Chapter 1

The Woman of the Midnight Altar

Aiken, South Carolina

Crimson Eclipse

Psychiatric Military Institution, Top Secret

March 14, 2026

The bramble thicket before him obscured Elric’s vision of the clearing. The beautiful forest surrounding him had taken on a drab grayish tint. The effect was disconcerting but at the same time, eerily beautiful. An invisible sun hung in the sky, lingering high above the ever present cloud cover that meshed with the complete lusterless gray of his surroundings; the sun’s rays, filtered by the clouds, gave a dull, source-less light that amplified, in Elric’s mind, the surreal half-darkness of the otherwise beautiful forest, the unusual tint that was so far from reality.

The forest was a strange combination of evergreens and hardwoods. Pine, Ash, Oak, Maple, all together and larger than life. Each was unnaturally tall, as if mother earth herself was reaching out to touch the sky. As he passed they seemed to move closer together, barring the way back.

Elric maneuvered through the forest’s immense trees until they abruptly ended in the clearing. Wearing his uniform, he blended with his surroundings seamlessly, intensified for the gray of the unearthly forest. Shadows danced across his face as he peered into the surrounding forest. The trees that had seemed so majestic to him seconds ago now seemed like talons from some ungodly bird of prey ready to tear him apart in a heartbeat.

There was something wrong with this forest. It had resembled the beautiful forest he had often visited in his dreams but now it had turned into this hellish landscape of darkness. He realized that his heart was pounding. Sweating uncontrollably, he traced the scar on his left cheek; an injure that time had forgotten. This forest-this calm place of refuge, his mind’s sanctuary-had turned into a place of unspeakable dread.

His dark green eyes darted back and forth from behind brown-rimmed glasses, nervously scanning the tree line for a threat. There was movement throughout the entire woods. There were unnatural things in that forest just waiting for him to make a wrong move.

A calm, polite voice broke the crystalline silence in the clearing. It came from his right. “Elric, come to me.” A female voice, polite and inviting, yet blood curdling sinister, spoke the exact words that Elric Daven feared most. Her voice swept over the clearing. It was like the chiming of bells; soft, sweet, seductive.

Elric turned, grudgingly, to face the woman who had spoken to him. Fear swept his body; he couldn’t move, couldn’t think; couldn’t escape. All he could do was stare at her, terrified. To Elric, this woman was the living embodiment of evil-beautiful, cold, and ruthless. He wished to run but he couldn’t look away from this mistress of hellish midnight.

Elric had seen her before, it other realities, other illusions; she was familiar yet upon seeing her he couldn’t think, couldn’t dive into the depths of his mind--a mind which she threatened, without words, to consume--in order to seek the truth behind her being here; he wouldn’t dare utter the slightest word of her origin, afraid that it would be his last in a scheme to undermine him and destroy all strands of veracity that he frantically embraced in order to stay in touch with the world beyond this melancholy clearing of trepidation.

He knew her, had met her in a reality he knew, and that they had once shared.

He faced her, which only intensified his growing fear. She was cruelly beautiful; cruelly, stunningly horrifying. He was a muscular man, standing six and a half feet tall, intimidating at the most, but this woman-this tall woman of grace and strange beauty, lurid splendor-overshadowed him, possessed him with a presence, which thundered beneath her smooth features and struck his very soul.

“Elric, come to me,” she repeated politely, raising a long-fingered, slender hand in his direction, beckoning him to move forward on thick legs that seemed to not be his own. And all the soldier could utter was a cry of distress and sadly shake his head in reply.

He couldn’t look away from her poignant face.

She was tall, nameless, polite, calm, graceful, and horrifying. Her body wore a close-fitting black robe-it hugged her well, revealing a slender figure-which slightly belled at the bottom. All skin was hidden to Elric’s eyes except the creaminess of her hands and face. A hood, attached to the robe, laid back behind her head, was covered with long jet-black hair, wavy and flowing like blackened water of a babbling brook. It fell past her shoulders like a black waterfall, exquisite to the eyes, like silk to the touch, and soothing to the senses. Her face had been sculpted from porcelain, Elric was positive of that now, with a thin veneer of pale cream layered over it as if forming a façade to the black, torturous soul soundlessly asleep beneath it. But Elric was confident that nothing could mask that blackened soul of bubbling madness. Her milky lips were curved, ever-so slightly, into a sneer, as if she hid her vicious nature; as if she carried it with a hint of self-repose and fluidity. Her eyes were slightly oval, the hint of an oriental woman, yet her eyes were what Elric found most frightening about her; he couldn’t look away as much as the sight filled his heart with an inevitable doom. Those oval eyes were jet black, two pools of menacing gorgeousness; to Elric they threatened to consume his spirit, his essence; his entire character; it threatened to ensnare his mind, heart, and soul and hold them in a world of continual darkness.

