Inquisitor Chronicles Chapter 3

It was dark. Extremely and unbelievably dark-although until now, the possibility of death so soon in her life was also unbelievable. She would have opened her eyes by now, but there was a sense of…fear? Apprehensiveness? Regardless she still felt sick to her stomach. What if she had somehow found herself in hell, demons ready to prick and prod her with pitchforks that reeked of sulfur? No. Surely she wasn’t that bad in life. A little selfish here and there. But wasn’t everyone in the end?

Then again, all bets were off at this point. That thunderstorm was so sudden, so…Unusual. It defied common sense. But so did believing that demons would be actually be waiting for her. And that they would be carrying pitchforks.

Still, she couldn’t keep her eyes shut forever. She had to confront whatever fate was in store for her at some point. She couldn’t just hide forever like a scared naive child, now could she?

As her eyes unlatched themselves as reluctantly as their owner, hazy unfamiliar images bombarded her mind. She thought she could make out…Trees? Canyons? No that couldn’t be right, could it? Chocolate waterfalls-now that was ridiculous. Blistering and raging infernos-was she really in hell? A fireplace? Wait? What?

As her eyes pulled themselves wide open, and adjusted themselves, many blurry images suddenly became so clear. A raging fireplace, red-blue embers almost beckoning for someone to be embraced in their warm glow.  Glossy navy-purple velvet armchairs positioned around the fireplace. A golden chandelier twinkling away, doing a very good job at lighting up the place despite not even being lit. Bookshelves lining up the perimeter of the room, save for crystal windows peering out into a devastating thunderstorm. And an equally glossy navy-purple chaise lounge screaming of the finest of velvet fibres, upon which the adolescent had been lying down on, enveloped by a white silky blanket that cuddled her like a new-born baby. She looked around, pinched herself to see if she was dreaming…she wasn’t.

She smirked, dumbfounded by her surroundings. She had somehow found herself in a Gothic Victorian lounge room. And she was somehow alive.

How? How in God’s name was she still alive? Was it all somehow a nightmare, fabricated by some unknown demon just for her suffering? A plaything for someone else’s enjoyment? …Hopefully not.

Still…she could have sworn she had died. That all-consuming light. That agonising split-second sensation of burning…and then nothing. It felt far too real. And yet here she was, stuck in some stranger’s home, as if none of that had happened…unless…could this be the afterlife?

She looked around again. And laughed to herself. Nah, this was definitely, without a doubt not her afterlife. Otherwise it would be overflowing with books. And books. And more books. Infinite books…Just thinking about all these books made the adolescent wonder why she couldn’t have just died instead. If only…

But enough about daydreams, she thought to herself. The question remained. How did she get here? Surely she couldn’t have messed up that much with her calculations…Unless she was as bad at that as pretty much everything else. That was how her mother thought of her anyway. The teenager smiled for a moment. At least she was nowhere to be seen.


She felt something cold fall on her jeans. Looking down, she could see the outline of a teardrop that had splattered onto her thigh. And she could feel her eyes welling up. How had she had not even realised? …She really didn’t like thinking about her mother.

Wiping her hand over her face, she searched her mind, trying to find a reason to smile again. But it was just another wild goose chase. Oh well…At least she wasn’t dead.

‘You died.’

The confirmation that she had somehow actually died combined with the unsettling tone of a sudden new voice scared her almost right out of her seat. Zipping her head around to the door, away from the fireplace, she found herself faced with who was most likely the stranger of the home she found herself in. A woman. A very tall woman, to the point where she would tower over her even when standing, despite the fact she was pretty much done with her growth spurts. She was clothed in a black nightdress that fell down to her ankles, laced with twinkling starlights that almost seemed to shine and glimmer. The bewildered teenager would have assumed the woman had just gotten out of bed, were it not for the katana at her side, or the sharp awareness painted on her angular face. Still, there was a rather melancholic expression in her green eyes, and her voice spoke with something between a chill coolness and a stark, bleak coldness that was somewhat unsettling to the adolescent’s ears. And somewhat familiar.

Still, there was the nagging question; how did she even creep up on her like that? Then again, with the way she was lost in her own rushing train of thoughts, even a lumbering giant could have crept up on her.

There was still the implication that she had actually died to deal with, however. Forcing herself out of yet another train of thought, she focused her sight on the woman with a slight bit of awkward enthusiasm, attempting to demonstrate that she was actually interested. The stranger was unamused.

