Reign of Blood

Chapter Fourteen

Lose You Tonight

Seth sat in the hotel lobby, slouched on a bench near the front closed door. Amy had cried herself to sleep by his side, and now lay with her head in his lap, breathing softly. Seth didn't seem to even notice. His eyes were fixed on the far wall, locked on nothing, half-closed. He couldn't sleep. He hadn't slept in forever, and it was beginning to take a toll on him. He couldn't keep his heavy eyes open, but couldn't keep them closed either. He was stuck somewhere in between slumber and being wide-awake.

Seth tried to occupy his exhausted, endless time by examining the necklace Jaclyn had given him. She had said it was important, and he trusted her. He ran his fingers across the shiny silver surface, looking at all sides of it. It shined, reflecting light from the dim area, a small shard of hope in a twisted town.

Seth put the necklace around his own neck, and put the silver cross underneath his shirt.

Amy stirred, her leg twitching. She didn't wake up. Seth wished she would, so they could do something, anything. He needed to get his mind off of Jaclyn by any means necessary. Oh how he wished he had some beer... A lot of it...

But these images... were one thing he couldn't drown away with alcohol.

It felt like there was someone in his head, someone listening to his thoughts... Seth sighed deeply, trying to shake off his paranoia. Like a record her voice played over and over again, an echo in his mind he couldn't get to stop ringing. Every time he thought about it he felt cold, his muscles cramped up and got so tight it hurt, so cold it burned. Often it was hard to breathe.

You shall meet the same fate you gave me... Her voice said to him many times. When she spoke it felt like icy fingers wrapping around his neck...

Seth shuddered, the thought of her cold voice sending chills from the back of his neck all the way down to his feet.

Then his eyes closed. But instead of seeing the back of his eyelids, a dark blue image flooded into his eyes. He looked around, but he was lost in the nothingness. He felt something pulling him down, further and further in the abyss, the image got darker and darker. It was then he realized he wasn't breathing.

He tried to take in a breath of air, but it was as if his lungs stopped working. Down and down he went, the darkness closing in around him...

There was tremendous pressure on his body as he sunk, so much it hurt his insides, it was like being crushed slowly to death. Seth tried flailed his arms in a sad attempt to resurface.

Finally all he could see was black.

All he could hear was a woman screaming, her loud cries becoming distant sobs, fading away.

Seth opened his eyes.

There he was, back in the hotel. He was on his knees on the floor, Amy in between his legs laying on her back. She was crying, unable to scream anymore with his hands wrapped so tightly around her neck. Her eyes were wide and stared up at his with sheer terror.

Seth let go of her neck and stood up, apologizing over and over as he offered a hand to help her up. Amy did not take it, but scrambled away, crawling backwards to put as much room in between them as possible. She was gasping for air, her usually neat perfectly done hair was completely ruined and messy from her head being forced on the floor. Her makeup had smeared down her face from crying so much.

"Amy, I... I'm sorry..." Seth tried to explain himself but couldn't. Even he didn't know what he was doing at the time, let alone why he was doing it.

Amy pushed herself up, shaking and in a daze. The tears came pouring once more as she turned around and bolted down a hallway, disappearing into the darkness. Seth tried to run after her, but his muscles failed him. After nearly two steps they froze, each one contracting so tightly it rendered him immobile on the floor in a tight ball. He cursed loudly, and tried to bring Amy back with his voice, calling to her. He got no answer. He couldn't even hear her distant sobs anymore. She was gone, and he was on the floor, unable to move at all. It felt like the darkness was settling in all around him once more, holding him down, sucking the very breath from his lungs.

Even with such panic and pain flowing through his veins all he could think about was getting back to Amy, telling her he didn't mean to hurt her, ever...

Amy couldn't believe what had just happened. As she ran blindly down the hallway, it just kept replaying in her mind, like a broken record.

She had woken up when she felt herself hit the ground hard. Within the second she opened her eyes Seth was on top of her, god knows what he was trying to do.

All she remembered was that she couldn't breathe... His cold hands wrapped around her neck so tight, the weight of his body holding her down...

She ran faster. Down hallways, up stairs, she had no clue where her legs were taking her. She burst into a room, the door hitting the wall and slamming closed behind her. Finally she stopped, unable to run a second longer, and collapsed on the ground, exhausted, crying.

