A/C - Alright, so this story took a VERY dark turn... Honestly, darker stories are the best! Please review!
Warning: There is MATURE subject matter in this chapter.
Chapter 13 - Caged Soul
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I was pulled into a vision. A dark wind clawed at me as I fell in a tumble of mist before a scene unfolded from around me.
The first thing my senses picked up was the sound of a woman screaming.
I was standing in a small bedroom in the corner. On the other side there was a bed and, lying on the bed, was a blonde woman. Her stained ivory dress was pushed up to reveal her swollen belly. She was thrashing around on the bed.
I watched the sweat dripping from her brow as she spread her legs and pushed hard, panting.
She screamed again, lifting her head and then tipping it back in agony. A few more seconds of heavy breathing passed before another sound filled the room.
It was the sound of a baby crying.
The woman lifted herself up onto her elbows, shaking and panting as she grabbed the young and bloodied infant.
There was a broken sound that came out of her throat. It filled the room as she held the little baby close to her. The tender moment only lasted another second or so when a man entered the vision.
His footsteps were loud and ominous. He stopped at the end of the bed and I couldn't breathe anymore.
The man standing there was the same one from the picture. Except, now I could see his scarred and burnt face. The skin was a swirl of pink and red that extended from his left side to most of his right side. He had no hair, and his head was also thoroughly burned, perhaps even worst than his face was. There were also scars that had been scattered around his head. Scars that looked suspiciously like knife wounds. What on earth had happened to this man?
He didn't say anything to the woman as he leaned over the bed and, to my utter shock, he grabbed the baby roughly from her.
"NO!" The woman screamed before her cries turned into something more intense. Labor, once again, took hold as her swollen belly surged and she threw her head back.
The scarred man turned to leave and she began delivering another baby - a set of twins I realized.
The pains of labor trembled on her face as she shattered. With a final push, another set of cries filled the room.
A silent tear slid down my cheek as I watched the exhausted woman lift herself up. The second, even smaller, baby was still covered in birth but the mother held it tightly to her chest.
Then she began sobbing and rocked her baby back and forth. I feared the man was, again, going to take away this sweet, innocent child.
It seems i wasn't the only one with that fear.
I watched as the mother fumbled with the bottom drawer of the nightstand near the bed, then gently placed the tiny baby in it.
She was trying to hide it.
The mother murmured something in a foreign language, one that I had never heard before but if I had to place it maybe some kind of eastern dialect.
From down the hall, I heard footsteps when the man entered the room.
However, as if cut by scissors, the scene before me was cut short. The floor disappeared and I fell through darkness as another scene appeared before me.
I wondered what had happened to those children and the woman. Little did I know, the second vision was going to answer those questions.
The scene unraveled before me and his time I was in a basement.
It was dark and damp, with no windows - no walls. It was a little more than just a dirt pit dug into the ground, with stairs leading to the structure above. At the very bottom was a large steel cage.
A girl, maybe fourteen or fifteen of age, was at the top of the stairs suddenly. Quickly, she ran down and towards the cage.
The cage was no taller than me in height and three feet in length. It could fit a large dog but what was in the cage was not an animal.
It was a human.
It was the mother. She did not look as she had the last I saw her.
Her wrists were shackled to the cage walls. Her wrists...they so so thin. I swear that was the same dress she had given birth in last I saw her, still stained and filthy. The gown had ripped near the shoulders and the back where I could see her spine peek out beneath her skin. The woman leaned against the steel frame, crumpled on the ground. Her once lively and beautiful face was completely hollowed out. There was no life in those eyes as she stared outside of her empty cell. I noticed her body was deformed, her legs seemed stiffened in place, as if being locked in this tiny cell had permanently left its mark on her body.
A sick thought hit me and I staggered, dizzily. She must have been in here for a very long time.
Spending years in this tiny cage… I shook violently. This poor woman. Every fibre in my body wanted to reach out and help her.
I couldn't, though. This was in the past and what's done is done.
"Mamma?" A girl peered into the cell, reaching in. I wiped my face and watched as a withered small hand slowly, and shakily, reached back.
