Women of the eternal

Dark. Cold. Empty. Silent.

The forest that once brimmed with the quiet scuttles of tiny animals, gradually fell completely still as the being suddenly appeared out of the dark shadows. The animals, frightened by the intrusion, quickly hid away in their burrows. Many cowered in fear as the dark energy surrounding the monstrosity jolted their nerves, their muscles becoming as stiff as steal. Tiny hearts thudded rapidly against rib-cages, the only sound apparent in the dark, dense forest.

A sinister snicker sliced through the silence, causing all life to hold its breath in anticipation. The snicker soon turned into a cackle that shook the very roots of the trees, nature itself rearing back in fear. The few creatures brave enough to attempt a glimpse of the evil that created the terror coursing through their veins would soon find their thudding hearts completely still. The life that once filled the forest slowly started to fade away. Lifeless bodies of animals littered the floor, their very essence ripped from them within the blink of an eye. The woman, casually stepping over the carcasses, continued her hysterical laughter as she walked among the trees. The ground on which her bare feet lay cracked and oozed as her evil seeped into the world, rotting everything she touched.

Lifting her cloaked head into the sky her mouth begun to speak, but the laughter did not falter. As her wicked tongue spoke ancient words into the now black, starless sky, her comrades emerged from the shadows behind her. Their bodies covered in dark, heavy cloaks that masked their faces, but their malignant auras gushed from every pore and flooded the forest floor that surrounded them. As their voices merged together to form a vile choir of iniquity the woman could feel the dark energy penetrate her body, sinking deep into her already black soul.

As the chorus seemed to reach a crescendo it suddenly fell silent, the buzzing energy grinding to a halt. Not even the wind dared to wisp through the now decayed forest, heavy breaths the only thing to be heard. The woman now bare-breasted in the light of the full moon smirked, the corners of her dark lips quivered in excitement for what she knew was soon to come. She opened her mouth and the air became still, her followers trembling behind her as the overwhelming power seductively washed over them. As she stretched out her long, pale hand into the sky satisfaction flooded her core and she snickered once again.

“Found you.”

The flickering movements on the old television set kept her heavy eyes open, but her concentration fluctuated between the ticking clock that hung on the wall and the mumbles that ensued from beyond her front door. No doubt the neighbours were at one another’s jugulars again, the raised voices evidence enough — not that it bothered her much, she kept to herself and rarely got involved. Even though they had only moved in a few months prior the arguments and fights became somewhat regular, almost to the point where she could mark it on her watch. As her mind begun to doze off the loud ringing of her alarm from her phone caught her off guard and she jolted back to consciousness. The alarm continued to scream and she quickly shut it off, her tired limbs moving slower than she would have liked. She sighed softly and slowly rose from her seat on the couch and proceeded towards the dining room, where her laptop and notebooks awaited her. As she slid into her seat and attempted to get comfortable an uninvited thought popped into her mind, the same thought that plagued her every day at that exact time.

What if...?

As vague of a thought as it would seem those two words held power, power that only an unlucky few could truly say they’ve felt. Being twenty-four years of age and studying veterinary sciences through online classes had its obvious toll on Nora. The tiny little voices that arose in her mind at those moments would persistently bombard her with statements that left her teetering on the edge of a breakdown. Statements such as: how useless she was, how she would never make it out of her little city, and how she was not worthy of all the opportunities that seemed to glide her way with ease. Her anxiety begun to flare up inside her chest and it took all of her strength to stay seated and log into her course, the green tick that appeared in the corner signified that her attendance had been noted. Nora subconsciously fiddled with her pen as she waited for the lecturer to appear on her screen, the names of other students who joined the session popped up in the chat box at the bottom causing some of her nerves to disappear. At least she was not the only one. She was yanked once again from her wondering thoughts when the lecturer suddenly appeared on screen and begun the class, his Australian accent thick and heavy — Nora did her best to keep up. Scribbling everything the lecturer said into her notebook she repeated it in her head until it was partially memorised, looking up only to confirm that she was not falling behind. The world around her gradually begun to fade away and Nora felt herself slowly sink into her studies, the events of the day vanishing with every stroke of the pen. She relished in that feeling, buried herself in it as far as her mind would allow because she knew it would not last forever. She was right. As the lecturer ended the session the students said goodbye in the chat box and exited, until only Nora was left. Left alone to come down from her mental paradise and back into the real world that surrounded her. Glancing at the old clock that hung on the wall, she squinted, taking note that she had completely forgotten to wear her glasses.

