I opened my eyes and glared at pitch black room around me. That didn’t feel like a dream. It felt too real, so real I could still hear his voice resounding in my head. I gripped the sheets tight between my fingers until my knuckles hurt, and I squeezed my eyes shut. “Please help me someone. God, Helios, someone!” As much as the experience pleasured me, I could still sense the undercurrent of evil rumbling beneath my skin. I couldn’t shake it off. His seduction was uncontrollable, as if I was put under a spell. It felt as if I was looking upon myself from the outside. I could experience the sensation, but deep within I wanted to reject it. Could anything weirder happen to me? Maybe I shouldn’t ask. I whispered quietly between tears for someone to help me make sense of everything, until I finally surrendered myself to sleep. Or so I thought. Within seconds I felt that strangely familiar sensation of being transported into another dimension. There I stood in that picturesque meadow where everything looked too perfect to be real. I walked towards the gushing waterfalls and curled myself next to a huge rock, and dipped my fingertips into the water. I had never noticed until that very moment that my skin was shimmering with golden iridescent runes. Was I always like this in this dimension? I curiously pushed myself up onto my feet, and observed my reflection in the stream, only to be vastly surprised at what I saw. Was I really looking at myself? That girl certainly didn’t look like me, at least not the everyday me. No this was a pimped out version to put it modestly. My hair was now a thick shimmering veil of multi-faceted black, brown and gold streaks. I don’t die my hair, let alone afford the great luxury of being able to maintain highlights. My face was perfect. Flawless velvet, with an iridescent glow, and the thing that captured me the most were my eyes. My once ordinary brown irises were now glazed with flecks of golden honey, and held a powerful demeanor. So powerful, I found it too hard to believe I was looking at myself. Who had I become? I looked down upon myself and realized that my body was as iridescent as my reflection, and as I held my arms up to examine them, their golden runes shimmered under the sun. I felt like a Goddess. I was so caught up in awe of myself, that I nearly overlooked the exquisite garment I was wrapped in. It was like wearing a cloud. Softer then cashmere or satin, a feather weight, almost transparent white material was delicately woven around me, but in the most tactful manner. Talk about heavenly couture. It couldn’t get any better than this! I stood higher on another rock to slowly take in my full length reflection from the stream. I felt like I was on one of those extreme make over shows. I didn’t recognize myself, and couldn’t peel my eyes off the view. I had never been so vein. I realized I was barefoot, but that was the least of my worries. I was this gorgeous beauty Goddess, and I just reveled in it. As I stood there I wondered whether I had always transformed to this on other occasions when I was magically beamed here. I never bothered to pay much attention to myself, because I was always so completely absorbed by Helios. Helios. Where was he anyways? He normally appeared to me within moments after entering this place. Just as I thought it, I felt a soft touch on my right shoulder. There he stood, in all his splendor. I took a few seconds to browse over him, now fully conscious of my new and improved body, I felt more worthy of the endless ocean of his gaze. “I see you have familiarized yourself with Elysium” he said as his eyes lit up almost impossibly brighter. My eyes wanted to swim in his as I responded “Elysi-wha? Who? I didn’t see anyone”. I suddenly felt stupid as he chuckled under his breath. “Elysium. This is where you are. Otherwise known as the Elysian Fields”
“Otherwise known by who, you?” I rebutted with a cocky smirk. “You have to tell me more Helios. What is happening to me? What exactly is this place, other than another dimension? And why do I look like this? I mean I’m not complaining, but I’m still trying to process it all” I said as I swept my eyes over my new self once again. The corners of his lips slowly turned upward in the most dead sexy way imaginable as he responded “this is a lot to process, and that’s why there is only so much I can explain at this time. Give time to time.” As blazing hot and sexy as Helios was, I was beginning to get weary of all this code language, and my patience was starting to expire. Meanwhile I was morphing into some unidentified alien Goddess, and I was being denied a full explanation upfront? I thought I deserved as much! “Helios listen, I’m not trying to be a b-, I mean impatient, I just really need to know what’s going on. All of this is starting to take a toll on me and sometimes I wonder whether I’m actually going insane. I need answers and I need them now” I said as I dug my toes deeper into the stone I was still standing on. He leaned closer towards me and took my hand gesturing me to come off the rock. “Here, come walk with me Jasmine”. I didn’t let go of his hand, and he made no effort to release mine, so I continued to walk with him hand in hand. His touch kept sending shivers down my spine, and every time I looked into his eyes, I felt my heart warm up and electrify. I wondered whether I could still work up a blush with my new avatar self. “So I’ll start with the Elysian Fields, since we’re here, how’s that sound?” “It sounds like a start” I smiled back at him.
“As I told you before, this is another dimension that you have entered. You’ve mentally found a passageway through your dreams, and managed to materialize here. It’s a bit complicated as you might be wondering.”
“Why would I be any different from anyone else? I mean it’s not every day you bump into a rune-covered earthling, who sees auras and beams themselves into new dimensions by simply going to sleep.”
