Lucien

Chapter 7

That day, everything was perfect. Too perfect. Lucien didn't show up at all, and I didn't even see him in my peripheral vision. The only thing that was out of place was the strong feeling of dread welling up in my stomach. I was probably just paranoid, just waiting for Lucien to show up. But he never did...

When night fell, I couldn't sleep. I just sat at the edge of my bed, waiting for something to happen. Then, I felt it. I felt his stare on me. He was right behind me. I began to hear the tormented screams from the nightmare I'd had a few days ago, the backwards screams of tortured souls. It was too much, the screams were overpowering me.

Suddenly, it all stopped.

For a moment, it was silent. A silence that left me with that deep feeling of dread. Once again, I was alone. Then, I heard it. A quiet whisper, sounding like booming thunder in the quiet room. It was him...

"Crystal... Did you think you could just ignore me..? Did you think that I would just... Go away..? That all of this would end..?" Lucien paused for a moment, before continuing. "I'll never leave, Crystal... No matter what you do... No matter what you say..." He paused again, getting so close to me that I could feel his breath against my face. "I'll never leave... And there's nothing you.. Or anyone else, for that matter.. Can do about it..."

He was taunting me. He was reminding me that no matter how hard I try to get rid of him, no matter how hard I try to break free of this living hell he was creating, he'll always be there to drag me back down. It's like he said, he'll never leave...

I wanted to turn around, but I couldn't. It was as if an invisible force was keeping me in place, and no matter how hard I fought against it, it always won. Then, I felt a pair of deathly cold hands rest on my shoulders. It was at that exact moment that it occurred to me: Lucien was a demon. He could do whatever he wants. He probably had a whole range of powers that I had no idea about, and he could easily use to his advantage. Maybe he was the reason I couldn't turn around. Maybe he didn't want me to turn around.

"Are... Are you gonna kill me..?" I asked, my voice trembling. Lucien let out a dark chuckle.

"No... I could, but... That wouldn't be much fun..."

I could tell that he was enjoying tormenting me, and I knew that it would only get worse from here. This was just the beginning, and whatever he was planning was sure to be a fate worse than death...