The Haunting: Destiny (FF)

Chapter 2

Grayson's POV:

I slowly flicker my eyes open... am I... falling? It's pitch black, I can't tell if there's anything around me or if it's a void. Placing my hand in front of my face, I'm shocked to find that I can't see it. I'm knocked out of my thought as a cold, deathly gust of wind whips past me. I look around; hoping to find the source of this change, yet there's nothing... still empty.

I fall for a long time, cold wind blowing past my neck until the chills turn to burns as the once cool winds become boiling with anger. I frantically search in every direction I can until I spot a small red dot growing bigger. Slowly, light surrounds me. As I fall closer and closer to what I assume to be the ground. This is going to be painful.

I brace myself as I enter the fourth layer. For a few seconds, all I can see is a red and yellow mix before I crash down with a thud. I lay there for a second thinking that all my bones would be smashed to smithereens. Fortunately, I'm fine. Not a single broken bone, just a stiff feeling. I roll onto my back and look up at the gaping hole. I narrow my eyes, spotting something getting bigger and bigger... wait a second. I roll to the side as I can hear Drake colliding to the floor. Thank God he jumped in.

Slowly, I get up and look around; the terrain is a light crimson red with lava pools dotted around in an orderly pattern. It looks extremely similar to the second layer, but a big difference is that in the distance I can slightly make out buildings and a massive gate. I assume it's a city or a town. Does hell have a hierarchy like the surface? I hear Drake's bones click as he gets up, dusting himself off. 

"This is surprisingly nice for hell." he comments.

I agree, "Even though it's a nice place it's no time for sightseeing. We need to find the last layer." I say, coming off a bit blunt.

Drake nods and we head off. The area mainly consists of hills, holes, random rocks with small symbols carved into them.  Despite the town being far away, there are a couple of demons walking around. We've been trying to avoid them as much as possible and thankfully none of them seem interested in us. Odd... eh, I'm not gonna complain. We remain cautious during our walk, bit by bit I notice Drake getting slower until he's a couple of feet behind. I should probably talk to him.

"Drake?" I ask, stopping in my tracks only for him to ignore me.

I simply stare at him and wait as he nearly bumps into me, stopping before the collision took place, "Drake? Is something wrong?" I ask once again.

"I- no I'm fine." he lies as his demon ear twitches, "However, this is taking forever. Maybe there's a better way to find it?"

I sigh quietly, I know he's lying and I hate how he's switching topics. Nevertheless, he is correct, there has to be an easier option I haven't seen yet... from what I've seen this place is most likely the equivalent to our upper class; demons who have been here for a long time. The reactions we've gotten from locals seem to be that they're unbothered with our visit, it is a possibility that they could help us but... I don't want to risk it and ask the wrong one. I search around, there are a few demons dotted around, they all seem friendly enough but how am I meant to know? I stand there thinking through the possibilities when I feel a slight tap on my shoulder. I turn around, expecting to see someone my height only for a quiet cough to grab my attention. In front of me there is a small blonde girl staring up at me with excitement. She's wearing a long ebony black dress, her skin is deathly pale and her eyes are a dark orange tint. She's tiny, probably just below 5ft, so how in the world did she tap my shoulder?

"Hello! You're Grayson and Drake, right?" she says excitedly.

"Uh... yeah? How- I-" I say, slightly lost for words.