‘And you know, I didn’t really know what to think of it. Not a lot of people die and suddenly stand up again, like it never even happened in the first place. It got me thinking for a little while.’ She stopped for a moment,  and exhaled forcefully. She took a step towards the adolescent.  ‘And then I realised…what you really are.’

The teenager was intrigued at this point. Very intrigued…And still very, very confused.

‘What do you mean by that?’

The woman smiled. ‘You don’t really know, do you? It’s fine, you don’t seem like you’re around here anyway. But think about it. Isn’t it strange that you’re sitting there, none the worse for wear, even after getting barbecued by lighting?’

It was then that the girl realised that not only did she die, she had actually died in the way she feared. Go figure. ‘You mean that really happened?’

‘Yes. It did.’ There was now a hint of sadness in her eyes…and a slight degree of exasperation…which the young lady sitting on the chaise lounge clearly did not pick up. ‘Yet I’m still alive? How?’

The woman frowned, brow furrowing ever so slightly, as a slender finger poised itself at the edge of her mouth. ‘Well…ultimately there are only three explanations that could possibly make any sense whatsoever.’

Walking back and forth, she numbered them on her hand. ‘One: you were resurrected by the gods. But I highly doubt it.’ She smiled grimly. ‘They wouldn’t go to so much effort just for you.’

…That didn’t make much sense. ‘Gods? There are actually gods?’

The woman’s smile became more genuine, now joined by a twinkling in the left eye. ‘Yes, there are gods. LOTS of gods. So you better get used to it.’

‘I…’ she didn’t exactly know how to take it in. But, it was a nice idea. And it kind of excited her. And the woman could see it in her eyes. That familiar twinkle…

‘Anyway, on to the second explanation; you’re a member of the New Faith. Which you’re clearly not.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘Otherwise I would have been indoctrinated by now.’

The adolescent was once again confused. ‘What’s the Ne-’

‘And then there’s the third explanation, which really when I think about it is the only one that came to me…that made any sense.’ She sighed. ‘You’re an Immortal.’

…Immortal? Still confused, and now really intrigued, the adolescent moved closer to the edge of her seat.

‘…An Immortal?’

’Yes, an Immortal. Someone who can’t die-in most cases anyway. Haven’t you ever heard of the word?’

The girl gasped. How could anyone question her mastery over the English language?
‘No no no no-I have. It’s just…That can’t be it…Can it?’

The woman shrugged. ‘Believe what you want. I’m just stating the facts here…But that’s besides the point.’ She moved in closer, her face almost entirely consuming the girl’s line of sight.  ‘Do you remember anything about how you got here?’

The girl stalled for a moment. ‘…Not really…But wait.’ Her eyes proceeded to light up, flashing a spirited combination of curiosity and naive excitement. ‘I could die right now, and tell anyone about it the next day?’

The older lady just couldn’t resist smiling at this rather innocent question. ‘…Not many people would believe you but yes, I guess you can do that…’ Her smile disappeared once again. ‘Unless you run out of souls…’

The girl’s face once again contorted itself into an exasperated expression, oozing out bucketloads upon bucketloads of disbelief. ‘Souls? That’s part of this too?’

‘…Yes.’

The adolescent’s face remained dumbfounded for a moment or so…And proceeded to twist itself into yet another passionate manner of being, its owner’s hands now shaking profoundly. ‘So does that mean I have extra lives or something? Like a platformer, or RPG?’

…The woman didn’t really know how to take that in. Her eyes darted around, now windows into the shifting gears of her rather confounded mind. ‘…I guess…’ Her eyes brightened in a moment of self-actualisation. ‘Now that I’m thinking about it, it’s almost exactly like having extra lives.’ She frowned. For the umpteenth time. Can’t this woman stay consistent with her facial expressions? Her eyes were clouded now, and she seemed rather perplexed. ‘By the way, what exactly is a platformer? …And what in god’s name is an RPG?’

‘umm…’ …The adolescent was clearly taken aback by these rather obvious questions. 
The woman paused, with a blank expression on her face. Which morphed into a cheeky grin as she began to laugh wildly, tears pouring right out of her eyes. …Sigh…It was all an act.

‘I’m joking, I’m joking! I’m just having you on, you know.’ She proceeded to wipe her hand across her face, teardrops splattering on the wooden floor. She then took a seat on the lounge, right next to the girl, smile still painted right on her face. ’I did live through that era. One of the most interesting yet…Except for all the memes…Especially the stupid ones…’

The girl was attempting not to giggle. But was failing horribly-she couldn’t help but agree. ‘Yeah. Don’t people have anything else better to do?’

