An Eternity of Eclipse

  There’s a chance that I could finally be normal again.

  I was so used to waking up every morning despising myself for being so sadistic. I feared that I would spend the rest of my life being a parasite. But now there was a new possibility that I could start over. I was a bad person because a part of my soul had been stolen. If I reclaimed the missing part of my soul, then I could be a good person—an actual human being. I had never woken up with this small hope before and this was enough for me to thank the fates for this blessing.

  Nothing could bring me down—not even the thought of some evil entity coming after me—and this was how I felt throughout the day as I went through the regular motions of life.

  Hell, I even brought OinkOink along because I was in such a good mood.

  I was originally hesitant with bringing him to the library and to dinner with my friends because I was afraid he’d make too much noise. I took a chance and luckily OinkOink was the best well-trained puppy I could ever ask for. He was obediently quiet throughout the day, napping in my purse while I studied in the library and adorably cute at dinner, running around and doing tricks for the girls when I met up with Dawn and Ara for some sushi.

  It was such a lovely day.

  By the time my dinner date was over, I was walking home with OinkOink happily trotting right beside me. He was clearly pleased that instead of being cooped up in the apartment, he was allowed to freely hang out with me all day.

  The night was chilly and slightly foggy, but my warm hooded jacket and jeans made the cold feel bearable.

  Nothing could dampen my mood.

  I was having a fantastic day and was eager to go home so I could do homework, go online, and perhaps enjoy the tranquility of being by myself before Eclipse returned.

  I suppose I was too distracted with good thoughts because as it turned out, I had lost my sense of direction. As though a spell had been lifted from me, I looked uneasily around the quiet block, holding OinkOink close to me. The sushi restaurant was one that I had never been to before. When I checked the directions online, I figured it was close enough to my apartment that I could take a nice stroll to walk off the food I ate. I was beginning to regret my choice of not taking a cab.

  I surveyed the neighborhood I was in again.

  Was it just me or did the fog appear to be getting denser and more ominous-looking?

  With paranoia growing strong inside me, I took out my cell phone to call myself a cab. An abrupt chill overcame me when I registered that my phone was once again out of battery. The sucky thing was that I had recently charged the phone and hadn’t used it for anything. How was it possible that it was out of battery now? I cursed. I couldn’t believe my luck. How on earth did I wander into this godforsaken place without realizing it?

  My eyes scanned my surroundings. The only company I had were OinkOink, the howling wind, empty buildings, and a strange fog that was seemingly increasing around me. Although I saw no one, I quickly deduced that this must be the area where gangs frequented. I didn’t want to stay and find out if my hypothesis was true. All I knew was that I had to leave at that instant.

  “Arf . . . arf . . .”

  I should’ve known something was wrong when OinkOink, as if sensing danger, began to bark softly and hesitantly. I should’ve known something was wrong when he began to shiver uncontrollably, and I should’ve known something was terribly wrong when he abruptly jumped out of my arms and dashed off into the distance without any regard for me.

  “OinkOink!” I shouted, stunned that a puppy that seemed to have adored me so much was running off and abandoning me. “Get back here or I’m going to punch you in the face the next time I see you!”

  Like a pig escaping the slaughterhouse, OinkOink was unstoppable. Instead of turning around and coming back to me as I had anticipated, the oversized rat continued to run off, disappearing around the corner and leaving me completely alone.

  This was why I hated cute furry animals. They had no spines.

  Shit, I thought again, looking around fretfully. A dreadful knot formed in my stomach. I was already feeling scared with OinkOink keeping me company and now without him, I was terrified.

  Out, my gut instincts instructed me in vigilance. Get the hell out of here now!

  I was about to go into full panic mode and run off when I spotted a woman I recognized in the laundromat across the street. I squinted my eyes, trying to make sure I was seeing correctly.

  Mrs. Lee?

  Sure enough, it was Mrs. Lee—Sony’s mom. The fear I felt vacated slightly as soon as I saw a familiar face.