The mother did not speak. I don't think she had the energy to speak or move. It would have been a feat for her to have even reach out and lift her arm. The young girl and the mother held each other through the bars in the dark.
"Hana," Another voice said. It sounded alarmingly like the first girl. "What are you doing down here?"
I looked at the door, another lithe girl with blonde hair was standing at the top of the stairs. She was the exact replica of the first girl and I knew this face all too well.
Twins, I remembered.
"Sara," Hana said as she looked back to her mother. "Mama is sick, we have to help her."
Sara scoffed. "Papa says the Devil doesn't want her, that's why she's sick. She's not good enough."
My heart slammed into my gut.
Did she just say...the Devil? What was going on here?
Hana stepped away from the cage and faced her sister.
The twins were similar in height but there were stark differences I noticed immediately, such as Sara seemed healthiar - her face was filled out whereas Hana looked as if she had been missing meals. Hana's blonde hair was also dark and limp on her head, suggesting the youngest sister hadn't seen a wash either. I couldn't help but notice that Sara seemed, overall, much more cared for compared to Hana.
"The Devil is not good," Hana's voice had sounded so young and innocent. Unlike Sara, who had held a dark undertone to her not-yet broken voice. "Don't you understand? The only person who can help us is God, or Jesus -"
There was a hard sound of impact as Sara's hand struck Hana, hard, across the face. Hana staggered back, holding her reddening cheek. Bright blue eyes were wide on her sister.
It was Sara who looked as if she had seen a ghost. She was shaking her head erratically, her breathing was rapid. "Don't say that name! Don't ever say that name to me!"
Hana whimpered. "The Devil is evil, Sara -"
"SHUT UP!" Sara screamed. "Shut your filthy mouth. The Devil said you would do this. He told me that you were jealous because he didn't choose you. You are worthless and you are going to be the next one in that cage."
"Mama needs our help." Hana said. "We need to get her to a doctor."
Sara regarded the woman in the cage and regained some of her arrogant composure, breathing deeply in through her nose. I could see her heart beat rapidly through her chest. Those cold blue eyes turned back to her sister.
"I'm telling Papa you were down here. He'll punish you so that you can sit in the cage next to that thing and rot."
I realized there was something fundamentally wrong with Sara. Something evil had festered in her whereas it had faltered in Hana. Whatever abuse happened to these children for the past years...this was the outcome.
"No, no, please!" Hana reached out and grabbed her sisters wrist. "Sara, please don't tell Papa -"
Sara spun around, her eyes were wild and she forcefully threw herself into her sister. The twins tumbled, Sara was on top with her hands on Hana's throat, squeezing.
"Stop!" I yelled as I watched Hana struggle for air under her sister. It would do not good, but I still tried. "Don't hurt her!"
The scene continued.
"When Satan gives me powers, I'm going to kill you." Sara whispered into her sisters ear. "And I'm going to enjoy doing it."
Violently, the scene flashed to an end. So far, all the other visions were new to me.
This one was not.
I watched a familiar scene unfold in front of me. It was the first dream I had while on this case, the first piece of this puzzle that I was given. However, instead of looking through the eyes of the captive, I was now standing in a crowd of red robes. The girl that screamed and prayed for her life was not the girl who I originally thought was Sara.
It wasn't who the vision was about.
This was Hana.
In the vision, I also hadn't noticed the second body already hanging next to Hana - her mother. She was dead.
I watched the horror again as Hana was painted in blood (I now knew it was her mother's blood), then had that noose tied around her neck. A rope was swung over a tree branch and a large male yanked on it at the same time members started violently stabbing Hana.
I couldn't look. My knees were so weak that I dropped to the ground, crying.
This was too cruel - only a monster could do this to other humans.
There was a face I recognized in the hoods, a soft feminine face that watched on with an unreadable expression. Maybe my eyes had deceived me, but I thought I saw tears falling from Sara's eyes as she watched her sister being hung.
"Sara," The tall, scarred man said as he approached her. She composed her face once again, blinking away whatever emotion I thought I had seen. "You've done everything Satan has asked. He is very proud of you."
