Possessed

Chapter 1: The Move

“Let me go!” I scream repeatedly, while being dragged away by two cloaked figures. I am wearing my white nightgown and look absolutely terrified, tears streaming down my pale face.

I can hear raucous laughter echoing somewhere, but I can’t see its source. It‘s pitch-black, only the white masks of my captors visible. I flail my arms wildly, trying to free myself from their vice-like grips. Why were they capturing me? What have I done? I stop resisting. It isn’t like my protests are of any use. I resolved to save my energy for later when I might need it.

Shortly we come upon a huge portcullis, with guards-wearing rusty armors- standing on either side of us as we pass. I can hear the Iron Gate slamming down behind us. I feel despair sinking in. No escape. A single thought that sends shivers down my spine.

My arms hurt so badly, where they are being clutched by my ruthless attackers. Soon enough, I am roughly thrown into a dungeon. I bring up my knee to my chin and hug myself, scooting towards the wall of the cell. Why is it so dark in here?  I wonder. My mouth feels so dry. I am extremely thirsty. My eyes roam around the small dungeon cautiously and land on a water skin at the far corner across from where I sat. I reach for it. As soon as my fingers brush the water skin, it turns into a snake.

It’s difficult to see properly in the dungeon, but the silhouette of the snake is quite discernible with the help of the little light coming through a window somewhere.  

A black cobra.

My eyes widen in terror. The snake eyes me speculatively. Without warning, it lurches forward, forcing me to cower against the walls of the cell that has ivy growing all over it. I couldn’t care less. My ophiophobia kicks in and I let out a petrified scream of “Help!”No one responds to my desperate call.

The snake stops, hovering mid-air, its black beady eyes never leaving mine. It very slowly slithers over my legs. I bite back my tongue so hard that I taste blood. I refrain from shouting out. My shrieks would only remind it of my presence. I can see it starting towards the thick bars of the dungeon. I close my eyes and hope it escapes through the gaps of the bars and leaves me alone .A burning sensation at my throat reminds me that I still have my thirst to quench .So  thirsty………My throat aches……..I feel another movement near my right hand this time and open my eyes to see spiders crawling all over me.”Hisss,” At the same time, I hear the snake flickering its tongue at me, coming nearer…….

My eyes popped open. A sheen of sweat was covering my forehead and my arms felt hot and sticky. I sat up in my bed and pushed away the covers. I glanced at the bright red digits on my clock. 02:30 am. My throat was burning. Just as in my dream. Remembering my horrific nightmare, I felt a cold shudder pass through me.

Calm down Aries, I told myself, you just need to get a glass of water. You are going to be okay.

I got out of my bed, my covers pooling at my feet. I eased my door open, careful to be very quiet. I didn’t want to wake up my parents after their hard work all day. They both had been very busy setting up their things in this new house that we’d just moved into. Not wanting to switch on lights in the hallway for the fear of waking up my parents, I decided to walk down the hallway in the dark. It’s not that dark, really. There’s moonlight coming through a big window, lighting up the long hallway eerily.

I tip-toed down the stairs and into the kitchen. After switching on the light, I poured myself a glass of water and sat down in one of the wooden chairs. There were still lots of cardboard boxes left to be unloaded. I rested my head against the headrest of the chair and sighed. It has been ages since I’d last had a nightmare.

As a child, I was one to frequently have nightmares but my dad was always there, by my side, to hug and comfort me. Thinking of happier times in my childhood made me slightly nostalgic. Things were still fine, but just not as….they were before. I think the reason of my nightmare tonight was our move. The stress was finally getting to me. It hasn’t been easy these past days. To leave all my friends in the middle of school year and move into a completely different town for a fresh start….though my dad needed it for the job. It wasn’t like I could refuse.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a distant sound. A slight whisper. It must be wind blowing in from one of the windows that mom might have forgotten to close. Setting my empty glass down on the kitchen counter, I trudged towards the living room window, turning off the kitchen lights on my way.  On reaching the living room, I saw the window’s shut tight. Confused, I looked around the dark room. There it was again.

Aries.

My eyes widened in fear as I heard my name being whispered. So soft, it was barely audible.  I walked around the room, checking to see if anyone’s there. The floorboards creaked under my weight.

Aries.

I jumped back, surprised. This time the whisper sounded so close, like it was coming from the mass of curtains that hung at the window in front of me.  I stepped closer to it, holding my breath.

Aries.

My arms reached out to pull the curtains apart and expose the person hiding behind it. Probably a burglar, I thought, but how does he know my name? I turned around to grab a baseball bat from one of the cardboard boxes by the sofa. At least I’m armed now. Overcoming my trepidation, I roughly pulled the curtains to reveal…….No one.

I caught my own reflection on a big mirror left leaning against the wall. I looked puzzled; my ruffled fiery red hair wild about my face, and my electric blue eyes had something else in them……..fear?

I heard no more whispers and gradually, managed to calm down.  Sighing, I put down the bat back into its box and headed towards my room.

You are just really tired and need to get some sleep, I reminded myself as I reached my bedroom. Hopefully the whispers had been in my head.

3:15 am. I had been downstairs for more than 30 minutes.  I pulled back the covers onto my bed and fixed my pillow comfortably before settling down for the night into a troubled, restless sleep.