The two proceeded to share a moment of booming laughter, much unlike either of them-not even at their happiest. Rounds of good times resonated through the lounge room, melting away any remnants of apprehension that hadn’t already been wiped away…It was a good day to be alive.


After what felt like an eternity, they finally stopped, too exhausted to laugh anymore. Peaceful sighs were exhaled, echoing throughout the room. And the woman was beaming, perhaps for the very first time since the girl met her…Less than 10 minutes ago.

‘And I thought this was going to be so hard!’ cried the woman. The girl’s ears shot up in response.

’What?’

‘Oh, nothing.’ She looked down, unable to meet the gaze of the girl for a couple of moments. Then, breathing out a rather strained sigh, she peeped back up. The girl was rather mystified to say the least. What happened there?

And it was then that she realised the questions that she should have asked when she first met this rather odd individual. Where was she? When was she? …That was a very cliche series of questions…But it was going to come up sooner or later. Might as well ask something. She chose the latter.

‘…What year is this?’

The woman face’s scrunched up, pondering over what was supposed to be a rather simplistic question. ‘…I don’t actually recall. It’s been a while since I’ve last looked at a calendar. But tell me this…What year do you think it is?’

Well that was easy. ‘2016.’


The woman’s lips quivered, her face losing almost all colour. If she had anything in her hands she would have dropped them by now. Standing up, she began pacing around the room, realisation upon realisation slamming onto her brain. She then looked back to the girl, mouth curling into a smile that wasn’t really that reassuring. More awkward than anything else.

‘Well…I can definitely say this…you’re a long way from home…’ She paused for a slight beat. ‘Your home time period to be precise.'

‘…Okay…That’s not so bad…’  The news had apparently not sunken in. ‘Wait…’ The news had clearly sunken in by that point.

She leapt up, hands to her head, whole body shaking in hysteria as she began to hyperventilate her lungs out.

‘How am I ever going to finish my novel? Oh my God, how many seasons of Adventure Time have I missed? Is television even around!? Oh the pain! Why!? Why!? Why does the world hate me so much!? Don’t I deserve some sort of a break!? I mean come on!’

The woman would have asked why exactly the world ‘hated’ her so much, but it was not in her place to ask. She of all people understood that clear as crystalline gemstones. Instead, she approached the hysterical adolescent, wrapped her arms around her, and began to make awkward attempts to utter some sort of soothing liner. She decided on the obvious one.

‘There there. Calm down. It’s not all bad.’

The very fact that someone had tried to comfort the teenager comforted her more than the cliched lines that were being fed to her. Her hysterics dying down, she looked up to the woman, attempting to smile over waterlogged eyes.

‘…Yeah. Guess I overreacted there.’

The woman chuckled. ’You think?’

The two proceeded to share another moment of laughter. One that was arguably even greater in volume than the one that come before it…And one that lasted even longer.
Yet another reprieve later, and they both found themselves planted onto the chaise lounge. Smiling. The girl was beaming. And so was the woman, if not more so. She had never in her life felt so…fulfilled. Not since…those times. Almost as if…

‘…You remind me so much of someone I know…Or at least used to know anyway.’

‘…Who?'

Realising that she had let slip one of her numerous streams of thoughts, the woman tensed for a moment. She can’t know. Not now.  ‘Never mind.’

The girl raised her left eyebrow for just that one moment. What on earth did she have to hide?

…She shrugged, and lowered her eyebrow. She can ask about it later. Right now, there was a more pressing question at hand.

‘So, Immortals? How exactly do they…you know…come back to life?’

The woman paused for a moment…Then stood up, the corners of her mouth turning up the slightest degree. ‘…want me to show you?’

The lady’s face focused for a brief moment, and she vanished, displaced air laced with shadows whooshing through the room…and right into the face of a very speechless teenage girl. A second passed. Then another. And another…And just when it seemed as though the girl could finally cease to be speechless, the woman reappeared with the Bloody Knife in her left hand, more shadowy air flying into the girl’s face. She grinned. ‘And yes. One day you will be able to do that.’

She swung the Bloody Knife up into the air. Twirling around and around, it landed back in her hand. And the girl stiffened, as she realised exactly what the woman was going to do. And it was going to be gruesome.

‘No! Wait!’

