"My god... Malaya I've missed you so much! We've been waiting for you; we just didn't expect you so soon... I mean... you know you're dead... right?" I hesitated; I mean what was I supposed to say?! "Yes, man who claims to be my father, I'm dead and I have been since the day you abandoned me, dead inside, broken, worthless." That was the truth, but was it really what I was going to tell him? A man filled with so much guilt and regret that it seeps through his smile, his happiness. A man filled with a look of pain in his eyes so deep and true, like he genuinely cares for me. In that moment I knew, I knew he was the one person in the world who truly cares for me, the only person who has ever cared for me. In that moment, for the first time I felt loved. And that's when it dawned on me, this was my father, my reason for life, I had been so blinded by grief and anger that I almost took it out on him, and I had taken it out on my mother. I felt like such a fool, I mean, I didn't even know the reason they gave me up. And that's why I decided to open up to them, to pour my pain and anger onto them. I told them about my life and how I was abused by my adopted parents, how alone I had always felt, how non-existent my self-worth had become. I got answers to questions I had never even thought about. For a split second and for the first time, I was finally happy.
CRASH! My bedroom window was shattered, completely. My heart sunk, part of me knew what was happening, who it had to be, and I was right. It was him. The man who had been following me, the man who showed me that I was dead. The man that was responsible for my death. He walked over to me. "NO! Get away from me! Please don't come any closer!" I screamed backing further away from him.
"Honey, it's alright, you're okay. It's just the end, that's all." My father whispered, smiling at me.
"The end? The end of what?" I replied, terrified.
"Why, your time here! You're done waiting, God has made his choice, so you have to leave..." My mother stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Go with him, honey, he'll take you to a better place, the place you deserve to be. I promise youll be fine."
B-but I just found you. I cant lose you! I wont!
Honey you have to! We love you, and we are so sorry for everything youve had to endure. If I could change anything, it would be the fact that I gave you up. I mean, you never even got to grow up! Im sorry we thought we needed money for you to have a good life, now I realise, you would have been enough.
I love you guys too. I wish I told you sooner, I love you guys more than anything in this world!
Our girl. Look at how perfect you are. You must go. Quickly.
Hesitantly, I took the man's blood-stained hand and a shiver went down my spine. He took me back home, to the place I had died, my adopted parents' house. He told me he was the grim reaper and he needed my help. I needed to warn the children in the house, tell them to get out, to leave those monsters. I needed to stop them from reaching the same fate I did, the same horrendous death I had to endure. He told me that's why he followed me, to tell me to stop them, to help the others reach a better place before they come crashing into my fate. I can't have that. No-one deserves it. I didn't. And they certainly don't. I'm going to help them escape. I need to.
Youre back in the room you started in, still processing everything. Looking up at the woman, you no longer see a beast. Instead, you see someone who went through tragedy after tragedy, vulnerable and afraid, scared of you. You see someone you no longer fear, for the first time, the real monsters have appeared. The real monsters aren't the ones living under your bed or in your wardrobe. They are the monsters. Your captors. People. Smiling at the woman, you both know you must defeat them, kill them. You have a plan.
Walking into the kitchen, your captors look up at you. The remains of Jake are all over their faces. Shaking, you walk closer.
What do you want, angry about your friend? Annoyed you werent chosen? Get to bed, filthy beast. One man spat, his eyes shining.
Youre the beast. I am never going to do what you say again. Im going to silence you forever. You shout. Before they can respond, you lunge at them. Ripping their throat with your teeth, you realise something. Human meat isnt half bad
YOU ARE READING
The waiting place
HorrorI don't know where I am or how I got here. I don't know how to get out. I don't know how long I've been here. All I really know is that no matter how much I scream, kick or cry... no one is coming to help me. I'm trapped. All I can do is wait. Wait...
