The Lies That Shadow Us

Chapter Three

Darkness surrounded her. Lily couldn't take a breath. Her chest turned molten and burned like it was inflamed. She was running in the woods as fast as her legs could handle.

Something was behind her. She could feel its evil, twisted presence stalking her like a predator to its prey. She slipped on something wet and rough and hit her head.

Lily put her fingers to her temple, which was covered in crimson blood. She had to get up, Lily thought.

She pushed her trembling arms up as hard as possible and propelled into the dark abyss of nothingness.

Lily did not know how long she ran through those woods when she swayed, not seeing but feeling her cut-up bare feet slow to a choppy walk. A light showed out of the corner of her vision, and she shifted her head so fast to the side that her head swam and her vision blurred.

Remembering the light, her beacon of hope in this endless black pit, she managed to crack open her eyes and move once more. Help! She screamed, or she believed she did, over and over.

Lily ran faster and faster when finally the silvery moonlight was visible, and she could see someone standing in the doorway of the small white house near the water.

Blinking profusely to clear the image before her, she stood rigidly still as the person's face cleared. Her mother's face, she thought brokenly.

There, just in front of her, her mother was standing in the doorway of that ominous white house, and a chill crept down her back, raising the hairs. Still,

Lily walked on to where her mother stood, only it wasn't her, not really. Her face was gruesome and decayed... thoughts abandoned Lily at that moment.

Moisture pooled at her large round eyes, and she could taste the saltiness of her tears as she stared numbly at her mother. Her mind screamed to run, but her body was paralyzed.

Lily walked achingly slowly toward her. Her mother's glazed-over eyes stared blankly at her but menacing like the thing masquerading as her mother did not want to scare her away.

She should run, she knew that deep down, but she felt like she needed to go to it. Needed it like she needed air to breathe.

Lily swallowed hard, trying to take some of the dryness out of her throat, but the lump in her throat only grew more painful. She was a few feet away from her now, and despite knowing something was wrong with her mother, she started to reach out to her.

Inches away now, Lily's fingertips almost grazed those caved-in cheeks when the thing dropped its mask and smiled. A smile that was full of malice and what Lily could only describe as pure evil. She stopped dead in her tracks but realized it was too late.

She was already face to face with this thing portraying her beloved mother... Lily felt rage, fiery and blistering, form in her gut at the thing.

"Let go of her, you bastard," Lily said between clenched teeth.

That thing's hand burned her skin as it squeezed her arm, leaving a hand-print, and whispered in a voice utterly inhuman, "Upon love admission will she take whom he holds dear, once seen shall the moon rise onto the cursed water, not water nor air will put out its fire, only light shall douse her ire."

Breath caught in her bone-dry throat, and Lily clutched it, gasping for air. Burning was the only sensation she felt. Burning, molten hot, that was all she was.

Lily tried to scream, to move, to do anything, but she just kept burning. She looked one last time into those sightless eyes, but before she could do anything more, the woods shifted, and she was in the bathroom again.

She shot up in the tub, drenched in sweat, water sloshing everywhere. Lily gulped in ragged breaths, each one haggard and raspy. Her throat and eyes burned; she could only lie there, her body paralyzed with a terrifying fear.

Slower and slower, her breaths came, and she felt her limbs come alive once more. Lily left no more time for anything else to happen; she quickly stood and swayed for a moment before wrapping her towel around herself, engulfing her body in its fuzzy cotton.

Droplets of freezing water left a path behind her as she hurried into her bedroom. Lily wondered how long she was in there, and it felt like hours had passed.

She glanced at the digital clock on her desk and saw that it read 4:52. Two hours she had been in the tub. She haphazardly dried off and threw on her thick black robe with little red hearts, jumping into her bed and bringing the covers above her frigid body.

As if the covers would keep her from harm, the last bit of energy she had disappeared.

Lily didn't know when she had fallen asleep or when the exhaustion claimed her. Bright sunlight poured in through Lily's window as she slowly opened her eyes.

They felt so heavy she could barely open them. How long had she been asleep? And when had she fallen asleep, for that matter? Confusion, thick and foggy, filled her mind.

For a moment, she did not remember what happened the previous day, but then it hit her like a title wave. The dream.

That horrible, bone-chilling dream, or more like a nightmare. That same fear slammed into her, making her limbs shake uncontrollably. However, another emotion began swimming in her gut as well: rage.

Lily hated herself for feeling the way that she had last night. The utter fear and darkness had felt crippling, and she never wanted to feel that darkness again.

She was so tired of feeling sad and alone. Whatever the reason behind that nightmare, her depression had stood at the forefront and been the main cause.

She had let herself wallow and fall so deep into that hole that she had lost sight of how to get back out, but no longer.

She was done being a victim. Done being played by fate or destiny or whatever the hell had forcefully overtaken her life so vehemently. Lily finally felt clear for the first time in a long time as she rose to a sitting position in her full-sized bed.

She was going to figure out what happened. Damn, the fates and their destiny to the fiery depths of hell for all she cared. Nothing about what happened to her mother was normal or fair.

Lily had never been an outspoken or extroverted person, but she was a get-the-job-done kind of person.

One thing she had always been confident of was her ability to solve whatever problem was thrown at her, thanks to her competitive nature. A steely reserve grew in the pit of her stomach, and she enjoyed the feeling.

Unsurprisingly, Lily loved problem-solving and mysteries. Throwing off her heavy, white quilt, Lily dressed quickly in her usual attire: jeans, a baggy t-shirt, and her Converse.

Before she could give herself any time to think twice about what she would do, she ran down the twelve steps to her kitchen and grabbed her dad's car keys.

Lily walked quickly to the jeep and clicked her seat belt into place. The small 'click' sound jostled her as if it were blaring. Should she really do this, she thought as her hands trembled on the leathery black wheel of the car.

Breathe in and out, Lily, in and out five breaths. That's what her grief counselor had told her these past few months when her panic attacks began forming.

So she did, breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out.

The last whoosh of breath settled any lingering nerves that sent waves through her. You can do this, she thought, trying to find that courage she felt a moment ago and clung to it.

Turning the key in the ignition, she began driving towards uncertainty. Further and further, she drove in tumultuous silence towards the white house from her nightmare, towards the house where her mother had disappeared.