The Room

Chapter 1

"Wake up," she whispered, keeping her voice low and gentle as not to stir a sleeping babe. "Wake up," she repeated again, hoarsely any louder than the beating heart against her chest. "Wake up," she repeated once again, her heart beated steadily and comfortably as any lullaby, constant and reassuring as she stroked my head gently. The bed was soft and heat divine,

"Wake up," the voice called again, attempting to draw me from the comforting darkness.

"Wake up," the voice rang again in the dark, luring me from the dark and into the black dress of my companion.

"Good morning," she said, "have you slept well?"

I pulled myself away from her arms, and sat up to see her better. She was, quite astonishingly beautiful: fair skinned and pale with raven hair. Her face was smooth and soft to the touch, hardly a rough edge or curve as her small nose did not hook nor did her thin lips curve, as she preferred not to smile only her eyes showed any true emotion. A strange pair of blue and green hues, stunning in their own right. She was- for a lack of a better term- unnatural; considering how...asymmetrical she seems, perhaps even artificial.

"Is something wrong?" she reached out and grabbed onto my wrist, tightly and firmly.

"Yes, of course. I'm just a bit tired." I reassured her.

"Then sleep with me again," she responded and her grip tightened around my wrist, her fingers were long and thin yet remarkably strong like a spider's thread. "Actually, I... would like to read," I stammered, her grip began to tighten once more and she began to bury her nails into the soft underbelly." if... you would allow it?" I said, reaching out to her and placing my hand atop of hers. Her grip loosened, and I felt the blood return to my suffocated hand. Her face had not moved an inch; rather her eyes were shifting in amusement as she scanned the edges of my face for scrutiny, they were poised and calm, as temperamental as the ocean at rest. Until, she allowed herself the slightest smile that cracked her porcelain facade- how else could you describe it?- there was hardly a muscle to be pulled inside of her. Dangerous yet alluring, what lurks beneath the surface? I would not know, if I were to glide my fingers against her smooth skin would they reveal a layer of polish in which were borne by meticulous routine or would the tension break due to the boldness of my touch? Cupping onto her face; it was undoubtedly smooth and cold to the touch yet it was a face that desired to be touched, with my free hand cupped around her cheek and my thumb underneath her blue eye. The smile cracked wider, revealing a row of sharp teeth and a deep purr comparable to a large feline, it was primal pleasure. And it was enjoyable, comfortable. To lie here with her and stare into her eyes.

"Could I make a suggestion to you?" her lips grew ever wider into a grin, a carefully etched smile rather than one filled with glee as she started to jam her thumb into the soft underbelly of my wrist, no doubt rubbed raw and redden severely when she gripped it too tightly, as she started to rub it more gently in a circular fashion. Over and over, from one end to the other, like she's tracing something into my skin. "We could have some fun together, if you want." she said,

"Actually, I have been thinking about going to shower." I said softly in an attempt to draw myself away from her and to place my feet onto solid ground, only to find myself on my back once again on top of the bed. My hands were held above my head and a suffocating weight was placed onto my chest where I could feel my ribs fold inwards to cage the beating of my heart, the beating growing frantic against its inevitable burial by the over looming shadow, where could it escape from the darkness? The bitter coldness that weighed upon me and the smiling face that peered over the sleeves of her black gown as she was resting her chin upon crossed arms, grinning a sharp smile with wide eyed delight, as a cat would when toying with a mouse; using a long white finger to trace the rough features of my face from ear to chin and cheek to cheek. Over and over again she performed this ritual in solemn silence and with an unerring gaze; over and over, she traced my features in a constant rhythm from ear to chin and cheek to cheek. Over and over again she traced and to kiss the cheek she was tracing, from cheek to cheek and forehead to lips, she kissed. Leaving behind a bitter taste.

"You didn't react at all," she said, having retracted her teeth and began to sit up instead, shifting from a black cat into a black tower; rather a beacon that draws me into the shadowy body of her gown, a tall dark figure jutting above a precarious carapace, guiding all those underneath her - to danger or safety, I'm not certain- only that the danger is far below her. She reached out to tilt my head upwards to meet hers, they gleaned brilliantly in their bluish- green hues, " my eyes are up here," she said, sounding rather displeased, the color in her irises began to ripple and swell. The paralyzing pressure turned into nausea in my stomach as she leaned forward to stare into me, the silence being broken by the creaking of the bed as the shifting weight caused it to lurch forward, the motions only sickened my feelings of nausea, as she leaned close and waited for a response. The nausea was beginning to become unbearable and the lopsided nature of the bed gave the nausea the illusion of drowning," if only I could right myself then this feeling would go away but I still can't move," like my arms are tied against the frame with a siren looming above me, unable to free myself despite the pleads. I want to escape, I want to escape this grief and the shadow that haunts me, the dark looming shadow; the one that's inhumanly thin with leathery bat-like wings, I want to escape it. The darkness that hangs off me, the one I've lost and the one I'm keeping.

"You're sweating" she said, the hues in her eyes warming with the realization. "Are you running a fever?" she said, with her voice full of emotion and her hands on my face. "I'm drowning, I can't breathe" I wanted to say but I realized that I was in a panic, my only response being the short breaths I took, and my vision blackening. "This must be a dream. It can't be real, unless I'm dying? Suddenly going into cardiac arrest? The pain in my chest, the shortness of breath and the inability to breathe, it's possible."

"Wake up" she said, her voice was low and trailing behind; hardly scarcer than a whisper

"Wake up," she repeated again, her voice was being drowned out by the beating of her heart

"Wake up ," she repeated again, the beating began to slow

"Wake up," it called from the darkness below

"Wake up," said the darkness.

"Wake up." it's dark.

"Wake up."