Our Love Is Tainted

Chapter 22: Forgotten, Dark Secrets

Tate and I, we wander around the basement together, still looking for Nora. It's been a whole two days since Taint took her, and Tate, well, he isn't doing so well. He's stressed, and I don't blame him, I mean, it's his mom we're talking about here. When I thought it was already hard to keep him in control, this happens and, now, it's an absolute nightmare. Although, I haven't told him that, don't want him stressing out more than he already is. I watch him carefully as he paces around, looking for any clue as to where his counter-part may have taken his mother, while he sharpens the head of the axe with a hot rock from the fireplace.
"Tate? Is that really necessary?" I ask him, raising an eyebrow.
"Only thing keeping me calm, so yes."
"Burning your hand to a crisp is calming you down?" I roll my eyes. "If you say so."

I stop, thinking about how much of a bitch I just was, but he knows how much sleep I've gotten in the past two days. But yet, I know he hasn't slept at all, fuck, I'm such a bitch. He told me he wasn't going to sleep until he finds her, and that has been the case for the past couple days, I feel bad for him, I do, especially after the shit I had just pulled off.
"Tate," I softly say. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," he smiles sadly, throwing the stone onto the ground and stomping on it. "You're right anyway."
I smile at the love of my life peacefully, but we still have a job to do, no time for 'fun' in the basement, for now anyway. I search around, but the dark has surrounded us, so it's near impossible to find anything, especially anything important. That's when a question pops up in my head, one that may lead to something useful.
"Did you ever find any places to hide in the basement? I mean, did you find places you, never thought you would find?"
"You know," Tate pauses, looking, I don't know. "The scary part about that question is, I have no idea, Vi. It's like, the memory of those months of being gone, were wiped clean like someone didn't want me to remember certain things about it. It sounds crazy and completely impossible-"
"Like the possibility of a second-self literally tearing out of your body? I believe you, Tate, I believe he had something to do with that."
"Really?" He asks me.
"Definitely," I say.

"I do, remember some things, Vi," he adds, his eyes becoming dark for a second.
"Like what, Tate?"
"Sequences; suffering, self-harm, I remember torturing myself, over and over again. Those are the only memories I have of those months, and no doubt, it scares the crap out of me, so I try not to remember. I didn't have an intent to stop, Vi, but for some reason, I did."
"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Tate, I promise you. You'll never have to again."
"I don't intend to," Tate adds back. "Not, ever again."
He takes me into his arms, softly and lovingly. I feel him kiss me on my head, to which I react, by kissing him on the chin lovingly.
"C'mon, let's-
"Vi, shh," he suddenly cracks, stopping me from speaking. "Something's in the dark over there."

I turn to face a small, deranged shadow in the darkness, staring at us with what seem like glowing, blood red eyes. It stays still, watching us silently like it doesn't know that we know, it's there.
"Vi," Tate whispers. "It's Thaddeus."
I can't believe that it's him, he looks smaller than he was when I saw him previously. He's somehow shrunk, he's much smaller, and skinnier, looking more like a ghoul than anything I could bring to his description. He still looks terrifying, and devastatingly hungry, that's when he begins to move. I remember the first time I saw him, when I tried to scare Leah, he's changed since then, for the worst.
"VI!" Tate screams, gripping his axe tighter, trying to hit the creature, but fails.
I watch Thaddeus as he stops in front of a book-shelf, perched down, still as ever. in the light, he appears to be a mix of man, and something else, and it's terrifying. He appears to be starring at one of the books, then quickly scurries away into the darkness once again.
"What the hell was that about?" Tate says, putting the axe down once more. "I was ready to cut the fucker in half, lucky he didn't hurt any of you, or I would have had no choice."
"Yeah," I scoff. "Lucky."

Tate walks to the bookshelf, using his fingers to feel around the spines until he stops.
"I remember this book," he states, gripping onto it. "Nora, she used to read me these nursery rhymes when I was younger, they're in this book."
"Pull it out," I joke. "Maybe there's a secret passageway."
Tate rolls his eyes at me, pulling the book away from the shelf, but it stops, and in a sudden moment, the wall begins to open.
"Oh," I scoff. "Shit."
The wall opens completely, and Tate quickly grips the wooden handle of his axe, dragging it towards the newly opened door to protect both of us.
"Come in after me, Vi, please."
"Yeah, no problem there," I agree.
He slowly makes his way in the dark of the secret room, I follow behind him, and the lights suddenly turn on. Inside, Nora sits, strapped to a chair, cuts and bruises all over her body, but she's conscious. As Tate drops his axe and tries to break the chains from the chair she's strapped in, I feel something; hot breath against my neck. I feel an arm grip on my throat, placing me in a headlock, a tight headlock.
"TATE!" I scream, muffled.
Tate turns around, his eyes glancing at me in horror, then, I disappear. Suddenly I'm on top of the stairs, with something cold and metal being held against my back.
"Finally," a male voice whispers in my ear. "It's time to get revenge on your boyfriend."
"Taint," I snarl angrily.
"Did you miss me?"

Tate appears in the living room, holding Nora up straight with one hand, with the axe in the other, starring up at me and Taint. I try to scream, but his arm digs deeper into my throat, stopping any oxygen from entering my body.
"LET HER GO!" I hear Tate scream.
"You can't save them both, Tate, it's one, or the other. Nora, or your preciously Violet."
I feel Taint smell my hair, and send godforsaken shivers down my spine, making me feel sick in the stomach.
"She even feels like Violets."
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
"You know what?" Taint scoffs. "You're just bothering me now."
I'm suddenly pushed down the stairs by Taint, but Tate manages to catch from a hard impact, but still, the sudden push makes me feel extremely oozy. I look up, and Taint stands before Tate and I, holding the shotgun right against Tate's chin. And in a sudden blink, he pulls the trigger.