Abandoned

Chapter 3 (Final Chapter)

Trembling, Jess and Todd were frozen from fear. They could not comprehend what they were looking at. What was it? Was it a poltergeist? Was it a demon? The apparition still stood in the doorway, studying the pair. They knew it was looking into their souls. Its eyeless face was a deep, black hole - mesmerizingly terrifying to look at. They couldn't take their eyes off it, it's almost as though they were under its spell. "Why... are... you...here?" the apparition questioned, with its deep, stern voice. "I-I don't k-know, w-we just want to go h-home!" Todd stuttered, teary-eyed and horrified. The figure remained silent for a moment before finally responding. "You... aren't... leaving" it replied matter-of-factly, "your soul... is mine now" it sinisterly added. Todd began sobbing inconsolably, his brave exterior had now shattered completely. Jess knew that it was her that would have to build the courage to save them both, no longer could she continue to be the quiet, timid girl who is afraid of her own shadow. She had to do something, anything.

Quickly, she looked around the room for something that she could use to break the window. Noticing a large brick on the floor, she darted for it, picking it up and throwing it at the window with every ounce of her strength. Just as she was about to grab Todd, the ghostly figure plunged towards him, shrouding him completely in its darkness. The creature let out a demonic, piercing roar, causing Jessica to fall to the ground as she held her hands over her pointed, elf-like ears. The ground below her vibrated intensely, she could feel rubble crumble all over her; fragments of cement and brick shot at her head and her pale-white face was now dripping with crimson-coloured blood. Her head was throbbing with pain, you could see the agony on her face. Still, she shot up before the vibration had even stopped, continuing to cover her ears with her hands for protection from the creature's shrieks. She was ready to do whatever she needed to in order to save her friend, but he was nowhere to be seen. Seemingly vanishing in mid air, the creature disappeared along with him. An intrusive thought came over her that she should take her chance and escape while she can. The window was shattered, although some pointed shards of glass still remained around the frame; she could easily climb out if she wanted to, but that wasn't in her nature. She knew that if the roles were reversed, Todd would do what he could to save her; she wasn't about to turn her back on him.

Jessica went straight for the stairs, she guessed that the creature might have taken him upstairs. She was desperate, exhausted and terrified for her life; there was no turning back now though. Climbing up the stairs, she stared down the hallway, and just past the bathroom she noticed another room. 'That's got to be the bedroom' she thought to herself, trying to muster up the courage to once again face the apparition. Passing the disgusting stench from the bathroom, she approached the bedroom and slowly turned the doorknob. For a second, she hesitated, yet again having the same intrusive thought about leaving Todd and saving herself. She didn't know the full extent of what she was dealing with here, and had no idea how she was going to get him back; even still, she swung open the door, remaining alert and ready for whatever was about to happen.

The demonic entity was waiting in the corner, surrounding Todd like a black, evil cloak. "Just let us go!" she demanded, staring fiercely at the monster. Yet again, the entity stayed silent. Todd's body began to disintegrate, he screamed bloody murder before completely disappearing into the air. "NO! Please stop! I'll do anything!" she cried desperately. His body turned to ashes, falling delicately onto the floor. His screams grew quieter and quieter, eventually fading away. The evil entity laughed maniacally, there was no remorse. "You had your chance to leave... now his soul is mine" it chuckled as it began shifting closer to Jess. Its shadows flooded around her, encompassing her so she could no longer see. Everything went black, almost peaceful. There was no point in fighting it, there was no escape; just darkness and emptiness. She was now under its influence, another soul, another trophy for it to take. As the last bit of life was sucked out of her, the very last thing she heard was the creature's taunting whispers; "Thank you for today's feast...Jessica".