Status: Made it to chapter six, and now severe writer's block.
Out of the Light
Chapter 4 - Monsters in the Closet
My instincts kicked in before anything conscious. My feet moved expertly over the perished leaves, all thought of the torturing trees evaporating, relieving a deep-rooted desire to get away from the Soulless. Never would I be one of the Mindless, the rest of my eternity spent staring at the wasted sky, the way the Soulless would turn me as it ate away my emotion.
With the way Gerard was moving, however, he might be.
I could hear him hitting the ground hard with every other step he took. I could just leave him, I knew that. He was already dead, couldn’t feel a thing. No, he cannot feel anything physically painful, a voice whispered in my head. I groaned inwardly as my heart took over my survival instinct. They could hurt him; he still had feelings, emotions. If that little boy sobbing all over my shirt is anything to go by, they could still break him.
I whipped around and grabbed his arm and dragged him after me. Adrenaline pumping through my veins was the only thing that infused me with the strength to nearly carry him along with me. I could hear the Soulless following quickly, dragging its feet along the ground as it moved along. In my head, I could see the robotic grin it probably had plastered onto its face as it pursued us.
We turned onto a paved road at I pulled Gerard to his feet that had given away. He somehow regained some unknown grace as he bolted after me.
I don’t remember how long we ran, but we ran so long that by the time we stopped, huge blisters had formed on the bottom of my feet. We stopped at an abandoned 2-story hotel. The door was knocked off its hinges, red and silver blood splattered across the rotted wood. Inside, the ugly, mustard-yellow wallpaper was ripped off in places; there had been a struggle and most certainly another death. A thick musty smell coated my nose and throat as I gasped in the thick air. Gerard, who I hadn’t heard take a breath since he found on the street, breathed easily, gazing around in horrified fascination.
“What was that?” Gerard nearly yelled at me.
“A Soulless.”
His mouth opened, ready to spout more questions, but I shushed him as I delved deeper into the hotel.
Rotting stairs creaked ominously beneath my as I climbed the old wooden staircase leading to the second floor. I listened carefully for Gerard's footsteps following me, but also for whatever could be waiting for us upstairs, listening, hunting us.
Nothing had disturbed the thick coat of dust clinging to the antique rug in the long hallway at the top of the stairs. I quickly grabbed Gerard's hand and dodged into the first room, pulling him along with. Once my sharp grey eyes swept the room for signs of a disturbance, I shut the door firmly and locked it. I turned to find Gerard's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“Shouldn’t we be in the last room? Far away from the entrance?” he asked.
“No,” I scoffed, “the very opposite. If there is anything here, we need a quick way to get out, close to the exit. Not cornered in the back of a hotel.”
“Oh.” he said dumbly. I thought I heard him mutter duh under his breath, but a sudden bang on the closet door distracted my attention.
With the way Gerard was moving, however, he might be.
I could hear him hitting the ground hard with every other step he took. I could just leave him, I knew that. He was already dead, couldn’t feel a thing. No, he cannot feel anything physically painful, a voice whispered in my head. I groaned inwardly as my heart took over my survival instinct. They could hurt him; he still had feelings, emotions. If that little boy sobbing all over my shirt is anything to go by, they could still break him.
I whipped around and grabbed his arm and dragged him after me. Adrenaline pumping through my veins was the only thing that infused me with the strength to nearly carry him along with me. I could hear the Soulless following quickly, dragging its feet along the ground as it moved along. In my head, I could see the robotic grin it probably had plastered onto its face as it pursued us.
We turned onto a paved road at I pulled Gerard to his feet that had given away. He somehow regained some unknown grace as he bolted after me.
I don’t remember how long we ran, but we ran so long that by the time we stopped, huge blisters had formed on the bottom of my feet. We stopped at an abandoned 2-story hotel. The door was knocked off its hinges, red and silver blood splattered across the rotted wood. Inside, the ugly, mustard-yellow wallpaper was ripped off in places; there had been a struggle and most certainly another death. A thick musty smell coated my nose and throat as I gasped in the thick air. Gerard, who I hadn’t heard take a breath since he found on the street, breathed easily, gazing around in horrified fascination.
“What was that?” Gerard nearly yelled at me.
“A Soulless.”
His mouth opened, ready to spout more questions, but I shushed him as I delved deeper into the hotel.
Rotting stairs creaked ominously beneath my as I climbed the old wooden staircase leading to the second floor. I listened carefully for Gerard's footsteps following me, but also for whatever could be waiting for us upstairs, listening, hunting us.
Nothing had disturbed the thick coat of dust clinging to the antique rug in the long hallway at the top of the stairs. I quickly grabbed Gerard's hand and dodged into the first room, pulling him along with. Once my sharp grey eyes swept the room for signs of a disturbance, I shut the door firmly and locked it. I turned to find Gerard's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“Shouldn’t we be in the last room? Far away from the entrance?” he asked.
“No,” I scoffed, “the very opposite. If there is anything here, we need a quick way to get out, close to the exit. Not cornered in the back of a hotel.”
“Oh.” he said dumbly. I thought I heard him mutter duh under his breath, but a sudden bang on the closet door distracted my attention.