A VERY DARK tale (#Wattys2016)

Chapter 4

Horrorstruck, I started walking backward until my back hit the wall behind me, even then it seemed that my feet kept taking steps back. In my head, I felt an alarm ringing, red and white, red and white, red and white, red and white.

The reality finally unfolded in front of me, and what I discovered made me sick to my stomach. In the reality, I didn't escape my tormentors. Anywhere I go they would find me, even as far as forty-seven years away.

The collector hadn't just left me be. There was no such thing as a charity for demons. Either my life suddenly became worth preserving, or there was something else going on in Animus, that happened to become my ticket to life.

My breath was coming in and out in frantic pace. Only when I sensed that something blocked the view of the screen, I looked up. George took my hands into his and compressed them tightly.

His mouth was forming sentences, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. Ringing in my ears overshadowed other sounds in the room. Several times I watched George shaking my hands gently trying to pull me out of my muted bout. His touch was warm and face strangely reassuring. I shook my head kicking off the confusion, and several words slipped into my consciousness.

"Who was that man? Stacy, you need to tell me what is going on." That seemed to do the trick, and my brain seizures eased letting common sense overtake.

As my respire stabilized, my body felt soft, and I dropped onto my heels. George let go of my hands and without his support, I started inclining on the side in sitting position. He caught me again and grabbed my shoulders fixing firmly in one place.

"Stacy, you need to tell me what is going on."

"I can't tell you," I finally replied.

"You need to tell me," he insisted.

"I can't. I just can't," I shook my head negatively.

"Just tell me!" His voice turned into a demand. "I need to know what is going on."

"I can't tell you!" I snapped and glared at him.

"Well, let me put it this way. You have no choice!" He snapped back.

"Do you want to die?" I cried out. "Do you seriously expect me to put you and your friends over there in danger? Even if I tell you the truth, the chances you believe me are zero point zero to none. So, the best way for you is to let me go. Burn the videotape and pretend that it never happened. It's for your own good, not for mine."

"Who was the man, Stacy?" He asked me gently. "Are you a spy or some kind or a recruit in training?"

A giggle left my mouth. "See, you're trying to find logic in everything that has occurred, but the thing is...logic doesn't apply in circumstances like that. I'm no KGB or FBI, George. I was no recruit or spy. And this man isn't even human. Do you want me to keep going, or no rational explanation will be enough to consider me out of my right mind?"

George groaned in frustration standing up and began walking in circles nervously rubbing his hair with his fingers. This man was confusing. He had something cold in his gaze, but at the same time, I couldn't help catching compassion in his actions.

"Okay," he paused and observed me questionably. "Let's say that hypothetically speaking I believed you. Let's presume that we covered the part that you claim to come from the sixties. All right?" I nodded. "Good. Now tell me everything from the very beginning."

I took a deep breath and helping myself over the wall, pulled myself up and relocated on the chair.

In a way, it felt like the interrogations of my demon doctor, but I was free right now. Well, at least I didn't feel her soul-wracking gaze on me. Not hers indeed, instead five humans were staring at me with wide from shock eyes.