“You won’t get far without your sister and we have her now!” I looked up to see that same foul face smiling down at me from the top of the wall. I knew I needed to run so I grabbed the stone wall to heave myself up only something unexpected happened. My touch seemed to trigger something within the stone because a bright white light suddenly burst from behind the stone, coming through the cracks. The Vampire screamed a high pitched wail as if the wall itself was burning hot. His hands lost their hold and he flung himself backwards from the stone until his body disappeared on the other side.
I stumbled backwards down the grass banking that obviously saved me from greater injury.
“What’s happening?” I asked myself out loud as I moved back even further. The bright light had dimmed to a soft glow and I could now see what it really was. It was as if someone had painted invisible symbols that only showed under a certain light. I had no clue what they were, all these lines and shapes that made no sense but it seemed whatever they were, my touch had flipped the switch and turned them on. I looked around in desperation and then screamed when lightening hit the sky and thunder quickly followed. The rain started to pour down hard around me and I started to look for ways that I could get back in there.
“Ari.” I had to save my sister. I had to get back to her! I walked back up to the wall and started to feel for any grooves that would aid my climbing but it was useless. The rain had made the stone slick and I just slipped and fell time and time again. I started to walk further down, hoping that maybe the wall didn’t go on for as long I as originally thought but one more flash of lightening told me otherwise.
The wall was endless.
“NO! No this can’t be happening! ARI!” I screamed her name again and fell to my knees. I hit the muddy wet ground over and over until my hands felt numb to the pain.
“Why! Why did you do that! Why would you leave me…why?” My question went unanswered and I let my head fall hopelessly into my hands as I wept for my loss.
“I can’t do this…I can’t do this without you…I can’t Ari…come back to me, please just come back…” I whispered this hopeless plea into the ground before I got up and began to run. I ran and ran until I thought my legs would give out but when that didn’t happen, I just ran some more…until I just stopped and my anger finally died. I knew why she had done it. She thought she was saving me but we could have made it. I knew we could have if she had just trusted me. But now what…I just didn’t know.
It took me until now to realise that once I stopped running I could see that all this time I had been doing so along an empty road. At least it was a real road this time, which meant that it was used often. So when I saw the blinding headlights I wasn’t surprised. I held up my hand to shield myself against the light and when the car stopped, I didn’t have anything left in me to worry enough who was in that car.
“Hey, are you alright?” The question made me laugh and when I heard the unnatural sound coming from me I knew I was close to losing it.
“Oh dear, Denis look, she’s soaked to the bone.” I heard a woman call out to who I assumed was her husband, who was walking towards me.
“You stay in the car, Lucy.” The man warned probably worried I was some crazy person. Well if they heard any of what I had been through in the past forty-eight hours then they would be driving me to the nearest nut house.
“Oh Jesus, you’re only a young girl.” The man said and the name Jesus was one I hadn’t heard in a very long time. It at least told me one thing and that was they had nothing to do with the Colony. He took a few steps closer to me and I found that I had finally hit my limit…or at least my body had, because he caught me just in time for me to collapse.
My world turned black.
‘Bring them here Kay, bring them and save us all… He’s looking for you Kay…Let him find you’
“…Who?”
‘Your Demon.’
I woke with the whispers still dancing along the edges of my mind but I instantly knew there was something else wrong. For a start the bed I was lay in was the most comfortable I ever remember sleeping in and waking up warm and cosy was definitely a new experience. This was when the horror of last night started to creep its way back in. Suddenly I bolted upright and called out for the only person in this world I wished was by my side.
“Ari!”
“Oh lovey, you’re awake.” A lady’s voice spoke and my mind had to focus on getting my eyes to work. I started to push myself up and this was when the lady started fussing.
“Be careful now, your fever only just broke and you need lots of rest after what you just went through.”
“Wh…” I had to clear my throat and drink some of the water she held out for me before continuing my question.
“What I just went through?” I had to be sure I hadn’t said anything last night or this comfy bed might actually be the property of a mental ward.
“Yes, getting stuck in that storm like that and walking all that way…we looked for your broken down car for a bit but you must have walked miles! My husband thinks you must have gotten lost in the woods or something as he looked the next day for your car and still couldn’t find it.” Unbeknown to her generous heart, she had just offered me the perfect excuse.
“It was stolen.” I said lying and no longer worried too much about the fire and brimstone we had always been threatened with growing up.
“Oh gosh no! How terrible.” She said shaking her head and I felt guilty but to be honest if she knew what I had really been through, then I think I would have received a little bit more than an ‘oh Gosh’, so I felt better knowing I was sparing her the truth.
“That’s just terrible, you poor dear.” She said patting my hand and giving me a warm smile. She was a middle-aged woman with kind eyes and a pretty face. Her hair was cut into a cute bob and I could tell that only one side wanted to do as it was told, as it flicked out against the other side that curled under. I bet it drove her nuts like it did my own mother…but wait, where had that thought just come from? My mother didn’t have hair like that.
