Be Holden

Chapter 21: Saturn's Clause

Loud thunder sounds shakes the glass windows of the bedroom.It sounds like titans are fighting out there. It is dark outside. Hale and rain pelt the bedroom window with a force that would inevitably break it. Your baby cries in the bed next to you. You hold the baby and kiss its forehead as you walk into a hall in the manor. Heavy footsteps approach you and you stop moving as your eyes adjust to the dark hall. "Thyme is gone and the twins are downstairs. We have to go." Morgan says.

"Where are we going? I am not taking the baby into that storm!"

"We can leave the baby here with the twins. I asked them and they said they would watch her until we get back."

"How will toddlers be able to watch our baby? This is ludicrous!"

"They are not toddlers anymore. They age quickly. They are the children of an overseer."

"What?"

"You will see. You just have to trust me."

"You did not answer my other question. Where are we going?"

"I can't tell you right now. You have to trust me."

You nod your head and Morgan leads you down the stairs. A teenage boy and girl that look similar are waiting at the bottom of the stairs. The girl reaches for your baby, and her grey hair strands slide past her arm. You stop and look at her for some time before you give her your baby. Morgan leads you off the last step, past the twins and out of the door. A heavy weight settles on your chest as you take deeper breaths and leave your baby farther behind. Morgan takes you to a spot where ladies in wispy black clothes hold each other's hands and step slowly in a circle. Morgan ducks under one of their linked hands while still holding your hand. You duck afterwards. You two stop at the middle of the circle and a thick vapor blasts both of you into the sky.

The lightening is thick up here. It ping pongs through the air and rolls through the thick ice beneath you. Morgan zig zags through the ice and dodges the lightening daggers with you in tow. You look up and everything above you is a black abyss. You walk up to crystal gates and the images of the moving figures behind them are blurred by the ice crusting on them. It reminded of the thick ice that forms on freezer walls. Morgan breaks the ice encasing a metal knocker on the gate's door. Morgan proceeds to slam the knocker against the crystal gate until a strange man opens the door. The man's skin is peeling and falling off of his face. One of his eye sockets is empty. His legs are thin bones and his clothes are tattered. He looks at Morgan's eyes and let you two pass through the gates.

The gates are shut immediately after you both enter. The landscape has no fires or artificial light. So, there are a lot of dark areas around a dim green neon lit path. You hear incoherent sounds from the dark areas. Body parts move in and out of the shadows. They will hover over the neon light but they will not touch the ground it shines from. You and Morgan walk until you reach a place with elves. They are in red uniformed attire. Their shoes curl upward at the toess where bells are attached. They have bells on the tassels of their pointy hats as well. They run around and giggle. You see reindeer freely roaming around the place. Morgan continues to walk the neon lit path to a castle with a moat. Two elves giggle and say in unison: "Do you have an appointment with Santa Clause?"

You look at Morgan anxiously. "No, but I have the password to continue walking on the trail." Morgan says.

"Say the password, please."

"Ether."

"You both may pass. Have a wonderful walk."

"Don't threaten us!"

"It was not a threat we genuinely meant it."

"I know your kind. You may have other visitors fooled but I know what you are up to."