Life After Death

Chapter 14

~***~

"Why did you kill my dad?" I ask, staring at his body in front of me, not daring to look at the eyes of his killer. Mr. Cove walks over to me and gently takes my shoulder and turns me away from the body, leading me away.

"Sometimes it's the only way. You're still so young, so I doubt you knew the things he's done and will do. If it weren't him dying, it would be you and your brothers." He explains, his voice smooth and calming. I still don't understand anything.

"What was he going to do?" I ask, a chill moving up my spine.

"He was going to use you three as bait while he ran away." Mr. Cove explains. I'm not sure if I believe him. I stare down at my shoes, tears forming in my eyes. What am I meant to do now?

"We've got no parents," I say, thinking of Tyler. He's only two, and he's already lost both his parents. Vlad can't raise him or me either, he's nine. A nine-year-old shouldn't have to be a parent.

"Not many people here do. Don't worry, just like them, we'll take care of you. Everyone here is a family. We'll make sure a guard takes care of you until you're old enough to not need them anymore. Ah, how about Hyacinth over there!" He says, the world shaking with his words.

"What did you say?" I ask, but Mr. Cove is gone. The tower keeps shaking, though I feel nothing. The corridor becomes longer and the walls close in on me. From the darkness at the end emerges Hythe, in his terrifying human-spider form. I let out a shrill scream as he starts charging at me.

~***~

My screams translate into the real world, waking me up in a cold sweat. I take a few breaths to calm myself down. I've never had a memory become a nightmare like that. Spider-Hythe really messed me up, it seems. I can't even experience my memories properly anymore.

After taking a moment to calm my beating heart, I notice I'm no longer sitting in between the two hills. I'm in some sort of bedroom, it's small and compact. I notice a nightstand holding the needle and picture I had taken from the house. The syringe is still intact, though the photo has a tear in it. Vlad won't like that. I already snooped through his stuff and stole something, now I've torn it? 

I notice another bed on the other side of the room, where Adam is lying with his foot over the edge. He's wrapped in bandages and seems to be sleeping, though he's shaking. He may be having nightmares, same as me. I clear my voice.

"Adam?" I say in a loud whisper. He stirs awake, and I watch him wince as he attempts to move. He eventually settles for lying down and listening to me, staring at the ceiling. I'm sore too, though with a lot fewer injuries. Still, I can't find the energy or motivation to move much more than I have, so I stay where I am, moving my head back to the ceiling.

"Yes?" Adam asks, his voice deeper than usual, likely from grogginess. I'm not even really sure what to say.

"Sorry to wake you," I say, stalling just a moment more to let my mind catch up with all the questions I know I have. 

"I wasn't getting much sleep, anyway." He says, seemingly lost in thought. He stares up at the ceiling, looking right through it.

"I'm so sorry we left you behind. What exactly happened to you while we were gone?" 

Adam instinctively reaches closer to where his stump of a leg is. I hadn't considered the painful memories he may have surrounding the moments he was left alone with Hythe, and the thoughts of when he lost his leg. He takes a deep breath, rubbing above the bloodied bandages. I remember him saying he doesn't have a heartbeat, so no blood flow. That must be how he was able to survive so long. Blood loss has no negative effect on him.