Tales of Aridia

Hawthorn part 2

I pulled up, using magic to rip the restraints off my body. I looked at the burns on my wrists and feet. The blood had receded but it still left red stains on the skin. The room span and so did the bed, forcing me to stand up from it. By doing so I'd ripped out the needles that had been pierced into my wrists.

I crept away from the door in fear. It felt like something was watching me, lurking behind that metal door, waiting for me to approach. But I wouldn't. I would stay behind that door, cowering.

I decided not to, swallowing my fear I crept up to it. The metal latch was flipped and slowly the door opened, squeaking as the rust scraped the floor. I was engulfed by darkness, it looked over me, smothering me in its mask of black. I shook it off, stepping back into the light. On the desk was a torch. Perfect, I though.

Grasping it I pushed through the darkness with a beam of light as my own. I ended up in a corridor. It was long and far, with windows lining the walls. And then, the corridor seemed to stretch, like the ground beneath me had liquified momentarily. I wanted to back into a corner, for every step I took I became more paranoid that something was behind me.

I was walking, but I was walking nowhere. Still the corridor remained the same length. A gush of wind swept under my feet, then it ran down the corridor, and descended into darkness.

It was so cold my breath could be seen in the air, and that too floated down the corridor descending into the black. I decided to turn off my torch, so that I too was engulfed in darkness. And then everything was clearer. Two metal doors appeared at the end of the hall, they had not been there before.

A fly landed on my arm making me jump. I swotted it off and calmed myself, preparing for whatever was hidden behind the doors. I opened it, slowly.

I was met with a monstrosity. Bodies piled high lay rotting and manifested with maggots. Flys zipped around in the air, feeding off the flesh that filled the room with an obscene smell. For a moment by mind left me, and I stood as an empty lifeless body, much like the ones I saw.

I stopped breathing for a second, so the flys couldn't enter me.  I turned to run away but behind me the door disappeared. Slamming my hand on the brick wall in despair, something moved behind me.

A murmur of groans spread across the room and the pile of bodies had vanished.  A dozen zombies stared at me curiously, following my every movement. They stood still, examining me. A door had appeared on the opposite side of the room, but it was too far to reach.

The zombies had thin green skin, burnt and peeling. Their eyes were cast over with a milky white and some were missing limbs. A collection of blood grew at their feet, and the body of blood seemed to spread across the room. I had cornered myself, my feet barely scraping the blood.  "You don't know who you are," they said in unison. Each one stepped closer, trying to get a better look at me.  "Who am I?" I asked timidly. A feral laughter erupted in the small room we were confined in. They mocked me, staring at my eyes lit with horror.

And then, I leapt for the exit. This fuelled their rage and I was pinned onto the wall. With magic they pulled my body off the floor, so that my feet were no longer touching the ground. "Let me go!" I screamed. They tried to conceal their laughter but it was pointless, they broke out into a series of titters and giggles, each one sending a slow and piercing shiver down my spine.

They dragged my body further up the brick wall, my wrists pinned on either side of me. I could feel the skin on my back being torn as it scraped on the rigid edges of the brick. I had to think fast.

I concentrated on the zombies, attempting to set them alight. It didn't work, no matter my how hard I tried. They were untouchable. And then, my attention diverted to the blood they stood in. Concentrating, I set that alight. The fire spread wildly, climbing up the air like a powerful wave. It crashed down on the zombies, searing the flesh that hung loosely on their bones.

One by one their bodies burnt, and I inhaled the ashes of their flesh.  I felt my body sink further and further down the wall. Eventually as the last zombie dropped, so did I.  Once I thought all was well I turned for the exit.

"Robyn..." a voice whispered. I lashed around,  meeting an old lady who stumbled and swayed as she crept over the bodies. Her veiny hands reached out to me, stroking my cheek with the side of her palm. Her hands were like Ice, and unlike me no breath escaped the cracked lips of hers. "Sweet girl..." she croaked.

Suddenly her elderly nature was stripped and she whipped out a knife smothered underneath her dress. Before it sliced into my skin, the knife dropped from her hand. The old lady dropped to the floor and behind her Lucy stood. A bloody blade lay grasped in her hand, and embedded in her eyes was a quiet rage.