I had opened my mouth to scream, but thankfully my shock and horror had stolen my voice and nothing came out from my near bleeding, cracked lips. I pressed my nails into my palm causing little half moon indents that showed my frustration at having to watch helplessly. The girls head was slumped forward and her dark velvet hair went to her knees. She was dragged the rest of the way to the altar and held opposite the gleaming old woman. Lucius touched the head of the girl and whispered something to make her re-awaken to her real nightmare. However this time she had learnt her lesson and stood motionless at the mouth of hell.
I fought franticly with every idea I had that entered my head as each idea was as bad as the next. I needed to cause a diversion but even then, what could I do alone? I was outnumbered and most certainly out powered! I would not only be putting myself in danger of being captured but it would no doubt be pointless as well. She would never have enough time to escape with all these monsters that stood around her. No, all I could do was watch on in horror and experience her end as though it was my own.
“Māha Arta” (Means “Moon Order” In Ancient Persian) Lucius spoke more words I didn’t understand and looked up to the top of the domed roof as if waiting for something. None of us had to wait long for the dome to show a split in the middle and then part, moving back into the room showing us the night sky in its place. The vast black night was only filled by the fullest moon I had ever seen and was ringed with a blood red outline that gave it the appearance of an evil sun.
The words passed his lips once more and the red ring glowed even brighter as if responding to his command. All of the robed figures were still looking up to it as if a God had emerged, when abruptly Lucius seized the girl by the arm and turned her round into him, so her back was now against his hard chest. Her head tucked inches under his chin and with his other hand he held the bottom of her face and moved it up towards his lips. He mouthed words over her hair and it seemed to send her into a trance as she rolled up her eyes before closing her lids.
She started to sway but before she could hit the floor with her numb body he growled up to the moon and pushed her hard down onto the stone altar. He then, with a handful of her gown, tore it from her body with one quick motion and left her naked as the day she was born. Her soft pale skin glistened under the moonlight and look like milk rippling as it trembled in the night air.
Then what happened next came about so fast, I had to replay it in my head before reacting to it, like a time lapse that had to be caught up with. He had produced a large ornate blade from behind his back and held it up to the moon as if to get it blessed before plunging it into the girl’s body. Only the gold gilded end that protruded from her heart could be seen and the sound of blood travelling up to her throat and out from her colourless lips could be heard.
The blood from underneath her flowed around the circles that covered the altar and soon all marble sides showed the life that had now left her, mirroring the night’s deadly moon above.
Within seconds of comprehending what had just happened right before my eyes, I let out an almighty scream that pierced the night like the blade that had just pierced her delicate skin and soon all robed heads had turned to face me. Blind panic had me frozen in time and surprise had the others doing the same. For seconds, shock was all that gripped at every being in the room but the sight of the black robe lifting his head towards me had me soon moving into action.
My legs started to run towards the closest door that I could see and my mind didn’t stop to think what was through it and that it wasn’t the same way I had come in. I turned my head just enough to see a long arm extend out towards me and shout,
“Bring her to me!” But this had my body moving faster than ever before. I could hear all the footsteps behind me but I didn’t dare stop to look. I was waiting for hands to reach out and grab me but all the same I kept my feet moving. I pushed my way through the heavy door and thanked God that it was unlocked. I jumped at the sound of it slamming behind me and only then did I realise I had to wipe my streaming eyes as I couldn’t see properly for desperate tears. I told myself in my head to calm down or I would never find my way out. My body wanted to carry on but my exhausted mind wanted to curl up in a corner and cry until there was nothing left.
I was in a strange room that had eight arched passageways which were situated in a long row going from one side of the room to the next. I knew I had to choose one as the sound of footsteps was getting closer. I closed my eyes and swallowed, and fearing I was making a grave mistake, I took the one on the far left at the end.
It turned out to be through a narrow wet corridor similar to the one that had lead me to the Temple but at least this one had some light. As I ran through the cobbled tunnel the lights ignited above me and I soon realised as the ceiling became inflamed, that this was the way the lamps were positioned. They went up from the top of the wall into arches that met the other side’s lamp. Then when lit, they made the ceiling glow with fire.
This extreme heat in such a small space made me cough and beads of sweat soaked my face. I was thankful that it didn’t go on for long as I started to breathe more easily when fresher air hit me. I stumbled into the next room as I tripped on one of the larger cobbles that jutted out from the rest. I hit the floor with a thud and pain shot through my knees making me swear out in agony.
I scrambled to my feet thinking about the bruises I would now have before scanning the room I was now stood in. The large oval room wasn’t as grand as all the rest, in fact it looked a little dilapidated. The walls that were once richly decorated had long tears in the royal blue wallpaper, showing the deep red bricks underneath. This made the room look as though a ravaged beast had clawed away at it, trying to get to the flesh the paper concealed. What could have made those marks? But more importantly what had I just walked into?!
