Senseless Desire. . .(continued)

How many days has it been? Seems as thought I haven’t seen the sun in years. Trapped in this darkness, unable to wander, getting claustrophobic. The air itself is running thin. My hands bound, mouth gagged. Broken glass biting into my side as I lie there gasping for another breath.

“Yessss, gives up Griffinsss, you’ll never leavess thiss place,” a silent voice whispered inside my mind, “Yoursss is asss good as death thiss time.” Then a snakelike laugh.
“Go away Jade, you’re not taking control of this situation,” I said to myself, ” you’re not using me this time, I’ll get out of this mess fine without you.” Another hideous laugh and the voice became silent. As soon my mind began to race. How long have I been unconscious. . . .where am I. . .how did this void trap me here. And who damnit! Who put me here!?
“You knowss, you knowss,” the voice spit back. “Shut the fuck up, Jade,” I screamed. My voice shredding the cloth gag bursting into flame as it fell to the cold floor.
“At least I still have some strength left in me,” then cursing unintelligibly. The short silence thereafter seeming like hours. Then it all came back in rapid succession. The old man. The gaining of this accursed gift of the seer. The duel with Lucifer himself. My short trip to London. The destruction of the bridge. All the chaos and fame. I sure as hell wasn’t going to hide myself and waste all this energy. . .all this rage. First they had called me a messenger of god, but quickly changed their mind when I slaughtered every member of the U.S. government and turned the middle east into a sheet of glass. After the leisurely destruction I had set my sight back on the matter at hand. The death of the beginning of religion. Had just about put Lucifer down where he was no more threat when the unexpected happened. The balance of light to dark shifted dramatically. That whole proverbial “end of the world” thing began to take effect. Even got offered to take the side of god as his left hand messenger. Though I declined and became a threat. Completely overestimated myself and after losing the struggle, got banished here. Another unfortunate aspect was that I fought so hard it changed me. The power grew a personality. . .he calls himself Jade.
“hsssssssss, are you’ss going to sstops narrating our livess and gets uss out of here?!” Jade hissed angrily, which in turn caused me to laugh. “We aren’t getting out of here,” I spit, “we don’t even know where here is.” At the same time Jade started singing. “How far you’ve fallen, Dancing in the ruins of purgatory. . .” Then stopped and whispered, “at least we’re not pushing a rock uphill for eternity,” then laughed hysterically. I just rolled my eyes and sat upright tugging on my bound hands. As if simple chains could hold me down. Simply had to concentrate for a moment before they fell away as snakes.
“You’re getting a little too creative here, Jade,” I whispered. Then he laughed, “Its not my mind in here, I’m using you’re imagination for this you know.”
“Yeah well, how about some music and a bit different scenery,” I probed. Knowing that I did not fully control this gift anymore. We both had to want it to happen before it did.
“OK,” Jade’s voice shifted to an innocent child’s voice for a second. Then the darkness faded to a burned field with fallen oaks lain everywhere. A gray overcast sky. . .but only held for a second before it crumbled out of view. The black inky walls replacing it. Though at least now we had music besides that infernal silence. Funker Vogt beat lowly in the background, a kind of, dark, upbeat song that Jade began to sing to.
“At least we have the same music taste,” I said humming to the words.
“Yes, well. .”Jade began in and almost normal voice before stopping, turning my head for me. As now in view stood . .something. . almost demonic in pose. Which coughed and took a few steps closer, crunching over broken glass. Stopped, then raised its clawed hand violently puling it into a fist. Which at the same time, felt like I was having a heart attack. Falling to my knees in pain, grasping my chest. Jade either didn’t care or couldn’t feel it. Being pure energy/personality he took control of the situation.
The darkness bubbled, warped, and collapsed inward. Reality (or what was left of it) did a 180 becoming a nightmare. He forced me to my feet, a scream forming in my throat like a shrill growl. I dashed forward, crossbow in hand. Didn’t think of where it came from, or the fact that the bolt in the chamber was glowing white. The pain had consumed me, filling these nerves with fire. Raised an arm anyway and shot the bow. So close now it could not have missed. Flew straight and exploded into flame inches from this demon’s raised fist. As if it had hit a wall ricocheting back at me. More pain as I flew back from the explosion nearly ten feet into the air. Landing hard. Even Jade was feeble. . .exhausted.
“Halt your incessant violence, Griffin, you have no power here. Not in my domain,” the creature boomed, “follow.” Then it turned, walking away.
“Well, that was shit,” Jade whispered, “Les’ go.” Forced to my knees stumbling forward, still in that agonizing moment of discomfort.
Must’ve been a thousand years we walked, or at least a few hundred miles. This void scenery gave no indication of time or space. It was simply the absence of everything. Even the absence of nothing, because nothing, would at least have been something.
So at last I could go no more, falling to the ground gasping for air. Wishing I had just stayed back there in the darkness, but my thoughts were scattered when Jade whispered,” Lets rest for a second.”
“Keep walking, we’re almost there,” the demon yelled. So, up on two feet again nearly crawling. Felt as though my legs were broken, and then, there it was. Merely a few feet away, hadn’t even seen it. A gateway, etched in stone, old cryptic runes nearly as tall as a skyscraper.
“In,” was all it said, rather sternly, and I sure as hell wasn’t about to argue. So I crawled and fell in.
Fell in as if in an ocean of blue swirling jelly. ‘Trap’ my mind screamed. There was no air and I could feel my mind going insane. Sanity being ripped away, “Jade!” I tried to scream, but he didn’t answer. Pulled my arms together trying vainly to swim. Not up to the gate, down to find a way out of it all. Looking there, below, something red. Pulsing with heat as I pulled myself towards it. Reaching, then fell thought again. Out, through the sky. Falling towards a massive pit of flame. Mind gone to the madness of the gate as I became stuck, suspended in air with Lucifer hovering next to me in his true form. Something dragonlike, yet twisted into something I would only see in my most intense of nightmares.
“Salutations, Griffin,” he spoke sarcastically, “it seems the tables have been turned.” Then snatched me up in one massive clawlike hand as an angry child would a broken toy. Shook violently and threw me into his mouth.
‘Shit’ was all I could think before the room sized jaws crashed closed.

n – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

“Griffin!” Jade screamed for the eighth time in his best impersonation of Jim Brewers voice.
“Griffin?” Sounding like a lost child. Then screamed into the darkness of the void. He finally realized that he was nothing without Griffin. Completely powerless without the other half. His personality may have had an IQ of 200, but he had no intelligence, did not have a memory to call upon. His presence was closest in emotion to fear. Alone in the darkness, with no physical form to curl up in a ball like he wished he could.
“What did you do with my friend!” he shrieked. His evil side gone with the distorted memories of Griffin’s mind. Freed of Griffin’s dark soul and thoughts.
“Jade,” a female voice spoke from nowhere, “Jade, we offer you a choice.”
“What?!” He panicked, “who’s there. . .I’m alone here, you can’t come in.”
“We offer you another chance,” she continued, “but you must help us. Refuse. . .and you can stay here for the eternity of your existence. If you like. .”
“W. . .what do you want with me? Where’s Griffin?”
“he is safe,” she lied.
“Where?”
“Safe.”
“Why?”
She paused for second as if thinking, “Because we are holding him with us until you choose to help, or if you decline, we will dismember him,” She lied again.
“Noooo, Griffin!”
“Shhhhh,” she hushed quietly, “It will be ok, we will give you a physical form to use. Our mission is a hard one. We need you to help us keep the balance. Need you to help us even out what Griffin has done to it.”
“I will be a person? Human? My own body with memories and emotions and feeling and. . .”
“Yes,” she cut him short, “all of that and more.”
“Well, where do I sign?” He said meekly, though it sounded more sarcastic than anything else.
“Come,” she spoke as the darkness crumbled to dust leaving a beautiful lakeside park. Birds overhead and a clear sky. He looked around and realized he could see. Felt the wind brush through his long black hair. Took a step forward and collapsed.
“Well, you’ll have to learn how to use it right,” she laughed. Sitting on the grass in a long gray dress, almost gothic in style. Her short silver streaked hair barely covering the pale green eyes staring down at him.
“Perhaps,” he spoke in a normal voice, then stopped. Surprised that he had his own voice now. Tried to speak again when she cut him off. “You are in Eden, Jade, the eternal gardens. We will be training you here for a few hundred years, maybe thousands.”
“A thousand years?” He spoke with a hint of despair. Already learning his newfound emotions.
“Do not worry, this is a place of timelessness. The outside world will be nearly frozen while we are here. Less than a minute will have passed when we return.”
“Shall we begin?” Jade asked in anticipation.

n – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
n 357 years later

“I feel so old,” Jade whispered to himself. Sitting by the lake shore on an outcropping of stone.
“If I told you how long I’ve been here you might not believe me.” Raquel Andemortus whispered into his ear. Still in that same gray dress from so many years ago.
“Strange happenings are the norm here, don’t think that I wouldn’t believe you after all I’ve seen.” He stood, stretched and rubbed his pale blue eyes, then ran a hand into a long coat pocket.
The conversation came to a short halt when she sighed and said, “Jade, there’s something I should tell you.”
He laughed and spoke, “what haven’t you told me, I feel as thought I know all aspects of reality by now.”
“No,” she put a finger on his thin lips, “one more thing. One more thing before we start our mission to balance this world again.”
Paused for a second and began anew, “Jade, your friend Griffin is dead, when you got separated he fell into the depths of a domain not so kind. Strictly morbid. . .hell. he. .”
“You’re wrong,” was all he said.
“Jade, listen to me!” shaking him by the shoulders, “after three and a half centuries you can’t still think about him. He’s gone.”
“Then you lied,” his eyes grew slim and darkened, “has everything you said been a lie?!”
“Jade, please. . ”
“No more”
“What do you expect to accomplish here with your anger, Jade?!”
“. . . . . . . . . . . . . . reprimand”
“Wha. . .?”
She never finished, Jade reached forward grabbing her. Dragging her to the edge of the water and threw her in.
“I will not kill you, for all you have done for me. Though it is time I left this place in search of whoever did this to Griffin.”
“You know who did it.” She said crawling from the water, soaked, onto the short beach.
“That’s one thing you are right about. . .its time, goodbye Raquel.” He stood again and walked off towards the gardens well. She had once told him it went down ‘almost’ forever, and he knew now exactly where it led.

(Its not nearly as good as the first part, but. . .it’ll have to do, I kind of have a writers block type thing)