After Hours

Chapter 21

Grayson's POV.

   Why haven't I faded and gone home yet? It has to be early, right? It's been at least a hour my arms have been hanging by these ropes. My head is killing me and I'm literally starving. I wonder why the Shadow put it in front of me. Maybe to watch my body and appearance slowly fade away from the torture and hunger.

   I jump suddenly at the door opening. The Shadow comes in, dragging a body behind it. It only takes me a second to realize it's Jess. My heart catches in my throat, seeing her limp body. She can't be dead, can she? I mean the Shadow said he didn't want us dead yet. But then again, he said he didn't want me dead yet. Not her.

  "Back for more?" I ask, my anger taking over my fear.

   The Shadow comes up to me, putting his misty face in front of mine. He picks Jess by her hair and I notice her groan in pain. She's not dead! She has a black blindfold on and she keeps whimpering.

  "What did you do to her?" I demand.

   He (or she; I honestly don't know) unties my hands from the ropes and I drop to the ground. He shoves Jess in my direction, but doesn't let go of her hair.

  "Take it off," he says in a deep, growling voice.

   I look at the Shadow, uncertainly. I don't touch Jess, but look at her. She can't see, obviously, but she doesn't try to reach out to me either.

  "Take it off!" the Shadow yells, making us both jump.

  "Don't Grayson. Please don't," Jess says, covering her face with her arms.

   I gently remove her arms from her face, unsure of why she doesn't want me too. The Shadow lets go of her hair and she falls into my arms. I stand her up with me and turn her around. I untangle her blonde hair from the blindfold. I untie it and turn her around slowly. She covers her face with her hands and a sharp grunt from the Shadow makes her remove them. I take her hands gently in mine and move from over her face.

  "Jess," I breath when I see her.

   Both of her eyes are gouged out. Blood trickles down her face and she whimpers. Black and red, thick blood covers her sockets and I can't help feeling a bit sick.

  "Why did you do that to her?" I scream to the Shadow.

   He takes me up forcefully and ties my arms back. He leaves the stool under my feet, thankfully. He shoves Jess' face into mine and I can smell the dried and fresh blood.

  "You will tell me what you know, or you and your friends will end up like her," he growls.

   I stop and think. Getting your eyes gouged out is horrible, but not as bad as dying. I know that's a twisted, and crazy thought but it's true. But, apparently the Shadow's not done.

  "You will die." he says.

   In one quick move, he snaps Jess' neck and she falls to the ground. I feel vomit rise in my throat, but I manage to keep it down.

  "Jess!" I cry, tears forming in my eyes. I barely even knew her, but it's still sad.

   The Shadow ties Jess up on the left side of the large mirror in front of me. He leaves the room, slamming the door behind him. I stare at Jess, her head dangling limply on her chest. I have to look away, for I feel the vomit rising again. Her empty eye sockets flash through my brain and I can't stop the horrible bile from coming up all over the floor. I vomit for a solid minute, feeling even more empty, weak, and hungry after it.

   All I can think of is Ember. Ember, Ember, Ember. Where is she? Is she ok? I am actually glad she went with Cameron instead of staying with us because she might have been taken like me. But why didn't the Shadow take Vanessa and Eva? And the weird temperature in the tunnels doesn't make any sense either.

   Several footsteps above me make me fade away from my thoughts. Why am I hearing footsteps? Then it hits me. They opened Disneyland today. Like everyday. That means my dad must be wondering where I am. I hear the steps, more and more and an idea pops into my head.

  "Hey!" I scream at the top of my lungs. "Hey, help! Help me please!" I scream.

   I know it's no use. No one can hear me, I'm positive about that. But, I can't stop. I have to get out of here and find my friends. Find Ember.

  "Hey! Please help!" I scream again and again until my voice is hoarse.

   The door opens again, and my hopes rise for a moment. Maybe someone heard me!

  "Help, please," I say.

   But it's just the Shadow. He has none of my friends with him and I sigh with relief. He walks over to me, gently tapping Jess's limp body.

  "Enjoying the view?" he asks.

  "What do you want," I say.

   He walks (or floats. I don't know) over to me, avoiding my mess on the floor. He take my arms down and shoves me onto my knees.

  "Clean it up," he says. "Can't have my cell dirty for the future guests, can I?" his voice is just getting deeper and more robotic.

   I look around the cell, but see nothing to clean it up with.

  "Oh, where are my manners?" the Shadow asks. He gives me a bowl and a spoon.

   I scoop up the vomit, almost vomiting out more in the process. I scoop the awful smelling stuff into the bowl and stand up. The Shadow slaps my face, making me drop the bowl and it breaks into a million pieces.

   The Shadow growls at me and takes whip from the other side of the cell. He shoves me back on my knees and whips me hard across my back, making me cry out in pain.

  "Clean. Up," he says again, sending another painful lash across my back.

   I pick up the bowl and place them in a neat pile. I have nothing else to clean the vomit up with, so I scoop it into my hands. I stand up, gagging.

  "Happy now?" I say.

   The Shadow picks up a dustpan and I pour the vomit into it. My stomach rumbles loudly, as I pick up the spoon.

  "Hungry, are we?" the Shadow asks.

   I don't answer. I hopefully wait to see if he will give me any food, but he only hands me the dirty dust pan filled with my vomit.

  "Eat." he says.

   I look down at the vomit and shake my head. "No way."

   He takes the whip and lashes my cheek. "Eat." he commands again.

   I shakily lift the spoon to my lips and sip up the vomit. It hardly gets past my teeth before I gag. The Shadow take the pan and tosses it across the room.

  "What do you want from me?" I ask, wiping my mouth.

  "I want to know where your friends are," he says.

  "Why?" I ask.

  "I need them," it says.

   I'm getting angry at why I'm only looking at a see through shadow and sigh. "Why don't you just tell me who or what you really are? You're a coward, that's why."

   The Shadow walks behind me, out of my eyesight. I brace myself, expecting some kind of abuse but nothing happens.

  "Grayson." a voice says, very familiar to me.

   Cameron walks around me and my face breaks out into a smile. "Cameron! Oh, thank God! Help me out, please!"

   Cameron leans in real close to my face. "I'm afraid I won't do that."

   My smile fades and I frown. "Cameron, why?"

   He smiles an evil smile and my stomach drops. I already know what he is going to say before he says it.

  "I am the Shadow."

Woah!!! Twist ending!!!!

Did you see that twist coming? If you did, or didn't, comment and tell me!

Thanks for reading!