The Queen of the Underverse - Chapter 21
- Donovan Evans-Foto Dono
- 1 day ago
- 12 min read
A Note from Sarah Mitchel: They tell you space is quiet. They never mention how loud it gets after someone’s gone.
Rebecca and I trained for years together — long days, endless drills, the same stale coffee in the simulators. You start to think you know every breath, every word before it’s said. Then one day, a micrometeoroid storm hits, the comms crackle, and suddenly, there’s only silence.
People keep asking me what happened. The truth is, I don’t know. One second she was there, by my side, pushing me into the airlock — the next, she wasn’t. NASA filed it under “mission anomaly.” I just call it impossible.
Sometimes, I look up at the night sky and swear I see something shimmer — like a door opening where no door should be. If you listen close enough, you can almost hear her voice through the static.
— Sarah Mitchel, Flight Engineer, Expedition 92
“Ah, yes — the humans always look to the sky, hoping their missing return from it. How sweetly naïve. They never grasp that the stars are not windows to the beyond — they are locks. And every so often, one of their kind stumbles upon a key.”
— Yuunral Naretar, Scholar of Banned Books, The Archives of Questionable Accuracy
Previously on The Queen of the Underverse…
She once drifted side by side with Sarah Mitchel, the kind of friendship forged in a vacuum and silence — two hearts tethered by faith and oxygen. Together, they laughed at the absurdity of surviving in space, at how fragile humans can be when the stars stop pretending to care. But stars lie. And when they lied to Rebecca Lopez, the door opened.
She fell through the impossible — through light, memory, and myth — into a world where dreams have teeth and gods forget their names. She found allies there. She found a child. She found hope.
Now — she’s been swallowed by the darkness from the void. And she’s lost the hope she found called S’Rah.
Ye saga continues…
Book 1 - The Queen's Saga - Chapter 21 - The Memory Farm™
Memories Made Fresh™
Rebecca woke with a start, her mind flashing with darkness and teeth that nipped at her.
Her heart pounded. “S’Rah.”
She was restrained in a chair—arms and legs bound, chest compressed, head locked in place. She pulled with all her strength. Nothing budged. “S’Rah!”
The room looked like an Earth warehouse, except for the glowing crystal lights overhead. One door. Crates on either side. No windows. The bindings looked like solid shadows—cold and alive.
“Whoever’s here, you’d better not hurt S’Rah!”
There was a familiar knock at the door.
Knock-knock. Knock-knock.…Knock-knock-knock.
Rebecca glared.
Knock-knock. Knock-knock.…Knock-knock-knock.
“Fuck you.”
The door opened. Kai walked in, smiling—too warmly for the room. “That wasn’t very nice. Are you comfy?” He sounded like a doctor greeting a patient, not a prisoner.
“Where’s S’Rah?”
Kai beamed. “She’s a bit tied up at the moment. But she’s safe.” He tilted his head. “Safety is relative, of course. I used to define it once—before I broke the equation.”
“Why did you take her? For the Market? For money?”
Kai sighed, almost wistful. “She’s just along for the ride. I was looking for you. I’ve been waiting.”
“Me? Why?”
“We’ve met before. I was bigger then—more teeth.” He smiled thinly. “A grand design, reduced to one articulate shadow. Efficiency.”
She saw it in his eyes—the shadow within them. “You’re the Dente Nocturn.”
“In the… flesh, so to speak. I can’t fully cross over yet, but I can punch holes. Enough holes and things leak through. The trick is in the rhythm.”
“But Shean dated you…”
“He dated Kai.” He gestured to himself with a sly grin. “Think of all this as cosplay.”
The grin lingered too long, waiting for applause only he could hear. “Shean was so heartbroken when he found out.” Kai licked his lips, savoring the memory. “Delicious surprise.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“That’s your question? I expected equations, not ethics.” His voice carried disappointment.
Asher entered—an older man, shirt open, a pale green Gem glowing in his chest. He pushed a bound youngling ahead of him and read from a clipboard.
“This is Lisie. Six years old. Discovered by Shean eight months ago. Should still have enough power.”
Rebecca’s eyes widened. “You kidnapped Shean’s younglings?”
Kai patted Lisie’s head. She flinched. Asher held her firm.
“She’ll do for the first round,” Kai said softly, like a chef discussing a recipe.
“What the fuck are you going to do to her?” Rebecca’s voice blazed.
Kai smiled, patient. “I’m not here to monologue. Monologues are for the insecure. I already know I’m right.”
He crouched near her. “I’m going to dig through your painfully small noggin—find what makes you tick.” Then, gently to the girl: “You can save me the trouble, Human. Just tell me what you are.”
