A Beautiful Flame

The pair retraced their steps through the sprawling factory. This time moving forwards past the machinery, the faint hum left to wallow behind them. With each passing step the noise grew quieter, until there was nothing but silence. The corridors were deathly quiet. 

Only their soft breathing filled the air, accompanied by the occasional rustle of clothing and steady footsteps. Each step disturbed little motes of dust, that hung in the dim artificial light. The claustrophobic walls guided them fowards, watching with a steely gaze. 

Dusk watched on from afar, she was no longer in control. Her body moved at its own whims, unresponsive to any of her own efforts. With each consecutive struggle it grew harder, as though she were pushing into a wall of thorns. It was dragging her towards something, something sickly, something she'd felt once before. A nightmare.

"Its... quiet." April broke the silence, unable to bare the silence in the air.

"Mmmm," It simply murmured in response. 

"What do you think we'll find... up ahead." April spoke in desperation, unwilling to let their voices die down."

"I'm not sure, I guess we'll find out." It replied, ending the conversation before it had any chance to begin.

"I see..." April withered in disappointment, left to survive the journey on her own.

By the time they reached the factory's exit, something slithered across the faintly illuminated ground outside, its form just out of focus. Not even Dusk could see what it was, almost as though her body was intentionally trying to avert her eyes. It seeped apathy into her mind, dragging her lower into the inky black depths. She couldn't see anymore.

“Dusk… did you see that?” April whispered, her voice barely audible.

It turned Dusk's head towards her, remaining unfazed. "See what?"

“It was—never mind.” April shook her head, pushing the thought aside. 

They stepped out into the faint glow of the cavern, lights still twinkling from the ceiling above. Each ray bloomed around the massive cylinder in a smoky haze, its surface cloaked in deep shadows. The texture seemed to shift in the darkness, rippling to the beat of an arrhythmic heart. 

“It’s huge,” April breathed.

It stood still, eyes fixed on the structure. 

Dusk couldn't feel anything anymore, she was sinking, deep into the void. She knew something was close, home perhaps. What a pleasant feeling, she thought to herself. She reached out to the warmth in front of her, it didn't feel so bad anymore. All she had to do, was get closer.

Dusk began to walk toward it, drawn by a strange magnetism. The air felt heavier the closer she got, pressing down on her lungs with an oppressive force. Minutes turned into hours as the monolithic structure loomed ever larger before her, swallowing the horizon. It beckoned her.

“Dusk?” April said, her voice cracking under the weight of the silence. “Something feels wrong...”

Dusk didn’t respond. Her steps became quicker, more purposeful.

“Dusk!?” April yelled, the tension rising in her chest.

Still nothing.

Dusk looked back towards the thing shouting behind her. It was an unsightly thing, disturbing her peace. Couldn't she see the blessing that lay in wait before them. Her features softened, a broad smile spreading across her lips. 

“You okay?” April asked nervously, reaching for her arm.

Dusk stopped and turned her head slightly. “It’s beautiful,” she spoke, her voice monotone.

"Dusk, I'm not letting you go any further!" April exclaimed, gripping her wrist tightly. 

Dusk’s smile faltered for a moment, but instead of answering, she yanked her arm away, shoving the nuisance to the ground. Dusk dashed ahead, her pace quickening towards the monument ahead. Making sure the thing behind her wouldn't have time to recover.

“Dusk, stop!” April yelled, scrambling to her feet. Terror set in as her friend marched ahead. The cylinder seemed to loom closer with every step, its shifting surface glistening in the dim light like something almost alive.

Dusk’s pace grew frantic, her breathing shallow and uneven. Her smile grew with each passing step, wide and unnatural. The cool thoughts in her head tried to bring her back to reason, urging her to turn back; but it was to no avail.

The grated floor beneath her feet began to shift. Fleshy mounds seeped upward from the depths, creeping toward her with grotesque intent. They moved like liquid given form, their glistening surfaces quivering with anticipation.

April screamed. Desperately yelling towards her. Unable to keep up with Dusk's unnatural speed.

She didn’t hear her. Her hand stretched forward, trembling with longing as she reached for the cylinder’s surface. The creatures of flesh grew bolder, slithering closer. Their forms were chaotic, as though built from countless bodies melted together, eyes and limbs emerging and vanishing at random.

