Flesh (completed)

Chapter Ten

~Now~

Lizzie felt like she'd been run over by a truck. She groaned and sat up, clutching her aching head.

With a start, she realised that she couldn't see anything. It was pitch black.

She also realised that it was cold and damp where she was. Her clothes were drenched as well as her hair and face. She heard a steady drip from somewhere off to her left.

Am I... in the basement?

She cautiously rose to her feet and flung her arms out to gain her balance. She felt dizzy...no, that wasn't quite right...She felt like she was caught in a series of waves. Yes, that was a better description. She was floating and the ground was far beneath her feet.

The feeling slowly died down and Lizzie decided to explore. She'd wanted to see what was down here since she was a little girl and now she finally had her chance, though it would be hard to explore in the dark.

She decided that there must be a light source of some sort somewhere, and set out to find it with her arms stretched out in front of her.

She felt the temperature drop lower than it already was and paused. Hello?

"You don't want to see," said a soft whisper.

I don't want to see what? Lizzie asked telepathically. When there wasn't an answer, she decided to ignore it and keep looking. She finally came upon what felt like a chain, which led her to believe it was connected to a bulb.

She was about to pull it when the voice came again, "No, don't!"

Why not? She asked rather impatiently.

"You're not ready."

Lizzie's brows drew together and she looked around her. Where are you? Why can't I see you?

The voice replied, "It would be better if you didn't see me. Not like this."

Then how do you expect me to help you?

There wasn't a reply for a long while. But finally, it said, "I'm in no need of help. I'm here to help you. Please don't look. Go back to sleep and wait for your mother to-" The voice suddenly broke off and the room returned to the previous temperature.

Hello?

Lizzie was a bit more hesitant now, but she pressed on and pulled the chain, however nothing happened. With a frown, she remembered the power outage. What now?

The temperature dropped again, but it was far greater of a change than previously.

She heard something clatter to the ground suddenly, and it rolled across the floor and bounced against her foot.

Lizzie bent and picked it up, running her fingers over it. A smile lit up her face.

It was a flashlight.

She clicked it on and a dim light blinked to life. She shone it directly in front of her and her mouth fell open in horror.

A corpse was hanging by chains in front of her. Half of its flesh was ripped off savagely by some creature.

She looked down at the light wavering in her hand and gasped at the sight of blood- wet, fresh blood.

It ran up her arms and stained the front of her clothing. Her hair, she assumed, was also slick with the dark liquid.

Appalled, she dropped the light and began to scream.