jasmine’s instant reply was “Oh that sucks. Ha, val and davy have been going insane today.” Valerie and David. The couple that Jasmine and herself met over the internet and with whom they had become best friends. They were both out of high school. David was 19, and Val was 18. They were engaged to be married and Jasmine and Kiara’s best friends and reluctant entertainment.

Kiara raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“shrugs that doesn’t matter right now. So anyways, what’s up? How have you been?”

“shrugs Headaches again. … how are you? Anything weird going on with you?”

“…no…”

“raises eyebrow Are you sure? That wasn’t very convincing.”

“shrugs I’ve been really tired lately…but besides that…no…”

“Come on, Jasmine. I’ve known you for far too long to fall for something like that.”

However, whatever Jasmine said next Kiara wouldn’t know because Kiara’s laptop turned itself off as always. She liked to claim she had a manic-depressive computer and it liked to commit suicide at least once every few hours. Kiara emitted a frustrated growl and smacked her forehead. ‘Maybe I’ll just call her…’ She wrinkled her nose and shook her head as the insistent pounding assaulted her senses again. That smack to her forehead hadn’t helped it any. ‘Maybe later. Right now I have to deal with this headache.’

Kiara walked into the kitchen and took some aspirin to ease the pain. Swallowing them, a new sound reached her ears. A scratching and whining sound that brought a smile to her face. ‘Axl…’ she thought, the image of her adorable puppy rising to the surface of her memory. She walked to the back door and looked down at the slightly tilted head and droopy eyes staring up at her and she had the overwhelming urge to scoop him up and hug him. She resisted as the headache made itself noticed again.

She clenched her eyes and walked away from the backdoor up to her room. She plopped down on her soft mattress and considered retrieving her walkman from the dark recesses of under her bed, but she reconsidered, deciding it would only make matters worse.

She groaned as the headache worsened considerably. An incoherent whispering started in the back of her mind and her eyes clenched tighter, her mind feeling as if a hole were being stretched into it. As the pain escalated the whispering grew louder, more insistent.

Kiara gasped in pain. She clutched her head and curled into the fetal position. Something was about to burst forth from within the confines of her head. ‘Now I know how Naota from Foolly Coolly feels,’ she commented, ‘What the hell is wrong with me? What is this?’

“Ahh!” She screamed as a particularly nasty pang surged through her head and coursed through her body, causing her muscles to constrict even tighter. ‘I’m having a seizure,’ she thought, her mind landing on the only shred of reason in her head. She yelled again, all coherent thought dissipating from her mind except the words “MAKE IT STOP!” which blasted through her mind like a horn.

And then it did. Out of nowhere the pain subsided- no, disappeared completely. The tears that had welled up in her eyes remained unshed as she opened her eyes incredulously, eyelashes bedewed with the unshed tears. The voices were gone as well. Kiara pushed herself up on her hands and sat upright, looking around.

“What in the hell?” She asked, the words lingering in the room like a vengeful spirit.

-657:10:26 (4:50:34 P.M. Day 1)

Jasmine sighed as she clicked the red ‘X’ in the corner of her computer screen. She hadn’t lied. She was completely tired out. The reason for that being she hadn’t gotten any decent sleep during the past two nights. The darkness in her room seemed all too sinister lately. It wasn’t that she was afraid of the dark like some five-year-old-pansy-child. Okay, well that wasn’t completely true. She wasn’t afraid of the absence of light, she had always rather enjoyed it; the comforting black that always seemed to ease the world away and wrap her in the fantasies of the night. But recently there was something… malignant… in the darkness. Faces…scenes kept emerging from the dark and she couldn’t escape it even when the lights were on, for whenever she closed her eyes they were always lurking on the dark inside of her eyelids.

So sleep only came in the day, and only very rarely. She walked with her back hunched into her room at the end of the hall and slumped down onto her lack-of-sheet-mattress, staring at the ceiling with half-closed eyes, and even that bit of blackness made her pulse erupt in quick rhythm and caused her skin to break out into a cold sweat. But she couldn’t help it, no matter how much she fought them her eyes would not open all the way. Finally, she succumbed to the power of her own exhaustion and allowed the images to assail her, filling her would-be pleasant dreams with horrifying thoughts and images.

Jasmine shrugged mentally. ‘Maybe it will all work out for the better…’ she told herself before she let sleep completely overpower her.

- 655:25:57 (6:35:03 P.M. Day 1)

For the fourth time that day, Malise found herself in front of the dark abyss with the materialized Satan in front of her. She bowed instinctively.

The atmosphere in the … room was thick with a mixture of pleasure and displeasure. “We almost had her Malise. Kirra was almost at the breaking point and so was Aurelia. I feel one more push and they will both tumble forth into awakening. Ophelia’s presence is growing stronger by the day and I have now begun to sense Braeden. The plot is thickening nicely, don’t you agree?”

Malise’s smile tinged with and her eyes sparkled with her namesake: malice. She nodded. “Yes, Master.”