"Thank you, Papa." said Sara.
The man regarded her and my skin shivered at the touch that seemed too intimate - too possessive. It seemed to suggest that Sara was the favorite in more ways than one.
"Now the Devil will give me power."
"Yes." He knelt down to her, once again gently touching her face. Sara winced.
I glared at the satanic man. He was the one who caused all this suffering - he was the monster. Sara was just a girl who was wrongly misguided and Hana… I couldn't look at her dangling body because I felt like I would be violently ill.
"Satan needs you to do one last thing." The man said.
"Oh, of course. He is my master. I live to serve Satan, just like you taught me."
"Good." He leaned in closer. Too close. "Close your eyes."
Sara closed her eyes and there was a delighted smile on her face. I watched as the man pulled out a sharp, crooked blade from his belt. There was still blood that gleamed on it and I realized it was the same blade that struck Hana.
"RUN!" I screamed, "Run!"
Nothing I could say could stop the vision. He stabbed it through Sara's chest in one motion. Her eyes came open and she gasped when she fell to the ground. There was shock in her blue eyes as they snapped to his. She clutched the blade and looked up at the man, who was smiling darkly at her.
"Satan has another role in mind for you," he said. "You've shown such promise to follow orders. He'll be pleased with you."
"But...t-the...p-powers..." Sara was gasping in between breaths and she never finished her sentence before she died.
I gripped the earth, digging my finger nails into the ground, crying and wishing that this vision would just end...and if it didn't..I wish that they would just kill me too.
I didn't want to watch what else unfolded from this horrible night.
The man didn't say anything as the ceremony continued, all the woman were now dead. The cloaked figures brought down Hana's and placed it next to her sister. They didn't even regard the third body that was left on the tree. Then, they made more strange drawings on the ground where the twins were and the coven formed a circle. They began chanting loudly, the air was...intense. Ancient.
Then, something truly terrifying happened.
Dark magic pulled at me. It ripped around me like wind and the body of Hana began to...transform.
Her spine lengthened, her skin became grey and ribbed. Large talons grew from her fingers.
I knew the creature all too well.
The Pishacha.
After the ritual, they left Sara's body on the ground and took the creature - Hana - back into the house of horrors.
I didn't follow and instead knelt beside Sara, who had only been down this road because of the person she believed loved her.
Based on the ritual, I understood now that Sara and Hana were linked.
Reality gripped me and my eyes came open.
I was once again in that house, except I remembered that I was here with Naru, and the house was now forgotten in the middle of the woods.
I felt...warm, despite the dark dream. I looked at my shoulders and realized there was a black coat draped across them. I also noticed that my 'pillow' felt muscular and firm from under my head.
From above me, indigo eyes peered down at me.
It occurred to me at some point while I was unconscious Naru had placed himself beside me. Not only was he looking down at me as I got my bearings...I was laying in his lap.
"Awake now?" Naru said. I craned my neck to look up at him, he was leaned against the wall. "You fell unconscious."
Slowly, I pushed myself up and onto on my knees. My body felt stiff, my eyes felt heavy.
"Thank you," I said with a dry tongue. I gripped the picture I was still holding but didn't look at it. I couldn't risk looking at it again and being thrown back into those visions...not again. "I saw it. I saw what happened here."
Naru listened quietly as I explained, in the briefest details, what happened to the people in the picture. I explained the man who had cultured the girls into worshiping the Devil and how he betrayed them.
Naru didn't say anything the entire time I spoke. He simply sat and listened to me.
I ran my hand over the picture. "Sara wasn't evil. She wasn't a bad person - it was all she knew because of how long she was in that mans' clutches. I don't blame her. She must have been so scared. And then… Hana…"
Hana. She was the kind one - the concerned one. The one that believed in a greater good beyond the evil she was forced to grow up in.
I remembered she was the Pishacha, that she was trapped in the body of the Pishacha. I wondered how scared she must be.
"What did she mean by 'powers'?" Naru asked. "The ritual sounds like he created some type of guardians or a portal."