April’s breath came in ragged gasps as she sprinted toward Dusk. Her heart pounded in her chest, each beat louder than the last. She hurled herself forward, grabbing Dusk’s arm, pulling her back with all her strength.

Dusk stumbled back, still in a daze. Her eyes glassy, she looked at the scene unfolding ahead. Clarity slowly returning towards her. 

Before her stood the cylinder, boring through her with tormented smile. Ash floated around the monolith's body, gluing itself to the organic mass. Its surface bulged between skin and bone, bubbles erupting from the surface in boiled bursts. April stood before it, frozen in place. Her hand outstretched in stasis after she had pushed Dusk behind her. Creatures of blood and sinew closed-in around her, their cravings growing.

They latched onto April, their tendrils coiling around her limbs. Her scream pierced the cavern. Their meaty substance fused with April’s skin, their texture like molten wax as they seeped into her. She thrashed against them, her movements wild and pained. The air grew thick with the acrid stench of burning flesh as the creatures engulfed her. 

Tears tore down her face in rampant streams, her hazel eyes twisting in agony and fear. 

Flames erupted from her body, consuming her in an instant. The heat was unbearable, the fire roaring with an intensity that drowned out everything else. Dusk could only watch as the person before her disappeared into the inferno, her screams muffled by the thick black smoke that filled the air.

When the flames finally subsided, there was nothing left.

Dusk looked ahead, her body trembling. She stared at the charred remnants of the floor, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Her breath came in short, dry gasps, her mind racing. What had just happened. How and why. The questions forced themselves before her in a twisted advance.

She ran.

She didn’t know how long she had run for, or even where she'd run to. Time seemed meaningless as the world around her blurred into empty void. Her mind was a husk, her heart hollow. Her hands shook as she clutched at her arms, her nails digging into her skin. She wanted to cry, but the tears refused to fall, she wanted to reach out and grab her friend's hand—but only ashes were left.

Her screams filled the factory she had fled to, swirling around her in an empty, lonely taunt. She writhed on the ground, her body convulsing as the weight of grief pressed down on her. The moment had scorched itself into her mind. The sight of crying eyes, the howl of frightened screams, the stench of burning flesh.

The thoughts struck Dusk like a jagged blade, leaving her wounded; splayed out across the cold floor. Pain like never before, caused by the thoughts she loved so dearly, a fate worse than death. She covers her face with her hands, trying to hide:

She begins to sink.

It starts at her fingertips, wrapping around her around her nails, tugging them gently down. Her hands, outstretched and inert, are the first to sink, the liquid metal cradling them like a mother with a wayward child. The sensation creeps up her wrists, cool and patient.

She sighs and lets the pull deepen.

With each inch she descends, the weight of her guilt melts into the fluid, absorbed into its shifting, suffocating embrace. Her curiosity, too, struggles at first, like a creature caught in a net. It twists and writhes, desperate for air, before it is pulled under. She watches it go with weary eyes, the light of its spark dimming as it vanishes beneath the surface.

It claims her arms now, swallowing her elbows, her shoulders. The heaviness is terrible and soothing all at once. It presses against her chest, a constriction that should feel suffocating, but instead, it brings relief. The thrum of her heart, wild with sorrow, slows to a steady, peaceful beat. She feels her grief dulling, the sharp edges of it worn smooth by the slow, inevitable pull.

Her breathing slows as she descends. It strokes her throat coiling around it with the facade of joy. Her thoughts, once tangled and relentless, begin to unravel. Her mind loosens its grip on the past, the choices that led her here, the face she will never see again. Each memory fades like footprints swept away by a rising tide.

Deeper still. She is up to her chin now, her lips brushing the surface. The fluid hums softly, a lullaby meant only for her.

For the first time in what feels like forever, she smiles.

She sinks further, her eyes half-lidded, heavy with a strange, aching joy. The sand wraps her in perfect silence, smothering the last fragments of her guilt, her hunger to know, her burning questions. They drown together, and her chest no longer rises. She feels light as air.

As the liquid covers her mouth and nose, there is no panic, only peace. Her last conscious thought slips away like a feather on the wind, and with it, the very essence of who she was.

When she is fully submerged, there is nothing left of Dusk but a hollow, mindless bliss. And in that darkness, she smiles wider still.