  I knew that Mrs. Lee worked at a laundromat in the city, but I had no idea where. I couldn’t be more relieved to see her in an area I found so eerie. However relieved I was to see her, her presence wasn’t enough to overshadow the gut instincts ravaging me—the instincts that were telling me to leave this place. I was excited to see her and I enjoyed her company, yes, but she wasn’t important enough for me to risk being around here any longer. I still had to leave.

  I continued along, hell-bent on leaving this neighborhood until I heard a loud slap and an earsplitting scream that had me halting in my tracks.

  “Did you think I wasn’t going to find you, you whore?! Huh? You think you can run away and I won’t be able to find you?!”

  Another thunderous slap echoed into the night.

  Realization blossomed in my eyes. I wheeled around and saw that there was a man, who was wearing a white shirt and jeans, in the empty and dim laundromat with her. My eyes widened even more when I realized who this man must be.

  Her husband.

  The one she left, the one who abused her and Sony, the one she and Sony were so deathly afraid of; he had found her.

  I didn’t know what got into me—usually, I couldn’t care less about helping anyone. Against my better judgment, I thought about how much I enjoyed Mrs. Lee’s company. Although I reveled in her misery, I didn’t want anything to happen to her because I genuinely liked and admired her as a person. Plus, I considered Sony. What about Sony? What would happen to him if anything were to happen to his mother? And when that didn’t convince me enough, I thought about myself. What if I got my entire soul back and I become guilt-stricken with everything that went on here? Could I live with that?

  My own well-being in the near future was enough to convince me to save her. I couldn’t risk anything that would make me miserable in the future, especially not when I could do something about it.

  With that resolution, I lifted the hood of my jacket to hide my face and identity. I abandoned all pretenses about being smart and not getting involved in something that obviously had nothing to do with me. Then, I enacted one of the most stupid decisions I could ever make in my life: I risked my life to save someone else’s.

  Idiotically, I bulldozed into the dark laundromat like a blind bull, frantically grabbed the first decorative vase I spotted, and ran over to them. He had just finished slapping her and was now raising a large butcher knife in the air. Below him, Mrs. Lee huddled in the corner, crying in horror. The knife glimmered in the darkness, acting as the catalyst to convince me to do what I was about to do.

  “You worthless bitch! I’ll show you! I’ll show you—Argh!”

  Crack!

  With all the strength I had, I slammed the vase against the back of his skull. On impact, the vase shattered to pieces, causing the man to fall forward with an anguished scream.

  Bam!

  Once he was down, I made sure to seal the deal on the assault by roughly kicking one of the doors to the dryer. The thick glass pummeled against his nose, breaking it with a soft crack and violently sandwiching his skull against the wall. Another blood-curdling scream poured from him while he held his head and convulsed in agony.

  “Run! Run!” I shouted, faking a deep voice at Mrs. Lee, trying my best to blend in with the shadows so she wouldn’t know it was me. It was obvious that I was a girl faking a deep manly voice, but regardless of such blatancy, my only concern
was making sure that she wouldn’t recognize me. I didn’t want to deal with her thanking me and all that time-wasting crap. I just wanted her to get the fuck out so that I could get the fuck out too.

  “Run! Call the police and just run!”

  She did as she was told. As she ran, I bequeathed one final kick to her husband’s head to keep him down so that she could get a long head start. After she was out, I followed suit and attempted to make my escape.

  Regrettably, my fate was not as simple as hers.

  “Ahhhh!”

  I felt a pair of hands enclose around my ankles, holding me tight just as I was about to take off. Unable to fight against the iron-grip, I fell forward, my jaw connecting with the edge of a nearby counter with brutal force.

  Bam!

  A suffusion of pain detonated within all the nerves in my body. I crashed down onto the tiles, my skin becoming etched with broken glass from the vase I smashed.

  “Ugh . . .” I groaned, quivering relentlessly. Agony ripped through me, leaving me paralyzed for an excruciating moment.

