Ten Stages of Darkness

By Amiere C. Alexander

In a world plagued by loss and filled with everything she despises, Dawn embarks on a desperate quest for a better life. Miraculously, she is granted a perfect existence surrounded by the love of those she holds dear, including those she has lost. Yet, amidst the sunlit wonders of this new reality, a shadow lingers—the malevolent presence of Htaed, a relentless monster who stalks Dawn relentlessly, even infiltrating her room and haunting her every waking moment.

One fateful night, Htaed seizes Dawn, spiriting her away to the depths of their dark dominion. Here, humans are cruelly used as slaves, their life force drained until they become wandering souls, eternally trapped within the foreboding castles and grounds of Hell. To escape this harrowing realm, Dawn must endure a treacherous journey through ten stages, each one representing her deepest fears and those of her fellow captives. Only by conquering these stages can she hope to return home to the real world.

Yet, failure carries a grim consequence: should Dawn falter, she will be condemned to serve Htaed and the other merciless rulers of this lower kingdom until her spirit withers away, becoming just another lost soul in the vast abyss of torment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Aug 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9781398478206

Amiere C. Alexander

Amiere C. Alexander wrote this book as a 12-year-old and now shares this book years later. This book was originally inspired by a dream at eight years old which eventually made its way into many aspects and sections of this book. She hopes to continue writing in the future and inspire others to do the same.

Book preview

About the Author

Amiere C. Alexander wrote this book as a 12-year-old and now shares this book years later. This book was originally inspired by a dream at eight years old which eventually made its way into many aspects and sections of this book. She hopes to continue writing in the future and inspire others to do the same.

Dedication

To her, him, and my family.

Copyright Information ©

Amiere C. Alexander 2023

The right of Amiere C. Alexander to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398478190 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398478206 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2023

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Acknowledgement

This, I promise, will be short and sweet. Firstly, I’d like to thank my family for their love and support.

Secondly, I’d like to thank the entirety of the Fenty family in Colorado, especially Mr. Travis, thank you for your love and support from the beginning of this journey.

Lastly, I would like to thank Mrs. Wehtje who I shared my first copy with and who originally made me love writing.

Part One

Different Worlds

Dear reader, are you aware of the word ‘hate’?

Hate is pointless and vain

But it is for a reason

Every person goes through certain adversities

Some let it destroy them.

Something perhaps devastating and soul-crushing

Welcome to the story that is just that!

Welcome to the story that seems like there is pointless suffering

Nothing is pointless

Hate, love, fear, nothing is

Welcome to the story in which you will understand my suffering

So if they read this,

This is my downfall

This is the real world

Prologue

Reader, does everything make sense the very moment it happens to you? No, I don’t think so. So before you judge this child’s life story, just know, at first it does not make sense. When you are born, you do not know what to do with your life. But soon, you start to know what you love, what you hate, and your purpose, then it all makes sense. Keep that in mind.

You could also consider this to be a fairy tale, but it is not. Fairy tales end in a happily ever after, and the prince saves the princess. This one, well, it doesn’t have a princess or a prince charming. I would rather you think of this boy as a vulnerable, and rather weak. And this is also not the book where the princess saves the day. There is no heroine, and there is no hero, they are just…normal people. So just get that into your mind, if you believe in any of the hero stuff, I suggest you drop this book now if you are one of those folks.

This story is a story where you must rely on yourself.

This story is much bloodier and nastier than most. You should consider this as a scary tale, a nasty tale, or a bloody tale, but please, not a fairy tale. So, now we shall begin, since you hopefully got the message very clearly and directly and also got the message that if you are one of those positive, happy, go-lucky folks, you shouldn’t read this.

Warning: drop this right now!

Still here?

Fine…

Some time ago, in a little school not far from the city, there was a group of children. Now, there were good ones and there were bad ones just like any school. Astrid, however, was not good, and nor were the children that hated her. She was not loved by the teachers nor her classmates, she was hated…very much in fact. Her parents didn’t seem to care about how their child acted, so Astrid was never told what to do. So as you may know, reader, that is a simple recipe for disaster. Astrid did not know what was right and what was wrong, that was the big problem.

The hate grew stronger and stronger until it sprouted into some kind of death wish. You may say, But they were children! They’re not your typical nineteenth-century children, they’re very…oh how do I say this? ‘Ambitious’. In a sense that if they want it, they’ll do anything they can to get it. One thing to remember is that this was the past, so magic and crazy things did exist. It’s just humans nowadays, they just don’t know what really exists in this time. There are no normal things in this world back then, we all have a little bit of crazy and a little bit of evil, just these children had a little bit too much of evil and too much immaturity.

