Pumpking

Issue 48

I woke up terrified.

I woke up, not sure I had fallen asleep- but staring at a man as he captured me with the intention of murdering me.

The ceiling was a glaring, bright halo of burning light. I couldn't move my arms or legs- and panic tasted like bile at the back of my throat.

I turned my head- I was very far from the afterlife. But I was getting closer.

The room was dingy and smelled like rusted copper and old stone. Dirt and grime caked the floor. Water dripped from a high ceiling and pooled in a discoloured pool i could see a vague shadow over.

I was wearing the stupid plum dress from the event. The side was slit open.

I couldn't feel the Hem'Skaar. Maybe it was still sleeping.

My chest and limbs had been strapped down to the table with belts. It was cold metal under my back. An operating table, perhaps.

I heard movement and suddenly i was remembering the photos of all the people Combustion had been murdering.

I was about to become another one of those photos- about to be another one of those people he'd exploded into pieces.

I was breathing fast.

"You know, killing you once really wasn't enough, Samhain. You didn't suffer enough the first time."

"I'm not Samhain- I don't even know who you are." I choked out.

He came into view. He was short, not much taller than me. Brown hair, glasses, he looked like any average guy I had seen the last few weeks. He rubbed his chin as he spoke, his right arm he didn't move much at all.

He smacked me, hard.

I tasted blood in my mouth and a spark of pain raced across my face.

"Don't lie. You think I don't know how you work, Samhain? You stupid bitch, I killed you once."

He brought his hand closer to my face, and I flinched.

I couldn't feel the Hem'Skaar on my stomach. It wasn't responding, "What-what did you do to my symbiote?"

He laughed, "Samhain has one weakness- tear off her little alien bodypart and she's a pathetic girl again."

Cold raced down my spine.

"How... how long ago did you remove it?"

He held up a jar- the Hem'Skaar was floating in the water.