Whispering Tempest

Chapter Thirteen - Chuck Norris in Hell

Chapter Thirteen – Chuck Norris in Hell

The first thing I notice is not the gag in my mouth, not the putrid odor from the humid air, not even the chain clamped to my left ankle nor the ropes on my hands; the thing I notice first is the warmth and steady breathing of the body I’m lying on.

My eyes barely open to find my best friend knocked out on the ground beneath me. My body was strewn across him as if the demons had piled us on top of each other like discarded laundry. And the way my muscles are aching, I’d say it’s a safe bet to the demons did exactly that.

I slowly awaken, taking in my surroundings and sitting myself up. The wooden wall supports my weight, taking it off Xander entirely. He stirs with the lack of pressure on his chest but keeps unconscious. Wiggling my hands out of the ropes is easy enough and I untie both our mouth and wrist bonds. The chain isn’t as easy to get off. One cuff each keeps us together. I turn back to figuring out where I am.

Dust and spider webs cover each corner of what looks like a regular old attic. A tan old mannequin stands a few feet away with its base hidden by boxes. Black sharpie marks each one of them off as toys or ‘Lily’s dolls’ or old videos. By every standard, this is a normal attic; almost too normal.

I don’t want it to be true but I know it is. Xander and I are trapped but I don’t think it’s as bad as I thought it would be. It isn’t hell, that’s for sure but the heat of the place is probably the same. I remove my sweatshirt leaving me in my tank top and pajama shorts. I also take Xan’s leather jacket off him before he too gets a heat stroke. The boy coughs when I do it, finally waking up. A moan rumbles in his throat as I grab onto him and help him sit.

“What the hell happened?” He groans and struggles to get up. I feel the same pain he’s feeling, aching all over and barely keeping my eyes open. We were taken by demons but how am I to tell him that? The truth just keeps getting harder and harder to explain.

“I don’t know,” I lie. Then again it is the truth. Or at least it’s half of it. Xander gets to his feet and turns back to help me up. Our chains rattle on our ankles over the floorboards which make me cautious. I don’t know where the demons are and they could be below us. That unknowingness freaks me out a bit but now that I’m standing, I see more of the attic and it calms me down. The roof is slanted on both sides making the room look like a giant triangular prism. I stretch my arms and rub my tender muscles.

“You have to know a little something,” Xan grills me as he hobbles toward the other side of the attic. I follow him having no other choice. It’s a very strange walk trying to hold onto the chain to make the least amount of noise possible. A circular window lets in the only light which shines delicately on the wooden floor. Xander moves a box out of his way trying to get closer to it. “After all, they were after you.”

“If they were after me then why are you here?”

Xander opens his mouth with a comeback but ends up tripping over a knob on the floor. A misshapen brass ring is poking out from its cavity of the handle. It’s the door to the floor below! Xan bends down to pull on it but I move closer to stop him before he has a grip.

“What if they’re waiting for us to go down there?”

“Then we need to figure out some way to get out of here,” he says removing his fingers and standing back up. I take another look at our surroundings. “What about the boxes?”

“I’ll check this side,” I tell him pointing to the left. “You get the right. See if there’s anything to help us escape or at least fight them off.”

My words don’t hit me until Xander starts to follow my orders. He shuffles through the cardboard boxes frantically while my feet stay glued to where they are. We’ve been taken and forced to go somewhere by demons! They’re appetite is not a thing I’d like to remember but somehow it creeps into my mind. They want my Tempest energy and they would kill me to get it. The Emerald was very clear on saying demons knew no mercy or kindness, only the lust for power. My lungs start hitching from the dread tainting my senses. I can’t find it in myself to move my feet.