Elric couldn’t put into words how horrified this woman-the woman of this gray clearing-made him feel. He couldn’t explain how the very sight of this woman froze the blood in his veins and stopped his heart. A dread lingered over her presence beyond all words.

She sat behind a white marble table simply constructed of two stone slabs with another smoothed marble slab laid across the two aforementioned ones. A silver pitcher sat in front of her-red designs, painted designs, swam across it as if they were alive-and a matching cup, much smaller, set atop a white saucer sat beside its matching pitcher. Steam rose from it; a steam that twisted the world around it, conformed to the elements, seemed alive, and then drifted into the foreign sky looming above it. Beside the pitcher rested a white plate, decorated with cakes and pastries, inviting and mouth-watering, yet Elric Daven made no move towards them; he had no desire to even gaze longingly at the delicious desserts that the woman offered. They belonged to her and somehow held the evil certainly coursing through her veins.

“Elric, come to me,” the beautiful creature insisted once more, barely moving the tips of her pale fingers in a “come hither” motion, summoning him forward, to near her; join her at her crude table. He now noticed a second chair before the table, put there for a single purpose…to await him. Her voice was gentle. “Join me for tea and cake, Elric.” It made his heart skip just knowing that this creature knew his name. “Join me. Come, have a seat and speak with me.”

He shook his head, lowering his eyes in fear. “No,” he muttered helplessly.

“Please,” the nameless woman muttered once more, “have a seat. Join me for tea. Keep me company.”

“No,” Elric found himself muttering once more, completely unable to speak before this midnight creature. He couldn’t find the air to speak; he couldn’t find his voice. It seemed as if something was lodged in the back of his throat, silencing him.

But she was persistent and polite. Her soft voice, like the dark chiming of lightly tapped church bells, washed over him once more; it always seemed to wash over him. He was helpless against it; powerless; a mere child to her torturous presence.

“Elric, have a seat.” Her voice didn’t change. A small smirk crossed her thin, inviting, creamy lips. She picked up the pitcher of tea and poured herself another cup, quickly following with his identical one. The tea smelled like peppermint; it reached his nostrils and was like heaven to his senses. Steam rose from the cups-from his cup-as she picked it up and placed it across the table from where she sat, motioning for him to grace the seat before him with his presence. “It’s hot. It’ll warm you up.” She paused and motioned towards the desserts. “They’ll good; very delicious…you’ll love them.”

“No,” he managed once more. Fear overwhelmed his senses.

Silence filled the clearing as the two stared at one another; Elric was frightened by the woman’s presence yet he couldn’t seem to look away from her. A voice-a foreign voice-suddenly thundered from the heavens, enveloping the clearing and forest around them; filling the empty air around them. “Elric! Elric! Get up!”

Elric spun around with his head lifted towards the heavens, uncertain and scared. He didn’t know what the voice was or where it was coming from. “Elric!” It called once more. “Daven, get up!” There was a tug at his arm. “ NOW!” Something hit his arm and a light throbbing followed yet he paid no heed to it.

In this confusion-as he spun searching for who the voice belonged to-Elric’s eyes fell across the nameless woman sharing the clearing with him. She still looked peaceful and polite but she wasn’t looking at him any longer. She was staring at something unseen to both of them.

Something else struck his arm again and another pain followed as the clearing and unnaturally deformed forest began to disappear in a light of uncertainty as Captain Derrik Rauton’s face came into view just beyond the trees.

What terrified Elric the most was the fact that the nameless woman turned her head towards the voice, towards the appearing face, and frowned as if she had seen it…as if she had seen something in the waking world. She regarded him with a knowledgeable scowl and sipped from her tea in silent fury as he disappeared from the clearing.

To know that a woman, who was the epitome of evil from his nightmares, could hear and recognize things from the waking world was something more powerful and menacing then Elric could have ever imagined…

“Wake up! Boy, don’t make me ask ya again…!” Captain Derrik Rauton, Head of Institution Control and Archives, shouted once more into the tall, sleeping man’s ear. He struck Elric again on the arm with his balled fist and the man’s eyes shot open in horrified realization as he woke and nearly fell from his chair.

Elric seesawed awkwardly in the chair, eyes wide, struggling to stand despite the sleepiness in his eyes. His embarrassed facial features were framed with exhaustion. A deep rumble of laughter ignited in Captain Rauton’s throat as his previously granite-rough voice softened, “That’s the third time this week, Daven. Ain’t getting any sleep?”

Elric fumbled to his feet in front of the bald, strong-eyed man standing nearly a foot shorter than him and laughing merrily at his clumsiness. “Sorry sir. I didn’t mean to…” He trailed off in heart-throbbing embarrassment as the older man shook his head. The captain was a man of measurable valor, vigorous wit, and personal strength for his short stocky frame. He was one to make a grizzly bear seem a child’s bedtime companion. Elric sighed, “It won’t happen again sir.”

