Chapter 2: ch 1: her resurrection
∞ NYLA ∞
Death was a lot less dramatic then I thought it would be.
I always thought that when I died, my life would flash before my eyes like a collage of images and memories and thoughts. Rewatching all of my achievements and failures like a motion picture movie, seeing faces and hearing words in a classic, "it felt like forever but was probably just 3 seconds" fashion. Maybe I'd feel bad, or want to do things differently. Eventually, at the end of my visual freight train that slams into my head, I'd see this white light and float away into nothingness.
Or perhaps my soul would leave my body, and I'd watch my dead body get found in my puke-green Ford pinto where I left it, crashed into an oak tree on the side of a stormy highway. I'm not that religious, but I feel like around this time my soul would be collected by an angel or the grim reaper or something. Staying a ghost could be an option as well, though I'd like to think my sad 23-year-old life wouldn't lead to an even lonelier afterlife as a ghost.
What do ghosts even do? I have no one to haunt- no real grudges to account for as well.
I must have died on impact because I wasn't in pain. I couldn't feel any part of my body. I tried to move my fingers, but a numb feeling spread from where my nerves should be reacting to whatever brain instruction command them.
The temperature, however, was another thing entirely. It was ice cold all at once- like I was locked in a meat freezer or standing in the middle of a barren arctic plain. There was no wind, but the chill felt as if it seeped into my bones. It was as if I was weightless, falling- no, there wasn't any gravity here- I was floating in an abyss of black that extended for miles and miles. The absence of sight and sound started the rise of panic within me.
I whirled around, trying to imagine my body somehow maneuvering through this void. Although around me was complete darkness, I startled when noticing a golden pit of liquid far, far below me. I didn't speak, for fear of whatever was here with me more than the fact that I didn't even know if I was able to even speak.
My brain and it's oh so wonderful sense of logic told me I was completely alone here, and I was by myself in this chilly place. The same brain that decided the storm 'wasn't to bad and easily drivable.' However, a feeling deep within my body, a gut feeling I knew was right, told me to be terrified at what joined me here. There was a sense of this sheer presence that at first was unnoticeable-but the more I stood still the more a single fact became known to me.
I wasn't alone.
Although there was nothing to look for here except the golden pool that had steam rising above its surface as if it were a hot tub from hell.
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Wow. Hell was severely overwhelming so far.
Straining my eyes to peer at whatever I sensed was watching me, I found nothing. Not really surprising, but at least I had the comfort of knowing at least I tried to look for danger before whatever is left of my soul boils in rich people soup.
The warmth said 'soup' exerted seemed to reach out for me as if to pull me inside it and drown me in its depths. Knowing I could fall into it and floating above it like this could happen any moment now had me imagining myself trying to doggy paddle the air away from the depths.
Fortunately, my sense of self image preservation kicked in and I didn't make an entire fool of myself just yet.
The bones in my body heated against the cold surrounding me as a voice came from the darkness. The voice was male and female, ancient and young, deep and high-pitched, smooth and sharp. The only thing it did seem to agree on being was fucking terrifying.
"Does thou wish to live, mortal?"
It seemed like a stupid question to ask someone who had a long life ahead of herself if she wanted to go back to living her life. But I found myself considering the question, grasping it in my mind as if I could feel the words as surely as I could feel sharp rocks beneath my feet.
The last person alive in my family seemed to be my grandma, and we haven't spoken in so long I worried our once solid relationship had since deteriorated. College life didn't suck but I wasn't exactly having fun- and career goal wise I wasn't interested in my major enough to enjoy the jobs I could be offered. I had acquaintances but had mostly stuck by myself for the past 4 years, finding my own company enough to entertain myself.
"Who are you?" I searched the cold abyss for a figure or solid shape, anything to add an image to the voice I was hearing.
"I am death on a swift wind and life in another world. I am Mortem, ruler of all Eternal Spirits. Now answer my question, mortal girl."
That answer didn't exactly register, but he sure sounded important enough. Honestly, I didn't know what I was expecting, maybe Satan or some demon, but it certainly wasn't a spirit god-thing named Death. Silently, I thanked my grandmother for teaching the latin to me. "Where am I? Is this hell? Some kind of purgatory?" My voice came out surprisingly steady through the darkness as I held onto my confidence with all of my strength.
"Thou is in the between, where all must go before passing on. Thou could leave the living world now if thee shall desire. Alas, thou lineage grants thee the opportunity to live again in the land of the living if thou shall desire to do so."
The way dude of death was talking made my head hurt. I'm not stupid, but it took some processing time for me to respond only because I was deciphering what he was trying to say. I figured he meant that I could go to the afterlife and resume- uh - being dead, or go back to the real world again. Something told me this was a special instance because it sure wasn't often people came back to life from the dead.
Apparently, of all people, I was the exception.
I thought I knew enough about movies and books that nothing good ever just comes to anyone on a silver platter without a terrible sacrifice or loss. I didn't want to agree to live at the cost of my first-born child- or any other person unfortunate enough to trade their life with my place in the underworld.
If there even was an underworld. And if I'm not already here ready to be an ingredient in gold soup.
