Inside Evil

Chapter 18 - Part III

*Inside Evil and its sequels are available on Amazon, Kobo, B&N, Smashwords and iBooks* 

Drawing in an agonised breath through the slit of her dry and bloody lips, it was as if her body had never felt the effects of oxygen. It flooded through her lungs with a euphoria not experienced before and soon every cell within her was glistening, as if reborn, as if shiny and sparkling new. Her bones hurt, muscles ached, head felt as if it were split in two, and the only comfort at this moment in time was that the buzz from her cells and the chill on her skin reminded her that she wasn't actually dead.

Opening her eyes slowly she squinted as the light flooded in, not sunlight, but moonlight reflecting off of a dense mist that was all around and was so thick that she could barely see a metre in front of her. The thumping in her head began to clear and she realised it wasn't in her head at all; it was the low, dull toll of a bell in the distance, repeating over and over, second by second.

Summoning what strength there was left, she slowly hauled herself into an upright position before once again trying to look around and determine where she was. She couldn't make it out due to the mist being so thick, and instead looked back down to the ground where she'd lain. Roberta felt her stomach clench by the sight of herself, lying crumpled on the ground. It was exactly as she had been at Mrs Peacock's, yet this time her body wasn't chatting and talking away; it lay motionless on the cold hard ground, legs splayed and arms at strange broken angles. Blood trickled from the mouth, running down the cheek and dripping onto the needle littered floor, the eyes were open and dull, and Roberta held back a gasp as she looked down upon her own lifeless body.

Roberta swung about, peering through the sheet of white in front of her, behind her, closing in from all sides, contorting like hands and fingers grappling through the air at her cold and goose pimpled skin. The toll of the bell was louder now, and it seemed nearer. The more she swung around, the louder it got, the closer it drew. Desperate for help, any kind of recognition of where she was, Roberta started to call out, for Sam, Martha, anyone. She looked skyward, and screamed their names knowing that they were so close but so out of reach. A second glance at her corpse increased her fear, it seemed she was dead anyhow, they wouldn't be able to hear her now.

A few metres away a twig snapped, and Roberta heard footsteps moving carefully towards her.

"W-Who's there?" she whispered.

No answer came, just another twig snapping and the gradual appearance of a dark shadow in the brightness. It disrupted the clean field of light and created a distorted shape that caused Roberta to step away with rising alarm

"Who's there? Tell me who you are!" She trembled, stepping back at an increasing pace until she hit a wall. "What do you want from me?!" Her hands were behind her back, and Roberta realised that she was indeed at the bottom of the cliff and now there was nowhere to go.

"Get off me!!" she cried out as the figure ran out of the sheet of moonlit mist and lunged for her arm, putting a hand across her mouth.

"You've got to hasten, they'll be on us in no time, come," a voice whispered to her from under the loose hood. It was rough yet friendly, and took Roberta completely by surprise.

Trying to get a look at the hidden face, she couldn't help but relax slightly.

"Who are you?"

"Roberta, come on!" And with a tug and a tightening grip around her wrist the figure pulled her off into the woods in the opposite direction to the swinging bell, the sound of which was now filling the air all about her.

"I don't understand," Roberta cried "I thought I just died. Where are the others?! Wait! Why don't you answer me?" With a wrench, Roberta pulled herself free and stood her ground.

Coming about, the figure slowed, put its hands to its head and gently brought the hood down, revealing the hidden face.

"There are no others," the simple reply came. "None of us, only them."

"What? I don't underst -."

"It will all become clear in time," the man smiled back through crooked teeth, his rough skin catching the glint of the moon. "But now we haven't got time, we must go."

"Who are you?"

Looking deeply into her eyes the man's smile widened to a grin.

"I think you already know Roberta. I'm Barry Wittle. And this -," he held up his arms to the blankness that surrounded them. "Well you've been here before. Welcome to Gathin. Now hurry, we mustn't let them catch us," and pulling his hood up so his face was once again hidden, he took hold of Roberta's arm.

"Wait!" Something moved in the corner of Roberta's eye, and she scooped the small white kitten off the ground. "Faithful."

The kitten almost smiled as she stowed him into her pocket, and then Roberta was ushered into the woods, disappearing into the mist of the night.

*I will be posting one or two scenes a week as the story builds. However, if you can't wait that long, Inside Evil is available on Amazon, Kobo, B&N, Smashwords and iBooks.

If you want to know more, visit geoffreywakeling.com, sign up to my newsletter, visit my Facebook or Tweet me. Thanks for reading, I appreciate your support.*