Misery County

Chapter 21 - Part 1

When the car's headlights went out, the street went completely dark, only barely illuminated by what little moonlight got past the canopy of clouds. Eric looked around at the streetlights dotting the little road he was on – all dead. It was no different around the mortuary, but he hadn't noticed it on a conscious level back then thanks to the glowing tornado of souls, a phenomenon significantly more striking than the power outage. Then at the deep rural hardware store he stopped by on the way to his final destination, there were no streetlights around anyway, so that was no surprise. It did, however, make fishing around for fresh batteries much more of a chore than it deserved to be. Fortunately, he had his newly-loaded flashlight to help him search for the much more important thing that he was there for, the item he slung over his shoulder as he got out of the car.

Stepping out into the eerily-quiet street, he wondered whether he'd bitten off more than he could chew. Most people avoid danger, yet here he was delivering himself straight into the lion's den, and this time with no guns nor silver nor salt nor holy water. He knew what he needed, and that was snugly tucked under his shoulder.

Shining his flashlight onto the heavy door, he expected a challenge, but instead, it opened freely when he pulled the handle. As he walked through it, the inside of the house was pitch black anywhere Eric's light wasn't shining. It wasn't particularly bright outside, but the bizarre modifications on the windows – the very ones that he had thought nothing of before – made sure that nothing from outside got through. But it wasn't the moonlight she feared.

"If I thought you'd follow me here, I would have lit some candles."

Eric turned around toward the sound of the voice immediately, his flashlight illuminating the figure before him. In that harsh light, Nevena's eyes seemed more electrically violet than ever.

"There's no need to overreact, stud," she cooed, each word tripping over the last, slithering out of her mouth and worming its way into Eric's ears.

He knew he had to fight, and yet, as her inhuman eyes bored into him, he felt the inescapable urge to lay down his arms and surrender. A part of him resisted, but whatever other part was in control of his body slowly brought him down to his knees.

"It's just so much easier this way, isn't it?" Nevena said through a soft laugh.

"Yes, it really is –"

Eric was interrupted by the bulb in his flashlight bursting, and with it, absolute darkness. As his mental faculties returned to him, he heard a soft flutter of little wings, and then silence.

"I know how you do it," he exclaimed when he finally felt like he had full control again. "It's the light. How fucking ironic. You use light to hypnotize."

"Well done, Eric. Once again you prove why you're undefeated at the fine art of pointing out the obvious."

"Thanks, bitch." Eric was getting back up on his feet now. "Why did it wear off so quickly this time? You had me under your spell before, even when you weren't around."

"That's true." Nevena was slowly walking around the room, her heels clicking on the wooden floor. "I also had more time. Spend a night with me, and you'll be 'under my spell' – as you so eloquently put it – for days."

"What are you?"