“I’ll tell you everything I know—about me, about Earth. Just leave her alone.”
Kai shook his head. “Humor me. Prove my thesis wrong for once.” To Asher: “Collect her.”
Asher touched Lisie. She began to glow.
“Please, no,” she whispered to Rebecca. Then she dissolved into energy, absorbed into Asher’s Gem, which shimmered green and gold.
Kai inhaled sharply, eyes half-lidded. “Perfect. Precision. I do love when theory meets practice.” He turned toward Rebecca, voice almost tender. “Modified memory Gems are tricky.”
“What did you do to her?”
“We collected her. The memory we gathered will help me, since I can’t drag you back to my place. I’ll have to recreate it here at the Memory Farm.”
His hand drifted lazily through the air as though conducting music. “Ah, the memories—such obedient little worlds.”
Kai approached. Rebecca struggled.
“I’m going to get out and kill both of you.”
“You probably will,” he said mildly. “I deserve it. I’ve made Asher do awful things.”He smiled faintly. “He calls them awful, but they’re simply efficient. Emotion is waste heat.”
He leaned in close, breath cold. “I’m going to make you do horrible things, too. Growth always hurts.”
He placed one hand on her head and the other on Asher’s Gem. Cold power surged—something black and alien pierced her mind.
Rebecca screamed.
The world faded to mist.
She opened her eyes to a painful movie—one where the seats scratched and bit.
She was back in the room where she had first awakened, where she met Chalky and firecloak.
But this was different. She didn’t remember this.
Lyra stood over her, pale and exhausted, blue-green light pouring from her hands into Rebecca’s body. Everything hurt. Chalky held the Queen upright as she struggled to stand beside the bed. The light enveloped Rebecca—warm, soothing.
Lyra looked at her softly. “She feels familiar somehow. I feel like I know her from somewhere—sometime. Strange. I’ve never met her before. Why does she remind me of Dorthy?”
Chalky held a key while supporting the Queen. “Is she awake?”
“She is in a dream state,” Lyra whispered, unsure of her footing.
“I’ve got you, Your Majesty.” Chalky smiled.
“Still won’t call me Lyra, even now?” The Queen smiled weakly.
“Well, not to your face.” Chalky laughed softly.
The blue energy faded. Lyra collapsed into Chalky’s arms. “I see you’ve swept me off my feet again,” she murmured.
“I live to serve, ma’am.”
Lyra looked down at Rebecca. “She’ll sleep soon and forget the nasty bits. She’ll wake scared and cold. Take care of her while I rest. Please don’t leave her alone.”
She smiled coyly. “Give her lots of cuddles. She’ll like that.”
They left the room.
Kai’s silhouette bent the mist as he appeared over Rebecca.
“You’re a Queen’s Candidate, and you show me this? I can make you relive our first encounter if you like. We could start with the teeth again. I still remember the texture.”
What the fuck—when did this happen?
“Human,” he said, as if diagnosing her, “you perplex me. Why show me this? Sentiment, not substance.”
Fuck off! Leave me alone!
The mist cracked. He tilted his head, listening as if it sang.
You bastard—leave my mind!
Kai sighed—a sound almost compassionate—then dove again and again into her memories, tearing through childhood fears, desires, and cherished moments like pages from a book that refused to stay open.
Each time he surfaced, the Gem in Asher’s chest flickered weaker, its light dimming to an ugly pulse.
Asher went to collect another.
Rebecca’s face was streaked with tears, her expression caught between exhaustion and fury.
Saddened—or pretending—Kai looked down at her.
“I thought a Queen’s Candidate was supposed to be different.” His tone turned clinical. “I removed the others to ensure there’d be no competition. Maybe I needn’t have worried.”
He smiled faintly, as if grading a failed experiment.
When Asher returned with Toby, the boy’s pleading eyes searched for hope. The Gem pulsed with veins of silver and orange, beautiful and terrible.
“You’re still resisting, Rebecca,” Kai murmured. “There’s something you’re hoarding.” He leaned close, inhaling along her neck. “I can almost smell it. Memory and fear—aged to perfection.”
“Please, stop,” Rebecca whispered. “I don’t know anything. I’m not a candidate for anything. I just want to go home.”
Kai’s eyes brightened. “Home. You say it like a prayer.” His smile faltered. “I can smell through lies, Rebecca. Do you know how many hearts I had to eat to do this?”
His laugh trembled, almost reverent. “Half of what you’ve done here shouldn’t exist. You were meant to perish in orbit—burn clean and silent. You don’t belong here. What are you, really?”