“You’re an impatient one. But you have a strong character, and that’s what I love about you” he responded with a sideways smile. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was turning as beat red as my face was burning. But I had to push further. “Surely you must understand what I must be going through with all these weird changes going on”.
“I know, and you deserve an explanation, and you will see that in time all the pieces of the puzzle will start to put themselves together. What I can tell you for now is that I am your guardian angel, and I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe and help you find your way. “
“Keep me safe? What kind of danger am I in? I don’t get it!” I snapped frustrated.
“Just as there are positive forces in the universe, there are also maleficent ones. We all have good in us and routing for us, but equivalently, evil co-exists. The darkness. It is nature’s way to keep life balanced. What you need to know is to follow the light, and stay as far away as possible from the darkness” he said with a grim look in his eyes.
“Soooo, if you’re my path to the light, then who or what is the darkness exactly?” I urged further.
“It’s all around you, and it’s about the choices you make.”
“Does this have something to do with the evil face-sucking, teenie-bopper, sorceress girl I saw at the bus stop with the fire-rimmed eyes?” the words blurted out of my mouth as the images replayed in my head. “Excuse my, uh, weird choice of language” I re-edited.
“That has everything to do with it” he looked down rather than straight in my eyes as he always did. That’s when I knew there was plenty more to say, but he didn’t want to reveal too much.
“I knew it!” I blurted. “That was freaky. And can you explain why I’ve also been seeing auras, and bright glowing-eyed people just popping out of nowhere to offer me help?” I searched his eyes inquisitively.
“They are on the good side. There are light angels all around you, and likewise there are dark demons around you. The difference with you is that part of the dimensional shield has been removed on the earth plane. You have crossed over to Elysium, and have been unshielded from that veil.”
“So what you’re telling me is that those people are actually angels and demons? Can’t anyone else around me see them? I must look totally fried to the outside world!” I rolled my eyes in confusion.
“Yes and no. They are real people, but have been empowered by their inner strength. In some cases it’s by good and in others by evil. Everyone is given a choice to follow that ‘gut’ feeling, which really is your soul’s communication with good and evil. We all have that choice from the beginning. When you make poor and selfish choices, you are empowering the darkness, and bit by bit surrendering your soul to it. On the contrary, when you make good, strong choices, you are empowering the light to brighten your path, and good prevails. What you have—thhh-th-sst- underst---th—is—ch-ch-th” and just like that he started going all static like a hologram image, and literally went out like a light. Immediately I found myself wide-eyed in the middle of the bed, just staring at the ceiling. My mind kept on replaying Helios’ words over and over like a broken record. But why did he just disappear on me like that? It seemed like he had something very important to tell me, and it was as if his time actually expired like the time on a phone card. There were so many more questions that I needed answers to. I resigned myself with the fact that I was at least now able to put some of the puzzle pieces of my extraordinary life (literally) together. At least now I knew that the bright light meant good, and the orange-freak-eyed people were bad news. As my mind swirled in a myriad of thoughts, I dozed off to a dark place. Uh oh. Not again. I knew this was trouble, my bones knew all too well that odd shiver that lurked within them. My gut tightened at the dark, familiar ambience. My body went cold, almost as if I was standing in a deep underground cellar. I could feel the goose bumps stroking down my spine as I clenched my shoulders in attempts to shelter myself from whatever doom was about to approach. It wasn’t long before a candle flared in front of me. “Greetings, beautiful one” the familiar British velvet voice cooed. I gasped in horror as his voice echoed so close to my ear. “Don’t be fearful Jaz, it’s only me, and if memory serves me correctly, our last encounter was quite a pleasurable experience for you. At least it was for me” he flirted as he stroked my hair from behind. He always had a way of appearing anywhere around me in a millisecond. I could feel his cold breath at the nape of my neck as he continued to stroke my hair to the side. “You see, with me you don’t need to fear. But if I were you, I’d be careful with the Helios fellow you’ve been floundering around with”.
“How do you know about Helios?! Who are you?” I said indignantly.
“You don’t worry your pretty little head about that, beautiful. All you need to concern yourself with is the fact that I can give you what you want”
“What do you know about what I want?” my voice gradually increased into a punctuated crescendo.
“Sweet, sweet Jasmine” he said solemnly as he moved in closer to my neck and inhaled deeply as if I was about to become dinner. It was starting to freak me out, despite his smashing good looks. “I know more about you than you can even begin to imagine. I know everything about you. I know that you used to fall asleep to your favourite ‘Daisy’ doll until you were ten. I also know that you used to blare your Bush CD’s to drown out the sound of your father cussing your mother out every single night. I know that your favourite dish is pork stir fry, and that you spike your ice cream with Khalua. Your best friend, what’s her name again, ah yes Jennifer? Yes, not the most commendable of friendships. Tom? Not a very clever bloke. I know you’ve been very lonely lately, and I am the only one who can fill that void.”
