"Run, Lacey. Run, as fast as you can."
I stand there, frozen, unable to move. Every one of my limbs is numb, raw with pain, and limp with the prospect of movement.
"GO!" She screams, over the flames.
Those were mom's last words before the house caught fire, exploding, the sound popping in my ears.
When I don't move, she picks me up, kisses my forehead, and then promptly throws me out a window. I land on my stomach, my ribs screaming. I can hear my heart breaking, or maybe that's just the sound of the house collapsing on itself. I'm not sure anymore.
By now my mother is most likely burning alive, and there is no way for me to run into the house, without catching fire of course. The crackling echoes, mocking me. The flames lick the grass, edging towards me, and pulling back. I stare up through the window, but see nothing but bright embers, cracks in the glass, and soon the glass bursts. I shield my eyes, a shard of glass cuts my skin, one long cut, down my arm. The blood drips on my white night gown.
Suddenly next to the house a shadow appears, I stand, ready to run. The shadow stands still, apparently not noticing me. In the forest surrounding me, suddenly there is a flash of white, a quick blur. I run into the forest, as I turn, I see my mother's killer turn as well. He begins running, but I run faster, following the blur. As I get closer I realize the blur has dark, dark hair, black as the shadows and death looming over me. The blur is wearing white pajamas, too, and the person turns its head just enough so I can see it. The face nearly stops me in my tracks. It's my mother.
I keep running, following, when I catch her I'll ask her how she got out of the house alive. My lungs are bursting, my ribs screaming, begging for me to stop, and my legs have lost all feeling. I don't even know where I am anymore. Then as I begin to descend towards a river in front of me, I slip, rolling down the hill, into the water. I breathe hard, but then stop, as my mother's killers face is now looming over me.
He crouches. "Do you believe in God?"
I can't breathe, everything in me is numb. I want to scream, but if I do I'm afraid nothing will come out. This man's face is burnt slightly, his eyes darting, out of focus. He's clearly insane. His hands are blackened, and he breathes hard, like he has been unable to catch his breath for a while.
He cocks his head to the side, his eyes roaming over my face. "Do you believe in God?" He repeats. I cough, choking on my own breath. My lungs seem to swell, trying to grasp something to hold on to, but no air will seem to enter my body.
I inhale sharply, the sound making me feel sick. Then out of the corner of my eye, I see an explosion, wood flies, embers falling to the ground gracefully like snow. The murderer grabs hold of my clothing, its soaked through, loose against my skin. He pulls me out of the water, pushing down on my stomach until I spit out the water. I moan. I turn my head to face him, but he's just sitting there, with his knees pulled to his chest, admiring the full moon. I cough again, the sound making me want to throw up, but the killer doesn't even flinch. He just looks at me, pity in his eyes. He strokes his head, frowning.
"You need to answer the question." He states, a certain depth to his voice now.
Do I believe in God? As far as I know if there is a God, he obviously doesn't believe in me. In a course of maybe twenty minutes I've lost the only life I've ever known, watched the only home I've ever known explode, and now I sit here practically hearing the ticking of clocks. My life is going to end soon, I know it. Because here I am sitting next to the man who destroyed everything I knew in one flick of the hand it seems. And for what? I really don't know if I believe in God or not, but if He is real, He's not what I expected at all.
"I- I don't know what to believe." I stammer, in between coughs.
I seem to be choking on my own words now, and I fall back to the ground, the cold, wet ground, cushioning my fall. This man pulls me into his arms, stroking my face as- as if he cares.
"Your insane," I hiss, glaring up at him.
"If you're going to kill me just do it now. Kill me now!" I cry.
He tsk-tsks at me. "In time, my child, in time."
I narrow my eyes. "Kill me now; I have nothing to live for."
He seems shocked by that remark, like he doesn't know he just destroyed my house and killed my mother. "You will, your soul purpose will be of my own destruction, your broken lungs every breath will be of revenge, and your heart will beat only to live out the last moments of my final heart beats."
"You're insane." I repeat, trying to roll back into the water.
He grips me tightly, and ever so gently, pulls me closer, picking me up effortlessly, and carrying me off. He leaps over the river, and begins running through the woods.