Then I took a step closer seeing something that didn’t just look like claw marks but something somebody had used their fingernails to write with. Then I fell back with a gasp landing hard on my backside. There staring at me from all around the room was the evidence that I had been right all along. Scratched, was the haunting name that had just made me a mouse in this game of chase.
LUCIUS
That’s when my mind finally put together the last remaining puzzle piece. I now remembered what it was the imprisoned girl had mouthed. It was a warning and it was a name. The same that had spun a cruel web and decorated this room of desperation.
LUCIUS
I could no longer hear the sound of being pursued and I didn’t know whether or not that was a good sign. I examined the walls more closely and saw that the paper had what looked like old script and huge fleur de lis in faded gold. It had been scratched all over the walls, some places with bloody fingernails still embedded. My eyes followed the cracked mouldings and broken furniture that was beyond repair, it too also held the name crudely carved into the surfaces.
Doors with broken hinges were thrown around the room like scatter throws. There were glass shards from shattered mirrors and lamps that once added to the décor. It looked like a grand bedchamber that someone had gone berserk in and this was the aftermath. As I walked further into the room I found a large bed that had two legs missing so was laid to rest on an angle on its dais. Tattered curtains hung pathetically around the broken frame.
The mattress too was in one piece no longer as it had clearly been ripped apart. There were no windows in this room so the only light came from office type strip lighting that looked more out of place than me in Afterlife! It flickered and I could hear a faint buzzing as it tried to find the power to stay illuminated. This was by far the strangest room I had been in because, quite simply, it was the one most unlikely to have been here. It felt so out of place, like driving in the desert and then finding Las Vegas.
I found a door uncovered by a ripped tapestry and prayed that it was unlocked. I must have only been in there for minutes but I had wasted enough time as it was, so I made my sore knees move into a greater
action and ran to the exit. Thankfully the door was unlocked but once I was inside I found myself wishing that maybe it hadn’t. For I was back in the prison!
It only took me a few seconds to realise it wasn’t the same one the girl had been held captive in. This one looked more serious as the cells resembled one man torture devices. They were caskets lined up against the wall like stone tombs and all that could be seen was a thin rectangle for their eyes to see through.
I was glad to find that no eyes could be seen looking back at me but my blood ran cold as whispers started to come from behind the metal coffins. I couldn’t make out any words as it was all being said in another language. I moved to avoid them, giving them a wide berth as I made my way past. I was trying desperately not to lose it but I could feel myself fading fast. All I wanted to do was hide away in a corner somewhere and cry myself into a sticky mess. This was most definitely my limit and I was so close to cracking, that I needed a minute to calm my mind and focus on getting to Draven. He was the only reason I was still moving and I knew if I had to crawl my way out of this hell, that for him I would keep going.
The wet stone walls made the air smell damp but I was thankful that this room was at least cooler than the rest. My hair had started to cling to my neck, which was irritating my skin, making me itch.
“ARRRH!” I screamed out at the sound of my name being whispered from around the corner. The room was in a sort of L shape with five large pillars running down the middle. The section I was in only had the small metal coffins along one wall but from what I was about to find out, that wasn’t all this room had in store for me.
I bravely made my way around the wall keeping as far away from the one man prisons but as soon as I started to move I realised they weren’t empty. I shuddered back another cry as each thin rectangle now produced two orange glows and when they started to blink, made me react to being watched. My hands flew to my mouth to keep my voice captive and as a result I bit down into the skin on my hand to restrain it further. I didn’t take my eyes off theirs for a second, afraid that if I did, I would pay dearly for it. They moved with my body, following me as I went slowly out of sight.
Once around the corner it opened up into a bigger part of the room and this looked almost identical to the other prison, the one where I first saw the girl.
There was however one startling difference. One wall, like the other, held heavy doors that lead into the separate cells. But on the opposite side was something I had never seen before and it looked as though made from the stuff nightmares were created from. All along the wall seemed to be alive with tortured souls trapped and begging to be set free. It almost looked like a giant womb spread over hundreds of people trying to claw their way out. Like a thick skin stretched out to near breaking point.
I stood motionless in the middle of two evils, waiting for the next move to come to me. I wondered if this is what Moses felt like when he parted the Red Sea, knowing that any moment either side of death could come crashing down on him and all that followed. I knew this was a completely illogical thing to be thinking and for one thing he had the Gods on his side! I knew perfectly well what I had on my side, both my sides for that matter and I doubted very much that they wanted to give me a big pat on the back and send me in the right direction!
I knew I had to move as I could now hear the voices from the Temple coming closer behind and I knew it wouldn’t be long until they found me. What was worse? Talk about stuck between a rock and a hard place, this was more like tight roping over a live volcano or going to hell for a holiday!
I started to giggle nervously and I think this was mainly down to the fact that I was slowly losing it and though it was better to giggle than to cry and sob like a baby I couldn’t stop either. I counted three pillars and knew that if I was going to do this then I would have to do it one pillar at a time. I focused on the first pillar and started to move my feet.
