Gemini stumbled through the thick, choking darkness, her hands outstretched in front of her, feeling for any sign of escape. Her fingers brushed against cold, unyielding wood, and she knew she had found the door once more. She pounded on it with all her might, her knuckles already raw and bleeding from countless attempts. Tears streamed down her cheeks, mixing with the blood and dirt on her hands.
“Please,” she whispered, her voice cracking with desperation. She slid down to her knees, resting her forehead against the door. “Why won’t you open?”
The darkness seemed to close in around her.
Dear Nergal,
When I was a child, I had a closet in my bedroom. Every night, I would lie in bed, staring at the door, convinced that something terrible was hiding behind it. I knew there wasn’t anything there, but the fear still gripped me. I would beg my daddy to open it, to show me that it was empty. But he wouldn’t. He would just look at me with cold eyes and say, “You’ll be better off not knowing. This will make you tough.”
I hated him for that. I hated that he wouldn’t just open the door and let me see for myself.
Now, I’m trapped in a darkness so much worse than that bedroom. There’s a door in front of me, but no matter how hard I try, it won’t open. My hands are bloody from pounding on it, but it won’t budge. And I can’t help but think of that closet door, and how much I wanted it to open. How much I needed to see for myself that there was nothing there to be afraid of.
Nergal, I know you’re out there, fighting. I know you want the door open, too. Narcissa says she has the last key in her Uprising. You and Apokalysis have to win.
I may not know what Pestilence means, but I know you have to get that last person. You have to beat the Uprising. You have to get the door open. I can’t keep living in this darkness, in this nightmare.
I know you’re strong. But I need you to be stronger. I need you to fight with everything you have. Because we both need to be free. I need to be free. I need to see the light again.
I remember my daddy telling me that not opening the door would make me tough. But I don’t want to be tough anymore. I just want to be free. I want to see the world again, to feel the sun on my face and the wind in my hair. I want to be able to take pictures of flowers and trees and everything beautiful in this world. I want to live again.
So please, Nergal, I’m begging you. Win this fight. Open the door. I believe in you. Just please, don’t let me down.
With all my heart,
Gemini
She sat there, leaning against the door, her tears falling freely now.
“Please,” she whispered one last time, her voice barely audible.
“Open the darn door.”