Gates Ferry

Chapter 6- The Beginning

Chapter 6 - The Beginning

      Two thoughts had begun to seep into Ryan’s oblivious mind. This was either a dream or a sinister plot initiated from an individual who had it out for him. “This cannot be real…” The words bounced around the inside of his head like a pinball. Ryan continued to fall backwards devastatingly fast, still being latched onto fiercely by the unforgiving creature that had quickly ruined his morning. They came to an abrupt halt. “CRACK ACK ACK ACK,” an echo rang out that sounded similar to a large metal trash can being thrown into a brick wall. “Damn it, my fucking back,” The words dribbled off of Ryan’s lips. The sudden impact knocked the air out of him, leaving him with little energy to concoct a sufficient sentence. He landed on something that seemed to have four hard sides and an opening in the middle. It felt like a ventilation shaft, but what a peculiar spot for a ventilation shaft. “This cannot be happening…” Ryan thought to himself. He was unable to visualize his surroundings with the extreme lack of luminosity. Ryan had forgotten that there was something holding onto him until it began to pull him into the opening of the mysterious orifice once more. His back arched inward as the beast ripped him down below.


      It was a tight space, and Ryan’s body was barely able to fit through. The metal was very hot to the touch and it burned Ryan’s skin as he was pulled deeper and deeper into the dark tunnel. “HEHEHE,” The demon sang as it pulled and clawed at him. Ryan fought as hard as he could, but there was nowhere to go. In order to fabricate a successful solution it was essential to have resources to utilize, but unfortunately Ryan had none. “FUCK YOU!” Ryan screamed downwards repetitively. He hated the fact that he was unable to control a situation for once in his life. The temperature grew hotter and hotter the deeper Ryan plunged. He began to sweat profusely as his skin burned. Claustrophobia started to kick in.


    With the heat and the tight space combined, it was very difficult for Ryan to breathe. He began to wheeze and choke dramatically. “PLEASE.. ACK…..PLEASE STOP.” The devilish woman below laughed and pulled him down harder. Ryan turned his head to get a view of his assailant, but with the darkness all he could make out was a shadowy and distorted figure that bounced around underneath him. The only thing that stood out was the glare of the woman’s teeth as she cackled loudly. They were crooked and yellow, and her breath stunk like a decaying animal.  The lengthy journey found a new turn when a small indication of light poured into the shaft. It was enough radiance to reflect off of the interior metal, thus giving Ryan a better glimpse of where he was. The dull aluminum made for a poor mirror, so the only images available from the reflections were completely indistinct and disfigured. The only thing readily available for Ryan’s viewing was the devil below him. She became more and more apparent as they inched downward. It was a disgusting site, one that caused Ryan to turn away and look upwards with the slight hope of finding an escape.


    Fear allowed Ryan to act out of character, and courage suddenly protruded out of his cowardly person. He managed to shake himself free of the demon’s grip and kicked her downwards. “EEEEEEEEK!” She let out. She was stuck in the tight space, so Ryan gave her some more initiative. He stomped on her repetitively. She was forcefully pushed lower until the tunnel ended. The two of them fell side by side through the blistering hot air. The woman stared dead into Ryan’s eyes as they commenced down into the seemingly bottomless pit. Her eyes pierced into his while she smiled harshly. Ryan noticed a gaggle of maggots that had formed around her mouth. He closed his eyes. He was utterly terrified at the sight of her. After a few seconds he opened them, and she was gone. He sighed in relief, and then fell face down onto a foreign surface.


    The fall had temporarily knocked him unconscious. He lay on the floor unable to escape his situation, unable to even concoct an optimistic dream. It was impossible to tell how long he would have laid there if his sleep wasn’t interrupted, but it was. Something began to vibrate underneath of his stomach. It rumbled angrily. Ryan’s eyes blinked rapidly as he entered back into his unfortunate reality. The vibration was unknown at the time, and he was hesitant to find out what it was. He reached underneath his stomach, and to his confusion, pulled out his cell phone. Ryan knew for certain that he had left it back at the car. “This has to be a dream,” He thought convincingly. “There is no way this can be real. I left this back in the Benz, I know I did. How can this be here?” He held it in his hand momentarily as he marinated in his false perception. The phone began to vibrate once more. It startled Ryan and caused him to drop it back down on the ground. The glow of the device’s external interface had shed light on the new outfit Ryan was dressed in. He had completely forgotten about it, but didn’t care much about his wardrobe after the trauma he had recently gone through. The cell phone continued to vibrate on the ground, causing it to spin in circles. Ryan slowly reached down and grabbed it. He drew it closer to his view and flipped it open. At first nothing was visible, but then the screen began to flash vigorously. It was not the normal introductory welcoming that Ryan was accustomed to, but instead two fiery demons began to swirl around in a choreographed dance, intertwining amongst one another. The dazzling reflection was painted across the young man’s face. As the small introductory show began to subside, a once familiar face appeared on the screen. “Flueric?” Ryan began to tap on the screen. The face that was now wallpapered across Ryan’s phone was the same face that had been showing him around the mall moments ago. “It can’t be….” Ryan thought to himself. Rick’s face stared frozen correlating along with Ryan’s gaze. Rick began to blink rapidly, the same fast blinking that one might experience after being woken up unexpectedly.