But it was way too late for that. The knife had already penetrated her heart, sending out crimson red blood that splattered on the floor below her. She crumpled, and fell on the floor, eyes fading out as she exhaled with a peaceful contented articulation. And the girl held her head down. She couldn’t help but shed a tear. She was dead. And it was all because of her.

…She would have kept beating herself up, had a flurry of red sparks not invaded her peripheral vision. She looked up, expecting to see a fallen down corpse caught in a pool of their own blood. Instead, she found herself staring incredulously at a body repairing itself, sparks frayed about in a random and uncoordinated dance. Light returned to the body’s eyes, and its mouth began moving, breathes coursing into and out of its nose once again. And the former corpse stood up, knife pushing out of its formerly tattered chest, bloody hole perfectly patched up, as if nothing had ever even happened, A wide grin gleaming with prideful arrogance was smeared right across its face, as the Bloody Knife clattered onto the floor, fresh blood already seeping into the priceless rug splayed across the ground. And the woman had fully resurrected, and had returned from within death’s door…to a very wide-eyed girl who had clearly forgotten about the defining power of Immortals.

‘Ta-da! What’s the matter? Think you’re seeing a ghost?’

The girl’s eyes jolted awake, as she attempted to compose herself from the rather crippling moment.

‘No no no. It’s just…I didn’t expect you to come back to life.’

Puzzled for a moment, the woman then realised what she had failed to do.

‘Oh…I probably should have mentioned to you, but I’m kind of an Immortal myself.’

Seeing that the girl was still shaken up by the whole dying thing, the lady attempted  ’And it’s fine. I was going to kill myself anyway, so why not clear up some things in the process?'

The girl’s eyes immediately widened in horror, as she ’Wait? Does that mean?’

The woman just stood there, wearing an expression woven of a combination of shame and forlorn fibres.  

'…It gets lonely in here.’

Nothing was said for a while like that. Awkward silence ruled the room with an iron fist, refusing for any more conversation to be made. Too much had been said…until the girl spotted the woman’s sheathe…and her silver katana, twinkling almost in response to its detection. Awkward silence was soon usurped from its golden throne.

‘Couldn’t you just have killed yourself with your katana?’ …Receiving no answer, she continued. ‘I mean, if I had the choice between a long sharp blade and a short bloody knife that's probably rusted, I would choose the blade…It would just be quicker. Less painful…not that I know a lot about weapons, but anyway…’

The woman said nothing to that for just a moment. Then she took a look at the girl, and just sighed. ‘These days this knife is only really used for whenever I feel…Bored.’  She paused, and glanced at her katana. ‘And I like to keep my katana clean…For when it’s needed…’

Silence of the highest degree of awkwardness shrouded the room yet again, threatening to make a comeback. The woman though, sick of the silence that had been permeating the air, decided to break it up herself. She took a seat next to the girl again, and flashed a somewhat understanding smile.


‘But anyway, you’re an Immortal, and so am I. Lot to take in huh?’

The girl’s face was turned down at the floor, eyes concealed by a dark shadow. Nothing was said. Until she looked straight at the woman’s face, eyes shining with a combination of passionate excitement and sheer determination, as her mouth was locked in a smile that spanned her entire face.

‘Are you kidding me? Like, honestly, it sounds like one of the coolest things ever. I mean, extra lives? Teleportation?  How could anyone not find that super-enthralling?

The lady just stared at her, blank-eyed.  ‘…Got a lot of juicy words there, huh? But I was more talking about like: can you actually believe this? How much has your worldview been rocked? …You know…The kind of things that a normal person would actually be asking me right now?’

The girl’s animated facial expressions relaxed themselves, cheeks now blushing crimson, smile radiating more embarrassment than anything else at the moment. ‘Well I’m not exactly your normal person.’

The lady smirked. ‘Clearly.’

‘Hey!’

The woman, trying not to laugh, waved her arms around. ‘No, no no no. I mean that as a compliment. It’s boring being normal.’ She winked. ‘Trust me. I’ve tried. It ain’t fun.’

The girl couldn’t agree more. ‘I know, right?’

They both grinned in mutual agreement…Before the girl stiffened, as she realised the illogical conundrum of a woman living in a Gothic Victorian mansion using casual colloquialisms like some sort of blues musician…Or outlandish punk. It was certainly strange…But considering it was the freaking future, it didn’t really faze her.


And there was something else nagging her anyway.

’…By the way…I never got your name…And I don’t want to keep referring to you as just some stranger sooo…what do people call you?’