“H-h-how do you know all this? Can you at least tell me that much?” I shivered at the thought of this stunningly mysterious being, knowing my every intimate secret.
“Ha ha ha, well if I told you that it just wouldn’t be as fun now would it? We all know that a little mystery is all it takes to spike up your interest. You see, I know you that well. You’re no soft cheerio. Let’s just say I love a challenge, and you my dear are quite complimentary to me”. He swiveled his body so that he was now facing me, with only inches separating us. “You know, that was meant as a compliment Jaz, loosen up a bit” he smirked as he ran his fingers though his silky, black hair. His eyes pierced through me like black marble daggers. A gaze so mysterious, I could not read him, other than the fact that he oozed pure, hot lust. It’s like his eyes could reach though mine, and scoop out my soul, while I stood there oblivious to his intensions. His eyes held mine for a long moment further, and he stroked my lips with his thumb. “As I said before, I’ll be whoever you want me to be, if you just give me the chance” a shadow of sincerity sparked in his eyes for a slight instant, then quickly vanished. He curled one corner of his lips upward into a mischievous grin.
“I can’t give you an answer if you don’t give me any” I replied feeling smug.
“The answers you need lie right here” he moved so close into me that I could feel his breath grazing my lips. He slowly smiled with heart throbbing charm, and pulled me in towards his chest. He caressed the stray hair strands that fell on my face and tucked them gently behind my ear. He slowly moved his lips towards me as if to kiss me, but then only skinned my lips, and then slowly worked his way down to my neck. My heart started nearly throbbing out of my chest. That very familiar uncontrollable animalistic lust rushed through me. I wasn’t very used to not being in total control of myself. He was like a drug. He kissed down my neck with his frigid lips, and struck me in the carotid artery. I relinquished myself to the intense pleasure that intoxicated me with complete ecstasy that could not be put into words. Pleasure cursed through my veins ferociously, as he literally sucked the liquid life out of me. Just as my trance intensified to an unfathomable level of bliss, he abruptly pulled away, and a looked into me with blazing orange-rimmed eyes, and a smear of blood at the corner of his lip. “Are you still as thirsty as I am? Or do you want to play goody two-shoes and stop?” he snickered as he licked the bloody red smudge off his lip. My veins rushed furiously with adrenaline, begging him not to stop. Not when I had reached such a high, I felt I could merely touch the stars. “No...Don’t stop. Please don’t stop” I whispered, not recognizing my own voice. My free will had been brutally tampered with, and there was no turning back now. He proceeded to craning his neck down and traced the tip of his tongue from the center of my décolleté, upwards to the hollow of my neck, then sideways to the original spot where he had bitten me. He stopped there and continued tracing around the wound teasingly. “Please don’t stop” I whimpered almost inaudibly. I grabbed the back of his head with both hands, and gripped his hair between my fingers as I pressed him closer to me. He traced his tongue up my neck further, to my chin, and then my lips. He kissed me gently, yet passionately, as he slid his hand behind my neck, and tugged at my hair. I could feel my chest thumping rapidly into his. He instantly then released me, and stepped away. “Now, don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy that” he said with his tussled hair covering his right eye. Within seconds, my heart slowed down to its regular heart beat, and I could literally feel the rush evaporate out of my system. It was as if his touch, and his bite emitted some addictive drug that totally zombied me under his total control. I immediately felt my face flush bright, hot red with shame. I turned my face downwardly purposely allowing my hair to partially cover my face.
“I-I don’t know … don’t know what happened to me. I lost control somehow.” I stuttered.
“You have nothing to be ashamed of. Physical pleasure is nothing to be ashamed or afraid of. Why don’t you just embrace it? That was only a taste of what I can give you. There is so much more. But only you can make the choice”.
“What are you? Where am I? Why did you bite me and why—“
“Why did you enjoy it? I’m not a vampire, darling. Although those fairytales books you indulge yourself in are quite entertaining, but far from the reality. I was nearly partaking of your essence, your soul. I was enjoying you, as you were enjoying me. For you it was merely entrancing, but for me, the pinnacle of bliss. You too can experience such intense pleasure, if you let me show you how.”
“You want to turn me into a v-vamp- whatever you are?”
“I want to turn you into something extraordinary. Immortal. Invincible. Your little Helios “light creature” boyfriend has nothing on me. He may have made you ‘appear‘to be a Goddess, but has he made you experience what I have shared with you?” he raised his right brow, as if there was no logical answer other than absolutely not.
“At least he had the balls to tell me who and what he was!” I hollered angrily, and curled my hands into fists.
“Just consider me his opposite” he emphasized the last word.
And it all clicked. How could I have been so blind?! Darkness, vampire tendencies, mysteriousness, and the orange-glowing eyes!! I was too high to even realize it! He was exactly the dark evil Helios warned me about! I suddenly backed away from him as if he was the plague. “Stay the fuck away from me!” I yelled, and turned on my heel and peeled out into black nothingness.