Death Will Always Win

revenge

The room was dark. Night seemed to have fallen and the lights had been turned off in her room. Only the faint glow from cracks in the door and the room's equipment illuminated the area. There was just enough light to allow her to look about the room and notice the particular shapes of the machines and visitor's chairs. An eerie feeling swept over her. Something was wrong though. Something was very wrong.

Her eyes darted among the shadows, looking over each one and analyzing it for anything that could lay within. However, it wasn't what was within the shadows that caught her eye. It was the shadow itself, particularly one that seemed to slink along the visitor's chairs. It crawled tendril-like arms that pulled a blackened mass up and onto the nearby wall. The darkened shape stretched out and pulled along a vaguely human-like form that traversed the side of the wall like a spider. Madeline's eyes widened and a scream caught in her throat. Her arm shift, fingers moving to try and find the remote with the nurse call-button. The creature seemed to halt on the wall, just feet away from her bed and stared. Or did what she thought was stare as she couldn't see any eyes on that blackened mass.

And then, it spoke. Its voice slithered from it, clawing at her ears and making her blood freeze. It sounded like a series of hisses and wheezing breathes but each seemed to form part of a coherent word. It didn't feel like she should be able to understand those piercing noises but each seemed to cling too cling to a particular word in her mind.

"Do not fear me young one." it spoke. Or hissed. Or whatever it was this thing did. "I am not here to hurt you." Madeline swallowed and her body tensed. Tears of fear began to well in her eyes as she focused on the thing.

"Wh-what are you?" she stammered through the fear, asking the first question that came to her mind.

"That does not matter." it to whisper back to her as it inched closer. A large protrusion pulled forward from the wall and hung down toward her, looking like a round ball of shadow that Madeline soon realized was a head. "What does matter is that I can help you."

"Help me?" Madeline asked as she drew back from the shadowy head. A strange series of sharp wheezes escaped it. It was...laughing?

"Yes, girl. I know what you want." It crawled closer then shift off the wall before a slithery hand placed itself on the side of the bed. "The loss you feel. The pain you feel. You want them to feel it."

Madeline swallowed as she listened. Her gaze narrowed slightly and she thought. Yes, she did want that. Her brother was gone. Taken from her by people who could care less about their lives. She wanted them to know what they did. To take responsibility. They needed to pay for taking her brother from her.

"Yes." she answered simply, her eyes focusing on where she assumed its own eyes would be if it had any.

"Good." Another sick-sounding laugh before it pulled itself onto the bed. It lingered on the side, standing there before it inched around the perimeter. "I can give that to you. You will make others feel that loss. And they will pay the ultimate price."

Madeline gasped at those words, a pained sputter following before she winced and laid back. The ultimate price? It meant death. It wanted her to kill them!

"I-I can't...kill someone." she whispered, afraid someone nearby might hear the strange conversation.

"The ones that hurt you deserve it, do they not?" it asked with a cant of its head. Those shadowy arms soon found themselves slipping further onto the bed, crawling up the length toward her. Madeline grimaced and shivered as the cold it carried enveloped her further. "Allow me to aid you girl."

It was tempting. Very tempting. But there had to be a catch. There had to be! Madeline leaned back, suspicious of the dark thing before her.

"And what do you want in exchange?" she questioned, waiting for the string that was attached to its offer.

"My dear, you already will be providing a service for me." it spoke as it approached her chest, climbing into it without pressure but only with that strange cold it carried. Madeline breathed out, discovering she could now see her breath before her. "I seek to show the world pain and loss. For everyone to understand those feelings. Your vengeance aligns with my goals as well."

That sounded like bad news. This thing was a dark creature. Evil, she was sure. It seemed to sense her turmoil and continued.

"It is a dark purpose, but justified in your case. It is a suitable punishment for those that have wronged you. You can avenge your brother's death. Was he not important to you?" it hissed to her, almost accusingly. Madeline turned away, eyes focusing away from that shadowy thing. "Will you not do everything in your power to see justice dealt? Please, young one," It leaned closer and those shadowy tendrils rose and extended to her, as if reaching for her. Or offering her a hand "help yourself by helping me."

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