          The blackness of Ryan’s environment was overwhelming and the only source of vision was made out by the miniscule glow of the cell phone wallpaper. Out of utter confusion, Ryan was unable to concoct any sort of verbal gesture towards Rick’s eerie stare. Rick began to smile, and words finally emerged. “Where do you think you are?” Rick asked Ryan in a comforting tone. Ryan was unable to answer right away. He stuttered with a shaken response. “I don’t know….is this a dream?” Ryan was utterly terrified. Could it have been a dream? It was too vivid and life-like. Dreams are hazy and hardly memorable. “One could genuinely mistake this for a dream, but it is not a dream. For what I am about to tell you is not very believable and you will have a hard time coping with it. This is your hell, Ryan.” Rick smiled at Ryan, who was in utter disbelief as Rick had mentioned. “It’s a laundry chute, a basement of some sort!” Ryan tried to believe the theory, he also tried to stand up; he was unable. “LET ME UP; GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!” Ryan’s fear took over and he began to fight the nothingness around him. It was as if gravity had grown tenfold and the pressure was too immense to stand. After multiple attempts to climb to his feet, he fell down to his back, glued to the floor. Ryan’s cell phone had rolled on to the ground with the screen face down. Ryan managed to grab the phone and place it on his chest. He fought all he could to prop his head up in attempts to gain a view of Rick once more. “Please don’t fight it. I will explain everything to you if you would just calm down.” Ryan shot a furious glare into Rick’s eyes. “How the fuck am I supposed to calm down? I don’t know where I am, I don’t know who you are. For all I know I am being kidnapped and left for dead. I SHOULD’VE NEVER LEFT YOU JULIE!” He shouted into the toxic air. “Calm down. Soon you will understand that this is not a joke nor a game, nor a kidnapping either. These are trials, Ryan. All your life you have caused suffering, pain, and sorrow to the ones who were closest too you. You stole, you lied, you cheated. You are selfish and unkind. Your mother and father are dead because of your unimaginable greed.” The last statement seemed to throw Ryan into shock. “How did you know that? Who the hell are you!?” Ryan began to fight the gravity pull once more, and it was once more futile. “Enough is enough, kid. This is a time for redemption, a time for you to prove that you have what it takes to pass through trials and achieve your second chance. Don’t you want to live forever?” Rick delivered a speech as motivating as one of Adolph Hitler’s. Ryan was still traumatized by the whole experience. He didn’t know what to do or say. “How is this real?” He thought to himself. “I’ve been a good person, I’ve done nothing wrong. Why am I being punished?” Ryan refused to acknowledge the truth that lied before him. Rick stared through the phone into Ryan’s eyes, disappointed but hopeful. “When this phone powers off,” Rick announced, “You will see your path. You will take your path. Good luck.” With that last statement the low battery signal became visible overtop of Rick’s face. It beeped loudly, and right before the screen went black, Rick smiled.


    Ryan laid his head back down on the cold ground. For the first time in his life, he felt beaten and helpless. He was not in control of the situation; there was nothing he could do to stop it. He closed his eyes and wept, tears leaking out uncontrollably. After some time, Ryan’s face began to prune from the moisture. He forced his hand upwards and wiped his eyes. “I am not a coward. I will not let you beat me. FUCK WHOEVER DID THIS TO ME; I’LL FIND YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT. HEAR MY VOICE!” Ryan sang out into the cold nothing.


