Amongst The Shadows

Chapter 3

Ariel slid down her door with wide eyes.

How did she even process the night she just had? Where did she begin?

"We begin with a drink" she then decided outloud to no one, pushing herself off the ground.

Pouring herself a glass, she walked over to her lounge room with bottle in tow and looked ahead to the wall in front of her.

She never had a T.V. she had something worth more than that and it was calling to her. The wall almost had a pulse, beating to her erratic heart.

She took a deep breath in and reaching for the table she took another drink not bothering to pour it into the glass.

Ariel was thankful that it was Saturday tomorrow, so no school with a hangover. With that knowledge, she breathed in deeply as she took another drink as the wall beat louder at her, the drunker she got.

She took another drink but frowned when the bottle was empty. On shaky legs she went in search of another bottle. She was relieved when she found another.

"Papi would be so upset with you Ariel" she whispered but took another drink anyway straight from the bottle. He wasn't here, he left her alone with her own demons and now his demons. She was only 25 she didn't need to have this many demons and yet he made it so. At that, she took another longer drink.

Even from the kitchen she could feel that infernal wall beat louder, calling her to come. Begging her to come and reveal what it hid, tease her with the secrets it held that Ariel could never discover.

"No not tonight" she said shaking her head, using all her will to ignore that cursed wall.

It seemed to have heard her as it beat louder and faster, making her head spin. She screamed clutching her head before throwing her bottle across the room with another scream. Watching it shatter and drip down the wall.

She didn't move though, she watched it silently as the spilt mess travelled downwards. She watched the glass reflecting the light and fell into a trance.

Ariel was so transfixed and drunk she hadn't noticed another entering her house.

Eric slowly approached her with his hands held up. He had heard the first scream and raced in as she threw the bottle and screamed again. He was in shock this was not the same woman who had threatened Randal. This was a broken woman.

"Hey?" He whispered and gulped when she whipped her head to him with murder in her eyes.

"You" she said her voiced laced with venom.

"Yes me, look I just wanted to talk" he said hands still raised. She laughed at him without any humor and he felt his own soul shatter a little at the sadness he felt lacing her laugh.

"I may be drunk handsome man, but I will not talk to a handsome stranger"

He smirked and she glared at him.

"What?" She hissed.

"You called me handsome twice"

She narrowed her eyes at him before turning and reaching for another bottle.

"Woah!" He yelled and reached for her arm and before he knew it he was faced down on the kitchen bench with his arm being painfully twisted behind him.

"I thought you were drunk" he grunted to the bench.

"I am, take more than two bottles though to tell me no and live"

He turned his head and smiled before surprising her and breaking out of her lock and holding her body close to his with his own small knife on her neck. She froze.

"I'm not going to kill you, I just need you to not die of alcohol poisoning"

"And? Nothing is here for me anymore but demons" she voiced and he felt his soul shatter again at her admission of her demons.

In his distraction she broke from his lock, elbowing his stomach.

"OOF" he said stumbling back as she reached under the bench and aimed a gun at him. He looked up and sighed holding his hands up.

"You won't shoot me" he said, carefully watching her, waiting for her next move.

"Why wouldn't I?" She asked glaring.

"You're drunk, I would be very surprised if I died by your hand tonight"

"I can still injure" she threatened.

"But you don't want too" he said as he saw her hand shaking on the gun. She glared at her hands as she placed her other hand to steady the shaking.

Ariel blinked as her mind conjured up demons around the handsome man. She gulped as they came to life around him. Blacker than night with eyes as red as blood.

"Ariel?" She heard from somewhere in the distance but she paid it no mind. Her demons smiled wide with their sharp white teeth drinking in her fear. She gulped and before she could think it through she began to shoot wildly.

"Woah!"

Eric ducked to the ground as she shot the air randomly. He looked up to her and froze with panic, she was seeing something he couldn't and it was haunting her.

Things in her home shattered as bullets flew through the air in rapid succession, she was not going to stop anytime soon. He needed to wait for that gun to be reloaded it was his only chance.

Thankfully he didn't have to wait long to hear that click and Ariel blindly reaching under the bench for the refill.

This was his chance and he leapt up fast and charged to her knocking her down to the ground under him, snatching the gun from her hands and throwing it across the room.

She looked to him with fear as he pinned her hands above her head.

"They found me" she whispered before blacking out.

"Gods" he whispered as he gently moved off of her and lifted her up gently taking her to her bed. He made sure she was sound asleep before walking back down to the kitchen.

He took out his phone and took in a deep breath before dialling the number that would set the events in motion.

After 1 ring, they answered and he took it a deep breath. Did he? Did they expose her to their world? Looking around the destroyed house he took another deep breath before speaking.

"Its starting"

As soon as the words were uttered, the line went dead and he knew it was starting.

Looking up the stairs he knew they were headed to the gates of hell and they were not coming out.