The waiting place

Chapter one: The real monster

You toss and turn, unable to sleep. The mattress is hard, like rock, and there are no pillows. Couldnt they have at least given you a pillow? Screams fill your ears as you try to sleep. You werent chosen tonight, but that doesnt mean you wont ever be chosen. There is still tomorrow, there is always tomorrow. They chose Jake tonight. You see, everyone is here, in this orphanage for a reason, just one. Children are brought here to die. Everyone here dies. They either starve you to death or eat you, depending on how good you look, how attractive you smell, how much meat is on your bones. That sort of thing. You try not to think about it, think about anything else. Go to your happy place, there, people arent eaten. But before you can, you sense someone, someone watching you.

You open your eyes. You dont want to, but you must. Do you see her? In the corner of the room, the tall woman. She is smiling at you with her yellow eyes. She used to live here, and now, so do you. When she screams at you, stay where you are. Do not move. As she beckons you towards her, she mutters eerie words under her breath. She wants to show you something. She wants to show you where she died. Just be careful, whatever you do, dont look directly at her. If you do, she will only kill you slower and more painfully. She could make your death last for days. She does not want to kill you. But she will, if you dont follow her. If you dont heed her every word, she will hurt you in unimaginable ways your small brain cannot even begin to comprehend. She does not wish to do that. And I am sure you also do not want her to do that. But trust me when I say she is capable of that and so much more. Slowly, she walks into the light. You look, but only when you know she isnt.

Her raven-black hair falls to her shoulders, shining in the moonlight, although, it looks as though her hair has not seen a brush in eons. The hair is frail, looking as though it could snap at any given moment, much like her limbs. Her eyes, deeply sunken into her shrunken skull, are a pale yellow. Her disfigured body is shrivelled. Her arms hang either side of her, claw-shaped hands. There appears to be chunks taken out of her ivory white skin, almost like bite marks. Could she be one of us? No, she couldnt be right? Your eyes wander up to her neck. Your screams try to swim out of your throat, but your desire to not wake the others drowns them, forcing them back down. Stitches, all the way across her throat. Suicide? Murder? You dont know. There is also stitches on her black lips, trapping her words or any sound she wishes to make. Grit latches onto her curled, chipped nails. This woman knows struggle. Behind the fang-like teeth so sharp they could cut stone like butter and the sharp cheekbones, there was a hint of sadness to her. For a second, you feel pity towards this beast of a woman.

Oh! I forgot to mention! Tread cautiously, for she hates loud noises, in fact she hates all noises, so best not to step on the dead children, they scream when woken up. You must be wondering what happened to this woman. Well, reader, I warn you, this story is not a pleasant one. If you were expecting a story about cute, little fairies and unicorns living happily ever after, well, you came to the wrong place. This story is the truth. It is the dark, terrifying truth that everyone fears. For this story isnt really a story, its the answers to everything. In this document lies the answer to the biggest question of them all: what happens after death? Where do we go? Heaven? Hell? Well, dear reader, this is not my answer to give. If you really wish to know, its best to ask her.

Looking down, you realise she is holding out her hand for you. She cant tell you, but she can show you. So, go on, I dare you, my reader. Read on if you wish, but I warn you, not everything is as it seems. Concentrate, for the wrong people are dead, and the real monster is watching.