Chapter 15: A Promise Kept

It was pretty surprising to me that I was still alive some time later… Alive, and yet having the breath slowly choked away from me; I opened my eyes, and gasped as it all seemed to begin to fade away into darkness once again; the face of Travis-- no, the shaska. The face of the shaska, for that is what I had learned it was, was swimming before my watery eyes in painful eyes; fading in and out, as yellow spots clouded my vision. My life was slipping away. I had thought I had been dead-- again, I mean, after he had begun his little choking party. That was almost five minutes ago; how much longer could I endure it? This was death. I could feel my bruises forming as he continued to strangle me; the bones in my neck threatened to crack at any second, "Stop," I managed, but he did not or would not listen to me. I got a good look at his eyes-- they were so determined and frightening… Had my struggling hands not been so restrained, I would have gouged themselves in a desperate attempt at saving my life-- or at least as a way as stopping their constant staring. Let it end, I thought, and what people have so often spoken of-- poets, writers, and philosophers, whatever… It happened; my life flashed before my eyes in blurry memories that seemed straight out of some foreign slideshow; my third birthday… my mother's death… Jacqueline… my father's death… an apple glowing blood-red in the moonlight… a cottage deep in the woods… Elaine's twisted corpse… Jacqueline… a dagger threatening to penetrate my flesh… the prince lying there on the ballroom floor… tears… Travis… Carla…

In mere seconds, it all played out before me in the back of my mind, and then I realized that if this was the end, it was all coming too soon; there was still time to fight back. I stared at my slayer-- his lips were forming words-- a curse…? No. It was a whispered statement that he kept on repeating, and I had not heard it due to the screams and voices echoing loudly in my head; I strained my ears to hear his words…

"This is for my mother," his voice was whispering; growing fainter and fainter with each syllable as I slipped further away into unconsciousness; Travis was finally getting his vengeance-- that was for sure. But still… I had endured so very much. Surely, I could attempt it… Fight, a very small voice was whispering in the back of my mind, Don't give up, it went on, but I was barely listening-- my eyes snapped shut. The voice grew louder still, unscathed, Fight… Fight! My eyes snapped open once again to find his-- yellow and bloodshot-- focused intently upon me; glowing like two small fires in the night. His hands had suddenly ceased their strangling-- he obviously believed me at last dead-- I almost was, I realized. Travis stood up, and I felt my heart continue to race-- I couldn't help but wonder if the sound would echo-- a giveaway. "Goodbye, Beatrice," he was whispering; something cliché like that. I restrained the urge to laugh at the not-so-very-well rehearsed line. Hasn't even checked if I'm still breathing-- he's lost his touch, I thought as he turned his back to me, content. And knowing it to be quite rash, I jumped up, hoping that I had not made too much of an obvious "comeback" from the dead, "Travis…" I hissed at his retreating back, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

He allowed me a few moments before his reaction. I dove further back into the shadows, hoping that I'd successfully thrown my voice, and he would have no clue where I was. "Where are you now, you little bitch?" he hissed, and as he whipped around to face me, his eyes seemed to glow brighter still, almost illuminating the darkness, "The dead do not stay that way very long around here, do they?" I taunted, "You should be more careful next time-- although, sadly there won't be a next time. You're dead now, fucker."

"Why not spout your nonsense to your whoring mother?" he asked, clearly vexed by the notion that I'd so easily slipped through his long fingers, "Beatrice, why don't you just come out of the shadows, and fight?"

I laughed, "Why don't you at least try to find me."

"You have tried my patience enough. If--"

"Okay. Okay, then. We'll play by your rules, but I assure you, Travis. I will win."

It was now his turn to laugh, "Foolish girl," he whispered; his voice full of mock amusement-- his choice of words sounding as if they'd come directly from Invasion of the Body Snatchers or It Came from Outer Space. "I am so very sick of this shit. Just come out and fight, or your death will be a thousand times more painful."

"Come up with something original for once, Travis-- this is just like the time you plagiarized your English report; stop sounding like some cheesy B-movie," I jumped forward from the shadows to find that a faint light was steadily glowing in the far right-- Dawn was now approaching. If I could make a quick run for it…

But, before I could begin, the life of my legs seemed to be sucked away by an invisible vacuum. I was frozen in my tracks; A spell, I realized, lamely, angry at myself for basically giving him the chance to get me down like this. I fought to regain feeling in my legs, but it was useless-- I was stuck between a rock and a hard place now, and Travis was about to get his way…

"Not so fast, Beatrice. Running away… again? Running away from our problems only shows our true cowardice in the end-- surely you know that by now. But when you ran away the first time, Beatrice, you should have stayed away. Returning home only managed to get yourself and dear Carla killed. You are a coward, Beatrice. Nothing but a coward; everything you've done your entire life was never bravery… You are a coward. You are a coward, and you will die a coward's death."