“Lyra, she—”
“Lyra?” He barked a laugh—too sharp, too quick. “She couldn’t have done anything. She was dying. Broken. Like me.”
He crouched beside her, voice softening to a mock whisper. “You resisted me at the Doorwhere to Everywhere, and you’re resisting me now. How? Tell me the constant.”
“Lyra… her essence—”
“So you’ve said.” He gripped her face, inhaled deeply, then smiled—rapture in miniature. “I’ve seen that memory—and so have you now. That’s not it.”
He straightened, dusting invisible ash from his hands. “The Memory Farm is excellent for retrieval, but roots like yours need a sharper chisel.”
He touched the Gem in Asher’s chest, smiling with a teacher’s pride. “ Toby’s been reclaimed and recycled. Efficient. It’s showtime, Rebecca.”
Energy crackled from the Gem. When he touched her head again, his voice dropped to a near whisper. “Let’s see what dream you die in.”
The world faded to mist.
Rebecca screamed.
She opened her eyes.
She was back in the Ocala National Forest—with Sarah Mitchel. Their camping trip.
The day of the fight.
No. This is private. This… this…
She fell into the memory.
Sarah had suggested they go camping—she insisted on it. They’d gone before with friends and on training exercises, but this was their first time alone. Sarah said that since Rebecca had been spending so much time with Mark lately, they should have some quality time together—without him.
Rebecca thought Sarah was just being jealous because Mark was her friend from high school. Maybe she thought Rebecca was stealing him away.
Mark once told her he’d had a crush on Sarah in high school. He’d asked her out, but she rejected him. Later, he found out she’d turned him down because she didn’t have romantic feelings for guys. Rumors spread, bullies came, and Mark had tried to intervene—only to get beaten up for it. Sarah stepped in and saved him.
According to Sarah, after that, he followed her everywhere like a puppy. Mark denied it, of course.
When Rebecca met Mark at a party a few months ago, Sarah had been the one to bring her.
But lately, Sarah had been acting differently—less herself. Distant. Sarah wasn’t being Sarah. It was starting to piss Rebecca off.
They’d set up camp, gone hiking, gone swimming. All standard stuff. Still, something was off.
They sat around the campfire, making small talk that felt painfully fake.
“Okay, that’s it!” Rebecca snapped, cutting her off. “Either you tell me why we’re here, or I’m going home.”
Sarah looked like she wanted to protest. Rebecca held up a hand. “Nope. I’m not listening to any lame excuses. You wouldn’t put up with that from me.”
Her voice softened. “What’s going on?”
Sarah pulled her knees to her chest and hid her face. “I don’t think we should hang out anymore.”
Rebecca stared, her mind blanked, and she skipped to being stunned. “You don’t want to hang out? Like… you don’t want to be friends?”
Sarah looked away. “Yeah.”
“Why? All of a sudden?” Realization hit her. “Because of Mark?”
“Yeah.”
“What, so you’re not going to be friends with Mark either?”
“Yeah.”
Rebecca blinked. Sarah wasn’t joking—her face was deadly serious. She stood, looming over her friend.
Sarah wouldn’t look up. The silence between them was filled with the sound of the fire crackling.
When Sarah finally did look up, Rebecca slapped her so hard she fell over.
“What the fuck, Becks?” Sarah rubbed her cheek.
“No! You don’t get to call me Becks!” Rebecca stood over her, fists clenched, eyes glistening.
Sarah had seen angry Becks before—but this was Rebecca angry.
“You want to stop being friends just like that? For no good reason? I should keep slapping you until you start making sense!”
Sarah glared up. “Fucking try it and see what happens.”
Rebecca lunged, and Sarah rolled out of the way. Both jumped to their feet, squaring off.
“You know I’m the better fighter,” Sarah warned. “I’ll knock you on your ass.”
“Not tonight, bitch!” Rebecca swung first.
They traded blows around the campfire. Rebecca landed a few solid hits; Sarah blocked most and landed more. Still, Rebecca was proud of the right hook that dropped Sarah to the ground—until Sarah kicked her legs out, sending Rebecca face-first into the dirt and bloodying her nose.
When she rolled over, breathless, she found herself lying beside Sarah, who was equally winded, both staring up at the stars.
The campfire crackled.
Sarah spoke first. “I’m in love with you, Becks.”
Rebecca’s heart skipped. “Ah. So that’s why you don’t want to be friends.”
Sarah took a deep breath. “I was going to tell you at the party, but then you met Mark. I thought it’d be like one of your college boyfriends—but no. It had to be Mark.”
The fire popped softly between them.