The woman eyes widened, as she realised her mistake. ‘Oh. I never introduced myself, did I? How rude. But anyway,’ she extended a hand out. ‘Selena. Selena Ferrowood. But tell me, what do people call you? I would like you to return the favour, you know?’

The girl quickly shook her hand. ‘Lana!’

Great. Now she didn’t have to keep referring to Selena as some strange woman.

‘As for Immortals, you pretty much know all the basics, and the rest would take ages to describe. You would be 40 years older by the time I went through everything, and no one would want to sit through all of that at once, even you.’

‘Not that you would look 40 years older. You probably won’t age a bit. That’s another perk of being an Immortal…or a curse, depending on what you make of it.’

Lana, releasing herself from her handshake, nodded slowly in reluctant agreement. ‘…Okay…’

‘You don’t mind the fact that I’m not telling you everything, do you?’

Lana thought for a moment, and then shrugged. ’Not really. I mean, I’m still super curious, but I wouldn’t really go crying about it.’

‘Cool.’

Before awkward silence could take over the room again, Selena cleared her throat, and darted her eyes around. ’SOOOO…What’s next for you? Got any plans?

Lana turned her gaze away, focusing on the fireplace in front of them instead. ‘I don’t really know. When you somehow rock up in a place like this, you don’t really know what to do next.

Lana got up, and gazed at Selena, a doubtful look in her eye. ‘Guess I will be leaving now. I might just go on the open road-or plains of a small planet in this case. See where the wind takes me.


She took a few steps towards the door, as Selena pondered exactly how Lana found out they were on a hunk of rock.

Lana took one last look at Selena, eyes welling up with what might be considered sombre disappointment…And sighed.

‘But you know, it’s going to be really really hard. And anything could happen you know. I could fall off a cliff, or get struck by lighting again, or-’

‘Okay, okay, I get it. You don’t want to go.’ Selena sighed, slightly annoyed by the act Lana was clearly putting on.

She then pulled a slight Mona Lisa smirk, eyes playful and mischievous. ‘…But you know…If you really have nowhere else to go…There are plenty of rooms here…and I could use some company.’

Lana bolted to Selena, eyes brimming with anime excitement. ’really?’

‘Really.’

Lana proceeded to encase Selena in the biggest hug yet. ’Thank you! thank you so much!

Not used to being hugged, Selena forced a smile. ‘Heh. No need to thank me kid. This place’s been getting pretty boring, and it could use some brightening up…just stop hugging me.’

Lana released her, looking apologetic again. ‘Oh…Sorry.’

Selena crossed her arms. She was beginning to get tired of hearing the word “sorry”. ‘And stop apologising! I don’t think I have ever meant someone who apologises as much as you do.’

Lana looked down, unable to meet Selena’s eye. ’…I’m just used to it. Apologising.’ She paused, peering up as her eyes gazed to the side, mind far away.  ‘Sometimes even for things I didn’t do. Had to do a whole lot of it back home.’

‘Well there’s no need for that over here. You’ll learn that soon enough. And I’m not exactly the type who likes playing the blame game.

‘…’

Selena shrugged. ‘I’m just saying. Life’s a whole lot easier when you don’t apologise. Unless you actually have to. That’s when life gets complicated.’

Lana, ‘…I guess…’

She sat back down, and looked back up to Selena. And smiled. ‘…Thank you…’

Selena’s mouth curled in a kind of half-smile. ‘Don’t mention it.’

And they took a moment to savour the silence that came creeping in. It was no longer awkward.

…And it was then that Lana raised up out of her seat, and gazed directly into Selena’s eyes, troubled.

‘But just to be clear, this isn’t some cruel joke from hell at my expense, or anything like that? This is real…and I did die and I somehow survived…right?

‘As far as I’m aware, yes this is reality, and yes you are alive now-despite having just been burned to a crisp by lighting.’ She frowned. ‘And yes you are starting to get on my nerves right now.’

Lana smiled awkwardly as she raised a hand to her neck in embarrassment. ’Oh…sorry.’

‘…Just come with me.’

They both stood up, Lana’s expression forgetting that it was okay to not be sorry…Until Lana caught a split-second of Selena smiling, amused.

She smiled back.


They began to make their way out of the lounge room. And into a hallway that seemed to span on forever. Lana took a moment to look around, and smiled. Roof over her head. A person that actually treated her well. And a new lease on life…corny as that sounded, it was nice. Finally, a break.

She smiled some more, contented.

It felt good to be in a place where she could be herself again.