Eve's Hollow by Charles Bedlam (best free e reader .txt) 📕

Although separate from her former self, Estelle found that she shared many of her former life's fears, including: rejection, discrimination, and perpetual loneliness.

“What happens then?”

“In the process of slaying your own inner demons, you must collect five keys,” Baba told her. “Individually, they will show you glimpses into other realms. Together, they form a way out of Eve's Hollow.”

“What is this place like? Eve's Hollow.”

“Frightening,” the goddess said sternly. “Those who have traveled there for their trials and failed have become part of a collection of deranged, Punished souls that can never escape the city. If you follow the path of darkness, like you-know-who, you too would become a part of the Punished. Through your trials, you can earn a chance at freedom. This place will test you spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally. It is very easy to fall into despair and so, you must never allow yourself to sink to those depths.”

The young girl took a few moments to think. In her mind, she recalled memories. More than three decades of abuse, torture, pain, and suffering. If there was a Hell, Eve's Hollow couldn't be worse than the life that she lived.

“Am I to face this alone?” Estelle asked.

“Of course not,” Baba said. “I'm glad you asked that. Others who have traveled to Eve's Hollow in the past for this sort of thing have always been offered a guide. You are no different, Estelle.”

“A guide?”

“Indeed. Sending you there alone would be a cruel and atrocious act. Someone who knows the Hollow, knows its horrors and tricks, can help you survive. Your guide is a man that I once knew.”

“I can't imagine anyone would want to be saddled with me.”

“Estelle,” Baba said, gazing into the girl's eyes. “You should learn the lesson of self confidence as soon as possible. The two of you have similar spirits. Both on the light side and the dark.”

“What does it matter that our spirits are similar?”

“Because no one's spirit is like his.”

“How am I special?”

“I don't know. That's something that you have to find out. I only know that you are. Right now you have the memory of a full life, but you are still a child, especially compared to me. I don't have to give you this opportunity, but I didn't want you to float in the void until the end of time. I think that you deserve a chance at life. Your circumstances worked out in your favor and if I were you, I'd start counting my blessings.”

Baba's words were true and they stung. Estelle felt guilty.

“Take my word for it,” Baba continued. “It would be a long, difficult struggle, but the pay off would be more than worth it. Trust me. You want this man on your side.”

“Who is he?” Estelle asked.

“He is known in Eve's Hollow as the Supernova Samurai. He is a powerful warrior that wields lightning. His roar is loud like thunder. His skill with his sword is deadly and precise. Sometimes he can be... difficult. He knows that he is to be a guardian, but not yet to whom.”

Baba held her hand out. In it, materialized a crystal snowflake on a silver chain. In the center of the snowflake was an oval sapphire set in silver. The charm lifted from Baba's hand and went to Estelle. She took it and held it up by its chain. The snowflake fit in her small hand. Over the light of the stars below them, it sparkled magnificently. It was both unnatural and very stunning.

“Thank you,” Estelle said. “Thank you for this chance... and I'm sorry if I offended you.”

Baba shook her head and smiled.

“When you meet Supernova for the first time, it is imperative that you show him this charm,” Baba said, seriously. “When he sees it, he will know that he is your Guardian and that you are you.”

“Who else would I be?” Estelle questioned.

“You'll find out soon enough. Now, it is time for you to go. Go to Eve's Hollow and seek out the Supernova Samurai. With him, best your trials and obtain the five keys. It is important for you to know that my words are not commandments, only recommendations. Once you leave here, you will be free to make your own choices in Eve's Hollow. Are you ready?”

Estelle shook her head. “But I don't have a choice at this point, do I?”

Baba gave her a smile. “Just remember that no matter how low you get, you can always fly infinitely higher. You are not bound by your past. Everything moves forward or it dies.”

Following her cryptic words, Baba raised her hand and touched Estelle on her forehead. A warm, blinding light flooded their galaxy and in an instant, Estelle was thrown into a blurry vision. She saw herself floating above a massive city. There were five distinct towers among the buildings. Even higher than they was a star that shone so brightly that Estelle almost couldn't look at it. There were faces, hundreds of thousands gathered to watch this star. Just as quickly as the vision began, it ended. Estelle's vision went black.