“Mark’s a great guy, by the way,” Sarah added. “Not an asshole. I made sure of that growing up. He’s a step up from the college and Academy days.”
Rebecca reached over and grabbed her hand.
“Anyway,” Sarah said, voice trembling, “you two seem to be, I dunno, made for each other. I’d just be some lesbian who fell in love with a straight woman.” She could hear the resignation in her voice, “It’s such a dumb cliché.”
Rebecca squeezed her hand. “So you’re choosing to be generous and let us find happiness? That’s bullshit.”
Sarah tried to pull away; Rebecca held tighter.
“When my father died, and then my grandfather,” Rebecca said quietly, “you were my rock. You’ve always been my family.”
She turned toward her. “I’m not letting you go just because you’re in love with me. We’ll figure this out.”
Sarah looked over, eyes soft. “Ah, Becks.” She squeezed her hand.
She stared back up at the stars. “You were supposed to be the godmother to my kids. I was going to name my daughter after you.” She chuckled faintly. “After tonight… who knows?”
Rebecca could hear her laughing now.
Rebecca sighed. “You know, you’re going to hate this. Remember that night after bowling? I was so drunk you could’ve had your way with me—and you didn’t.”
Sarah turned her head. “You fucker.”
“Serves you right for giving me a bloody nose.”
They both laughed, breathless, lying side by side.
Kai’s smiling face loomed over her as Sarah and the world misted away.
“Stop,” Rebecca gasped. “This is my life—our moment! You shouldn’t be here. Leave!”
The mist began to crack.
“Leave me the fuck alone!”
The mist shattered.
Kai looked down at her, unconscious. No satisfaction—only calculation. Why was this memory hidden? Why fight for this one?
He frowned. It’s just debris.
Then, softer: “There’s something inside her. I can smell it. It hums when she lies.”
He shoved her face aside and glanced at Asher’s Gem—it was drained.
“Asher,” he said, clipped. “We’ll need another. Try a younger one. Better kick.”
Asher smiled faintly. “There’s one about seven, I think.”
Kai’s gaze lingered on Rebecca. “Who… no, not who. What are you? And why now?”
He lifted her head. Drool glistened at her mouth.
“No, we mustn’t make a mess. Not yet.” He produced a bandana and wiped her chin. There’ll be time enough for that later.”
He studied her face. “She dreams in colors that don’t exist. I could almost forgive her for that.”
He waited.
Rebecca was still bound in the “comfy” chair when Asher brought in a red-haired boy named Matthew. She was awake and whispered, “No.” He looked so small, yet he stood bravely when Asher came to collect him. It was like watching Paul being erased.
Rebecca’s heart broke watching him being turned into a battery. She begged them to stop. “Please—take me instead.”
Kai’s tone was almost kind. “Tell me what you are, and I’ll stop.”
She told him everything she knew.
Kai sighed, shaking his head. “Wrong answer. You keep insisting you’re human—as if that word still means anything.” He touched her head again.
Rebecca thought she couldn’t scream anymore. She was wrong.
The world turned to mist again.
Kai watched as another memory surfaced—rushing down the hallway with Chalky toward Queen Lyra’s chamber. Paintings of a young girl lined the walls, the same child fading in each frame. Rebecca tried to speak, but no sound came.
Kai leaned forward, eyes glittering. “Now, that’s interesting.” He increased the Gem’s power, freezing the memory mid-motion. Rebecca convulsed with pain; cracks of light split through the scene like fractures in glass.
He walked among the frozen images, brushing his fingers over one painting—the blue-skinned girl dissolving from portrait to portrait. “There’s something here,” he whispered. “I can smell it.”
His pupils thinned to slits. “It’s old. Older than Lyra. Older than me.”
Kai hesitated. “Something about Dorthy?”
Kai froze. His voice dropped to a tremor. “No… no, that’s not possible.” A flicker of panic crossed his face, gone in a blink. “She’s supposed to be gone.”
The memory tore apart, Rebecca screaming within it. The mist peeled away like wet paper.
Kai reached toward the vanishing portrait, desperate. “Show me her face!”
The Gem in Asher’s chest went dark. The world snapped back, colorless and hollow.
Kai straightened, eyes wide and furious. “Fetch another.”
His voice cracked the air like glass. “I’m not done.”
––To be continued
Next Time on The Queen of the Underverse…
Lyrie and Chalky begin their search for the Memory Farm - Will they find Rebecca before hope is lost?
Don’t miss Chapter 22 - The Memory Farm™ - The Descent
Click here to buy ➡️ BOOK ONE now available – I’d love your honest thoughts on story flow and overall reader experience.
© 2025 Donnavon Evans
November 11, 2025
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