The Gate

Chapter 1

Faye Caldwell was falling.

The wind whipped her hair around her face, devouring her, as she continued her treacherous decent toward the ground.  She searched frantically for something to hold on to, to halt the fall.  But there was nothing.  Nothing to protect her from the harsh blows from the wind, nothing to protect her from the pain as her hair bit her skin, nothing to protect her from her imminent death below.

Faye opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out.  Her voice was lost in the wind, the sky, the atmosphere.  She herself was lost.  She could feel herself losing hope, the will to survive.  The only thing that kept her going was fear.  The fear of her body colliding with the ground.  The fear of closing her eyes and never waking up.  The fear of everything ending.

“Faye.”

Faye searched fervently for the source of the voice.  She could feel panicked tears drip from her eyes, flying upwards on her face due to her position.  The tears flicked her forehead painfully.  She wanted to call out the person yelling to her, but she couldn’t.  Her voice was gone.

“Faye!” the voice shrieked.

It was then that Faye realized who the voice belonged to: her sister, her best friend that was related to her.  Terra Caldwell.

“Faye, please!” Terra cried.

And then, like emerging from out of water, Terra appeared, her expression the definition of worry.  Faye reached out, scrambling to catch her sister’s hand as she tumbled through the air.  Dread pierced her as she fell away from Terra, away from any hope of making it out alive.

Thunder rumbled.  Lightning flashed through the darkened clouds.  Freezing rain poured, soaking her entire body.  Her clothes stuck to her like glue, only adding to her discomfort.  But Faye didn’t care.  All she cared about was finding her sister, finding the only hope she had left.

“Faye, look out!”

Faye barely had time to take in the sudden horror of the ground before the impact came.  She braced herself, ready to feel fire course through her veins and pain filled her entire being.  She closed her eyes, waiting for the end to come.

But that’s not what happened.

Faye opened her eyes.  She was standing, her legs full of strength despite the long fall she’d just endured.  She shivered.  How had she survived such a horrendous fall?  Why hadn’t her spine broken?  Why hadn’t she snapped like a twig off a tree branch?  Faye sighed shakily, turning her gaze to the rocky terrain below her.

And screamed.

Faye’s wails become utterly audible as she stared down at Terra.  Her body was twisted, deformed beyond repair.  Her neck was broken, her eyes wide and her mouth agape.  Her palms lay outstretched before her as though she were praying.  The sight was gut-wrenching.  Faye fell forward, collapsing on all fours before hurling onto the gravel.

But even with her eyes scrunched closed she couldn’t escape the image of her sister, lying dead, on the ground.

Faye opened her eyes, staring at Terra despite her yearn to turn away.  Something about the disgusting sight consumed her.  All she could see was the deformed body of the one she loved.  All she could see was Terra.

Suddenly Terra blinked.  Faye shrieked, falling back on her butt and scrambling back quickly.  She breathed deeply, her eyes never leaving her sister’s body.  Terra’s head turned, twisting around on her neck.  Faye stared in a shocked, terrified silence as Terra began to scream.