The children who hated Astrid heard of supernatural things, legends almost. They learned of creatures that could breathe fire, not dragons that breathe fire, creatures…

None of these creatures in particular caught their attention. Then, they heard of a creature that could grant anyone’s wishes. It is not a genie, okay?

It was called ‘Wish’. It could give you what you desired, but on one condition: never try to look under the long hood or you will regret your very existence. So, with these things in mind, and as utterly clueless as the children were, they went. Where they went, you may ask? Well, to the deepest depths of the earth you can possibly travel to without burning alive. They overcame many obstacles and left their parents worrying but them. Their hatred for Astrid grew so much that it almost became unbearable. They seemed to have forgotten, like most of us do, that we are merely human. Especially for them, they were merely children.

And finally they found ‘Wish’…

Who is it? Who disturbs me? a voice said in poorly lit cave.

Little children! a girl named Ashley called.

Come in, come in then, children, you must want somethinggg very muchhh.

Now, reader, you must know that Wish did not want anything to do with the children. She was just surprised that these puny little terrors had come this far without starving or dying. Come, come, I am Wish, I will help you with anything you need. If they knew what was about to happen to Astrid, they wouldn’t care the slightest. But what was going to happen later on in their life they would surely regret this very decision they made. They followed Wish deeper into the cave that was covered with knifes engraved in the walls and, as if it were a masterpiece, a huge cauldron lay in the middle. Now, they were scared. But hatred for someone so deep can leave them unafraid and almost fierce.

What do you want? Wish hissed. Now, pause, before we go any further, I just want to make this clear, you can wish for many things, the girls wanted many things. But they were thinking generally and the whole purpose of this trip was to ruin Astrid’s life.

Can we wish for more than one thing? Allison asked. Wish turned to them.

No! My name is Wish not Wishes!

Oh…well…there is this girl named Astrid, Ashley explained, she is rude and bossy and deserves to be cursed.

Wish pondered this for a moment, it did not think of children as evil or bossy, but really innocent.

Hmm, maybe, what has she ever done to you? Wish scratching her chin as if pondering what to do with Astrid.

She pushes us around in the hallways and locks us in the bathroom and blames it on the caretaker. She throws food in our hair and gets away with it! Wish knew two things. One: She couldn’t kill the child; she knew that she didn’t do anything horrible. Two: These terrorists would never leave her alone until she granted their wish. So with these few things in mind, she thought of a curse.

What is it she’s scared of?

Spiders! Spiders! Ashley cried. Wish smiled mischievously.

Ooh, yes, BIG spiders! Allison gushed. Wish’s grin grew wider as her hand reached into the big pot and pulled out a spider that wrapped around Wish’s hand. She put the huge spider in a jar and gave it to the girls.

It will only hurt Astrid; I won’t kill her.

Why not? Ashley complained.

Do you want help or not? Wish snapped, I have many things to do and I have no time for little girl mayhem!

It’s not mayhem! Allison cried. You don’t understand how much we hate her!

Then this will do the trick, little girl. Once you get back put this in an enclosed space where she cannot escape. They wanted to argue but they knew that Wish was getting angry. She had a short temper you see, so they thanked her without any more complaints and started the long journey home.

Once they got home, they rested up and went to school the next day. At bathroom break, the action started. They made sure no one was in sight and they grabbed Astrid by the shoulders and shoved her into a bathroom stall. Astrid’s eyes opened in horror as she saw what was there.

Let me go! she cried, trying struggling to get free of the girls grasp.

Astrid, go to the bathroom already! Ashely retorted, but Astrid merely fought back. Because in the stall there was a big spider. It was a tannish-brown colour and it was about six feet long. It clung to the wall just above the toilet. It sat there, literally just waiting…

There’s a…s-spider… she stuttered.

No, there isn’t! Allison laughed shoving Astrid to the best of her ability. But the girls knew better, they knew that what they were doing was wrong but one thing I have learned, reader, is that children only want to get away with no consequences. And they knew even more well that Astrid was terrified of spiders. I hate children.

I don’t want to; I don’t want to! She sobbed. She pleaded for help hoping that the teachers would come, come to save her, but they didn’t.

Just go! the girls said giggling. They shoved her into the bathroom stall. She screamed and sobbed for help, but she was alone facing her fears, but not in any good way. We’d all hate it if we were in our own Hell, alone…

She couldn’t crawl under because there was only a crack from the door to the ground. And she wouldn’t dare to stand on the toilet, because that was much too close to the spider. She could not go to another stall because, once again, the door was much too close to the ground. In other words, dearest reader, she was stuck.