It was well past midnight and Nora could feel her eyelids droop, she no longer needed to fight the urge to sleep as her daily objectives were officially complete. She sighed in content as she stood from her uncomfortable chair, gathering her notebooks in an attempt to tidy the mess she left behind, a common occurrence she was used to. After shutting her laptop and tidying what she could Nora slowly dragged her tired body towards the television set that was still flickering with life. As she shut off the buzzing machine something in the corner of her vision caught her attention. The moon. It was brighter than usual. Although such an observation should have been easily brushed off, something did not feel right inside Nora’s chest. Her heart thudded rapidly and her breath begun to stagger. Nora knew all too well what that feeling meant and clenched her teeth together as a shiver crept up her spine.

Fear.

Nora wanted to slap herself until she came back to her senses. What could she possibly be so afraid of, it was only the moon. Yes, it was only the moon, but as she continued to stare at the big spotlight in the sky her nerves spiked and she knew something was amiss in her tiny little city. As her thoughts wandered about what could cause such unexpected anxiety, a loud crash sounded from beyond her kitchen wall. Nora jumped in fright and quickly spun around, her heart ramming against her chest at the sudden scare. The sounds of raised voices and muffled curses caused her tense frame to relax, she slowly shook her head in annoyance and trudged towards her bedroom. In her tired state Nora completely forgot about the unexplained fear she had felt and gradually allowed her mind to go blank as rest was her only objective.

As Nora entered the dark bedroom she sighed, the exhaustion that she was trying to keep at bay smacked into her consciousness so brutally that she struggled to keep herself upright. Wobbling over to her dresser she started to undress and, as quickly as her shivering body would allow, slipped out of her multiple layers. Her clothes were barely off of her cold, shivering frame when Nora tugged on her nightwear — which consisted of; multiple pairs of socks, leggings, thick jerseys and gloves. She knew that no matter how many layers she put on the icy cold air would somehow find its way against her skin, the warmth she so desperately desired was always just out of reach. It was her own fault that her tiny living space was absolutely frigid, as there were rather useful heaters littered all over the apartment, she had just decided to not use them. That decision was, however, made not because she did not desire to use them, no it was merely due to the fact that she could not afford such luxuries. In areas such as Nora’s city — where ice, snow and frostbite were the norms — basic necessities such as heat were available, mostly, to the rich. Prices of said luxuries were beyond that of what would have been considered normal standards, but it was what kept the little city going, so for those who could afford it heat was easy to come by. Nora on the other hand barely made enough money to keep herself afloat, it was a miracle that her landlord had given her multiple extensions for her rent each time it was due. Her grandmother had stated that it was most likely due to the fact that the landlord’s son, a dashing young man, fancied Nora. Such a thought had never appeared in her mind since the boy was barely eighteen — not a man yet not a child — so surely he could not fancy a woman such as Nora who barely had her life together, stumbled more than she had walked and forgotten things more than she had remembered them.

As the thought of her caring mormor fluttered into her mind Nora found herself smiling, the gentle woman was all the family she had left in her life — that she knew of anyway. It was known to Nora that her late mother had an older sister, whom she never had the pleasure of properly meeting since she lived in another country. It was also known that her dear mormor also had siblings, whether they were alive or not was unknown to her, and she dared not bring the topic up in conversation, mostly because she knew it caused her mormor a lot of grief to reminisce about her old life. Thinking about her family brought a rather odd thought into Nora’s mind: she did not know a lot about her family’s history, barely anything at all. She quickly brushed the thoughts away with a discrete wave of her hand as her chest clenched painfully, the memories of her once happy life still caused her immense distress. Nora forced her tired eyes shut and allowed her busy mind to slowly melt into dark oblivion as she awaited sleep to consume her. It took longer than Nora would have liked but eventually, her mind fell silent and she was able to slip into a comfortable slumber, the days stress and tension washed away into the blackness that allowed Nora to forget, to reset her mind for the new day that was to come.

Her hands shook slightly above the water as the vision flashed through her subconscious, the familiar intrusive feeling settled into her stomach and she fought the urge to pull away. As the images leaked from her mind, travelling through her fingertips and landing into the still water below, they slowly came together forming indistinguishable images that only she could truly decipher. With a quick flick of her hand the shapes became clearer, forming the vision that had previously invaded her mind. Her hands continued to shake rapidly so she cradled them against her chest, the effects of the vision still washing over her entire body. She silently cursed herself for adopting such an intruding gift, wishing yet again that it would not be needed in the future. As the all too familiar figure of a naked woman appeared in the water’s reflective surface her body became rigid, fear and anger bubbling inside her chest.

“What does it say? Is it about Edith?” A gentle voice asked from behind her, the concern evident in every word.

