Eldritch

Chapter 8

Sean comes to a start, realising his hands are bound above his head. So too are his ankles, secured to a wall with a pair of large lockable cuffs. They protrude from the wall and grip his wrists and ankles tightly. So tightly, he can't budge his arms or legs.

As he looks around the room, he realises he's been here before. Opposite him is a large blackboard. He furrows his eyebrow as it strikes him, where he is. 'Sean.'

He releases a gasp as he turns to the voice and his gaze fixes on his girlfriend. 'Ella?'

Also restrained to another spot on the wall, she nods. He fights the restraints. 'What's going on? Why are we in Kooky A's basement?'

'Her name is Annie,' a voice booms.

They both whip their heads towards the creaking steps and Sean swallows at the dark figure making its way down them.

While he stalks towards him, only does Sean notice just how clean the room is. There's not a speck of dust to be seen. It's gleaming. Kooky A must've been working hard down here, he thinks.

Then his attention snaps back to the man making his way towards him. His shirt is torn, his jet black hair dishevelled. 'Her name is Annie,' he repeats, sneering as he does so.

Sean tries to steady his breaths as he stops before him. 'Who are you?' he trembles. 'And what do you want with us?'

Wicked frenzy dancing in his eyes, the man smiles. 'Don't you know, Sean? I'm the Gamemaster,' he hisses. 'And you're in the game now, you and Ella and all your friends.'

'What do you mean?' Ella swallows.

Slowly, the man turns towards her. 'You all sold your souls to me the moment you played my game,' he laughs. He takes a step closer. 'And I will collect.'

He leans his face closer to her. 'You're first, Ella.'

He gently pulls a strand of her hair from her face. 'Stay away from her,' Sean orders.

The man ignores him and takes a step back. He draws in a deep breath, closes his eyes and leans his head back. He continues to take in slow, steady breaths. Gradually, he descends into a fit of hyperventilation and leans forward, clutching his body as though he's in physical pain. Sean and Ella look to each other, their eyes widened in terror as he begins to pierce the air with his wails. He doubles over and then lands to the floor, supporting himself with his hands. His head hangs backwards as his cries are cut shorts and replaced by gasps for air. Ella's eyes widen even more at the sight in front of her. She shakes her head and blinks, but that doesn't make the horror before her any less real.

The corners of the man's lips are being stretched, pulled taut, and it looks as though, at any moment, his mouth is going to tear apart. A black, squirming specimen is protruding from his mouth, and is pushing its way out of his convoluting body. Its tail smacks against the floor, so hard; it almost causes the entire room to shake. Next, a larger than life limb lands out, claws jutting from its slimy skin. The man continues to choke, as the creature living inside him continues to claw its way out of his body. In sync with him, Ella begins to sob, to the point that she feels like she's being choked.

'Sean, what's happening?' she cries.

'I don't know,' he tremors. They continue to struggle against their restraints, but it's no use. They don't budge. They fix their gaze back on the man; no, not the man; that thing. Neither of them have any other words to describe it. Now, its torso is sliding along the floor, it's slippery, disfigured shape forming.

It stretches out, its twisted back facing them. Ella continues to release shallow, unsteady breaths as it stands tall; its figure three times her height. It has long, bony fingers with razor sharp claws for nails. Patches of hair are scattered along its back, the bald spots showing slimy stretches of raw flesh. Its head sports wrinkled, uneven, deformed clumps of skin. And as it turns around, the first thing Ella notices is the glowing white orbs it has for eyes, floating in the sunken sockets of its head.

As it flashes its sharp bloodstained teeth, a mucus like substances drops onto the floor in a puddle. It takes a leap towards Ella and she lets out a high pitched scream, Sean forcing his eyelids closed. A tear drop falls from under his eyelids as her screams are cut short. He hears her choking, her gasping for air. Then, he opens them. The man's body lies limp. Ella is unconscious in her restraints, her head bowed, and the creature gone. 'Ella,' he whispers. 'Ella.'

Slowly, she raises her head and turns to him. 'That's not my name,' she barks. 'I am the Gamemaster. And I'm getting stronger every time.'

The surface of the wall surrounding her crumbles as she yanks her arms away from the restraints, which snap from their chain. In one swift movement, she frees her legs and lands on her feet.

Sean jerks upright in his bed and slows his breathing as he realises it was merely a dream. He looks to the alarm clock on his bedside locker. 11:34, it reads. He runs his hand through his hair and yanks the covers from his body. He bolts down the stairs and grabs hold of the phone. Frantically, he dials a number.

'Daniel, hey,' he says. 'We need to talk. Meet me in the park in five minutes?'

----

Sean jogs into the grounds of the park, where Daniel is seated on a rusty old swing, waiting for him. 'Sorry for calling you so late,' he pants.

'It's okay,' Daniel says. 'I couldn't sleep much anyway.'

Sean nods and takes a seat beside him. 'Daniel, I think Kooky A was right,' he tells him. 'I think this game is starting to mess with my head.'

Daniel looks down and nods. 'Were you dreaming about it, too?'

He nods, surprised, but relieved that he's not alone. 'This monster just clawed its way out of a man, killing him. And then, I think it got into Ella's body somehow.'

'Because she said she was the Gamemaster,' he interrupts. 'Yeah, I know. I had that dream too. But, instead of Ella, you were the one who turned into it.'

Sean's eyes widen. 'So, we both had the same dream. What does that mean?'

'I don't know,' he admits. 'But, we're going to find out. We're going to go back to Kooky A's tomorrow, and the others are going to come too, so we know what we're dealing with. There's something really not right about this.'