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A note from the author:
Hi all, thanks for choosing to read my story! I really enjoy writing these and I hope you guys enjoy reading them as well.
But I know it's been about four weeks since the last upload. I don't know if anyone has been really been eagerly awaiting the next chapter, but if anyone has, I deeply apologize.
My job has been picking up quite aggressively in the last month and I've just been absolutely burned out. As you might guess, writing these requires one to be in a certain "mood" and it's hard to find that specific headspace when you're just mentally depleted.
That being said, things are starting to calm down a bit, so I'm slowly inching back into writing. So here's Chapter 7! Please enjoy, and if you do, drop a comment. Or if you didn't like it, you can comment on that as well; I'm always open to constructive criticism. Thanks!
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Emmett stood in the middle of a lush, open field of grass. The sky was dim as dusk approached, he could only make out the dissipating rays of the vermillion sunset slowly dipping into the horizon behind a line of green forestry in the distance. A soft wind blew across the area, the grass lightly rolling along, carrying its loamy scent. Emmett turned, his chest now welling with wonder at the vast space of the area around him, the grey, cloudless sky swallowing the world. He looked back to observe a range of black mountains that loomed ominously in the distance, their inky silhouettes blotting the skyline. Something about how their black figures loomed over the horizon caused the swells of wonder to dip down, and slowly turn to eerie anxiety that mixed around in his stomach.
But just as that anxiousness felt as if it was to fade, black wisps of dark smoke began to rise from the mountain tops. The hairs on the back of Emmett's neck began to rise as he could hear a faint, low whisper call out to him as the winds began to pick up. The words were unintelligible, echoing amongst each other as if the same voice seethed out from different parts of the world around him. The swirling tension quickly rose up to his chest once more in the form of dread. He wanted to run, but his legs were heavy, numb, and affixed to the ground. He tried with all his might to get his limbs to move but his eyes were permanently fixed on the trails of black smoky tendrils rising into the sky. The whispers grew louder inside his head, their mysterious words pummeling his eardrums.
The long wisps of darkness branched out, cutting apart the deep blue sky into a shattered glass tapestry of jagged shards. The abyssal web hastened its formation, the tendrils of smoke searing through the air above Emmett. Strands of sharp black smoke hissed as they crossed ferociously and danced around the sky. Soon his vision was invaded by the wild frenzy of black, wispy vines as their hissing grew maddeningly louder, reverberating into Emmett's skull, their vicious song mixing with the eldritch whispers born of this nightmarish world. The strands of smoke swirled about him, his entire sight now obscured by nothing but the abyss.
But soon a white light shot through his vision. A warm familiarity filled his being as he was now standing in his own mind-space: the white corridor. Silence now banished the deafening whispers that once stormed in his brain. However, he felt a strong tension anchoring him to the floor. He observed his hands: the tendrils of darkness were swirling around his skin. He could feel a strange pressure course through his arms and legs where the wispy vines ran about his body. He wore no clothes, only the strands of black smoke covered his bare skin. The pressure of the smoke tethered him back, he strained his arms and legs forward but he remained frozen as the darkness gripped him.
He looked out into the empty, white hallway, hoping to see anyone, anything, but nothing was there. Hope began to crumble within his mind, he began to wonder if he would be imprisoned here forever. Yet a small curiosity struck him as he desperately scanned the hallway before him. His eyes widened as he noticed a shadowy divet in the left wall a few yards down from his current position: a new passageway had opened up in his own mind-space.
"Emmett..." a familiar voice of a woman echoed from the passage. It was a voice that Emmett had heard before, a shrill sound that jump-started his heart to begin to pound with vigor. The sweet sound was a stark reprieve from the dreadful, overbearing whispers of the dark, grassy field, his ears felt soothed by the light echo that reverberated through him.
Somehow, the black smokey tendrils that grasped his body began to lose strength. He mustered the energy to finally lift one leg into the air. Though the dark vines still resisted, their power was waning, and soon he was able to take a step forward, his leg muscles tensing. As he struggled to take another step, his torso was able to finally push forward as well. He became accustomed to the resistance of the dark force pulling him back, with his shoulders now slowly giving way. Soon another step was completed, and now his body was trudging forward towards the new passage.
Slowly, he struggled as he marched on stiffly, dragging himself as the black smoke strained to anchor him backward. Inches forward soon turned to feet, and soon, he could finally peer his head into the inside of the passage. He reached his arm out, fighting against the pull of the dark vines of smoke, and grabbed the corner of the wall that led into the new hallway. The leverage helped him to pull himself into the entrance, and finally, he could see down the passage.
There he saw the back of a slender woman. She was facing away from him, staring at a wall at the end of the passage. She was wearing a sports bra, white as the walls around her, and small, tight black high-waisted gym shorts that exposed her strong thighs and long, milky-white legs, the fabric of the shorts hugging the strong curves of her firm, lifted butt. The woman was slim, with an athletic body that Emmett recognized right away as the woman that he had met with last night.
"Lil..ith," he called out in a low groan, his voice raspy and strained as the strands of black smoke were wound about his body, still pressuring against his skin. Lilith turned around, but as she saw him she was startled.
"You're... Emmett, from last night?" she asked, shocked as she observed the dark smoky vines wrapped about his body. She stepped back, "What's happening to you? What is this?" Nervousness caused her words to falter to a hushed tone.
"Lil...Lil...ith." Emmett groaned more as he stepped forward. His eyes slowly scanned her up and down. Lilith continued to step back.
"What's going on?" her eyes widened with fear as Emmett inched towards her, fighting against the strength of the dark force.