Chapter 52

An Awfully Big Adventure

I felt a nag around my waist, and realised it was the brand of runes on my skin. The increasing tug struck fear into the very core of my being. I would be murdered, it was like a point in my brain that I could get passed. I noted that the smoky wraith was dragging me through the light to somewhere else. Feeling the weight of the movement increase I took one last look around the snowy marsh. Lucius had removed his ridiculous mask. I spared barely a beat to catch the nauseating look of pleasure on the gnarled unnatural face of my would-be murderer. I met my Uncle's eyes.

He stared back at my disjointed gaze, looking shocked. My brow matched the furrow in his. I realised that he looked distinctly remorseful. I shifted my bloody hand in a slight wave goodbye which made his mouth tighten. We were family after all, and then I was gone. I was passing through smoky, light-knotted, windowless space like there was a one hundred tonne weight bound around my middle.


I landed hard against the ground of a large room, reminiscent of a stadium with no chairs, only rough stone. My stomach knotted as I felt a great sense of purpose about the place. Flopping from my rattled side onto the flat of my back I looked up to see a flowing materiel from which soft, coaxing voices flowed like warm, clean water. I shifted my arm and almost bit through my tongue as I groaned. That was definitely broken. Voices floated from the curtain strangely.

I'd rather you than me

You'll be ok, you're strong

Don't fight it, it's beyond you now

You did your best

Roots and wings Jodie, roots and wings.

The voices began to layer on top of each other in a buzzing clamour. A plume of smoke slipped from beneath the curtain. I had nowhere else to go any way, so what would wings be any good for?

"Ssshh…" I sighed. My body slackened against the floor. The cacophony of noise slipped away, leaving only my own bated breath. Every passing of air jarred my arm painfully. My ankle didn't bear thinking about.

In a dark flash, the Grin manifested above me. It's glowing eyes burnt into me as it's broad smile made my insides recoil. The sort of fear I had only ever felt in nightmares assaulted my body. The sort that recommended no movement in the face of imminent danger. The sort of fear that was infinitely more terrifying because it informed you that trying to make things better could only ever make things worse. It swept it's hand above me, revealing every thread that existed to connect me to my past. Every root. They branched from my every cell. The Grin reached down, and wrapped a wiry appendage around a handful of them. I stiffened.

I felt my face contort in pathetic futile misery as I began to shake my head vigorously and stutter out pleading sobs.

"Please," I wheezed around a misplaced rib. The demon brought its ever-smiling face level with mine. It's eyes reflecting it's sick sadistic joy as it braced an ice-cold, bony hand against my stomach, weighing down on my abdomen like a cage. It pulled unceremoniously at the bundle of light which strained under the force of it's grip. Eventually, one by one, they began to snap. They gave under the pressure sporadically, curling away painfully, causing my mouth to open wider then I knew it could, and lock in a horrified, terrified scream.

"No!" I cried. "Please! Please stop no!" Then words were lost to me, and it was just burning, red eyes, and staring up at the veil, and hearing the roar of voices from the other side. Every single person I knew was torn from me. The things they had told me, the things I had loved about them. The things I hated, the things I had had yelled at me. Every moment that had made me, pried carelessly and painfully from my soul, taking all that I was with them in a scream that defied the amount of air I had in my lungs.

It didn't stop. It was going to pull me from the world like a stubborn deeply-rooted tooth. I tried to slip away, to pass out, to go into a coma, to lose all feeling in my body or even to die. Anything but the never-ending, unequivocal pain at the hands of the monster that had orphaned me. A monster which in the next second I didn't recognise. My ears hurt from hearing my own screaming, but I hadn't a hope of stopping. The thing'shands combed through me, deep and thorough. So cold it almost felt like burning.

After what could have been years I was sweating, and panting, and crying, and pleading with no one to hold onto. I noticed the dull lifeless cords which had been my lifelines fall detached to the ground and begin to draw away, smoking up like burning fuses, but one still glowed bright as the wraith above me twisted and twisted it mercilessly, sending bolt after hammer of joint-cracking spine-stretching pain through my every nerve.

"What am I?" I wanted to ask, maybe my lips made the shape. Maybe I had never learned to talk.

A shining silver rope secured me off toward the wall of the building. That meant something. The Nightmare didn't want it to be there, it eventually stopped assaulting it and slipped it's hand around a dark, red rope at my waist, and began to drag me toward the dry, cool veil. My heavy, shaking legs slipped beyond the veil without issue, once they'd passed out of sight they felt like nothing. I was to become nothing. I could have forgotten I had legs at all if it wasn't for the still present throb of pain forcing me to grit my teeth. My voice had long run-out from screaming.

My head span, my heart hurt and with each of my breaths, a little sob escaped. Cold, ragged stone tore at my spent arms, one bent awkwardly. I surrendered myself to the will of the terrifying menace looming over me. The seething anger rolling off of it in heavy, noxious smoke burning my lungs and causing my eyes to sting. I was tugged insistently into the veil. My body refused to follow however. I suddenly realised with a flicker of thankful relief that my mind's grip was loosening. Perhaps I could escape my bodies pain at last. Perhaps I wouldn't be coming back.

I hope the exit is joyful and I hope never to return.