The Zombies of the Past (open)

[Katalina Black (DELETED 9968)]

Something dragged her down, like the scrawny hands of the creature from the black lagoon, down into the dark, murky depths. The world around her was a thick cloud of darkness that seemed to have no beginning, yet no end. There was no ceiling, no floor, only the darkness that swirled around her like mist and made her float in the void. As above is so below. “Am I dead?” It was a fair question. But, her words rang hollow, and seeped into the world around her. Katalina tried to move her arms, but everything seemed stunted, sluggish. Her reflexes no longer existed, unresponsive to her commands. Everything seemed calm, almost peaceful, if not for the nagging suspension of eyes lurking in the vast darkness. The thought caused her spine to tighten. Immediately, she regretted this for she could not relax the muscles. It were as if they were frozen in time. The former pain was gone. Her skin pristine, as if it had never been touched by the flame. The only sensation that remained was the unexplainable tingling that coursed from the side of her face, all the way down to her hands, and into the rest of her body. She glanced down at them. Her fingers lightly, slowly shaking. She didn't know where she was, but she knew she had to get back to where she was before...wherever that was. Katalina started to let her mind go, falling into the rhythm of the emptiness that pulled her along into the land of nowhere. She didn't know how to be free. She couldn't fight it. Do I want to? She thought. It was a fair question. That was, until the voices started. It was small whispers in her ears, of who, she swore she knew but could not recall. "Don't leave me..." An echo from a life long dead, much like the woman who uttered it. Who was that? Memories of something vague flashed across her mind in colors of red, purple, and black. It was so important to her just a few minutes ago. Or had it only been minutes? Her mind slowly scrambled into different calls of "help!" and "Why are you doing this?" to just pure screams. She couldn't cover her ears, couldn't be free. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry!" She repeated in a heartbroken loop. The voices would not stop. They'd never stop. Nothing could break Katalina from the Hell that swam around her. Everything melted away except for the despair. She knew her mind had shattered as a shadow emerged from the black. At first, nothing could be told save that it’s silhouette lay bright compared the the gloom around it. But, a chill flowed fresh in the atmosphere creating a foreboding greater than that of the night itself. As the figure crept in closer, Katalina’s heart swelled in her chest with fear and then dropped out entirely. The shadow took form as a tall, slim, young man. His dark brown hair remained cut short to his ears and swept over his blue eyes. A smirk shimmered in the black.

“It’s good to see you actually looking at me for a change.”

Katalina wasn’t sure what to say but her mouth managed to articulate. Her mind still poisoned by the realm, she wasn't sure where the other voices had gone, but she was sure that this was another trick of the night. There as no way that he was actually here.

“I thought it was all in my head. No, I have lost it.... I am dead. Otherwise, you would not be here. ”

To this, the timeless youth grinned wider.

“I proved to you I was there before, we had spoken many times. But as usual, you did not want to believe. Then again, you’ve always been on to have to see it to believe it.”

Then, Katalina's mind cleared. The colors bombarded her again, but this time, the formed shapes, a night sky, the purple dancing lights of club music, and the crimson...Katalina remembered the moment she died. Her body kissing the cold pavement, rows of knives buried in her throat sucking out what was left of her life...Just as they had Abby. A girl with firebrand hair who Katalina had unintentionally sentenced to die. Katalina had tried to fight back, but the male vampire held her down as if she were nothing at all. The female vampire on the other-hand, dug her fangs in deeper. All she knew was she had to stay alive. It was a fit of trying to stay awake, punching, kicking- dying. Her vision began to blur as her body turned to lead. And then, all faded to darkness….
It was a replay of this moment in her mind. The darkness swallowing her whole. Her brother telling her that it was not her time to go... then suddenly, waking up in a dimly lit room- starving.

She had always heard his voice, usually at the most inopportune times. But, she could never see him outside this realm. Not truly. The question popped back in her mind because he avoided it, but before she could get a sound out, her brother answered: “No, not yet. You are neither here, nor there. Though you were slipping. But, I cannot keep you here. Not for long.” His last words came out misgiving. As if the spirit were truly unsure of his little sister’s fate.