She pounded on the walls of the stalls, but the girls that hated Astrid leaned on the stalls to close her in. Suddenly, the spider got angry with the horrifying sounds of crying and laughter and Astrid pounding on the door it jumped at Astrid. It clung on to her hair and pulled at it. Astrid screamed even louder as it tugged harder and harder. Astrid slammed against the door but it held firm.

STOP IT! Astrid sobbed.

That’s what you get for being so rude to us! Ashley and Allison said together in a sing-song voice.

PLEASE! I WON’T BE MEAN TO YOU AGAIN! Astrid howled.

No! they all said cheerfully. And by that time the spider had already clung to the ends of her hair. She tried to pull it off but it wouldn’t budge…it was there stuck forever. She sobbed pounding on the door, the girls intentionally let go and she fell forward. She cried even harder and the girls screamed in delight and ran away. Should I tell you though, they too were very much afraid of spiders. She got up and ran home where her parents worked most of the time.

She opened the door and cried for their help. They came down and looked at her. Unfortunately, they did not recognise their child and threatened to call the police. They did not know their daughter was slowly becoming less and less human. After all, is it human to have a spider hanging onto your hair? I think not.

Who are you? her mother cried.

It’s Astrid! She cried.

You are not our daughter! Not at all! Her father cried.

Just go away! Her mother cried. Astrid ran out of the house, her heart shattered into thousands, no, millions. She ran past her neighbourhood, past her school, past her life. She ran to a valley, a dark rainy place where no one went anymore, a simply forgotten place. She would also become a simply forgotten person. She tripped on a bump and fell to the grass. She curled up into a ball and began to cry, she wasn’t crying because she was scared, she was crying because she was hoping this was a dream when it really wasn’t happening.

I suppose we all do that sometimes, but this nightmare she will probably never ever wake from. She kept on sobbing but then she heard a voice. A voice like a snake, if it had one, it hissed and spoke in a quiet manner. At first, she thought it was just her imagination but it got louder and louder until she could make out what it was saying.

Comme, little girl, I won’t hurrt you.

Astrid’s eyes opened wide, I-I don’t know who you are, or what you are for that matter I just cannot come with you. Where are you anyway?

I am everywhere…trust me…and you will know me…very soon. The earth opened up and swallowed Astrid whole. This unknown and peculiar person did not give her a choice, Astrid was a slave to her now. This unknown person needed someone to look after her once she was old and once she would cripple. Astrid would then become her.

Unknown

That’s who Astrid is now. Her ‘body’ was later found and Astrid was presumed dead. However, they were wrong, of course, you humans always are. She was becoming something much more powerful, dangerous. And that was only the beginning of her suffering. She experienced burning, nightmares, dizzying heights that she was forced to jump off, things that can crush her, drowning, insects that tried to crawl in her ears, hallucinations, and most importantly, reality. Reality that she was a dead person, to Earth. Dead, yet, very much alive.

Astrid took an oath that she would kill mercilessly, that she would torture those who tortured her. So those girls thought that they could get away with cursing Astrid? They thought so…but as life goes, you will never get away with anything. Those girls and their children would be cursed. Why she did that? Well, you’d have to ask her yourself.

Their poor, poor children you may say.

Don’t cry, don’t fuss, dear children, it’s about time you’ve faced reality.

Chapter One

Dawn Rowe

They say that if you write down something like your troubles or your worries then you will feel better. Those people are filthy liars. I wrote down my fears, my worries, my life crisis, and I still feel like an idiotic wimp. I listed them in a notebook hoping that one day I could look at it and laugh about how much of a baby I was.

Spiders

Heights

Anything gigantic that can crush me

Anything to do with sports or athleticism

Nightmares and hallucinations

Insects

Drowning

Burning

The dark

My family and I dying

Ten fears, I thought, most of which I won’t even have to face. But I knew that there were much more, but I couldn’t think of them right now. I was never going to get through high school. I stared at my list, mortified with myself. I was suddenly aware of my surroundings and I stood up abruptly and walked to my next class. On the way, everyone avoided me as if I cast a dreadful stench of rotting eggs. They moved out of the way as I went through.

Look it! It’s Cinderella! one person said, they knocked books out of my hand. They spilled out on to the floor and I picked them up quickly. But my notebook was still on the ground. I did not retrieve it in time, instead the person did for me. What’s this? Oh look here, it’s what she’s afraid of…spiders, heights, gigantic things that can crush her, sports, insects, drowning, burning, nightmares and hallucinations, the dark, and her family and her dying! The whole hall broke with hysterical laughter. I grabbed the notebook from his hand and ran to my next class.

At the end of the day, I got into Dad’s car; he didn’t look so happy, he was pale and if he wasn’t blinking, I would’ve thought he was a statue.