"At what cost? Why me, of all people?" I spoke finally, a slight tremor going down my neck.
The sinister voice that was Mortem filled the abyss and let out a throaty sound that I assumed was a warped growling chuckle.
I felt my skin prickle at the sound, my instincts screaming at me to run. I needed to stay on dude of death's good side or else I'd definitely be seeing the downside of not existing real soon.
"Thou asks many questions. Very well, it is expected of such simple creatures as humans. The cost, young mortal, is life as thy knows it." I blanched in confusion. It continued, "Thine's new life will be shared with another being. Thy body, spirit, and soul will entwine with that which is of thy ancestors' lineage."
I felt my eyebrow rise on my forehead, my heart stuttering. Just who would be sharing my body with me? Did I know them? And what did this god want want with my ancestors? As far as I knew, my family was from the Philippines-Manila to be exact- and traveled to America as immigrants during the Great Depression.
It didn't matter who I was going to be bunking with for the rest of my life, I realized. As long as I was alive, I wouldn't complain about it. "What will happen to me?" I questioned Mortem, my eyes continuing to search for the body that belonged to the voice.
"That is a question only fate will answer. Though, mortal girl, Mortem will tell thee of some things. Thou will no longer be mortal. Thou will live a supernatural life, and acquire abilities beyond human capacity."
The words Mortem rumbled to me had wildfires spark within my blood as if my body was eager to have whatever abilities he spoke of. I didn't care enough to think twice about anything of what the words were doing to me subconsciously, besides warming me up.
Wow, is that pool closer or is it just me?
The golden liquid below me started bubbling and boiling like lava in a volcano. Sweat dripped down my face as I struggled to move any of the limbs that came with me to this plane.
Assuming I would be brought to life with the powers Mortem described, there couldn't possibly be any negatives to what the deal suggested. Who's to say I wouldn't get superpowers and be able to fly or become invisible at the drop of a hat? There were no negatives I could think of when superpowers were involved. Still, I felt as though I was missing something.
I shrugged to myself. Guess I'll find out.
"What do I have to do to live again?"
A short but deep rumbling sound filtered around me. My guess was it being either a snicker or a growl "To survive, thou must bathe in the Pool of Aurum below thyself. To live, thee must tame thy second soul to live as one. Fate will decide when thee continues to live, not Mortem."
I shuddered at the thought of being dead yet again. I'm technically dead now and have been for who knows how much time, but I know for sure I don't want to come back here anytime too soon. Especially with this creep keeping me company.
Taking a deep breath and trying to internally pat myself to calm my nerves I respond, "Okay, let's do this. How do I get in the creepy hell ba- "
I was cut off abruptly by the sound of rustling wings.
I felt my stomach drop at the sight of a faint outline of a large four-legged beast with wings and claws jutting out from its front legs. It towered above me, probably 4 feet bigger than the size of a Clydesdale horse. Its hindquarters were larger and stockier than the rest of its body, which was leaner and canine-like.
This Mortem beast was death on a swift wind indeed. The swift death of my ass if I-
A shriek of terror was let through my throat before I was falling, falling into the Pool of Aurum. I landed in the hot bubbling pool, sinking into it, surrounded by a russet orange-gold color on all sides of me. Searing hear and warmth rushed through me, burning burning burning until I felt myself gasping.
Pro?
Well I wasn't drowning, I had no breath to give up in the first place. I was slowly sinking into the golden liquid as it swallowed me bit by bit.
Con?
Instead, I felt as though my skin was being melted off of my body, burns coating my skin like a second layer, the complete opposite to what I felt earlier while floating in the icy air.
Oh god, I really am the main course in this monster's soup.
The liquid began to encompass my throat, rising and rising till I felt my body sink beneath the liquid. My peaceful composure dissipated as soon as I wasn't able to kick upwards, and I started to panic.
Mortem was a liar, and I was going to actually die.
I was a fool to think the chilling voice that belonged to some death god would let me go back to the real world.
I wasn't anyone special, I was just Nyla Tala Cuttwright, your every day, lonely and broke average 23-year-old college student with no idea what to do with her life.
I began to thrash in the molten hot liquid, pushing upward and to the surface. In my mind, I heard my voice screaming hysterically in panic. No, no no no no! This is supposed to revive me. I'm still young, my life can't end like this! I have so much left to see, things to learn. I still need to do something with this stupid degree! I haven't even told my grandma goodbye! I have people to meet-
The thought struck me like a slap to the face. Suddenly, I felt a yank in my gut as I jerked in another direction. Okay, that fucking hurt. Whatever direction I was being pulled in, it wasn't down, so I promptly let it haul me, my body going slack in its binding.
The thick rope of blinding white glowed in the molten gold liquid, giving a physical appearance to whatever was pulling me out of it. The glowing band was secured tightly around my lower chest, right atop my rib cage, pulling and pulling.
The searing heat in the liquid around me seemed to cool off rapidly, just enough for me to stop feeling as though my skin was melting off my body.
I finally broke through the surface of the steaming golden liquid with the help of the band of white that seemed to disappear the farther out it into the darkness it went. The rope of white light started fading until it was no longer there.
