The Darkness Within《TITANS》

Chapter 3

The girl awoke to a dimly lit room, its only source of light being two small lamps by the windows. Her eyes caught onto Rachel's limp body, tied to a chair in the middle of the room whereas she had been sat on a pile of rank clothing. Two bedside tables were on either side of the purple-haired girl, candles and a green bowl on each one. Something was inside of them, but the only thing she could actually see was the bloodied cloth perched on one of the tables. It looked like a sacrificial ritual.

"Oh. It's a fucking Halloween party." But she didn't complain. At least they were invited, right? Even if they were kidnapped.

She spotted her backpack by her feet, moving to pick it up before realising she had been restrained to a radiator. A panic crashed over her body like a tsunami, tears burning at her eyes. Taking a breath, she used her foot to bring the bag closer to her, managing to open it. A scream almost jumped from her throat, finding nothing in it. The sound of plastic rustling drew her attention.

"Looking for something?" Cold sweat raced down the girl's forehead as if in a competition with her heart and shallowing breaths. The same hairless beast that had murdered their mother in cold blood stood before her, her medicine in his hands. Those same cold, trigger-happy hands.

"What d'you want?" She whimpered, hair sticking to her face. He clicked his tongue.

"You know, these are very bad for you." All the attention in the room had shifted to a stirring Rachel, pulling on her restraints. "You've always known you were different, haven't you? That you have a destiny." He lit a candle behind her, moving dangerously closer, ignoring the girl on the floor.

"Please..." Rachel tried to calm her breathing.

"Do not touch her!" Jordan warned. Anger racked her body at the sight of the knife he pulled out, circling the girl like a predator observing its prey. He only glanced at the bluenette, his lips perking up ever so slightly.

"Let us go," Rachel pleaded.

"Nothing resembles itself tonight. This dirty room is a church." Jordan fought against the cuffs around her writs, graining as they scraped through her skin. A stinging sensation grew the more she struggled. "I appear the villain, but in truth, I am the saviour." He moved himself closer to Rachel's face.

"Get away from her, you fucking psycho!" Pain severed through her stomach, writhing her in agony. She tried to hold in the screams, trying to breathe. Trying to suppress the sceeching in her head. Everything that happened in the last two days had been mercilessly flooding into her mind all at once, the feeling of utter dread showering her body with stinging goosebumps.

"You..." He said, touching the purple-haired girl on the arms. "You pose as the innocent, but deep inside, you know you are fecund, and damned." Jordan licked her chapped lips, trying to  relieve, if even, some of the tension in her aching muscles. But she knew only one thing could rid her body of the violent tremors. She eyed the wrinkled bag on the floor, desperate to get to it. screams pressed into her chest, coming out in frantic whimpers.

"What did you do to her?" Rachel questioned. A small pool of shame lingered in Jordan's gut, never wanting to look the way she did in front of Rachel.

"She did that to herself. Withdrawal symptoms are wretched. Just like you. The sheath by which he will penetrate this world, the seed of destruction."

The man's voice sunk beneath the whispers and taunting. She tried to stand, twisting her body, cries shaking her as nausea rose bile to her throat. She felt as if she had submerged herself in a tub of insects, nibbling at her skin. Crawling and feeding on her sanity.

There was a bitter taste in her mouth, saliva forming as a puddle of vomit travelled up her throat. Desperation shook her body vigorously, like atoms being heated. She needed to fix herself. She needed to get them out of her head. To quiet them down.

"Rachel?!" She heard the detective's voice, hopelessly praying it was real.

"Help me." A voice whispered, somehow drowning out Rachel's screams. A man crawled toward her, a trail of blood oozing from his open chest. His flesh had been ripped apart, bones sticking out. She sobbed, struggling to take in air as her body twisted in all directions from the pain in her abdomen. She looked into his sunken eyes as his blood-soaked hand grabbed her leg. She tried to get away as a screams painted the room.

"Leave me alone! Leave me al-" Her voice was muffled into almost nothing when a piece of cloth was shoved into her mouth. It tasted like gasoline and dirt, all the way to the back of her throat.

Breathing was impossible as her chest burned, begging for air. Black dots poked at her vision, instilling the fear of death inside the girl. But acceptance flooded her body, embracing the thought. It was better than being tormented by her own mind, right? It was better than being a burden to her sister, who she needed more than the other girl needed her. She was doomed from the start.

The thought of Rachel was the last thing across her mind before her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

Nothing really happened in this chapter... but more to come?