  “You fucking bitch!” I could hear him scream from behind me.

  Every inch of my survival instincts came to life. I fought through the paralyzing pain and continued with my efforts to make my escape. With concentrated effort, I lifted my leg towards the sound of the voice and kicked him across the cheek with my five-inch stiletto heels, nearly puncturing a hole in his face.

  “Augh! Fuck!”

  His screams ricocheted off the walls and I used this opportunity to force myself up. Breathing heavily, I dashed out of the laundromat with all the strength I had. I took off in the opposite direction that Mrs. Lee ran in.

  Even then, I didn’t want to lead that bastard close to her . . .

  Regret began to deluge over me as I ran for my life.

  Oh God, oh God. Why did I do this? Why did I even help her?

  Nothing but fear cloaked my eyes as I abandoned my heels and continued to run down the desolate block, the throbbing within my body slowing me down and the panic within me causing me to go insane. There was only one other time where I felt this much fear for my life and that was when Officer Joo nearly choked me to death. I recalled the horror I felt then and choked back a sob as I continued to run, stabbing my bare feet over the puddles of water on the street.

  Why? I yelled at myself, hating that it was my own fault that I was in this position. Why was I such an idiot? Why was I so stupid to risk my life to save someone else’s? I should’ve left her to die. I should’ve left her to die instead of trying to be a good person and save her. Now, for my momentary lapse in judgment, I was left all alone, completely and utterly alone with no one in sight to help me.

  “Eclipse!” I started to sob out, even though I clearly recalled him telling me that he could only appear in places where he think I’d be. I was so far off from the typical places I frequented that I knew that he could never appear here to help me. Despite this knowledge, I couldn’t help but call out his name because it was the only thing that gave me some semblance of comfort. It was the only thing that gave me hope in the face of all the terror that was plaguing me.

  “Eclips—Ahh!”

  Bam!

  Before being given a chance to further scream out Eclipse’s name, the man tackled me from behind. He used the full weight of his heavy-set body to roughly slam me against a rusty black car that was parked on the street. The side of my head made a dent against the metal, causing an eruption of pain inside my skull. I was rendered helpless as my legs buckled and I plunged to the ground with a loud thud.

  As I lay on the cold asphalt, my skull feeling as if it was about to split open, I could feel the weight of his body on my back, holding me captive underneath him. The pungent smell of alcohol attacked my nostrils, making me more aware of the perversion coursing out of him. I could feel his disgusting eyes roam over my quivering body.

  “You stupid bitch,” his deep, raspy voice taunted. His revolting fingers began to run up my jean-clad legs, fondling me and causing me to shudder in revulsion. “You trying to be a hero?” A cruel and sickening smile threaded his voice. “I’ll show you what kind of hero you are.”

  He tugged at my wrist and attempted to pick me up to no doubt drag me into a dark corner and rape me before officially killing me. At that realization, I could feel another surge of survival instincts flood through me. No. I wasn’t going to go down like this. No way in hell. I didn’t care that I wasn’t a martial arts expert, I didn’t care that I wasn’t the strongest girl in the world, and I didn’t care that I was fighting a losing battle. As far as I was concerned, I had two hands, two legs, and a brain—I wasn’t going down without a fight.

  “Get away from me!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. I whipped around without warning and clamped my mouth over the hand that held my wrist. My teeth buried into the meat of his skin.

  “Ahhhh!”

  I did not hold back. With all the force I could generate, I bit down even harder.

  My teeth punctured through his flesh, causing him to scream while I tasted his blood. His grip on me loosened substantially, and I started to do everything that I could to fight him off. I wiggled uncontrollably, punched him, elbowed him, and kneed him repeatedly—basically anything and everything I could do to defend myself. When I was finally able to unhook my wrist from his grasp, I lifted my hand and plunged my perfectly manicured fingernails into his eyes, causing him to cover them with an anguished scream.

  Finally.