"...What's wrong...?" Came an innocent voice, echoing through the empty room. Amy froze. It took her a few seconds of dizziness to realize she had stopped breathing. Slowly she lifted her head and took in the sight around her.

The room was bright, unlike anything Amy had come across in this town. There was a huge window at the far side of the room, drapes pulled back to let in the stark white rays of sun. The entire room was white, pure; the walls, the empty floor, the white laced bed. But as Amy looked around she saw no one.

"He did this, didn't he!" Suddenly the voice hissed, losing it's sense of innocence and being swallowed up by a sea of hatred. "That man! He shall pay! I shall see to it myself he stays at the very depths at which I was imprisoned... I know it's him... I know it's him... I know..." The voice began to fade away into the distance. Amy slowly rose to her hands and knees, her arms shaking so much she swayed slightly as her eyes darted around for the source of the voice. "...it's him... I know it's him... I know it's..."

"Who are you!" Amy managed to squeak out, her pinched voice reverberating off the white walls. She slowly crept backwards, towards the door she had come from. "What do you want!" She nearly screamed the words, the fear making her lose control of her vocal cords. There was no answer.

Amy staggered to her feet and wrenched at the doorknob. It wouldn't turn. She pounded her fists on the door, sliding down on her trembling legs until she was kneeling, hands still clenched around the doorknob. She cried, unable to get out of her nightmare. Her face was buried in her arms, eyes shut tight.

"You... You have a keen sense within you, I can tell..." Amy bolted around. When she opened her eyes again, the room was dark, the walls painted unevenly with dark red and brown stains. The window was so cloudy it blocked out any light that may have been on the other side. The curtains were ripped and dripping. There was a chair in the middle of the floor that hadn't been there before. A man sat in it, facing her, draped in shadows. "I really wish you wouldn't cry so much... You're not helpless."

Amy stared at the shadow of the man in the chair. "...James...?"

"Wrong."

"...Seth?" The man stood up, no emotions evident on his hidden face or body posture. When he emerged from the darkness he had a smirk on his face. "...No... Who are you...?" Amy said, fear coursing through her body, tears streaming down her face. She had stopped whimpering, a little relieved to find someone living. But that smile on his face... It wasn't friendly.

"Name's Richard... How did such a beautiful, innocent little girl end up here, all alone?" He asked, the crooked grin never leaving his dark face. When he lowered his head to meet her gaze, a wave of reddish brown hair fell like a curtain over his eyes. Amy didn't know how to respond to such a question. She was terrified out of her wits, and he was casual, as if they weren't surrounded by a town full of flesh-eating monsters. She decided not to respond. "...Shy, are we? Well at least tell me your name." He stopped sauntering across the black carpeted floor, staying at the edge of the black shadows, his body hidden.

"...Amy..." She said softly, staring at his face. He let out a deep sigh.

"Amy... What a beautiful name...Beautiful enough, anyways... A name fit for a perky, too-perfect, bitchy cheerleader. Big boobs, nice ass, fake tan... But..." His voice was soft and deep, comforting like two strong arms in an embrace, words that were merely sound, not meaning.

"Don't call me a bitch... I don't know what you're trying to do... but stop it," She found herself blurting out before she could stop herself. The smile never left Richard's face.

"I'm not trying to do anything, honest. I'm here to help you. I know how you feel. Together, we can end it all... all the pain, all the suffering... Stand up," Amy could hear the sound of something metallic clicking. She could just barely see the silhouette of Richard's body, his arms were behind his back. She couldn't tell what his hands were holding. Slowly, obediently, Amy rose to her feet. "Just lead me to it. We can put a stop to this, but you have to help me,"

"No, what are you talking about?" Amy said, face flushed with confusion and fear.

"I'm talking about your role in all this, the reason you found me-"

"Stop talking like that! What are you trying to say?"

"The cross, dammit! Bring me to the cross!"

For an instant Richard's face was full of hate and anger, but his eyes flashed with an invigorating fear. A hollow click followed by a ringing gunshot filled the air, accompanied by the shattering of glass and shrieks of Amy as she hit the floor.