The Dark Place (#FrightFest2016 Gold Winner)

The Dark Place - Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

1

"Shit, did you see the look on that dumb kid's face when we pushed her down the stairs," Amanda laughed as they approached the main road. She noticed that Wendy's smile looked strained. "What the hell's up with you now?"

"Nothing, it's just... well..."

"Well what?"

"Well... when are we going to let her out?"

Amanda didn't answer; she just stopped walking and laughed even louder.

"What's so funny?" Wendy smiled.

"You, you stupid bitch; when are we going to let her out," said Amanda in a taunting, high pitched voice.

"Sorry?"

"Oh, wake up you silly cow." The laughter left Amanda's voice, replaced instead by a cold, hard tone. "We let her out when I say we do, understand?"

"But..."

"But nothing!" Amanda grabbed a handful of Wendy's T-shirt and pulled the girl towards her. "She can come out once we've had some fun and not before, okay?"

Wendy held her hands up submissively. "Okay, okay; whatever you say. What are we going to do now then?"

The smile returned to Amanda's lips as she released and straightened Wendy's top. "I'm starving so we'll go back to my place and get something to eat, and then I want to find out what Penny's been up to."

2

Graham Sheen waited in the bushes just outside the little old house near the lake. Amanda and Wendy had done something bad to the little girl; he could tell by the way they had laughed as they walked away. He wanted to go in; to see what they had done but he was afraid. He knew that there were bad things in that house, Amanda had told him. She was very brave. He had followed her up to the house many times when she had gone there with her friends and they seemed to have no problem with the place. But he knew all about the scary things that had happened there in the past and as he stood there, in his hiding place in the cluster of bushes, he wondered if they were happening to that little girl right now.

3

It's time to wake up Tamicka!

The little girl opened her eyes but she may as well have kept them closed for all the good it did her. It was so dark in cellar that no matter how hard she strained her eyes everything remained in total darkness. Tamicka had no idea how long she had been asleep; she didn't even know whether it was day or night.

There was a sound from the other side of the void that was her cell. It was a squeaking, scratching noise. She tried to make out how far it was from her but it was impossible. There was the sound of something scurrying along the hard floor. It seemed to be getting closer but she couldn't be sure. Then everything went quiet for a moment that seemed to last forever. With her back against the rough, hardwood door she dragged her legs up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her shins and rested her head on her knees. She hoped that it was all a horrible nightmare, but she knew that she was wide awake.

There was another squeak; this time much closer. Tamicka's head shot up and she looked sightlessly in the direction from which it had come. Her heart raced as a new wave of fear invaded her. She didn't want to sit there anymore. As she tried to push herself up from the ground, Tamicka's hand touched something wet and furry. At the same time something else crawled over her left foot. A tiny, high-pitched scream left her mouth and she quickly hugged her knees to her chest again.

"Not very nice down here, is it?"

Tamicka recognized the voice immediately; it was the voice of the girl. She was back. For the second time Tamicka's head sprang up and her eyes darted around aimlessly in the dark. "H... help me!"

"Why would I want to do that?" the voice was cold and spiteful. "You didn't want to help me when I asked you, did you?"

"B... but I don't want t... to be down h... here on my own."

"You're not on your own silly, I'm here with you."

It was hard for Tamicka to pinpoint exactly where the voice was coming from. Sometimes it seemed to be in some far, unseen corner, sometimes from right beside her. "I... I j... just want to go h... home," she sobbed; looking directly in front of her, towards the last place she had heard the voice. "Please let m... me go home."

"I'm not keeping you here, those girls are aren't they?"

"I... I'll do anything you want, just get me out of here."

"I think that it's time for you to see exactly where you are, don't you?" the girl's voice was like ice as she whispered into Tamicka's ear.

A dim light slowly filled the room, blue and hazy, just enough for Tamicka to see that the room was much smaller than she had expected.

"Perhaps a little more light, just to help you see better." The voice was now further away, almost an echo.

The room brightened a little more and Tamicka slowly rose to her feet. Her eyes and mouth opened wide as her surroundings slowly started to come into view and the grim realization of where she was dawned on her. Rats scuttled across the floor which was covered in wax from candles which had long ago burned out – and just opposite her, in the other corner of the room, she could see a grubby old mattress. She was there again; back in the dark place.

"Not very nice down here is it?" said the voice, fading along with the light.

Soon everything was shrouded in pitch black once more with only the sounds of the rats to keep her company. She was too frightened to even scream.

Author's Note

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