Page 21 of Dancing with Vipers and Shadows

The very path we ran away from is now beneath our feet, yet the surroundings are nothing like before. Desolation is but a word of mockery when trying to compare the decaying madness surrounding us. The stench of death is thick in the air. The stone path beneath us is decorated with black mold and debris.

Those alluring roses of striking red and those ivory vines and leaves are all but a mirage, for their remnants are pure black with droplets of toxic waste.

Only the sky seems unchanged,the everlasting layer of dusk displaying tiny twinkles of starlight. It’s what allows me to realize what we’re witnessing isn’t some sort of scene from a dark fairytale.

This is all real.

The buzzing sounds don’t come from the fireflies that once flew around in anticipation but from flies drawn to the decaying scent that haunts us.

It forces us to accept what I’ve been fighting desperately to ignore.

The skeletons.

They decorate this tainted garden that was once filled with life. Each skeleton is in a different pose—some standing at attention while others are mid-stride. It’s the skeletons that are perched over the previously bloomed rose bushes that confirm who they are.

The students.

Our peers.

Those who thought they could survive this trial of entering the gates of Nephilim Malevolence University.

Could this be where they claim all the dead that host the school’s dark power? Or maybe this is how they keep a deal with the dark fae we may be given the opportunity to learn from?

There are so many questions that have to be asked and wondered, but it’s hard to even think straight being surrounded by this sight.

“They warned us,” Blair whispers, sounding rather guilty. “Don’t smell the roses.”

“Do you think we’ll deal with worse once we enter N.M.U?” I ponder.

Am I afraid?

A little bit.

All the books I’ve read and the various lessons my parents forced upon me don’t portray the university in this gothic element. I knew death could be a possibility for anyone who fails the challenges that are presented to you.

Never did I expect so many to perish simply at the entry into the university.

“I’m not sure,” Blair admits. “It’s frightening. All we know is that we have a gift and abilities that can be manipulated in our favor. Aside from what we’ve been taught to protect ourselves or attack a few enemies, we lack knowledge of this world.”

She reaches for my hand and holds it tightly.

“Weird to admit, I’m not afraid of facing death.”

“Then what are you afraid of?” I ponder as I lightly squeeze her hand in return.

“Being stuck to live in this world of decay that is all but a cycle in time.”

Suddenly, it clicks.

“Wait…” I whisper. “You’re not saying...”

“The students. I don’t think all of them were living,” she whispers hesitantly. “They were just…”

“Decoys… playing the part they’ve played since they… Fuck.”

Since they died.

It begins to make sense in my mind.

---