“You must be starving!” She said shocking me with her enthusiasm. She got up and said, “I bet you could do with some nice warm soup and crusty bread…that always sorts me out when I am poorly…I will be right back.” Then she left but before closing the door all the way, she popped her head back in and said,
“Silly me, I never asked your name?” I smiled at her and said,
“It’s Katie.”
“Well Katie, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Lucy, my mom was addicted to ‘I Love Lucy’ reruns…” She laughed once and then said,
“Anyway, my husband is called Denis and he and I both welcome you to our home.”
“I don’t know how to thank you…” I started to say but she laughed again,
“Oh now, it’s no bother. I am just glad we found you when we did…now I will just go and get that soup, you rest up honey.” After she left was the time I finally broke down. I just couldn’t help it or the soundless sobs of helplessness that bubbled over. I covered my face from the shame I felt at leaving my sister.
I just couldn’t understand why she didn’t grab my hand when she had the chance. None of it made any sense, especially everything she had said before we got separated.
Thinking back to it all made my head spin and the same words of despair played back over and over…
‘Our whole lives Kay…it was never real…we were never real!’
It was chilling the way she had said it, like she truly believed this was the case. But how could she think this? After a lifetime of memories together, after everything we had been through, how could she think none of it was real?
Nothing made any sense anymore. It was as though all her words were jumbling themselves up in my head and only ones like…Lies… save the world… they won’t kill me…not yet…were lighting up as though this was the key to it all.
“Here we are all nice and …oh dear! Your nose…here let me help you.” Lucy pl
aced down her tray and rushed to my side handing me tissues from the bedside. I looked down to see blood on my chest and realised I was having a nose bleed. I took the tissues and placed them under my nose to soak up the blood.
“Bath…room?” I asked with a muffled voice. She pointed through a door and as I stood I would have fallen if Lucy hadn’t been there to steady me.
“Oh dear, here let me help you.” I let her lead me into the bathroom, grateful for her help as I had never felt so weak. It made me wonder how long I had been out there in the storm, wandering the road in search of my sister. I reached the sink and moved the tissue to assess if it was still bleeding or not. Thankfully it looked to have stopped, so I placed the used tissue on the side of the sink and then washed away the dried blood on my chin.
“Now don’t overdo it but if you feel like a shower then please help yourself. I will find you something better than one of Denis’ old T-shirts to wear. I am sure my daughter Kelly is the same size as you…”
“Oh but I couldn’t take…” I started to protest by saying she had done so much for me already when she interrupted me in the kindest way possible.
“It’s no bother, if anything you are doing me a favour.”
“I am?” I asked surprised how it was possible I could be doing her a favour when all she had done was help me.
“Sure. Kelly left all these clothes, half of them still have the tags on I think…a bit of a shopaholic my Kelly, but anyway, she went off to college and left me with a few bags in the attic that I never got round to taking to the thrift store.” By the time she turned around to hand me the towels she found me sobbing again.
“Oh no honey, what’s wrong?” She dumped the towels on the toilet seat and rushed to hug me from behind.
“I’m sorry, it’s just that you’re so kind and…and…” I think she got what I was trying to say as she pulled me in for a proper hug and for the first time in forever I cried in the arms of someone other than Ari.
“It’s alright…that’s it, you get it all out… its okay.” She cooed whispering softly and rubbing my back in soothing circles. I pulled back to look at her and said,
“You are the kindest woman I have ever met.” To which she blushed and hugged me again.
“Well aren’t you a sweet child. Right time to get yourself washed up. I will grab those clothes for you and you can choose what you like, heck you could have the whole lot if want…now tut, tut, like I said you would be doing me a favour.” She said stopping me again from protesting.
“Thank you Lucy.” She gave me a warm smile and then left me to have a shower. I shook my head at how lucky I had been to have such loving people find me. I knew they had most likely saved my life as I don’t know how much longer I would have lasted out in that storm.
I pulled back the shower curtain wondering when the last time was I had experienced a real shower. In most aspects living at the Colony had been like travelling back in time and being forced to live in poverty. I knew the house had bathrooms but it was rare we were allowed to use them other than to go to the toilet.
Washing ourselves had become something we had to do, not something we ever took pleasure in. Especially in winter when sometimes you would first have to break the ice that had formed on the top of the water bowl before washing yourself. Summers were something to look forward to in more ways than one, as it also meant not shivering in your bed until you finally fell asleep from the day’s exhaustion.
So stepping into the shower now was like basking under the hot rays of sunlight only Heaven provided. I think I could have stayed there all day, with the hot water pouring down on my skin. Even using the shower gel felt like a new experience, especially having one that smelled so nice. Harsh and clinical smelling soap was the only thing we were granted when washing, so this almost had me salivating for the taste of fruit. To the point I had to resist from licking the bubbles off my skin.