The problem I faced was that the wall of souls started to respond even more by my movement. Hands tried to reach out and grab me. Faces would push even harder through the skin until near features could be made out. Teeth snapped at me and looked as though they would soon bite their way through. As a result, I had a reaction of my own and moved further away, only nearer to the other wall. The one with all the cells!
They had barred windows that were lower than the ones in the other prison. Earlier to see into the girl’s cell I had to pull myself up, but these you could easily see inside. This was a bad thing….a very bad thing! The first cell I passed I could see a small man in the far corner just under his window. He was bent on his knees scratching away at the floor like someone possessed. He only had trousers on allowing the gruelling marks to be seen on his back.
As he arched over, it made the metal pins that stuck out from his spine stand out even more. There were two, one either side of each spine bone and it looked as though he had been stapled from the inside out. His hair was black and matted into clumps that hung down like dead rats.
The moon started to come out from behind a cloud and it cast first a shadow around the room before lighting it up. I gasped as I read the words that had been plastered around every available wall space. The words “Come play with me” were written in blood that had seeped from beneath his broken finger nails. I swallowed back my disgust in the form of bile when his face turned slowly to look at me.
His face looked withered with red cracks in his pale skin but it was when he waved at me that it all became too much for a weak stomach that had been pushed to its limit. As soon as my eyes caught sight of the protruding bloody bones that were what was left of his fingers I threw up outside his cell. He merely shrugged his shoulders before returning his pointed finger bones to scratch away at the only space left untouched which was soon to be completed with his bloody ink. I had to steady myself on the pillar as I tried not to panic anymore. I concentrated on my breathing until it sounded somewhat semi-normal, before carrying on to the next pillar.
As I approached I knew there was something better behind the next door as a feeling of utter calm and a warm tingle under my skin told me so. At least it made the tears cease to fall…well at least for the minute anyway! A bright light got stronger as I came closer. When inside the cell was visible I had to blink a few times before my eyesight grew accustomed to the bright room as opposed to the dark and dingy ones I had been in for the last ten minutes. Inside there was an Angel sat on the top of what reminded me of a white step ladder. The room was painted white but was pealing away to reveal a grey stone wall underneath.
There were also strange white balls of different sizes around the floor that kept moving round the ladder. He kept his head down and his shoulders where slumped forward as if he had given up. He was wearing only white trousers that looked as though they were made from paper but the strangest thing was his small white wings which came from his shoulder blades. The ends were tipped with a yellowish colour and the tops brushed against the wall. I now realised that, because of my fear, I had lost my barrier to keep the images of Angels and Demons in their true form out.
This must have only happened since entering this area as back in the Temple they just all looked like crazy humans, which they clearly weren’t!
“You shouldn’t be here!” A soft voice said, and for the first time since being down this hell hole, I actually felt comforted.
“I know…. I’m lost.” I stammered out.
“They’re looking for you.” Wow, he sure was great for pointing out the obvious, next he was going to tell me “You’re also a blond girl that just puked up because you just met Mr bloody bone fingers!”
“I know! Is there was a way out of here?”
“You won’t leave, not when he wants you.” Ok, this guy had lost his appeal very quickly. The comfort thing had lasted about all of thirty seconds.
“Umm thanks.” I said sarcastically just as I was about to move along but then his voice changed into a deep scratching, as if he was suffering with a throat infection.
>
“Don’t let him get you or Draven will lose, Chosen One!” At the very mention of his name I flung myself against the door and shook the bars.
“Tell me, what have they done to Draven? Where is he? Is he alright?” I hurried out my questions like my mouth was on fire. But he just turned his body to face the other way and ignored me.
“Talk to me!” I shouted but he just raised his finger to his lips and said,
“Ssshh, they will hear you.” And nothing more. I could feel another mental piece of string snap and I knew I would soon lose it altogether. I nearly ran to the other pillar as now the only thing in my mind was finding Draven!
The next door revealed a black room with only a small window for light which was the size of a cereal box. This had bars, crossing over casting diamond shapes over the room. Down under it was a black African woman sat with her feet crossed as though she was meditating. She was also clearly a demon as there were two huge twisted horns coming from the side of her head just above the ears.
She was naked and had a full body with lots of curves and a pair of huge breasts, but I couldn’t make out any other features as she was so dark and had her eyes closed. The horns mirrored along the floor stretching out their own terrorising shadows.
I was about to back away when out of the darkness I saw two white eyes without pupils. They stared straight at me and the whites of her teeth appeared. She then unfolded her arms and placed the palms on the floor outstretched in front of her. I watched in horror as the shadows took on a life of their own and came out towards me. They moved like snakes along the broken tiled floor and made their way up the door, coming closer still. I kept backing up but even when I could no longer see inside I could still see the shadows reach up and out of the cell.