The Clock of Miss Fortune ✔

Chapter - 15

Balentine felt a little better. Then a little bit more. With each kiss and every touch of her beloved Howard, she felt rejuvenated.

Everything dances around them. Even the darkness which spread its arms wide like that of spiders and webs which invited them to lean on them. The faceless with only a mouth and rotted black gooey teeth that Balentine first saw in the house. He sat near the bed like a kid while looking at something which amused him. A woman with no limbs and eyes was nailed on the floor on the other side of the bed. A man with no head was nailed on top of the bed. He was just floating but he was nailed to the roof swallowed by the darkness while his long erected penis hung like a chandelier. A woman with stitched and sealed vulva stood behind the bed, while a man with his penis cut off stood in front. A boy holding a girls hand stood behind Balentine and Howard who resembled them a lot. They looked at them in amusement and started mimicking them. First they started kissing, then undressed, and caressed each other. What they seemed to lack were emotions. They were but mere puppets. And, three dead unborn bodies rested on the pillows.

From within Hannah was linked with Michael and through Howard and Balentine they were filled together making love in this lost space. In a corner Henry, Hannah's ex-boyfriend stood looking at them. But to Balentine it was the man in the hospital looking at her while she made love to Howard. That man, or Henry, or whatever that was, moved towards them. He looked at them oddly. Where his eyes should be were vacant black holes. "You left me." He spoke. "You left me. You cheated with me and now you left me. You left me alone in that darkness. You fucking whore. YOU LEFT ME!"

Time seemed to have stopped. "Sacrifice." Alvarez spoke. "A soul that bears hatred and sympathy towards everything."

When they opened their eyes, Balentine was pregnant. Time, once again had moved forward. That day it started raining.

Howard left. He walked towards the forest knowing full well what he seeked. His wish had not yet been granted. He sacrificed his daughters all for immortality. He didn't feel much pain. But it was there. A bit of love he wanted to have for his daughters. He reached a shrine and opened the door to it. He knelt in front of Alvarez.

"I beg of you." Howard said. "I gave you everything. I just ask for an heir."

"What we seek is not something so little and meaningless. We seek a soul. A soul that could wash away others. A soul that can lure others. A soul that bears hatred and sympathy towards everything. A soul that can offer us more souls. We want your wife's soul. Sacrificing your daughters holds no meaning. Those three souls held no consciousness of hatred and sympathy." Alvarez spoke.

"I understand." Howard spoke.

"Then you will have a son soon who will continue our contract for your wish." Alvarez said. "Time is near. We will also need a vessel to contain your wife's soul. A vessel not so delicate nor forgettable. A vessel that will keep feeding us before we find a new soul and a new vessel."

"The clock." Howard said. "My wife holds the clock as something precious. That could be a good... vessel?"

"Yes. Time indeed will play a significant role in your wish." Alvarez said. "You will receive an heir and we will receive the soul. If you betray us then your soul will rot in that house for all eternity."

"Understood." Howard bowed.

Balentine saw Howard inside the shrine. She realized what was happening to her and what happened to her daughters who died without any believable cause. It was all for the sake of Howard's wish. Immortality? She thought. But for what? Why? There were many questions that stood in front of her. A new horror had started to rise and this demon, or devil, whatever it was, Balentine thought, was bringing a wave of darkness in her life. Howard was in the middle of it all.

Balentine hurried back to the mansion. Thunder struck a tree in front of the mansion and split it in half. It burned brightly in the middle of the storm like a witch torched to death and her scream echoing through the undying land.

She kept the door slightly open. She was drenched completely. "Mrs. Fortune, you are drenched." A maid came rushing in. "Did you go out in this storm again?"

"I... did." She spoke. "I felt a sudden need of water." She said.

"For what Mrs. Fortune?" The maid asked.

"To wash away a soul." Mrs. Fortune answered.

"Whose soul?" The maid asked.

"Mine..."

"Let us get you clean set of clothes." The maid said.

"Yes. Please." Mrs. Fortune nodded.

"Please don't be a boy." Mrs. Fortune rubbed her belly. "I can't lose another child."

"I can't lose a child." Hannah's voice reached Balentine.

"I want a son." Howard's voice reached Michael.