    Out of nowhere, the ground began to tremble. “An earthquake?” Ryan thought to himself. He was still glued to the floor. “LET ME UP YOU BASTARDS!!!” Ryan shouted. Finally, by some miracle, the gravity digressed. Ryan made his way to his feet, clumsily falling back down due to the tremor effect. He felt his way through the air, punching and swatting in front of his body defensively. Nothing could be seen, and his cell phone had been left down on the ground, now useless to Ryan like everything else he had come across in the past. He held his hand up to his face to try and make out at least something in the blackness. It, too, was invisible to his eye. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” Ryan roared with anger. He couldn’t help but hate everyone for allowing him to be placed in this predicament. Before Ryan could lash back out towards his imagination, a whistle was heard. It was an eerie tone that was carried down through a trail of wind right through Ryan’s path. It was eerie only because it was a familiar whistle, something Ryan had stumbled upon through life’s journey. Although it was memorable, he still couldn’t recall where he had heard the whistle. It continued to carry through the air and through Ryan’s body, piercing him with a cold chill. The sudden change in environment sent Ryan walking backwards slowly. The whistle grew louder and louder as Ryan back peddled. With each increase in tone, he increased his speed. He was so aghast by the sound that he forgot he couldn’t see, and with one last step he tripped over a hard object which sent him backwards to the ground, head first.


    A bright light wheeled through Ryan’s head sending him back to a place some time ago.  Ryan and his parents were crossing the black cast iron bridge in the park that sat adjacent to their neighborhood. As they trotted across, a man passing in the opposite direction whistled a jolly tune and greeted them with the tip of his hat. “Mommy, can I fly my kite now?” Ryan asked his mother. He was only nine years old and still hadn’t fully developed his cold-hearted persona. “Yes, dear, just don’t let go of it. Ryan ran off into the field as his mother and father watched from the distance, embracing one another softly. Ryan unraveled his kite string onto the ground and began to run in the opposite direction in hopes of sending it airborne. The kite began to take off, but right before it managed to make it high enough, a puppy whose eyes had been glued to the strange object proceeded to chase it. The dog leapt through the air, sinking his sharp newborn teeth into the day-old birthday present. The dog began to rip the kite to shreds, and the sudden pull of the kite sent Ryan backwards, landing head first. He began to rub his head and cry. His parents, whom had been too busy enjoying the view to notice Ryan’s fall, were unaware of the circumstances. Ryan turned around to see what had caused the problem. As he locked eyes on the puppy that was demolishing his toy, a spike of anger surged through his head. “Dead dog…” Ryan whispered to himself. He walked over to the closest tree and ripped a large piece of wood off of the trunk. He trudged slowly towards the puppy, which was enjoying the toy more than Ryan had ever been able to. He stood over top and viewed the dog as it began to swallow pieces of the kite. Ryan laid his hand on top of the puppy’s head and began to stroke his fur downwards slowly. “Oh look, sweetheart!” Ryan’s mother said softly to her husband. What an adorable puppy Ryan is playing with!” They smiled together in awe at the scene, and then glanced back towards the river that ran underneath the bridge.  “Good puppy….that’s a good dog.” Ryan said with a smile on his face. It was as if Ryan had completely forgotten that the dog was destroying his toy. Ryan laid the large piece of wood down and sat Indian style with the puppy, continuing to pet its’ fur. The puppy barked in excitement which sent another surge of hatred through Ryan’s body. His smile quickly declined into a frown. His eyes glared into the puppy and he grabbed him by the throat, choking him violently.  The puppy began to wheeze helplessly as Ryan tightened his grip around it’s’ neck. A little girl in the distance began to scream. “MOMMY! THAT BOY IS HURTING SPARKY!!” The little girl rushed over towards Ryan and the dog. Before she could reach the two of them, Ryan had already dropped the unconscious dog to the ground and had now lifted the large stick. He proceeded to bash the puppy with the stick until it was a mangled mess. It trembled and shook as it took its’ last breaths. The girl made it over to her puppy and dropped to her knees, screaming in agony. “WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?? WHAT DID HE DO TO YOU???” The girl screamed and began to attack Ryan out of anger. At first he stood in shock, taking the smacks and kicks defenselessly. After a few seconds of being attacked, Ryan began to raise the stick overtop of his head. Just as he was about to strike the young girl, Ryan’s father grabbed him and pulled him away. As Ryan was being carried away on the shoulder of Ryan’s father, he could see his mother begging for forgiveness on behalf of Ryan towards the family of the animal. The little girl’s head was placed in her lap, crying hysterically while her mother tried to comfort her.  She looked up for a second, making eye contact with Ryan. All he could do was smile from cheek to cheek and whistle the mocking melody from the stranger’s lips that greeted them earlier on the bridge.