Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sun shone brightly through the broken glass, illuminating the interiors of the buildings that remained. It's rays, scattered through the windows, created blinding shapes of light in the pavement of the roads down below. Plants grew wherever they pleased, marking their territory in an attempt to get the most sunlight. They carved paths through the concrete walls in an attempt to get closer to their source of life. They broke into people’s homes, through the cracks, in search of nutrients and water. It was how it was dictated by nature, and by nature was how plants operated, and so did the placed that were abandoned by humans long ago. They let themselves be overtaken by what was there from the start: plants. They did not complain, nor did they rejoice; they accepted their fate and continued to exist for as long as they were destined to. Deserted places weren’t meant to be eternal, and this one was not an exception. It almost seemed… peaceful, in some way.

Although—as if by a way for the world to balance itself—the peace found itself, eventually, disturbed.

A rhythmic sound—a light tap—coursed through the empty hallways and stairways of the building. It pushed away the loose rubble from the broken walls that had fallen into the floor and which laid there, untouched, peaceful. It approached the scenery, the serene view of the outside. As the sounds grew louder, they became clearer, there was only one thing that could tap the ground with such a distinct rhythm to it: footsteps.

The sounds of hurry faded as they reached the floor, it softened and became more sparse not out of exhaustion, but rather out of tranquility. They reached the view, contemplating it for a brief moment, to her, the serenity of the environment had become a such a mundane occurrence, that she didn’t stop to contemplate it and get lost in its silence, something that could feel, rather odd. Even though she only stayed a moment to observe the outside, there was something that caught her eyes. Cars were spread out throughout the road just below the building and, just like it, nature had begun to reclaim them as part of its own. It was in that moment that what drew the eyes to those manifested itself, a small black figure swiftly ran across the pavement seeking shelter under the broken-down machines.

During that moment of contemplation, the place regained its importance once more, returning again to its state of silence, of normality; only to serve as a moment of transition—of liminality—before it, too, was broken.

The light feet quickly turned and resumed their rhythmic melody, only this time with more passion, asserting that the peace that nature tried to establish would forever be disturbed and fail.

They descended rapidly through the buildings structure, finding themselves run faster and faster as they approached the end, the outside. They run, however was eventually cut abruptly as they started to move around in search of the figure that had brought them there in the first place. Suddenly her ears were alerted, and they turned to face what had caused it. She turned quickly only to find what she was looking for standing just behind her.

A curious small black figure stood against her feet, observing her as if waiting to catch its prey. But upon noticing it staring back, it realized it could not defeat it. An urge to run attacked its body in an instant, an urge that, despite its best effort, took over and made its body act against its desires.

The creature ran away as soon as it noticed she had acknowledged its presence. It seemed like she wasn't alone out there, but if that little creature didn't want to be bothered, there was nothing she could do about it other than accept it and continue her exploration.

So far it had been greatly unsuccessful, it seemed like most of the places she came across were completely empty, even more so than others, like if they were emptied out of their contents, or if they never had any to begin with. She hadn't noticed until now but she had been inside for quite along time, the sun was starting to go down and if that meant anything, it was that she had to find somewhere to sleep. She discarded going back already, it hadn't been that long and she was sure she would find something in this place, she could feel it, she had to.

Darkness ruled over the abandoned offices of the block, a great collapse, one that was not bound by time,—as no one was there to perceive its falling—had sealed those parts of the building, preserving it as good as nature could from its own dangers. Peace ruled in it, a kind of peace only found in a place where there was nothing, and had remained that way for a long time. A peace that would be disturbed—as all things would eventually—by the unstoppable force of curiosity and its driving motor, survival.

Her paws rested against the cold tile floor, a strange sensation of both dust and mold startled her for a moment, but it made sense for it to be that way, no one seemed to have cared about this place in as long as she had been around. She had traveled far enough into the outskirts where buildings had started to appear less cared for, more vines and moss growing out of their plain, empty, lifeless gray concrete walls; as well as more rubble from the ones that couldn’t withstand the test of time against the force of the creator of all, nature.

As she made her way through the empty halls, she noticed that these buildings felt… different. Not because of their construction, nor because of the mold that grew in them; but rather because their contents seemed… odd. A table with chairs around it, an assortment of cabinets—both of which had provided great support in the termites that inhabited them—couches, shelves, lamps, knives, forks… and even… a bed. They were homes. She had reached a residential building. A place… where people once lived… now overtaken by darkness and fungi… no longer belonging to the people that once lived in it but reclaimed by the world as its. And it was not willing to give it back.

She contemplated the place, it had been a long time since she had last seen one of these, back there she also had homes nearby, but these weren’t like them. The ones she had seen were full of ornaments and luxurious-looking furniture; these, however, appeared more modest, like a place someone would realistically live in and not just a show-off.

She scouted around trying to find something, anything, but to no avail.

