The Bayith Shed
By: Daniel W. Koch
Published by Lost Pond Publishing at Smashwords
Copyright 2011 Daniel W. Koch
http://TheDescendantSeries.com
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The Bayith Shed
Prelude- Awakening
I recognize nothing as I sit up and look around. It’s bright, but my eyes haven’t adjusted to the endless expanse of desert terrain encircling me. Heat rises from the ground, creating the illusion of shimmering mirrors. Nothing but light and rocks can be seen. There are no mountains or cliffs in the distance, no lizards or snakes sunning themselves, no cacti or any other living thing. I am in a vast expanse of nothing that I can only guess will lead me to more nothing.
I have no memory of traveling to this place, and soon realize I have little memory at all. I can see something else in my mind, far off like an old dream, but I know it once existed. A home in the country, a family playing on the front lawn, a golden retriever running after a Frisbee. It is comforting yet unsettling; I know I will never see this sight again. Something has happened, and I realize I haven’t come to this abnormal place by normal means.
When I try to stand, a sharp pain erupts from the back of my head causing my eyes to go black and I fall flat on my stomach. I try once more, black dots still spotting my vision, and find myself upright. My legs feel strong, which strikes me as odd because the rest of my body is either in intense pain or aching. My mouth is dry and crying for water. I will not find any for hours at this point. Knowing I won’t survive a single day in this environment, I pick a direction and start walking.
I am slow but unwavering, moving forward one step every two seconds. As I keep on, I can tell that I’m gaining strength somehow. It feels as though water is filling my mouth, but when I open it, there is nothing more than my moistening tongue. Soon, I believe I might actually have a chance.
Then, I spot something small and black flying through the air on a path that will lead it straight toward me. It seems to be growing bigger with each second, and I can see it’s not anything of my world. It must be a creature of this place. When it reaches me, I see it is the size of a large person. With a closer look, I discern that it’s not actually black, but a color I’ve never seen before. Its large wings are made of a material that looks like scaly feathers. The skin displays millions of hexagons swirling in patterns that make my mind want to melt.
The creature has a single, webbed foot about the size of an elephant’s, but instead of looking bulky, there’s a certain elegance to it. When the creature lands about five feet in front of me, two long tentacle-like tendrils unfold from its back. One has a sharp stinger on the end with liquid dripping from the tip, while the other has twenty flower-like petals, each ending in deadly points.
By the time I look at the creature’s face, it’s too late to get anything from it. The appendage with the twenty petals swipes down, connecting with the side of my head and knocking me unconscious.
***
It is dark now. Blood drips from the side of my head, yet I feel no pain. When I sit up, I immediately notice the creature is gone; it has left me alive. I gaze at the moonlit desert for a full ten minutes before I register what I’m seeing. Up ahead, maybe a mile away, there is a series of lights indicating the windows of a fairly large building. In this place where things are not normal, I must be careful, but I see no other option for survival; I must reach this building.
When I take my first steps, I have the same experience as before. I feel my body gaining strength as I push forward. In only five minutes, I find myself running and soon after that, sprinting. In no time at all I reach the building, lit up like a Christmas tree in this dark desert place. It looks like a building from the old west with saloon-like doors, a front porch with an overhang, and I can even hear an unknown song playing on a piano somewhere inside.
I manage to climb onto the front porch, which I realize has no steps, and look up at the swinging doors. One is open now, and standing there is a strikingly beautiful woman. Her hair is so blonde it is almost white, she has blue eyes, and she is fair-skinned. Her face is a little bony and as I look, I see she is so skinny she might be called emaciated. She has a wide smile on her face, but she must be incredibly starved or sick.
“Hello,” she speaks soothingly. “Are you lost?”
“Very.” I haven’t spoken aloud for hours but it comes out clear and crisp.
“No one is lost once they find the Bayith Shed.”
I give her a confused look. “The Bayith Shed?”
“This building. It is my home. You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you’d like.”
“But where are we? What is this…place?” I turn and wave my arms to the desert.
“I think by the end of the night, you’ll be able to tell me.” She clears her throat and gives me her right hand. “My name is Tiffany Twist; it is a pleasure to meet you.”
I shake her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, too. I’m…”
Before I can go on, she interrupts me. “No need for that. I already know who you are. Now come along. There are people to meet and I have much to show you.”
She turns on one heel and walks into the building. I push through the doors behind her, very confused at how she might know who I am, and enter a lamp-lit hallway. There are doors lining each wall and a single door at the end of the hall. Now that I am inside, I cannot hear the piano any longer.
“Wait a minute…Tiffany. How the hell do you know who I am? I don’t even know where I am!” I yell down the hall. She stops before one of the doors and pulls out a ring of seven keys.
“I have told you already. You will know exactly where you are by the end of the night.”
Chapter 1- Avarice
Voices echo through the corridor. From each room springs a different tone: some of anguish and torture, some of sadness, some just sound angry, but there is nothing of happiness. I walk slowly down the hall toward Tiffany, shrinking back and forth from wall to wall as I pass by certain rooms. My stomach is a tight knot and it takes all of my will not to vomit, if I even have anything to vomit. This place is worse than the desert. At least there I knew how I would die, but here, the longer I stand in this hallway, the more I feel I am walking into a trap where I will suffer a horrible demise.
“Are you ready to begin our tour?” Tiffany asks with a smile. That smile that had looked pretty only seconds ago now looks devilish. I clear my throat and choke back my gag reflex so that I can talk.