The Unknown: Darkness Among Us #1

12 - Unwelcome Guests

A sharp pain reverberated through James's spine as he felt himself collied into a wall. He barely had time to react as he felt hands grabbing at him from the dark. They pressed against his neck, seeming to try and cut off his breathing. Panicked James managed to grab onto the hands and tried to pry them away. There wasn't a lot he could do, besides trying to gauge his attacker's height and make attempts at trying to hit back. But with darkness all around, he couldn't see his attacker at all.

Fighting to keep breathing, James reached out trying to claw at the face of the person strangling him. Finding their face, he tried to scratch them, in an attempt to collect DNA evidence of his assailant. They seemed to realise what James was trying to do and pulled away from him, letting go of his throat and pulling his hands away from their face.

James wrenched one of his arms free. The same moment he pulled his arm free his attacker stepped away, leaving James alone in the dark. He tried to listen for them as he frantically searched the suffocating darkness for the smallest glimmer of light that could aid him. But there was none.

In fear, he swung his arm out in front of him, hoping to hit anything that was hiding in the vast nothingness before him. But felt nothing. A shriek rose from the darkness. James instantly turned to where the sound had come from, recognising it as his partner's voice. Only for a well-aimed punch to catch him off guard.

They struck his lower abdomen, knocking the air out of him. Stunned, James felt him lean forward as the pain cascaded through him. He felt someone grab the top of his head and pulled him up. Then a fist struck the side of his face. James felt his teeth collide together to bite his tongue; his head spun as he fell to the floor from the force of the blow.

His face collided with the floor with a revolting crunch. James could taste his own blood on the tip of his tongue. The sensation made him feel nauseous. Pushing himself up onto his arms and knees, James threw up as much blood as he could. Syrupy gore was pouring from his nose, he could feel it creeping down the side of his face and fall off his chin.

But before James could even think about getting back up something sharp was forced into his left hand. James screamed in pure agony as he felt the foreign object push between his bones and muscles. Tears flooded down his face, mixing with the mess of blood on his face. James winced in pain as the lights flickered back on. His breathing came out in ragged breaths as he looked at his hand that currently had a knife pushed right through the back of his hand pinning it to the floor, in a pool of blood and spit.

James reached out and grabbed the hilt of the knife to try and pry it free. But the heel of someone's boot stamped down hard onto his right arm stopping him in his tracks. James released a shout of pain as the boot was ground into his flesh.

With shaky breaths, James looked up at the person towering over him.

The man he had seen earlier stood over him. He wore jeans, spattered with drops of dried blood. A grey hoodie with the hood pulled out, shielding the person's face from view. He also wore a dark leather jacket.

James watched as the man crouched down so that their faces were at the same level. He tilted his head in a way that allowed the light from the room to illuminate his face. James was confronted with dark brown eyes that seemed to be watching his every move, as well as a skull mask covering the lower part of his face and nose.

"Still awake? Good". The man said. Suddenly, he grabbed James face by his chin and roughly turned his head from side to side. "Bit your tongue on the way down. And caught your nose on the floor, but you'll live". He remarked as he let James's face go.

"I'll live?". James questioned furiously as he spat more blood on the floor. "You've put a knife through my hand".

"You'll live. Don't worry though I know what I'm doing, there won't be any lasting damage if that's what you're worried about, I'm a professional after all".