Silent Whispers

Chapter 8

It's not real. These words...I can chant them a thousand times in my head over and over again to trick my brain. It won't ever work. I can close my eyes to escape the reality, but reality is infinite. How long will I lie to myself to remain sane?  How long will I continue to squash the truth away?

I sway gently against the bed, with my head in between my knees. I've gone mad. Memories of Silent Whispers play in the back of my eyes like a projector and I can't stop seeing the things that happened to me while I was there. It's too much to take in, too much to believe in. Had it not been for the ring of fire surrounding me, protecting me, I would have been dead by now.

Cole and his men would have shot me dead. But here I am, in the comfort of my own bed with no inclination to how I got here or when. That part of the memory is completely blank to me. These type of things...just don't happen. It's supernatural. It's void of all the things that can or could be explained. You can't explain this; there's no scientific evidence behind it.

I look outside my window and then at Lilly, who is asleep soundlessly next to me. We're both safe, and we're both here. Lilly has never slept with me before; her mother prefers her sleeping away from me. That sort of fact is enough to cause a havoc inside of my mind. This isn't a dream, I was never sleepwalking, and I didn't make this up. I have so many questions, but I know I will get no answers. I have no one to talk to, and no one will believe a word I say.

It's three in the morning. I can't sleep. I don't even know when or what time I fell unconscious back at the woods; nor do I have any memory of when I truly got here. This hour is brutal, and the more I look at the clock hanging on my wall the more nervous I get. Unease settles over me, and suddenly the bed feels like steel beneath me. I kick the covers off, and walk to the window. The whole world is fallen asleep and here I am, wondering if I'm truly crazy or not.

I close my eyes again, and a l certain memory triggers me. It's there playing in the back of my eyes, crystal clear. A voice spoke to me, so vividly I can still hear it loud and clear in my ears. Lucifer.

"Lucifer." The word slips out of my mouth before I can stop it. It was there, on the tip of my tongue, threatening to spill for the past twenty minutes. The word feels foreign to me but I'm very familiar with it as the same time. It's not the first time I uttered that word. But I don't understand why that name is stuck with me.

"You're not real." I been saying this over and over again. Suddenly, something passes by me. A speck of light, a glimmer of a shadow. I freeze by the window and watch my reflection, standing completely still. My breath is caught in my throat. A sudden gush of heat hits my back, and I flinch from the sudden sensation. My heart hammers in my chest and I can hear my pulse drumming against my skin. Goosebumps break out on my skin, and I visibly shiver despite the heat. Heat. This type of heat feels unfamiliar. The evidence is right here in front of me, and so is that explanation I'm craving. I watch the little fibers of my curtains smoke, and the water in my jug I've kept close to my bed come to a boiling point. Condensation happens on the glass jar, and the boiling water shoots out steam.

Lilly stirs on the bed from the uncomfortable heat. I grab onto my curtains before they catch on fire. Fire. How is this possible? Why are my curtains smoking? Why are my windows turning foggy? Why is my water in the jug boiling? This heat isn't harming Lilly or me, but it's harming everything around us. I turn around sharply, to face whoever it is that have intruded my room.

A scream gets lodged into my throat, and I nearly choke from an unwanted feeling washing over me. Fear grips me tightly, my whole body becoming paralyzed. Tears brim my eyes. Lilly stirs in her sleep, and now she's awake, her eyes slowly opening. She's looking towards the source. She's seeing exactly what I'm seeing.

A dark shadow is standing in front of us, with black smoke so thick and high, it surrounds almost the entire room. A shadowy figure like this...I've read about it in my books. Except they're ghosts. This doesn't feel like a ghost. This feels like a bad omen. This isn't a spirit. This isn't human. This isn't my eyes playing tricks in me; Lilly is my witness. This is...

"Lucifer." I don't want to say this name. I don't want it to be real. Then why can't I stop thinking about it? What kind of a temptation is this? What have I done for this to be happening? This heat, this shadow, this paralyzing fear—it's got my soul tightly in its grip by the neck, controlling it. My back hits the frame of my window, and I exhale sharply. I've got nowhere to run despite everything of me screaming for me to bolt. It's not everyday I get to face this. If this is part of my rational fear then I need to face it head on.

"You're not real. You're not real. I'm asleep. This is all a nightmare. You're not actually here," I chant, closing my eyes. I count to ten seconds in my head. I've read about this too. This type of fear hypnotizes you. Sleep paralysis.

"Rose. Open your eyes and look at me." A voice. There's a voice! It's that same voice I heard before back in the woods before I passed out. My eyes fly open. Inside, I'm screaming. Outside, I'm completely paralyzed. That voice...it's different, nothing like I've ever heard before. It's low, and hypnotizing, and...husky. Lilly had got her arms out as if she's waiting and ready for someone to pick her up. It's got to her, but I have enough control to keep still.

"Who are you?" I dare to ask, despite knowing who that is standing before me. The temperature have shifted in my room. The water in my jug continues to boil as if it's been placed on top of a hot, active burner. There's smoke in the room. At first, there's nothing; and then...

"You know who I am." The voice echoes in my room now, changing its momentum, it's direction. The fact that I'm hearing this, feeling this, seeing all of this—I'm going insane.

"Why are you here?"

"You called me, Sweet Rose." My name from his lips is enough to almost knock me off of my balance.

"Are...are you a...ghost?" It's a legit question. A deep chuckle echoes in the room.

"I'm many things, Rose; a ghost isn't one of them." Oh. I swallow a lump down my throat. I change tactics. I don't know how long he's here for.

"Am I dreaming?"

"Does it feel like a dream?" No, this doesn't. This feels real no matter how much I try to deny it. I haven't pinched myself yet, but even if I do it still won't solve anything. I continue to ask as many questions as I'm allowed.

"Are you...evil?" I try. I expected a rapid answer like I've been getting but this time it doesn't come right away. Instead, the shadow moves. He's moving, coming towards me. Oh, God! I close my eyes tightly and look away. The feeling of raw fear is a funny thing; it's for the power to completely knock you out because for a moment your heart stops beating in your chest. I'm dizzy now, extremely dizzy I grip the edges of the window to keep me upright.

"Open your eyes, and look at me."