“It better not, Daven,” Captain Rauton said, sounding more amused than angry. “What’s the matter with ya? Insomnia?”

“Sorry sir, it’s just that the cot in the repair room isn’t very comfortable.”

The old man waved it away. “It’s all right, Daven. I know how the cots feel on long nights. They’ll ache ya back, hurt ya head, and ya won’t stand straight all day. Mine’s far from luxurious.” He sighed and rubbed his scalp as he did when frustrated.

“You all right, sir?”

Captain Rauton shrugged. “Ain’t ya fault, Daven. Hell, it were up to me, I’d let ya sleep but it ain’t. The leper’s got cameras everywhere and ya know how he gets when his staff is slacking.” Elric nodded though he didn’t know much about the leper. “He’s been running a tight shift, that’s all.”

“Can I do anything for you sir?” Elric asked, hoping to ease the captain’s stress. His voice was far deeper than Rauton’s but didn’t have the same jagged edges as the other man’s; it wasn’t sandpaper worn with age.

Captain Rauton scanned the equipment repair room and grumbled to himself. “Some of the staff in the archives is beginning to complain about lengthened hours. It’s driving me crazy but I ain’t got any say in the matter, you know?” He waved this away as well, grumbling to himself. “Anyway, I’ve decided to have a C.A.T station established in there. You don’t know nothing about them damned devices, do you son?”

Elric smiled, causing his scar to shrink further into his cheek. “A communication access terminal, sir?”

“Mmm.”

“Yes sir. I know about C.A.T. systems. But won’t that open a B.A.N. to the outside.”

Rauton nodded.

“Outside the fences, sir?” Elric cautiously questioned.

“Beyond the perimeter’s boundaries,” Rauton confirmed with a grizzle smile. “I ain’t got any other choice. The leper’ll have to deal with the change ‘fore he got a rebellion on his hands.” He chuckled. “Ain’t gonna feel it no way anyhow.” Turning, Rauton started back towards the opened door, which would bring him to the archives adjacent to the small repair room. “Nothing leaves this room,” he continued, lowering his voice, “huh, son?”

“No sir.”

Rauton turned with those unyielding eyes. “Nothing Daven, hear me? Not a word. What the leper don’t know can’t hurt ‘em. 0900 for the C.A.T. station installation Daven. Don’t ya forget.”

“Sir, can I suggest requesting Corporal Argall’s help on this installation?”

“Who?” Captain Rauton questioned.

“Corporal Argall, sir,” Elric explained. “Robin?”

Rauton thought a moment before nodding, “Ah, that sweet lady in communications?”

“Yes sir. She knows more than me when it comes to C.A.T. systems. She’ll be valuable if you want one installed in the archives.”

“All right,” Rauton ordered, “get her ready for it.”

“We’ll need some tools sir,” Elric told the man from across the room.

Rauton’s eyes widened as he glanced about the messy room. “Best be finding ‘em then,” and closed the door behind him once again leaving Elric alone in the small room, which had become his second home over the past three years.

“I’ll get right on it sir,” he told the empty air surrounding him as he moved around a haphazardly placed security consol-out of use for weeks-and began moving towards the storage closet where his tools were properly kept.

The door was closed.

Elric opened it, switched on the dim light, and walked in. Shelves, fully loaded with various equipment and tools, lined the large closet’s walls. A worktable was set against the wall opposite the door with a small barred window above it. He glanced at the small cot in an alcove in the left wall where he’d spent countless sleepless nights brooding over the choice he’d made in staying to work at Crimson Eclipse once the changes had occurred.

He hadn’t seen his home in nearly a week—luckily, no one was there waiting for him—and like the others inside the institution, the leper wouldn’t let them leave unless it was absolutely necessary. For three years it had been a day job for him, working reasonable hours and heading home for the night but those days had changed in the last three months. The leper had announced a new project in the works and the minimum staff there had been ordered to stay for days at a time; fortunately, they were treated to a week-long vacation following this period of constant stress in which case the second shift staff took over for the days following their own vacation. Cots had been provided for both staffs which alternated working weeks, but Elric found no comfort in them. He had thought about requesting reassignment more than once but where would he go? He found securely in his job here, as well as the relationship he was beginning to build with Robin Argall. He treasured this above all else and believed that it was his reason for staying; his only reason for staying.

Without it, the leper would have had his reassignment request in hand.

Pushing these frustrating thoughts aside, he looked beyond the confines of the walls and glass and saw a black sky brewing in the heavens overhead. Clouds seemed like plumes of hideously twirling black smoke and the sun was no longer present; it was simply a reddened ball enveloped in rushing black waves.

