Episode 12: Realm of Fear

Episode 12: Realm of Fear
by Toni Walker

In the Shadow Realm

It was easy to pretend everything was okay. She'd been doing it for nearly a year now since her mother's disappearance.

Cora Laskey decided she would just pretend for a little longer.

She'd just push out of her mind the fact that David had disappeared. That her father was murdered before her eyes. That her mother burst into flames. That she, herself, was now trapped behind a mirror in a shadowy realm of disbelief.

"It's going to be okay," she coached herself. "None of that matters. You can get through this."

Cora glanced around the vast nothingness. No food. No water. No chance of survival. Tears began to stream down her face. She couldn't pretend she wasn't starving and miserable. Her mind just wanted to shut down for an eternity.

She didn't notice the swirl of energy forming behind her, nor did she feel the presence of the evil approaching. She was a sitting duck and didn't even know she was in danger.

"We have to get out of here," said a voice behind her.

"Wha...?" She spun around and barely had time to glance at the man before he grabbed her and the world around her faded, spiraled then exploded.

***

The shadow came forward. Where had she gone?

She was the one, the chosen one. He knew it. He had waited for her for centuries. She was the one who could make him completely human again. He would have to live off the body of another like a parasite.

"Where are you, my lovely?" The shadow's voice was calm and trusting, and in great contrast to his appearance. In body, he was Jack, brother of Nicholas de Charme, but in truth he was the greatest evil of all time... The Ripper!

"Come out. Come out. Wherever you are," said the essence of the Ripper. "It's only a matter of time. Eventually we will meet, my dear Cora. Then you will be mine."

His maniacal laughter echoed throughout the Shadow Realm and into the Hollow.

"Showtime!"

***

Outside the Forbidden Zone's gates

Keith Banning pivoted and rolled to a sitting position. He wished he had his firearm, not to mention the authority to use it.

"What in the hell is this place?" he muttered. "Talking cats, glowing boys and amulets that pack enough wallop to take down ten men?"

"I think hell is a pretty good assessment," Maurice, the orange cat commented. "Welcome to Hollow Creek." He purred then added playfully, "If you think that was bad, you have a rude awakening awaiting you."

"See! There you go again. Talking. Cat's aren't supposed to talk!"

"Get used to it," David said. "I've been here three days and look at me. Freak of nature. I'm glowing AND see-through. Not exactly the party favor I expected to take home from this trip."

Keith rose and brushed the dirt off his jeans. "I've completely lost my mind. I must have hit my head. You are both figments of my imagination."

"No, you're fine," David stressed. "It's this place that's insane."

"Master David is right," the cat chimed in. Keith flinched when Maurice spoke. He wasn't quite buying the 'cat's talk' idea. "That is the nature of this place. It's a land of evil. Have you heard of our motto? Evil gets in but it doesn't get out? I can't remember who invented the saying, but it does fit so wonderfully well."

"Thanks Morris. That makes me feel so much better, but I have other things on my mind. Like finding Sabrina."

Maurice gulped. Fear etched on a cat's face was not a pretty sight. "Sabrina? Not the same Sabrina that Dawson Barker has in custody?"

"That a problem for you?" Keith asked.

Maurice ran around in circles muttering something Keith couldn't make out.

"Calm down. The man's a game show host. How bad could he be?"

"Dawson Barker is insane. He'll kill you rather than look at you," Maurice told him.

"Nice to know we have something in common," Keith smirked.

"I don't think you understand the type of evil you have to be to be stuck in this place," Maurice warned. "His show, The Game, is not make-believe. The people who disappear on that show never return again."

"Are you saying he kills them?"

"He doesn't have to. This place does it for them. He taunts them into coming here. Tempts them into playing the game... and if they solve the mystery of the border, winner takes all... and I'm not talking about the contestant... If Dawson Barker ever gets past the boundaries of this realm, it will be hell on earth."

"Great. Exactly what I need. Having the fate of the world in my hands."

"Well then, mister, I'm glad you're so calm," David said. "Because that is exactly what you have."

***

Dawson Barker's office

The moon rose gleaming light into the dark room where Sabrina Michaels had been caged. Even her 'gift' couldn't warn her of what the man next to her was about to become. Barker had called him Seth. The darkness of the room engulfed him completely. She couldn't see him as he cowered in the corner.

"Stay away from me," he growled.

"Not a lot I can do about that," Sabrina told him. "We're locked in this cage together."

"No!" The word was howled. Sabrina flinched. The man's breathing became labored, then panting. His hot breath filling the small cage. It was then she sensed the danger. This man wasn't what he seemed.

She could hear him sniff. His body came closer and closer, his breath more animal-like.

"I smell fresh blood." She could barely make out his words. But his voice was enough to scare her.

"Oh, God! Oh, God! Let me out of here!" she screamed. She rattled the bars of the cage, but no one came. She had the horrible feeling she was about to die.

***

Somewhere in the Shadow Ream

Lane Larson knew Cora could be angry with him once they reappeared on the other side of the Realm. but he had to keep her away from the shadow. He knew what she really was and how she was created. The thing that was after her would use her uniqueness to render himself invincible. And no one in the Hollow wanted that to happen, especially Lane. The shadow was the pure essence of Jack the Ripper. In the Shadow Realm he had even more power than in the real world where he took form as a man.

The Ripper had infected a man from 1888 and took him as his host just like a parasite would. No one knew exactly who the man was whom the Ripper had possessed, but Lane had a theory that Nicholas was aware of the man's true identity.

Lane reappeared holding Cora tightly to his chest. She screamed and pushed him away.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

Lane clamped a hand over her mouth and she struggled even harder. "Cora, it's me. Lane."

Her struggles lessened a bit, but she was still cautious. It was apparent she didn't want to trust anyone.

"Lane?" The word was said more like a sob. "Where am I? What's going on?"

"You have to keep moving. You're in danger every minute you're here."

"Danger?" Cora's eyes grew wide. "Where exactly is here?"

"The Shadow Realm. Where every frightening thing you dream about lives and thrives."

"Oh, God." Cora muttered. "Could this day get any worse?"

Everything about the Shadow Realm was silent. As if sound was eaten up by the darkness itself.

A shadow silently appeared behind them.

Lane's body tensed. "You're about to find out."