Satan’s skullish head looked like it was smiling as well. “Malise, it is more important now than ever before. Watch those around you. If you feel any suspicion- any at all- try to push them over the edge. Try to awaken their reincarnated spirits.” Malise nodded, growing a bit anxious. “It is vital know that we awaken them before they can be…swayed… by other forces. Remember, they must choose out of their free will with very little persuasion.”

Malise couldn’t wait to get out of there and just as she suspected Lucifer was about to dismiss her, her dog appeared next to her. She inwardly winced.

Satan sounded pleased. “Ahh, it is my general of the beasts, Youkai no Kami. Or Phantom is your new name, is it not?” Satan inquired and then his tone grew more serious. “To what do I owe this honor and intrusion?”

Phantom snarled and started growling, obviously was relaying some kind of information to Satan. Malise had a sneaking suspicion she knew what it was about, she swallowed her pulse and put on a casually inquiring mask to insist upon her innocence.

Satan made an amused sound within his throat. “Is this true, Malise?”

Malise looked innocently interested and questioning. Any amateur could do that. But unlike an amateur, she didn’t lilt; that always gave away phony innocence. She was a damn good liar. “Is what true, Master? As you know I am not Aurelia, I cannot understand animals.”

Satan seemed mildly irritated. “Yes, I know that. Phantom just told me that… two of your close friends- or at least one he knows- are entities. He says he recognized Aurelia’s soul within… Elena. Moreover, he suspects what’s-her-name is an entity as well. Pay closer attention Malise.” Satan growled low in his throat, and narrowed his eyes. “Or perhaps you already suspected as much and, perhaps, felt the need to...” He couldn’t seem to find the word with enough magnitude. “Perhaps you felt particularly considerate?”He asked accusingly.

Malise flinched inwardly but her façade did not crumble. She twitched her face with anger and she even managed to get a slightly stricken look on her face. “No, Master. I would never betray you. But, yes, Master. I had suspected they might be entities after seeing what happened earlier today. I was going to pursue the matter further tomorrow.” Malise knew far too well not to lie to Lucifer. Well, to lie too much.

His gaze did not soften as he asked, “Then why did you not report this information to me immediately?”

Malise blinked coolly. “I decided it would be better for my health if I did not raise your hopes. Besides, I had not received any conformation from Phantom. Well, that I perceived anyway.” Phantom barked.

He nodded and his expression told her he was satisfied with her answer and she bowed, instantly transported back to her body.

- 655:12:43 (6:48:17 P.M. Day 1)

Arden lie on his bed facing the ceiling, eyes closed, listening to the loud music blasting through his headphones. He was deliberately ignoring Lan who kept trying to convince him he would be wise to avoid Malise from now on.

It wasn’t working.

Lan’s voice somehow drowned out the loud metal berating his eardrums. ‘Lan, enough. I’ve heard your warnings before and they haven’t done me any good in the past-‘ Lan strongly objected here with a most colorful vocabulary, but Arden kept going, ‘I am going to remain friends with Malise until she proves herself untrustworthy! So butt out!’

It seemed Lan had taken Arden’s advice—for all of five seconds. A record for Lan. ‘Arden, I may have…made a few mistakes in the past-‘ Arden snorted, ‘-And you may think you know Malise. But I know Natas. And she doesn’t disobey fa- Satan.’

Lan’s pulse quickened but soon he realized he had nothing to worry. Apparently, Arden didn’t catch Lan’s slip up. It’s not as though you can blame him, though. He was being distracted by the music some people deem as ‘Satanic’ or ‘Head banger Music,’ he was still mulling over Lan’s words, and his eyes had just come across something very interesting in his trashcan…

Arden stood, planning to investigate this right away.

Arden swung his legs over the side of his bed and walked towards the trashcan. ‘Arden? A-Arden, what are you doing? No, that’s nothing. J-just hold on!’ Lan tried desperately to persuade Arden not to pick up the paper that had drawn his attention, for he knew far too well, what would happen if he did and realized what the mark he saw was.

‘Quiet, you.’ Arden commanded. Lan indignantly shut his mouth.

Reaching for the paper with his right hand, his arm suddenly jerked too the right, knocking over the wastebasket. “What the-” Arden exclaimed as his arm continued convulsing and jerking around. “Lan, cut that out!” He commanded as he grasped his right arm with his left hand.

“Lan, I’m warning you, stop.”

‘No, Arden, I’m warning you! If you do this, there will be no returning! You will enter a web so tangled you may never be released from it! Arden, please. I’m telling you this as a Friend. Don’t do it.’ Lan stopped controlling his arm, apparently resigned to letting Arden make his own choices. It always helped to convince people when you weren’t forcing them.

Arden considered Lan’s advice and decided against looking at the paper, when he suddenly felt something like a harpoon had shot through him and was trying to pull him out of his body.

Arden screamed, clutching his chest.

‘Arden! Arden, what’s wrong? What the hell is going on? Arden, answer me! ARDEN!’ Lan shouted as Arden’s consciousness slipped out from under him like a rug being pulled away, and the rest of the world came racing up to meet him.