I felt myself grow a bit sad then, surprising myself. Whatever caused the band of light to pull me upward miraculously saved my life, and calmed my thoughts and feelings in the process.
I was breathing.
The last time I was able to breathe was when I was living. I shuddered when I realized that talking to Mortem, my voice never came from my mouth.
Somehow, my voice was coming out of me through my thoughts, but only the thoughts I wanted to say aloud. I was to caught up in the moment of figuring out where in hell I was to notice the change. The physical aspects of breathing where my lungs would inflate and deflate came back to me like muscle memory.
The muscle memory that proved I was living again.
Mortem, his faint outline no longer shown to me, hissed in cruel amusement and said "Interesting." Then, I felt its presence leave, and the warmth the voice brought to my bones settled and disappeared. The chill in the air was forgotten, like the Pool of Aurum all but cooked my body swimming in it on the surface.
∞
There was a ringing in my ears as I came to, my throat parched and my body aching. I gasped out a breath.
I struggled to lift my head that was pressed against the asphalt. After what felt like forever, I made it to my feet, looking around me as the crackling sounds of a hungry fire and the stillness of the woods surrounding the road reached me at last. The storm had passed, leaving a damp taste in the air.
Pieces of my Ford pinto were burning as if it blew apart on impact. Honestly, it most likely did just that. The hoot of an owl sounded in the distant wood, the night sky and full moon seemed to mock me as they glared down onto the image before me, as if to say, "This is all your fault, Nyla."
My heart leaped into my throat as I could smell the unmistakable odor of the bath and body lotion I put on earlier today, frosted coconut snow- something. Following the smell like some kind of animal, I found the source of the odor.
It was me.
Well, a terrifying and grotesque image of me with pieces of my face and body ripped off through the aftermath of burns. My short, black, straight hair was now fried and burnt off in areas. My ears were no more than pieces of flesh hanging off my head, useless. There was blood everywhere, seeping from my body, my head, and my leg.
I was dead.
If the image before me was Nyla Cuttwright, what was I?
Looking down at myself, a sharp, strangled noise filled the air that came from my throat as I saw small, furry black legs ending in paws. What the fu-
I was an animal. I got revived or reincarnated or whatever the hell Mortem did to me into an animal.
Animals can't call for 911. Animals can't get my human body into the hospital, and animals sure as hell can't tell the paramedics, "Hey, so actually I'm alive and I just switched bodies because some death god said it was a good idea, do you have any idea how I can return to being human? Does my insurance cover this?"
Animals can't continue college. Animals don't have family they still need to talk to, or a future boyfriend to get married to and have kids with. My breathing came out in pants as a horrible whimpering sound came from my mouth— no—came from my fucking muzzle. I needed to get a hold of myself before my stuttering furry body keeled over from a heart attack.
I looked toward my disheveled and grotesque dead human body and couldn't keep in the high whimper of pain that left my mouth again.
Speaking of, which four-legged mammal was-
Gleaming ginger fur on my body that seemed to look as if it caught fire itself in the firelight that surrounded me was attached to a long, thick, and fluffy tail. It was black and ginger with a short white tip. The tail thrashed wildly from side to side, showing my anxious emotions clear as day. A fox, then.
Pro?
Hey, at least I was a cute animal, and not like a crab or something.
My legs and arms were turned into black furry legs with light and small paws. I lifted one hesitantly and looked at it closely. An annoyingly high sound screaming in my ear grew louder until I recognized it as an ambulance siren. Someone must have called for help, then.
Soon enough, there was an ambulance tearing down the road, siren blaring. I took cover in the nearby bushes, watching as paramedics assessed the situation and found my crumpled human corpse where I left it. They were talking to each other, saying stuff about the accident, and how "no wonder she's dead on the scene! A pinto? Not exactly safe."
As if it were just another Tuesday night.
Way to make a girl feel special. I snarked in my head.
I watched as they zipped my former self into a body bag, looking through my purse that had weirdly survived the crash for my ID. When they pulled it out and read my name out loud for another paramedic to get more information on me, I felt myself sinking further into the bushes, turning away from the scene.
I knew what would happen next. My grandmother would get a call, saying I was dead, her last surviving family member. My roommate Sheri would probably just find another roommate to fill the space I had in the dorm.
I knew who it would hurt the hardest, though. My grams, who taught me so many things growing up. She was more of a mother to me than my own could ever be. I was homeschooled by her as a young kid, and I had a good education before I took online classes for high school.
My grandfather died young, in his late forties, before I even knew him. She never took another husband, claiming he was her only love, and she'd never find another like him.
After grandpa died, my mother got pregnant with me. She died after having a heart condition that got worse because of the pregnancy, so I never knew her beyond the pictures and videos my grandmother showed me of her. I don't know anything about my biological father, so he was out of the picture.
I didn't want my grandma to think I was dead. I had to get to her and somehow tell her I'm myself. Knowing her clever mind, she might be able to find a way for me to become human again. I almost grinned at the thought. Yes, from here I would go home and forget about college, and my grandma and I will find a way to turn me into a human again.
It was about a 3 day trip from here to Colorado, where she lived.
Shit. I better get walking.
——
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