Free Underworld (Dark Passage) by M.L. Woolley

compose myself
but not before Tom noticed. He hands me a linen
handkerchief. I hate being out of control of my
emotions and dab at my eyes.
    We sit in silence for a few minutes and Tom got up to
put a log on the fire. He stirred the embers with a
poker and stood watching me. He turned toward me
after a while. His eyebrows arched and he gave me a
slow smile, his eyes twinkling. “I wouldn’t worry
Ivy. It seems to me that you have a lot more going
for you than you know”.
    I clear my throat and look away embarrassed by my
tears. “I suppose I’m not really cut out for this sort of
thing”.
    Tom was sitting on a chair scratching his beard
thoughtfully. It seemed to be the thing he did when
deep in thought. There was a long pause that lasted
several seconds before he spoke. The corners of his
mouth turned up in a smile.
    “You’re not doing anything that you haven’t been
equipped for. You would never have been chosen if
you couldn’t do what you were sent here to do.”
    “How can I be equipped when I don’t even know
what I’m supposed to do?”
I feel a sudden surge of
panic rising up in me as the words tumble out. I don’t
understand what I have done to deserve this and the
thought of what I will have to face is terrifying.
    “The way you are to go will come to you. You will
be led by an inner feeling and when the time is right
you will know what to do. The light will find you
and show you other dimensions and doorways which
you may pass through”.
    I search
Tom’s face in anticipation that he will tell me
more. What he is saying doesn’t make any sense but
I can sense truth in his eyes.
    “Don’t worry for your life Ivy
. You are protected and
your death must come from the source that is leading
you,” said Tom. He looked into my face with
kindness that reached far into my mind.
    I want to ask Tom why he was here, but I feared that
if he told me, then this beautiful place would
disappear and I would be back in my nightmare. The
weight on my chest is immediate and I have a sense
of dread. I have seen glimpses of this place in my
dreams and I know there are things I am to see before
leaving.
    There’
s a sinking feeling in my stomach and I know
that my time here is short. I reach out with all my
senses in an effort to understand why I am here. I
suddenly feel tired and sit down on the sofa. My eyes
close for a moment and then my mind opens like a
door.
    I see myself walking in the trees from the field
beyond the iron fence. When I reach the forest I hide
under a dense bush to rest. As soon as I fall asleep I
see a beautiful light surrounding me. I get up from
where I am sleeping and walk into the light and find
myself in a void. I have the sensation of being
hugged and protected in the light.
    The most powerful feeling of peace and love
envelopes me as I walk through the light. I hadn’t
noticed when I initially came into the forest but I had
walked into another dimension. I am so distracted by
the beauty of the light that I hadn’t noticed the others
at first.
    There are a multitude of people all around me that I
can sense but not see. I intuitively know that they are
there to help me navigate to the dimension I need to
go. I can feel their energy pushing me forward.
    There is an intersection of various dimensions and I
am walking on a path. It seems to be made up of
white rock that crunches as I walk. The path takes
me by a series of doors. The doors are transparent
and I can see into them as I walk past.
    Some doors lead into forests or beaches while others
open up into cities both from the past and the future.
I pass many doors that I would love to explore but
then there are some dark dimensions. I can feel fear,
chaos and evil in these portals. My heart starts to beat
faster at the sight of a lava red fire burning from one
dimension. I stop to look inside wondering what this
doorway leads into.
There is a mountain at the start of the portal with red
lava