Out of the Darkness

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I could see nothing except the burning white door somewhere far in front of me. Everywhere else was a black nothingness. "Aw, does it hurt badly? You know, I'm not the enemy here. I could take it away. The pain. You don't have to experience it. I could take it all away. I could even let you be with Anna. Wouldn't you like that?" I screamed, feeling the pain spread to the rest of my body, making my heart beat faster than it ever had. I feared that it would burst inside my chest. "Stop it," I whimpered, feeling defeated. "Please." I curled into a ball, unable to make myself stand and keep going. "You poor dear," she cooed, her cool breath on my ear. Then I saw her, standing beside me. There was nothing now, the door was gone. It was only her and me, in the suffocating emptiness. "Please make it stop," I begged her. She smiled at me, her full, blood red lips turning up at the corners. "Of course I will. You only have to say yes. I can make it all go away, dear Colby. You will be pain free, perfect health, with Anna, forever and ever." I wanted to agree. I wanted to agree so badly, especially when the fire burned up my back, making my spine curve in and my shoulders bow out. I only had to say yes. That was the same thing that Anna had said to me. As the sharp pain jabbed through my body, I screamed again. "PLEASE!" The pain was becoming unbearable, but I couldn't make myself say yes. I knew that Lilith was evil and that there was some kind of catch. She would steal my soul and keep me captive, like she did Anna. "Say yes," she repeated, her voice going hard as steel. My lips formed to say that one word. The word that would release me from my agony and let me be free to be with Anna. Then, a picture of Sam popped into my mind. My best friend of almost 10 years. The one who had stuck with me through everything, despite our differences, or arguments. My brother. Katrina, who was like a little sister to me. I thought about our teasing, and fun times. The old trap house memories flooded through my mind, then our old videos with our friends. Every XPLR trip that we had done, haunted and not. My family was next. My dad, my brother. My grandma, whom I had lost a good few years back. My dogs, Koki and Foxi. My Mom. My sweet mother, who would always be the woman of my heart. I wasn't finished yet. I wasn't ready to let all of them go. Not even for Anna. Not for anyone. "NO!!" I screamed, pushing myself to my feet, and shoving her back away from me. The pain vanished from my body in that instant. I didn't wait around to find out why. Maybe I shocked her. I didn't care. The pain was gone and I was going to get as far as I could, before it came back. I saw the door again. Shining brightly in front of me. It didn't seem quite as far this time. So, I ran. I pushed my tired, sore legs as hard as I could, gaining ground and getting closer and closer to my goal. I reached out my hand, the door only a couple of feet in front of me. Then, something caught me in the back. I felt my spine snap, and my knees hit the floor, hard. The searing pain traveling throughout my body, almost made me pass out. Black dots swam in my vision as I lay there, trying to catch my breath. I didn't have time. I knew that she would be on me in a second, and then the door would disappear for good. I had to push through it. I didn't know if I could. This was the worst thing that I had ever felt. Tears streamed down my face, traveling over my lips, leaving a salty aftertaste. I pulled myself forwards, towards the door, pushing myself as far as I could with my arms. My legs were useless, rigid things lying on the floor. I couldn't move them at all. "NO!" I heard her scream out behind me. "You can't escape me! It doesn't matter how hard you try." She wasn't far, and she was a witch, so she could be wherever she wanted in a matter of seconds. My fingers grazed the white door, cool and hard. I pushed with the palm of my hand, as hard as I could, and felt something come from the door, through my palm, traveling through the rest of my body, cooling it. It was an instant relief. The pain left my body, almost like it was never there. I moved my leg, and felt my knee come up. I pushed myself forwards, falling through the door, instead of opening it. Before I was completely through I felt her taloned fingers close around my ankle. "I will own you, Colby Brock," she replied, before I kicked back hard against her. I felt my foot connect with something, but I didn't wait around to find out what it was. Instead, I pushed the rest of my body through the rest of the way. Everything went silent, and dark. Not Darkness dark, just a regular dark. I could make out shapes around me. Furniture and odds and ends. I found myself sitting on the wooden floor of this furnished room. I couldn't see well, but my eyes had adjusted enough for me to at least not run into anything. I hoisted myself up, and felt my hand hit something beside me. It rolled a little ways away and stopped. I gingerly reached towards the object, and wrapped my fingers around the spherical handle. It was a flashlight. "Yes," I breathed out, then clicked the bottom button on it. The room flooded with a beam of light and I instantly knew where I was. I was at the house. The Witch's house. The same room where I had first found Anna's doll. The house that everything came back too. I took a deep breath and headed out of the room. I had no clue where to go, but I set out down the hallway. All of the doorways were open, so I glanced inside them as I walked by. Nothing seemed different, or out of place. I kept going. Something was pulling me towards...well, I didn't know. But I was going to follow my gut. What other choice did I have? Should I just leave? Would I be able too? Was Lilith going to find me here? How much time did I have before she came looking for me?