When Estelle had awoken, she felt as if she had been buried alive. She gasped for breath. She was no longer warm and comfortable. The heat that once surrounded her body was replaced by a gripping cold. She was lying on her back in what she perceived to be total darkness. The ground was hard and her body felt numb. She closed her eyes, although she wasn't sure for how long. When she opened them again, she saw a dim light above her.

Estelle slowly sat up, feeling a bit nauseous. She could breath easier and she was still cold, though interestingly she was not bothered by it. She was sitting on a wooden park bench that was painted black and green. She put her feet on the ground and tried to stand up. She fell back almost instantly but caught herself. She sat and took in her surroundings.

The first thing that she noticed was that she was dressed. She wore a dark blue jumper dress with a black, long sleeved shirt underneath it. She also wore black leggings and black knee high boots that were slightly too large for her.

The bench that she was sitting on lay just off of a stone path that snaked through a thick forest of dead trees. The light was coming from a lone lamp post that stood next to he bench. The sky was foggy and red. She wondered if this was a fiery sunset. It didn't appear to be real. This red was a very bloody red. The forest was dark, creating a suffocating thicket of black with long, twisted branches reaching up toward the red, sky.

She remembered what happened. Dying. Being alone. The mermaid. She felt more real at this moment than she had at any other recent point in time. She wondered if the memories were all dreams. She felt as if she had been asleep for a very long time and felt alive. If there was any uncertainty about the mermaid's reality, then it was swiftly destroyed when Estelle found the snowflake in the pocket of her dress. She pulled it out and examined it under the light. It sparkled brilliantly and still glowed a bit. The blue crystal in the center was so beautiful, even in the gloom.

After she felt a little more stable, Estelle rose to her feet, placed the snowflake in her pocket, and began to walk down the path. It was eerily quiet and as she moved away from the bench, it got darker. She could still make out the path, but the trees around her were so thick that she could barely make out their trunks. She kept her eyes forward and walked down the winding path. The Supernova Samurai. That's who she was supposed to find. He was supposed to help her. Where would she start though?

The path widened and she passed a few more benches. The trees were now fewer in number and she could actually see between them now. Estelle came to a large, iron gate. She opened it and it wailed with rusty discontent. She walked forward and gazed upon a stone fountain with a sculpture of a man and a woman pushing against each other. The water had long since dried up. Up close she noticed that both figures were smiling. She was quite drawn to this piece and she didn't know why.

The fountain sat in the middle of a small courtyard. A road went through this courtyard, in one side and out of the other. A tall brick wall stood opposite Estelle. She moved to the road to see if she could get a better look at where she was. She walked passed some abandoned cars. They looked as if they had been there for a very long time. As she passed a large white van, the road came to the top of a hill. She walked over to the guard rail and her heart sank in her little chest.

Far across a great chasm lay a massive black city. It was tall, wide, and deep. She felt an empty sickness inside when she looked at it. It was real. Truly and honestly. Eve's Hollow. Seeing it with her own eyes solidified reality even further. The red sky stretched on forever and in all directions, making Estelle fell very small. There stood five towers that rose high above all of the other buildings in the city, just as she had seen in her vision. She recited what Baba had told her in her head; find the Supernova Samurai. She knew what to do, she just didn't know how to go about doing it. Estelle remembered many things from her past life, one lesson in particular was to push her feelings out and face the world cold. No fear, no emotion, no weakness. It was the last feeling that she remembered before dying. Estelle took a deep breath, straightened her dress and walked down the road that lead to Eve's Hollow.

 The walk around the chasm and into the great city was far and provided Estelle with much time to think and reflect on the past of her former self. She had reached the end of the road and entered the outskirts of Eve's Hollow. Up close, the skyscrapers were even more massive. Many of them were broken and crumbling with windows broken out and doors barricaded. The streets were lined with abandoned cars as well as countless other belongings that were once the possessions of the people of this place. So far, she hadn't seen any other people or the “Punished souls” that Baba had warned her about. She trekked on, moving into the shadows of this concrete jungle.

As she advanced, she came upon a series of fire engines that blocked an intersection. If she wanted to continue, she would need to get past it. For a place so large, the silence was nerve-racking. She took a deep breath, then grasped the ladder of one of the fire engines. She climbed to the top of the vehicle and crawled forward to see what was on the other side. Estelle