  With my frightened heart pounding profusely against my constricted chest, I gathered all the remaining strength I had once I was finally free of him. I picked up my feet and was ready to make my escape when—

  Slash!

  Something cold and sharp made contact with the flesh of my back. The razor sharp blade cut through the meat of my body like fabric, causing me to tumble almost lifelessly to the ground.

  Boom!

  “Augh . . .”

  Paralyzed from head to toe, nothing but pain ravaged me as I laid on the damp road. The wound behind me was so long and big that I could feel the cold draft swim in and chafe the fragile meat and bones buried deep under my skin. I couldn’t even make a sound because the sensation was so unbearable.

  Bam!

  “Augh!”

  I wasn’t given a moment of reprieve when a strong boot connected with my ribcage, sending me flying onto my back.

  Swallowing past the pain, it took all the strength I had to open my tired eyes to stare up at my attacker. He was towering over me now, like a monster in the night. Blood spilled from the areas around his eyes where I attacked him. He was angry. He was so angry at me and at all the plans that I had foiled for him. I knew then that he was done with me—he wasn’t going to let me live any longer.

  “Please,” I breathed out desperately, looking at him with tears shrouding my eyes. “Please don’t.”

  His reply was merely a cold, emotionless smile that told me he was beyond human emotions. He was simply a sadistic man who was about to perform one of the most unforgivable acts a human being could bestow upon another human being.

  He was going to kill me.

  Slowly and very painfully . . . he was going to kill me.

  A haunting thought came into my woozy mind in this excruciating state: this was how my family must’ve felt when I stabbed them—when I killed them. This was the fear they felt, the agony they experienced, the injustice they were faced with when a heartless monster stole their lives from them. Tonight, whether it was coincidence or destiny, I was going to suffer, just as I made my family suffer before they died.

  I closed my eyes briefly, willing myself to stop thinking about my family, their death, and my biggest sin in life. What use was it to think about their death when mine was just around the corner? At this rationale, I pushed the blasphemous thoughts aside and went back to the only thing that mattered in my life: me, my own well-being, and the monster that was threatening my very existence.

  I o
pened my eyes again and stared up helplessly, knowledge embedded in my eyes for I knew what was coming for me.

  Death.

  I watched him grip the long butcher knife and raise it in the air. The blade continued to drip with the blood he had slashed from my back moments prior. The silver knife twinkled under the illumination of the moon suspended above us, its glint taunting me and my helpless state. Then, just as I felt the first raindrop of the evening descend onto my eyelid, as if shedding tears for me, the man plunged his knife down towards my hyperventilating chest and—

  “Ugh!”

  I gasped.

  The pain that consumed me was unlike anything I had ever experienced. The razor-sharp tip of the knife stabbed through my chest, its cold and ravenous blade eating away at the flesh of my body. It slid down to a hilt before it was roughly pulled back out, leaving behind nothing but excruciating agony. I thought I was in pain before, but it was nothing compared to what I was currently feeling.

  The gaping hole in the middle of my chest was exposed, the iciness of the drizzling rain streaming into the wound and reminding me, with every cold drip, how much pain I was in. It was so excruciating that I couldn’t even gather the strength to scream. I had no more energy to do anything but feel the unshed tears gather in my eyes. The pain became all-consuming.

  It hurts to even breathe . . .

  And the man wouldn’t stop.

  As the rain began to pour relentlessly from the Heavens above and as my soft and pained breathing filtered into the cold air, he raised the knife again. He smiled sadistically at me, his eyes unblinking with diabolical rage.

  Then—

  “Ugh!”

  The second stab to my chest caused me to lurch my body up like I was caught in a wave. Tears escaped from the corner of my eyes before the third stab came to my stomach, leaving me to gasp at the most unbearable of agonies. Again and again he would stab, and again and again, I could feel the cold metal slicing apart the flesh of my body, the blade hitting and scraping my bones each time. With every stab, I could feel my blood stream out, mating with the rain and chorusing after my hoarse breathing. Nothing but torture pillaged the nerves on my petite body.