AS SHADOWS SCREAM (BOOK ONE)

Chapter 1: 'You should have been nicer to Abel'

*Dedicated to Godhand whose book Fear Of The Dark is an absolute masterpiece, do yourself a favour and read it!*

Gabrielle opened her eyes slowly. She was still in so much pain and felt light-headed and nauseous. She looked around and her eyes opened wide in shock as she saw him sitting in front of her. He was sitting down with tears streaming down his cheeks and a sad look upon his face. He was startled and covered his ears as she started to scream out. He got up to his feet slowly and raised his hands to show he was unarmed. He stuttered out timidly,'I'm not going to hurt you. I helped you. My name is Abel, I helped you.' Abel pointed to her stomach and she looked down to see her wounds bandaged. She whimpered in despair and said through chocked tears,'why are you doing this to me?'

Abel fidgeted with the collar on his shirt. Gabrielle looked at him inquisitively.

He looked nervous and scared like he did when he first came into the room before he picked up the knife and..... she whimpered and tears rolled down her face as the images of her torture ran through her mind. Abel saw her tears and said, 'I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. Cain hurt you because of me, because I smiled when I saw you and you didn't smile back.'

'I'm sorry, sorry.... Please, please let me go. Please let me go.'

Abel replied, 'I can't, Cain will get mad.' Abel looked around the room nervously.

He looked genuinely afraid. Gabrielle saw his fear and realised that Abel was scared of Cain, yet he was Cain. He had multiple personality disorder. Abel was good and Cain was bad.

She needed to keep Abel in control and prevent Cain from coming out. Gabrielle closed her eyes, took in a deep breath and said, 'Abel, that's a very nice name. What do you like Abel? Do you like rabbits?'

Abel nodded excitedly and his face lit up. He was making a friend! He answered happily, 'yes, I love rabbits! They small and cuddly and have little eyes.'

'I have a rabbit, his name is Mr Timothy. He is small and cuddly and has little eyes. If you let me out of here I can take you to see him. I'll let you hold him and feed him.'

Abels eyes opened wide and his face stretched into a smile as he pictured himself holding a small cuddly rabbit in his arms. He always wanted a pet but Cain didn't like animals.

If Cain saw Mr Timothy he would hurt him and the rabbit wouldn't be so cuddly anymore. Cain would make it ugly. Abels smile turned into a worried frown as he rocked back and forth and tears started to well up in his eyes. Cain would make rabbits ugly, everything is ugly, always blood and ugliness. Gabrielle saw Abels smile turn into a frown and her heart sunk as she saw him rock back and forth muttering to himself and crying.

Why was this happening to her? What had she done to deserve this? She was good, she prayed at every meal, listened to her parents and did well at school. She didn't deserve this. She needed to get out. She wanted to live. She wanted to find a nice boy with a lovely smile, blue eyes and shaggy blonde hair. She wanted to cook dinner for him and greet him at the door when he came home from work. She wanted little children to look after and nurture and tell stories about rabbits that lived in the meadows. She wanted to grow old and live a long happy life. She didn't want to die. Not now, not like this. Not at the hands of this sick twisted psychopath. She watched Abel rock back and forth in front of her.

A pathetic little mess that shared a body with a sick sadistic bastard that got off on her screams. Gabrielle felt an unfamiliar sensation building up inside her. A darkness in her gut clenching her muscles. Her tiny hands, once beautiful and soft now bloody and bruised, curled into tight fists. Her breathing become out in short, hoarse gasps as the rage built up inside of her. She was the perfect little girl, perfect daughter, perfect student and she was chained in a basement being cut up for amusement. It wasn't fair. It was not fair!

The rage boiled over inside of her and she let out a loud primal scream of pure rage.

She screamed and screamed letting it all out of her.

Abel got startled from the scream and lept to his feet and ran to the far side of the room.

He whimpered and covered his ears while muttering, 'no, no.... no please no.'

Gabrielle stopped screaming and her body went limp from exhaustion. Her eyes fluttered close and her heart slowed down to a steady beat. She felt herself drifting to blissful sleep but before she was allowed this mercy a sharp searing pain in her shoulder jolted her back to full consciousness. She screamed in agony as fingers dug into her shoulder wound and ripped open her stitches.

She pleaded with him as he picked up and examined an assortment of blades, looking for the perfect one to use on her. She whimpered and closed her eyes and prayed.

She knew what was coming. He chose a large carving knife that still had dry blood stains on it. He walked towards her and said, 'You should of been nice to Abel. He bandaged you up and gave you water, and you spat in his face...' He paused and moved closer to her, his lips right by her right ear. He whispered softly, 'Now you will loose your pretty fingers one by one.' He held her arm against the wall and chopped down, cutting off her pinky finger.

She screamed in pain and he smiled. He swung again and again cutting off every finger. Gabrielle screamed and screamed, each scream bringing a jolt of ecstacy through Cain's body. She passed out by the time he got to her seventh finger but he continued on.

After every finger had been cut off he stepped back and admired his bloody handywork. She stopped screaming thus his fun was over. He screamed out in anger.

How dare she end his fun. How dare he! He threw down the carving knife and picked up a large hunting blade. He screamed and swung all his might severing her throat. Blood gushed from the wound. He screamed again and lunged at her, stabbing her in the gut.

He stabbed her over and over again until he was covered in her blood and his arm was tired. His face then changed from menacing to sad and tears welled up in his eyes as Abel saw the body of Gabrielle cut up beyond recognition. He fell to the floor and cried himself to sleep, lying in a pool of her blood.

Before today Gabrielle was a beautiful, happy girl full of life and joy. Her happiness was infectious, everyone who saw her smile couldn't help but smile too. She brightened the day of all those lucky enough to meet her acquaintance. She was a light in the darkness, an angel upon the earth, an innocent virgin, pure and untainted. Now her light had been extinguished. A joy brutally torn away from the world. A pure light was gone and was replaced with darkness. Darkness bred of sin.

The temperature in the room started dropping. Cockroaches and insects scurried away as the room became darker and as cold as death. Lightening flashed outside and thunder roared as a violent storm grew. With each roar of thunder the shadows in the room seemed to grow. Out of the darkest corner of the room the shadows started coming together slowly forming a creature made entirely of darkness. An abomination known as a shadow beast.

A creature of the darkness born from the sins of man and perversions of the wicked.

As it thundered outside the creature roared to life. The beast opened its eyes and smiled wickedly. It looked at the scenery of the despicable evil. Delicious decaying flesh and beautiful splatters of blood. Brilliant artistry even it could be proud of.

The creature loomed closer to see the ones responsible for its birth. The disfigured, dismembered corpse of a once beautiful innocent virgin and next to her a broken tortured soul sleeping in a pool of his victims blood. This is what this wonderful world offered. Explicit emotions that birthed chaos leading to beautifully tragic events.

Humans were the most devious of artists. The shadow beast ached for chaos, hungered for raw emotion and lusted for tragedy.

The creature took one last look around and slithered hungrily into the night.....

         Please vote and comment if you like :) it helps a lot, thank you! You are all heroes!!