Grace Shaw was no stranger to the paranormal world. She can see the spirits of people trapped on earth with unfinished business. Working for the police has its ups and downs. After returning to work from a short break, she was ready to get her life...
It was always the dank smell of mould and dust that hit me first, then the drip, drip, drip, of a leaking pipe somewhere. My eyes strained against the darkness, but I was a helpless victim to the fears I couldn't see. Rationally my mind screamed out 'not again, not real' but I knew this was real. I'd been here before, smelt the same air, cried the same tears. It was predictable that I should be in this position again.
There was blood on my wrists, it trailed down my arms, each drop racing to be the first to drop to the floor. Every movement of my wrists hurt but I still tried to be free of my bindings. Ridiculous to be handcuffed to a radiator yet I was frozen with fear as all my police training seemed to have evaporated into the air. It felt like I was being possessed by something that controlled my actions. I could scream and scream but still not get my limbs to move.
My head hurt, a combination of aches and bruises. It throbbed with a thousand promises broken at my feet and ached with a howl of betrayal and anger. The darkness was unyielding, and I prayed for a light and yet when I heard the footsteps of someone approaching, I wished I could throw myself into the darkness and remain uncovered. My neck muscles knotted with tension as I whipped my head around trying to find a way out.
The door above me opened and let in a crack of light. I tried not to look, I tried not to feel or to react to what was coming. Every step towards me was articulated with a groan of wood. There was a slowness to what was coming, a space for me to fear, a space for me to panic.
No light was turned on, but it didn't matter, I knew every inch of the face that loomed above me. Knew every curve and groove of the face as it smiled from above. I knew every lie and every falsehood. Steel toe working boots thumped down the stairs carrying the man I'd come to know as the devil reincarnated. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, showing an abundance of muscles that twitched and flexed as he moved.
"You should look happier to see me."
"I'll never be happy as long as I am captive here."
"We're going to have some fun today...then maybe you'll see things differently."
I heard the monster come to life, the sound of a heavy machine just out of my vision and I knew it would not be a pleasant day. I knew I was about to scream, just as I knew he was about to laugh, and I knew that the dance between us would be never ending until I gave up.
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The darkness had become my only friend as my soul barely breathed in light of what I'd endured. How long would I be wrapped in the darkness before evil came knocking once more? My mind played tricks on me, showing me memories of happier times before chastising me for not noticing what I'd walked into. There was still a spirit within me, still a need to keep fighting and keep surviving. I curled in on myself, trying to protect myself from my attacker.
"Get up, get up you, useless lump!"
How had I not noticed he'd returned? Was I that out of it?
My body was slick with something but I knew not whether it was blood or sweat.
Everything felt heavy and awkward as he tried to haul me up with him. Abrasions on my wrists were cut afresh. There was pain in my chest as I was squeezed against another body and uncuffed from the radiator.
"They're not taking you from me. You're mine."
The words should have sparked something in me, but I could scarcely hear them over my own fear. In all the time I'd been trapped here, he'd never once moved me or gave any inclination that this dark and damp room wouldn't be my home forever more.
"For fucks sake!"
I should have taken my chances and run as soon as I'd been uncuffed, but my legs were wobbly and my mind sluggish. I felt a pin of pain along the top of my arm and felt liquid run inside me. I was so tired and so ready for the darkness to take me. Whatever had been injected into me made me more sluggish and more tired.
"Get the fuck away from us."
There were lights now, I could see them if I squinted but they didn't mean anything to me, so I paid them little attention. It felt like I had reached the point of no return, the point where my body could go on no further and my mind was shutting up against my better judgement.
"You cannot take her from me. See these mark? That means I own her. Back off or I'll shoot."
It sounded important, this crazed dialogue he was having. I wanted so badly to sleep but something within me urged me to stay standing.
I flinched suddenly as something ice hot flew past my cheek leaving a blazing scratch of burning flesh in its wake. It hit the body behind me with startling accuracy. The body dropped and I with it.