"No," I murmured, feebly, but then stopped mid-sentence; it hurt to try to speak. I let out a heavy groan, and fell to the floor with a loud THUMP! that made a definite echo; had he been unaware of my whereabouts up until now, that had definitely give it away.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

He was taunting me-- laughing at my pain… He had always been the type, but seriously-- couldn't he show even the tiniest bit of decency to the person he was about to kill for a second time…? My anger reached its boiling point-- again, "FUCK YOU!" I roared, and then I screamed in pain-- it had nearly drained the life out of me to scream; the room faded away, and then reappeared again, as I heard the spine-tingling sound.

He laughed.

And then I remembered something; a promise-- a vow that I had made to someone nearly an entire year ago; 'I'm gonna find the bastard who did this'-- I had made it this far, hadn't I? And Beatrice Horowitz never broke a promise. I could not give up so easily-- that's what he wanted; that's what they all wanted. A flash of white light-- pure energy suddenly burst from within the small amulet I kept around my neck; breaking the spell that had held me there. Travis let out a groan, and slumped over; falling onto the cold stone floor-- Not dead; just stunned, or something along the lines of.

I lay there for a moment, counting my blessings. It had worked, obviously. Somehow-- someone or something had intervened-- or whatever magic the amulet possessed had somehow saved me, but I could not stay here forever. I had to get out.

Seizing my chance, I heaved my aching body upwards, onto my feet, and began running towards the light-- the amulet was now beginning to burn a hole in my neck-- it was burning white hot. Travis had now gotten up as well-- damn; he was fast-- and had begun chasing after me. The spell or whatever it was had not lasted as long as I would have hoped.

I suddenly fell to the floor once again, "Fuck!" I screamed out loud, realizing that he had used a second spell on me… He sure fought dirty; I'd nearly been out, and he'd had the audacity to "get" me once again. The sneaky bastard.

Rough, callused hands grabbed at my trembling body, and I felt searing pain throughout-- he was skilled at his spell-work. That was evident. I felt hot tears of frustration cascading down my cheeks as I was violently dragged back from the cave's entrance, (for yes, I had realized the place was a small cave-- although very different from the one I'd called home.) I was then taken back into the depths of the shadows that seemed to swallow us both hole.

I screamed for help, but there was no one to hear me-- and he reminded me of this. I was all alone with Travis… All alone, and with no way out.

"That was quite foolish of you, Bea," he was now whispering; still gasping for breath, I nodded slowly, "And I think you've twisted your ankle as well," I suddenly noticed the searing pain in my right ankle, and wondering how the injury had been sustained, I let out an angry wail. "Stop screaming," he snarled the warning, and heaved me to my feet. I let out another groan, as he stood up, and kicked me square in the stomach; knocking the wind out of me. Everything was beginning to fade away into darkness once again, but the pain had only just begun. I knew this.

He kicked me once again; this time in the face-- I tasted my own blood… and lots of it; I spat out, and to my horror, found my two front teeth mingled with dark-red blood. "That was only the beginning, baby," he whispered, and I opened my eyes to look upon his grimy, grotesque face; knowing it would be the last image I would ever see. "Coward," I hissed; it was difficult to speak, and my voice made a strange whistle through the gap where my missing teeth had been, "It's over," he finished, for he held a dagger only inches above my chest.

It was now or never-- with a twisted ankle, a broken nose, and consciousness threatening to fade away, I was running out of options. There wasn't much I could do now; with every last ounce of strength I possessed within me, I kneed him in the groin with my uninjured leg; he yelped in pain, and keeled over; the dagger fell to the floor with him.

I lay there in deep thought for a few seconds as Travis continued to clutch his injured parts, and scream in agony. Continuing to tell myself that it was almost over, I stood up, and nearly passed out in pain from it. Ignoring that sense of pending doom, I grabbed the dagger, and knelt beside him on the ground as he struggled to fight against me, "Helpless now, aren't we?" I smiled, and plunged the dagger into his chest right above where his heart would be, "That was for my mother," I murmured.