Woman in Wight

Prologue

     The wind whips around, howling across the river. Such a shame that the river was so tainted, it's such a pretty sight. The moon's faint rays ripple across the surface, scattering light across the bottom of the bridge.
    
A lock of bleach blonde hair falls loose, cutting into her vision briefly before she brushes it back. It falls again after a moment, and she decides to leave it-no use putting it back. It's not like it wouldn't be loose in a moment anyway.
 
   The streetlight behind her flickers, sending sparks along the bridge. She smiles at this, laughing at the momentary thought that passersby might think her to be a Wight. Especially considering this awful outfit.
 
   She looks down at the dress she's wearing, considering ripping it to shreds. A long, floor length gown sways around her feet, the wind making it billow upward. She shakes her head. She'd made vows in this dress, and she had broken them. It's only fair.
 
   She takes a deep breath, as well as a large step, looking down at the water. The water begins swirling, frothing at the mouth, beckoning her to join it's cool embrace.

     So she did. She hits the water, sinking to the bottom almost instantly. Bubbles erupt from her lips as her agonizing screams try to escape. The pain was bearable. The emotion was not.

     The dress billows upward, entangling her like a jellyfish, drowning her with it's captivity. She would have smiled had she not been screaming.
 
   Her scream finally falters, and she tries to take a breath, taking on water. She was glad. She was a monster, and in her eyes, monsters deserved to die.

     Her eyes shut tightly as she exhales, her body trying extremely hard to get rid of the water. She knew it wouldn't work-she was far to deep. She goes rigid, stopping herself from trying to move upward.
 
   She opens her eyes as she inhales the murky water once more. Everything is screaming in pain, her lungs feeling ready to explode. Her vision starts to dim, fading to black.

     The dress wraps around her like a cocoon, blocking what little visibility she had left. After all those years of hope, this would be it. This would be her death, her coffin, her final resting place. Six feet underwater, entangled in a wedding gown.
 
   The water slowly starts separating as she begins to thrash towards the surface, her natural instincts kicking in. She wasn't going to make it to the top. She grows nearer, almost visible from the streetlight. Her hand breaks the surface as her vision goes black.

     Her head breaks the surface, water pushing from her system. The water is moving more rapidly then before. She begins pulling herself to the edge of river.
 
  Her hands hit the gritty sand and she begins panting hard, her hair sticking to her face as her dress flows with the water. The shore was still a few meters away.
 
   The sound of water sloshing towards her gives her sudden hope. Was someone going to help her? Were they going to help her escape her mind?
 
   She raises her head towards the oncoming sound, trying to blink the black vision away. The sloshing sound stops, mere inches away from her. She reaches her hand up towards the figure in front of her, though her hand collides with nothing but air.

     A finger slowly traces up her shoulder to the side of her neck, running down to her chin, raising it ever so slightly. She reaches out, trying to find the person in the darkness. There was nobody there.
 
   "How cute. You really think I'm here?" The voice clicks from all around her. "If you honestly thought you were going to stay here, in this awful place, you are sadly mistaken."
 
   Her heart lifts, her visibility slowly clearing up, enough so she can see the outline of the person. She coughs a few times, trying to look at the strangers eyes.
 
   "You're... Going to help me?" She croaks out slowly, sounding the words out. The newcomer laughs. She finally sees enough to make the person out.

     The man could only be described as devilish. He had short, cropped off black hair, swept off to the side as best as it could possibly be. His black skinny jeans were even more skintight in the water, where he was kneeling in front of her. His shirt was a very enticing shade of red, drawing her in to him.
 
   She reaches out, grabbing him by the shirt in a desperate manner, clinging to her sanity. The man simply chuckles, pulling her hands off of him. He gives her a sultry smile, leaning in close.
 
   "I can offer you a way out of here. A way to escape. You can be free." He purrs, his voice low, resounding heavily in her ears. Her mouth opens, trying to make out what to say, but he cuts her off.

     He stands up slowly, raising her head with hardly the touch of his finger. He licks his lips slowly, eyeing her with a sadistic gleam in his eye.

     "I can offer you the freedom that you've been looking for. All you have to do-" he circles around her, stepping backwards, deeper into the water. "-is come with me."
 
   She pushes her hair back out of her line of sight. He must be mad to think she would want to go back in the deep water. Her breath mists in front of her. The temperature was dropping fast.
 
   The man looks at her, confused as to why she wasn't following. Though she had turned to look at him, she wasn't coming to him. He gives her another smile.
 
   "All you have to do to be free is come with me. Don't you want to escape your mind?" He knows exactly what to say. She had a feeling he would be the death of her.

     She decided she would humour him. She reaches down to the sand and forces herself to her trembling feet. One step, then two. The man reaches his hand out to her, and she takes it.
 
   His grip tightens, turning into a vice. She realizes her mistake a few seconds too late. He twists her hand, forcing her to fall on her back. She floats on top of the water, her eyes locking on to this stranger, this devil in disguise.

     He smiles at her. "You decided to come with me. How considerate." His voice darkened ever so slightly. He had her caught now.

     "What are you about to do?" She asks, fear and contempt filling her voice. She didn't need to ask though. She already knew.

     "You're about to join me." He says simply, moving his hand from hers to her hair, gripping softly. He mutters something, and her hair starts to slowly darken.
 
   She lays on top of the water, horrified, watching as her hair starts turning black. He smiles, watching as the ends turn to the colour of raven feathers.
 
   "You took my hand. You agreed. And now you're mine." He grabs her hand, dragging her further into the water. "Are you ready?"
 
   She shakes her head no, mouthing the words "Please don't do this." He smiles at her, turning her upright. He holds her hands, rubbing his thumb over them slowly. And then he begins to sink.
 
   His grip tightens on her, making it so she can't move. He continues sinking, almost as if he was caught in quicksand. She opens her mouth to scream, but it gets caught in her throat.

     Whatever had come over her at the beginning of the night was gone. Whatever higher being there was had sent this man to finish the job. He wasn't leaving until he was finished.
 
   His features begin to contort, his face shimmering. His features sharpen tremendously, and his mouth begins gaping. His face splits into fourths, pulling back and dissolving.
 
   His look is entirely different, his eyes scintillating, glittering and changing colour from hazel to blue. His skin darkens, and his hair lightens ever so slightly, his build thinning.

     She realizes that this is how she's going to die. In the hands of a man she never met. A man she would never know. A person she would never meet.

     She tilts her head up and takes a deep breath as her head begins to go under. The man smiles at her, sinking faster, starting quickly towards the bottom.

     No matter how hard she thrashed, she couldn't manage to break his grip. She kicked, thrashed, pulled and even tried biting him. It was no use. She was going to die now.

     The man locks eyes with her, smiling. Without moving his lips, he told her again. "You're coming with me. You're mine."

     And so she was. She closes her eyes, and takes a breath, unable to hold it any longer. He holds her in place until her vision blackens. Then he lets go. Smiling at her.
 
   She begins to wonder if this was so bad. At least she couldn't do any more damage. This was the end. But it was also the very beginning.