Dad spoke, How was school? he asked.

Fine, I replied. There was an awkward silence between us and it made me uncomfortable. Dad was never quiet it didn’t matter whether he was angry or not he always had something to say. Something must have gotten him so mad that he couldn’t talk and think straight. He looked very pale; his eyes were wider than normal and his fists were tightly clasped around the steering wheel. They were turning purple from being squeezed so hard.

Have a good day at…school? he said again.

You already asked me that question.

Oh.

Are you alright, Dad? I asked.

Fine, yes, I’ve never been better. I’m just tired, he stuttered. As we approached the traffic light to go home, I noticed we turned left, we didn’t take the right turn to go home.

Have a good day at work? I asked.

Yup, he said with fake happiness.

Oh, that reminds me, is Mum back from her treatment? I mean I know I can’t talk to her until she gets a bit better but I was just wondering… He suddenly turned horrifically whiter. Is she all right?

She’s tired, about to go to a deep sleep, he answered. When we stopped at a traffic light, he shrunk back in his seat and ran his hand through his hair.

Dad, I said quietly, are you sure you are all right?

I’m fine, Dawn. He gave me a fake smile and continued to drive. I shrugged and looked out the window, I didn’t pay attention to where we were going after that. Strangely, we ended up in the hospital…

What are we doing here?

Dawn, Father said in a hoarse whisper that I could barely hear, it’s time to say goodbye…

Goodbye…to who? I asked, matching his whisper.

Chapter Two

Dawn

I sat at the hospital bed hoping mother would wake. They said she’d die but I couldn’t ever imagine this happening so I never listened. She was still awake but look barely conscious. She looked at me with her huge blue eyes and her papery white skin.

Dawn, she whispered.

Huh? I asked leaning close to Mum’s ear.

You all right?

Why do you care if I’m all right? she had still become so selfless even when she was sick.

I still care for you, even if I am dying.

You’re not dying, I said adamantly, they said you were going to die years ago, but look: you’re still here, alive and— I paused before I said healthy because I knew she was anything but healthy.

I think-I think she’s killing me, Mum said.

I’m sorry what? I asked.

I’m so sorry I messed it up. All I want for you is to be happy, but now she’s going to find you, so stay hidden. She said quietly, I wasn’t quite sure I had heard her correctly.

What? I asked and leaned close to her ear.

If she finds you, stay hidden. She’ll find you and the spiders will too. Her eyes fluttered, she was probably just tired, If I could’ve changed anything from then to now it was to never have done it. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to cause you such pain. The spiders are going to be happy now, not that I’m gone. She grabbed my chin and held it close to her face, Promise me if she finds you, you run, if the spiders crawl near you, you hide. Anywhere they are, you aren’t. Do you promise?

She was scaring me now, wither her spider nonsense. I could barely think as she repeatedly asked me over and over again if I understood to which I shook my head dumbly waiting for her to stop. When she did, her heart rate dropped dramatically. I’m so exhausted I can barely stay awake.

Then you should sleep.

I’m afraid then that I’ll never wake.

I’ll wake you up, I said.

You should let me go, I’m exhausted. I’m tired. I want to sleep.

I wasn’t sure of what was going on, or if she was just being negative. Sometimes she could be like this. Down for just no reason. Then you should sleep.

I watched her fall asleep. We all did. And when she was gone I did not feel but one thing.

The doctors, with a sour look on their face said, I’m sorry, it’s the best we could do, but this could not be prevented. Dad shrunk in to the chair and buried his hands in his face. As my uncle started to comfort him and tell him it was going to be all right. I starred at her, maybe I was in shock, I failed to feel anything.

I left the room once my relatives were seeking to hug and comfort one another, I didn’t need that, I didn’t need their fake sadness.

Where are you going? one of my aunts asked.

Away, I answered quietly. I opened the door and walked out. When I was sure there was no one in the hallway, I started to jog. My jog became a run and then I was sprinting. I found a bathroom and locked myself in a stall. A person came in to the bathroom. Dawn, a familiar female voice said. I didn’t answer I remained very still and very silent. It’s time to go, I know you’re in here.

Please, I just want to stay here.

You have to get out of here one day, you can’t stay in the dark forever.

I want to, I whispered. She sighed and I heard the door close, she left. I eventually got out of the stall I dragged myself, unable to hold my own weight back into the room. Dad and I’s eyes met for a moment.

Where were you? Dad asked.

Bathroom, I answered. I sat down in the chair and I thought for a moment, What if there was a world where she didn’t die and didn’t have cancer? If such world existed then that was where I would live. But all I wanted to do right now is find that world and forget that this one never existed.

At Mum’s funeral, our relatives came