Again, washing my hair with shampoo and conditioner was something I only remembered from when I was a kid. All the things the outside world must take for granted, because let’s face it, unless it is taken away from you, then you rarely have the chance to miss it.
I was just rinsing the last of the soap from my skin after wanting to wash myself for the second time when I heard a noise. At first I thought it must be Lucy, maybe wondering why I was taking so long. So I turned off the water and stepped out of the bath the shower head was over. I grabbed a towel to wrap around myself and did the same with my hair. I then opened the door a crack and frowned when I found it empty.
“Strange.” I muttered turning back to the mirror over sink. It was all foggy from the steam so I raised my hand to wipe it clear…
And screamed.
Chapter 8
All Hail the Modern Age
Looking at my reflection in the mirror should never have to be shocking. Yes, there were a few times I had been hit across the face when living at the Colony and looking at the proof of how much you hated your life was never a pretty sight.
But this was something else.
Blood once again poured from my nose but this time when I looked down there was nothing to show for it.
“What the hell?” I asked aloud and then looked back up to my reflection thinking maybe I had simply imagined it all. But looking back only confirmed my fears and blood was everywhere. It ran down the mirror in streams and everything I moved to the side it would flow all over again from the same place my nose was. I couldn’t understand what was happening, or more like why for that matter.
A sudden knock on the door had me squeaking in fright.
“Sorry Katie, did I scare you? I just wanted to let you know I found those clothes and put them on the bed for you. I was also going to reheat your soup for when you got out, so take your time.” The whole time Lucy spoke I frantically tried to rub the one way blood from the mirror in case she came in.
“Umm…thanks, that sounds great.” I said trying to sound normal whilst getting nowhere with the phantom blood that refused to go away.
“No bother Honey.” She said before I heard the bedroom door close and I turned back to the mirror. I grabbed a flannel off the side and turned on the taps in my next desperate attempt to be rid of the sight. I was just lifting it to the glass when freaky turned into freakier. My reflection was the first to change and my other self started to shake her head making me drop the wet cloth back into the sink with a splat.
My nose still poured with blood but my reflection didn’t seem to mind. She simply raised up her hand and tapped on the side of her nose before looking down at the blood. The crimson streams started to waver before joining the multiple lines together and then flowing down the mirror further to form words.
No, not words, just one word…
‘AFTERLIFE’
“Afterlife? What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked frowning as the red letters spelled out something I only knew as life after death. What was it trying to tell me exactly?
“What do you want from me?” I whispered feeling myself shaking with fear at seeing myself this way, so I gripped onto the sides of the sink as I waited for my answer. I followed the rivers down the mirror until finally they formed another message,
‘FIND IT’
“Find it? Find what…death?” I asked now feeling even more confused. It wanted me to find death? I looked back up when the girl in the mirror that was me started shaking her head to indicate ‘no’. Then the blood spelled out one last word until it was all lost…
‘HOME’
“Home?”
After my strange encounter with myself in the bathroom I was left even more confused than last night. What were these visions trying to tell me? The only Afterlife I knew was what we learned of Heaven and Hell, and considering our teachers turned out to be monsters, I didn’t think that was going to be much help. And how much could I really trust in something that was suggesting I needed to first die in order to get my answers, unless…
‘Afterlife’ was th
e name of a place?
As soon as the thought entered my head the light literally went on above my head as Lucy had just flicked the switch upon entering. I would have laughed under different circumstances, however seeing Lucy struggling with her tray had me rushing over to help. I took it off her and the delicious smell coming from the bowl had me salivating. My stomach must have sensed food was near as the rumble that erupted even Lucy heard as she started laughing.
“I guess someone is hungry.” She said nodding towards the small table that was over by the window bay. I placed it down and pulled up the chair ready to dive in but out of habit waited until I was given the blessing to do so. Lucy frowned at me as if confused and then gave an odd look to the Colony’s clothes I had been wearing that were now hung over the back of a chair. It was as if something clicked so she said,
“Oh please, go ahead and eat child, don’t wait around on my account.” My stomach sang up its Halleluiahs and I dived in. After only a few silent minutes watching me eat Lucy started laughing.
“My word Child, but I don’t think I have ever seen someone enjoy my food as much…that’s not to say I am a bad cook mind you, but well, I guess you must have been starving, when was the last time you had a good meal?” I gave her a small embarrassed smile before swallowing my mouthful of fresh bread and answering her.
“I’m not sure but I can’t ever remember tasting soup so nice and bread so fresh.” Lucy gave me a sad smile back and after a deep sigh got up.
“Then let me get you some seconds.” She came over and once again waved off my polite objections. Whilst she was gone I looked out of the window and onto a cute decking area that had two wooden chairs with a small table between. The view when sat there would have looked out to a well maintained garden, with a sweet little pond surrounded by mature trees. There was even a BBQ under cover and I could actually picture the life Lucy must have. Her and her husband, Denis sat there on hot summer days watching the sun go down with a glass of wine.