She did not answer, the shock of her discovery rendering her temporarily speechless. How could any of what she saw be true? It was not possible, it couldn’t be. Panic slowly begun to wash over her and she clenched her teeth together, grinding down to stop herself from breaking apart.

“Joan? What’s wrong?” The voice called out again, sounding more urgent than before. Hesitant steps indicated that they had now entered the candlelit room, their heels clicking against the hard wooden floors in a tempo that almost soothed Joan’s raging heart.

She slowly rose her head and watched as the kind woman walked towards the floating bowl of water in front of her, the dense worry that was painted across her perfect features made her look unrecognisable. As she neared the rippling vision her breath hitched slightly, shock and disbelief evident in her beautiful green eyes. She instantly recognised the face that appeared in the waters surface, even though it was contorted into a sickening grin.

“Joan, is that–“ The woman began, but Joan quickly cut her off, the trembling of her voice indicated how frightened she really was.

“Yes, I’m afraid it is.”

“Oh my god,” the woman quickly backed away from the water bowl and held her fingers against her trembling lips, uttering a silent prayer. Joan had not seen her in such a state of panic and fear before so she felt helpless, what could she possibly do to comfort this person who was so dear to her. Slowly rising from her crouched position on the floor, Joan approached the distraught woman. The minute she placed her hands on her small trembling shoulders, eyes suddenly jolted up and stared at Joan.

“Wait, what about Edith, what about my darling girl? Will she be alright? Does she realise what has happened? Oh god, what about the child?! We must protect her, she is our only hope, we can not lose her!” There were no pauses in the woman’s frantic questioning, leaving Joan to blankly stare into her emerald eyes.

“What has caused all this commotion so early in the...Filippa? What’s the matter my child, why do you look so frightened?” Another woman slowly entered the room, her long black hair brushing against the floor as she glided towards the shaking Filippa in Joan’s arms.

“Oh мама!” Filippa quickly raced into the open embrace of the black haired beauty, sobbing violently against her bosom in a feeble attempt to seek the slightest bit of comfort.

The woman slowly looked at Joan for answers, a deep seated anger began to bubble in her chest, not towards Joan but towards whatever had caused her precious Filippa to be so afraid. Joan, once again, clenched her teeth together and slowly lifted her shaking finger towards the bowl in the middle of the room.

“She’s alive, Margarethe.”

At those words Margarethe went stiff, her arms tightening around her daughter in a protective manner, her motherly instincts kicking in full throttle. There was no need for clarification, she knew exactly who Joan was referring.

“What of Edith?” As the words left her lips Filippa lifted her head, seeking that exact same answer from Joan in a pleading stare.

“My mother doesn’t seem to have realised what has happened, we have had no contact and the vision showed nothing of both Edith and Nora.”

Margarethe nodded in acknowledgment, the creases on her forehead deepening. She was weighing the options on what their plan would be, there had to be a way for them to quickly get in touch with Edith, however, nothing solid appeared in her mind. Filippa bit down on her trembling lip in an attempt to stifle the cry that was surly bubbling up her throat, her mother’s usual soothing embrace surprisingly did little to calm her. With great effort Filippa pulled away from her mothers hold and gently wiped away the tears with her sleeve, the clenching of her chest only creating more.

“We will go to her.” Filippa stated with determination.

A puzzled look settled on both Margarethe and Joan’s faces, the sudden strength Filippa showed was a sight neither of them had seen before.

“Filippa, how do you suggest we do that?” Filippa shook her head as a small laugh escaped her lips, leaving the other two in utter confusion.

“мама, it’s no longer the eighteenth century, travel is much easier.”

With those words Filippa swiftly exited the room, her overall objective unclear but the determination that flooded into her heart caused whatever doubt was present to disappear. Margarethe sighed at her daughters strange actions but slowly begun to follow her, the least she could do was help find a way to contact her own granddaughter.

“Joan,” Margarethe started, her voice low and stern, “if this is truly what you are implying it to be, then we will need to gather the others. We can not do this alone.” With those parting words Margarethe followed her daughter down the dark hallway, leaving Joan alone once again in the candlelit room.

Joan rolled her stiff shoulders in an attempt to release the tension that had built up over the past few minutes. She was at a loss for words, never would she have guessed that the prickling sensation that rose up her neck earlier that day was a signal that she was back.

Sighing into the empty room she stared into the now clear surface of the water which only seconds ago had held the face of an evil so powerful it shook her bones. What could they possibly do this time to stop her? Was it even possible?

“I hope you’re ready mother, because a fight is heading straight for you.”