My body begins going numb again, the cold seeming to seep into my skin, freezing everything inside me. Now if only my heart would stop beating. Or freeze over.
I squirm in the killers arms, trying to free myself, but his grip is tight. "Fear not, my child, your time shall come."
He's right; these are the last moments of my life. I should do something about it...so I close my eyes, relaxing in the arms that were used to kill my mother, destroy my life, the arms that are about to destroy me.
"I love you, Mom." I whisper. "Thank you, for everything."
"She can't hear you." He whispers, and then laughs. "And she won't ever, ever again!"
He begins howling, the whole forest echoing this. It's such a sickeningly sweet laugh, the kind that makes others smile. It's too gentle, too subtle, and too happy. I hate it, I hate this man, and now I hate the fact that I even exist at the moment.
"Shut up!" I scream. I try to reach up my arm to smack him, but it falls, limp to my side.
He stops running for a moment, and gently places me on the ground. He cocks his head to the side, thoughtfully considering something.
"Scream again." He orders, sitting down in front of me.
I remain silent, staring up at him. "Scream if you want to live." He suggests, ever so thoughtfully. When I don't make a sound, in one quick move he's pinned me to the ground, his fingertips gently touching my neck.
"Scream. Now." He commands.
When I don't, his knee comes up and smashes into my ribcage. I scream, loud, all the sorrow, pain, humiliation, and overall hatred evident in my voice.
He just sighs. "Pathetic." His voice is truly full of disappointment. "You'll get better at it, I promise." He then picks me up again, and starts running.
I start crying, the pain in my ribs is excruciatingly unbearable. "Kill me now!" I scream.
He just shakes his head. "No." he says flatly, and pulls me closer so that my head rests on his shoulder.
There's only silence, and I begin to wonder where he's taking me. I begin to wonder why he didn't throw me into the fire.
It would have been a lot less painful then. His footsteps match his heartbeat, quick, with a slight pause in between each beat. His breathing is almost non-existent. The forest is hushed; I close my eyes, tears falling down my cheeks as a result.
"Your tears," He suddenly says, "are warm...that will change too, in time."
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to stop the tears, stop time, stop my heart beat, but it doesn't work. Suddenly the murderer stops, in front of a large tree. He places me on the ground, and pulls out a rope from air it seems. "Now stay still, so I don't accidently hurt you." I stay still, in too much pain to fight anymore. He begins tying me to the tree, the ropes tight, practically slicing my skin.
"There," He murmurs, moving back to admire his work. "Perfect."
My eyes fling open. I don't know if he is referring to me, or the ropes he's used to fashion me. Why should I care? He's insane...I rest the back of my head on the tree.
"I love you mom." I whisper one more time.
"She can't hear you!" He shouts now, irritation evident in his voice.
My head shoots up. I narrow my eyes. "Do you believe in God?!" I scream at him. The question catches him off guard, and he then sits down in front of me.
"Why should I? He has done nothing for me, until now he will do everything. Everything." He cocks his head to the side again, thoughtfully. "I don't believe in him, no, but yet he exists nonetheless, my child."
: He stands now, pulling something out of the air again. It's a flame. He seems to hold it in his hand, gently cupping it, and then drops it onto the ropes around me. He then begins singing something in a language I don't understand. I wait, listening to him sing. His voice is sickeningly sweet, like his laugh. It's deep, smooth, and warm, like fire.
That's it...that is what he is: fire. He's a weapon of mass destruction, uncontrollable, uncomprehend able, and yet utterly simple. He is a savage tool. He is nothing but a reckless, insane, serial killer. With that last thought I accept that I truly do have nothing left to live for, and that my last moments will be spent with a man I will hate with all my being for these last few moments. He stops suddenly, crouching. He suddenly stabs my abdomen. I scream, feeling the blood trickle down and onto the ropes wrapped around me.
"Hm..." He mutters. "Yes, my child, it will get better." He strokes my face again, and I cry, my tears slipping onto his fingertips. "Sweet dreams."
As he walks away, he turns once, his eyes seem to be on fire, and the flames burst up, engulfing his image. Engulfing me, my being, my soul, everything, except those last few words. Do you believe in God?