It is afternoon. I'm with Ryan, my uncle. I'm really excited. He smiles at me. He is a very handsome man. I'd like to learn more about him. It's curious, and I'm never interested in learning anything about anyone. But with him, things are different.
"How are you, Arabella?" he inquires.
"Okay, I'm adjusting. I do not know. Everything is weird." I respond.
"This is typical. You'll get used to it eventually. We are going to aid you."
I question him, my heart racing in my chest.
"Can I tell you something?"
He reacts with a frightened yet friendly gesture.
"Tell me what you want. Trust me."
I've never trusted anyone, but he's different, so I tell him:
"Whenever I see blood, I want to swallow it. You know it; you saw it in your dream."
My uncle appeared serious for a few moments. He takes a breath and says:
"Yes, I saw it in a dream. Regarding blood and your desire, I understand. I had it, too."
I'm stunned. Did he also have the desire to consume blood? Is this a family flaw or what? I never thought my uncle could relate to such a dark desire. It's both comforting and unsettling to know that it might run in the family. My uncle starts speaking.
"I wasn't sure what it was about. Now I assume it's due to my grandfather's diabolical pact . He messed up our lives."
A diabolical pact? It just cannot be. My uncle continues speaking.
"My grandfather, Dalton Dagon, made a diabolical pact with the demon Zamon 100 years ago. He is the demon of desire. Thus, he acquired wealth, ladies, and sexual attractiveness. But everything has a price."
"What a price it had. Tell me." I implored my uncle.
"At 100 years of the pact, the Dagon family must give a young woman to Zamon to serve him eternally," he said, gazing me in the eyes.
"And that young woman is me," I said, looking at my uncle.
"It could be you or Scarlett, my daughter."
I look at my uncle. I'm not sure which pains me more: the pact or the fact that he has a daughter to love. What is happening to me?
"We will help you. At the time, it appeared like he was after you. We must either break the pact or destroy Zamon."
I don't listen to it anymore. I feel like I'm about to enter a crisis. I shout:
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THE MONSTER INSIDE ME (#ONC2024)
Horror#ONC2024 Round two Ambassadors' pick. :D SHORTLIST ONC 2024 My prompt is number 3: Your greatest fear is monsters in the dark. The last thing you expect is to become the monster in the dark. Arabella Dagon was always afraid of the dark. In the dar...