The soft taps her feet made when walking up the stairs reminded her of the melodies water droplets created when they’d hit the old vehicles left out in the street, it was—in a way—mesmerizing.

She continued to walk up the floors to the upper levels, with a bit of luck, the windows there wouldn’t be blocked off by rubble and she would be able to find a comfortable place to stay for the night. As she was captivated by the sounds her own body made through the building, she noticed the last daylight rays coming in, she began sprinting up each step with agility until she reached what she was looking for.

The living space was almost immaculate, it was as if it had been waiting for her all this time, waiting for someone to corrupt its serenity once and for all. She looked through the different rooms trying to find anything that would be of use to her and, although nothing much was left, she managed to find the most important thing she could have found, the one thing she had come in here looking for, a bed. A bed where she could sleep on, a bed that wasn’t covered in the dust and mold of the undisturbed passage of time.

She leaned her belongings into the nearest wall and laid in her newfound resting place. It was soft, softer than she had felt in days, it was as if the mattress itself was devouring her, and locking her into a profound sleep within its insides. Her eyes felt heavy, they slowly began to close, and by the time she realized where she had gone, it was already too late. She had fallen asleep.

Chapter Text

A sound… a noise… a rumble in the air, something that could only be described as a singular phenomenon. It yearned for her… called her name with an unforgettable passion. Strings of blue manifested before her, telling her where to go, guiding her to the origin of the beautiful melody that asked for her presence… and her soul. A light from which an blinding intensity emerged stood unmoving. Her eyes, filled with that deep blue that emanated from it, contemplated the scene silently, the melody was still sung, asking of her to submerge herself in the gleaming pool that it itself was… asking her to be with it… for her to come closer… to sacrifice herself… to join it.

She tried to resist, to no avail, its call was too strong, the melody was too loud… and just as she began to immerse herself in it, to fill her lungs with its light, a spark materialized in between them, destined to break its false promises and free those of which would have fallen for them. The blue that filled her eyes… and her soul, tuned to a bright red, a shade of fire that burnt with more passion than anything she had experienced before… even more that its calls. A melody emanated from it, a song of anger, of revenge… of violence. She could only watch in horror as everything that was promised to her by the gentle whispers of blue faded. The red in her eyes turned into a pale orange turned into a bright yellow turned into black. It had been extinguished, and now… there was nothing. No call, no light, no trail to follow… nothing. Nothing but darkness… and silence.

Cold sweat ran through her back, the light of the sun hadn’t showed itself yet; it was still dark. She looked around what she assumed to be the room she had fallen asleep in, trying to make out anything in the eternal abyss that expanded in front of her eyes.

She noticed a taste in her mouth, something that reminded her of the cold, it tasted like oldness, it was… metallic. Reaching with her hand up to her mouth in an attempt to solve this enigma only to notice a strange sensation when she pressed them against her lips, it was… wet. Her fingertips were covered in something she couldn’t discern, but as she moved them towards the little amount of nightlight that slipped through the cracks of the window, it became clearer.

Red…

Crimson… Red…

Her body began to feel weak, failing to support her weight and making her fall onto the bed once again, only this time, against her wishes.

It tried again…

To call for her…

But no response came…

A white light illuminated the room, brightening up everything in it and making her see objects she hadn’t noticed the night prior. Her mouth was still covered in a dark scarlet color, but it had been frozen in place by the cold, her only concern now was that it caused an uncomfortable sensation in her lips.

The watery sky revealed itself in between the clouds, although it seemed rather shy. It was enough to brighten up the streets, however, and as she got outside a chilly breeze struck her. Picking up her usual pace, she began to wonder around searching through the ruins in search of anything that she could use. As she had been doing for so long.

A hole opened at her feet, it looked like some sort of cave. The environment around it seemed to indicate so, heavy machinery designed to extract rock laid scattered around the place, untouched, and rescued by nature from the grasp of humanity.

The light faded as she descended into the cave, she didn’t know why, but she felt like it was… calling… to her. It was pushing her to continue, into the darkness, to go…

Deeper.

An abyss of black extended around her, she couldn't see anything beyond her. The small opening she had gone in through was the only source of light that remained, now reduced to a miniscule point in the distance.

As if by some sort of miracle, another source of guidance manifested on the opposite direction. A fait blue light lit up with a mesmerizing glow, it was almost… unreal.

She approached…

It called…

She replied…

She walked…

Closer…

It got brighter…

Stronger…

It puller with more force…

She couldn't control herself anymore…

And yet…

She felt as if this was the right choice.

A tap,

A grab,

A pull,

She was dragged away from it…

From her precious…

Beautiful…

Destiny.

The white light from the outside grew stronger as she unwillingly moved towards it. It was still calling for her… pleading for her to return to it…

The light became softer, she began to feel tired, exhausted. And as she continued, she felt everything around her turn dark.