"I don't know." I just wanted to forget.
I leaned against the wall and I felt Naru stiffen from beside me. It was then that I noticed our shoulders had touched.
I knew how much he hated that so I tried to make sure I didn't overstep those boundaries and subtly shifted over. It still blew my mind that Naru had me lying in his lap. The thought was unbelievable, almost as if I had dreamed that part too.
"You should get some sleep," I said, rolling my head to look at Naru. I was surprised to find he was already looking at me.
The signs of fatigue were evident on his beautiful face. I didn't know how long I had been unconscious for, or how long had Naru stayed up to watch over me.
Dark smudges were under those intense, blue eyes and lines were strewn across his face. Even his hair was out of place and I resisted the urge to reach out and touch a raven's lock, to push it back and feel how smooth it was. Instead, I leaned my tired head on the wall, Naru continued watching me.
His jacket smelt like him and I held it tighter around my shoulders. Naru hadn't looked at me like that in a long time. The look in his eyes were...as if he were seeing me for the first time.
For Naru, if he knew it or not, the look was intense.
It occurred to me that this could be one of our last moment together. Who knew what waited for us when we left this cabin. What if we never made it back? We wouldn't be able to survive here forever, eventually we would have to try and leave. Besides, the pangs of hunger would soon hit and then we would be forced to find food.
I thought about our chances of survival. The thought occurred to me that Naru would ensure we made it even if he had to use his extraordinary PK. But, I knew how much using that power drained him. It was such a dangerous power and if left unchecked it could be harm Naru. I hoped that he wouldn't use it because without Lin here I wouldn't be able to help him and I couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to him.
Maybe I was reading something in Naru's silence, so I said. "I know you're probably worried we won't be safe here if you sleep but there's something protecting this cabin. It's safe for now and you should use the time to rest - whether you believe me or not."
"I believe you," Naru said.
I had found that my gaze drifted from his eyes, down to his hand that was so close to my own. If I moved it an inch over, they would be touching. Quickly, I looked back at him.
"You do?"
His blue eyes were soft. "I've always trusted you, Mai."
My heart was pounding through my skin.
I felt my throat pulsing and tried to keep my breathing neutral. Naru leaned his head back on the wall, facing forward. That earlier thought clouded my mind, about how this could be the last time and if it were...there had been so many questions I wanted to ask, so many things that I wanted to know.
"When you say those things... it makes me wonder why didn't you come back." I whispered as Naru stared out at the lonely family room. This room, like this pocket of world, was a facade. There was never a family that lived here.
Painfully, I admitted the truth. "I really needed you to come back."
Slowly, Naru looked back at me. I took a deep breath as I moved my hand just a fraction towards him.
It was a bold move because he could easily rip his hand further away. Just like he had moved to England when I confessed my feelings to him. The distance felt endless before our hands finally touched. It was just a brief and fleeting sensation but it sent fireworks throughout my spine.
That old pull tugged at me as I was swept up into that old current of first love.
It had never left, I realized.
Naru still took my breath away, just being near him. I had been lying to myself, thinking that I could be free. Thinking that I could I could let him go.
I would always come back to him.
My tongue felt so heavy when I realized that Naru didn't pull his hand away like I thought he would. Instead, his fingers seemed to respond to me. Outside, it had turned into night and the only source of light we had was the illumination from the moon. It lit Naru's features up in a way that made him look truly immortal.
As if he were made from the moon, the stars and the sky.
I felt his body singing with tension. He seemed to repress whatever flight or fight urge resided within him because he pressed his palm into mine. Our fingers slowly interlocked. We were stuck in this cabin, without food or water - all I could think of was that I was sitting here with Naru and that he was holding my hand.
Naru pressed his lips into a line, as if on the verge of speaking. I had a feeling this was going to be something I wasn't ready for - something Naru wasn't ready for either. I stayed completely still, afraid any sudden movements would break the spell between us.
There was that natural gravitational pull from within me, the overwhelming desire to be with him because no matter what happened between us I would always come back.
I would always come back to him.
^.^