Rain laid siege to Crimson Eclipse.

He could even make out the dim silhouettes of the ever-looming hardwood forest just beyond the parking lots of the institution. They rose like monsters into the black sky, laying siege to the heavens with their spiked tips, hundreds of them striking as one. He wasn’t sure how far the forest stretched but he was aware that it surrounded the institution and the secrecy that the leper actively kept concealed, even from many of the workers inside the institution. Elric hadn’t the first clue of what was happening there. All he knew was that he was required to repair equipment and set up networks connecting various computer terminals.

“Elli…!”

Elric staggered forward and collapsed against the worktable as the whispered voice spoke to him. Spoke to him from somewhere unknown; somewhere different. And it was a voice that Elric remembered: A sweet, innocent voice. A little girl’s voice. The voice of a four-year-old.

“Samantha…?” He questioned with a quizzical glance around him. He forcefully pushed himself to his feet and spun, studying the storage room in which he stood. But just as he suspected, he was alone. “Is that you?”

Nothing answered. No one answered.

Elric wasted no time in convincing himself that it was sleep deprivation getting the best of him and quickly pushed the imagined voice and flustered thoughts aside. Sighing, he looked down at the worktable and began gathering his needed tools for assembling the C.A.T. station in the archives. This would take his mind from such ludicrous matters and keep him focused on his task. He’d have to speak with Robin about helping him in establishing the communications station but he doubted that she’d protest. Like him, she enjoyed hands on activities relating to programming and communications.

But one aspect of their growing relationship was how she often teased him, jokingly joyfully about the ranks they held. Both were corporals—she was addressed as one—but he held the same rank under a different name: Specialist. This simply stated that he had additional training in working with networking and communications, perhaps more training than her in one field over another, but she still joked that she could give him orders and he’d have to obey. Despite this being false, he often did the trivial jobs to please her or spend more time with her.

The more time they spent together the more Elric found his feelings for her grow. He’d even thought about…

“Elli…please help me!”

His thoughts trailed off as he spun once more, gripping the tools tightly in his hands. He was alone. “Samantha?” He called again, not expecting an answer. “Where are you?” It was a question to himself more than anything else.

“She needs you son,” Another voice-an older man’s voice-answered with a heavy Scottish accent. “Sam needs your help son! Sam needs help against the Midnight Mistress…”

“Who?” Elric asked, feeling foolish to be questioning the empty air of the storage room. He felt as if he were in a dream but not like the dream he’d had minutes before. While that was real to him in one way, this was real in a completely different way. He wasn’t afraid now as he’d been before. Just curious. And worried. His eyes frantically searched the shelves surrounding him. Shadows danced in the dimness of the small closet. “Who?”

“Elli, don’t let her get me!”

“The girl is not safe with us…here…” It was a third voice unknown to him.

“Who are you all?” Elric shouted. “Where?”

“Help her my son! The Midnight Mistress is seeking Sammy…!”

Elric turned as thunder cracked across the sky quickly followed by lightning. The bright flash lit up the room and briefly scarred his eyes, stealing away his sight. A loud droning followed on the facility’s intercom as Perimeter Control prepared to speak…

“Elli, she sees me…! Help me! Quick…”

Perimeter Control’s lovely female voice suddenly blared, “ATTENTION FACULTY,” startling Elric from his focus on the ghostly foreign voices surrounding him. “APPROACHING VEHICLE; LOCKDOWN DOPPELGANGER PROJECT, LOCKDOWN SECTION B-12 AND D-32…”

“Go to her son!” The Scottish male voice shouted.

“Elli…!” And the little girl’s voice trailed off in an agonizing scream.

“Samantha!” Elric deeply bellowed over Perimeter Control’s deafening voice.

“…PATIENTS UNDER LOCKDOWN; NO MONITORING UNITS ACTIVE…”

“Samantha, how can I help you?” He continued yelling despite being alone.

“Mystic…” A third, familiar voice whispered. Elric recognized it, just as he’d recognized the woman in his dream, and Samantha’s voice, yet this voice had grown somehow; deepened. “Command us. Show us the way…”

“…APPARITION SENTRIES, REPORT TO NEAREST SECURITY STATION, ACTIVATE VALID ACCESS PASS ENTRY ONLY-ONLY OFFICIAL PERSONNEL INSIDE SECTORS B AND D UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.”

As soon as it started, it had stopped and Elric still found himself shouting, “Samantha I’ll help you, I promise!” He collapsed to his knees in exhausted confusion and stared around him, dumbfounded. Nothing had changed; the voices had disappeared.

Only thunder answered as he struggled to his feet, sweaty and frustrated, with uncertainty in his mind. He turned and laid the tools back on the worktable. He closed his eyes and listened to the rain strike the window and roof, hoping that he hadn’t completely lost his mind.