Mortal Wounds

Chapter Thirty-One

Davian's POV

My stomach hideously plows as air rushes past me as I free-fall through the air. I slam face first onto something soft. I groan and lift my head as I try to adjust to the light in this room. Soft cries fill my ears. I lift my head, blinking rapidly.

I wrinkle my nose filled with the scent of rotting and decay. Then again, I didn't expect flowers and candy from a place called Purgatory. I roll my eyes, adjusting my hands trying to lift myself up. Only, I snatch my hand back when Itouch something cold and sticky.

I stiffly look down to see what I landed on only to reel back with a scream when the dead eyes of a man stare back at me. I clamber onto my feet as the body struggles to breathe. Their breaths come out in tight wheezes.

His body is riddled with stab wounds and his stomach is mutilated to the point it is mush. His stomach is carved open as though someone has taken an ice cream scooper to his insides. Ligaments, organs and intestines splay on the floor beside him, still attached to his body. Whoever hurt him obviously did this out of immense hate for him. One of his intestines stretched out longer than the others, leading off into the part of the room that is still immersed in darkness.

The blood pools on the floor mingling with his blonde, shoulder-length hair. A blade sits in his left eye as he stares up at me, his pupil an intense red. I notice the knife is the exact same one Invidian used. Who I am seeing right now dawns on me. Bile rises to my throat. This is Invidian before he died.

I crouch down to hold his hand. His gaze is distant as if he's seeing something else. His mouth is open as though he wants to say something before his breathing comes to a stop. When I manage to tear my eyes away from him I notice that Henley's corpse is splayed out on the floor beside him. Her body isn't as injured as his. There is nothing but two slits on her wrists.

I recognize this as Henley's room. Aside from the gory display the rest of the room appears normal and untouched like the day she must have died. I stand, remembering Invidian telling me that when he was in Purgatory, it would simulate Henley's room. That made sense because it was the place he died. Her room would have become his personal nightmare.

So, why is it coming up as Henley's room when Virgil is the one in here? I doubt Virgil even met Henley. I grimace remembering Virgil has been in here this entire time. He is going to have a whole myriad of mental disorders after this.

I turn to the fireplace where flames dance undisturbed on a couple of logs. I light one of the candles from the dining table. I follow the intestine into the darkness. The candle only provides a small amount of light as I proceed. As I move into it I can hear something pulsating. Uneasiness creeping up my spine, I continue forward. As I walk, it looks like I'm moving into some sort of abyss. I snap around when I bump into something. I shine the light in front of it.

I scream in surprise when I see a tall pile of corpses there. My body trembles all over, growing sticky from cold sweat. I watch one of the bodies tumble off the top, rolling down to my feet. I recoil back, frowning in plain confusion. His face looks exactly like Linus, Cassiel's father. There aren't any external injuries. He's pale and dead, true to the story that he died from poisoning.

At least it is a little less horrific than the other bodies I saw. Maybe. It's up to my future therapist to decide.

"Redeem me," I hear a fragile whisper from somewhere behind me.

I turn, trying to identify the voice. I begin to pick up on the sound of ragged breathing. I hesitantly walk towards the sound until I see a door. I open it, recognizing it as Henley's bathroom.

A small figure sits scrunched up in the bathtub, staring hollowly into the water around him. I walk closer, noticing that the figure is scrubbing his skin with a loafer. Bits of his skin is missing, the rest red and raw. I can only guess it's because of his scrubbing.