Page 11 of Be My Sacrifice
Freedom.How I crave it with every morsel of my being. Will I ever know the taste of it? It does not seem likely in the world that I was born into. As I keep moving through the fragrant flowers, my fingers skimming along soft petals and the scent of fresh grass invading my nose, a chill begins to settle along my skin. I look down to see that I’m naked, and my feet are bare. Only my long, dark, wavy hair cascades down my breasts and back.What the hell? Why am I naked?
I stop short and raise my hands before my eyes; they trickle with red liquid that snakes down my arms menacingly, meeting the rest of my flesh and appearing as blotches all over me, tainting me. A sharp pain in my stomach has me grasping my abdomen, and trying to catch my breath. I fall to my knees, and as I do, the world around me begins to darken.
The beautiful, colorful flowers wither and tarnish until nothing is left of them except blackness and ash.Gone, they have all perished.My eyes turn toward the bright sky, which has become overshadowed, gloomy, and tempestuous.Evil is coming.I don’t know why that thought blares inside of my mind, but it does. It gives off a warning, one I don’t understand, but it frightens me to my core.
The birds have all disappeared with a warning cry, as if they’re too afraid of what is coming to continue their flight and, with them, my chances of also escaping. The pain becomes unbearable, my whole body vibrating with it as my breath becomes ragged pants. An ominous sound reaches my ears from behind me, and all the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end—an omen to the evil approaching.
My mind and body both urge me to move, to flee from the creature about to descend on me. The boogeyman who continuously invades my dreams, bringing with it nothing but nightmares. The monster who relishes in terrorizing me every chance he gets when I shut my eyes. Will he finally be able to lay his claws on me? Will he rip out my heart and consume it, while I succumb to the darkness?
Wake up! Wake up, stupid!I urge myself, with panic assailing me. A menacing chuckle sounds in the air, and rips all the oxygen from my lungs. My bloody hands grip at my throat, trying to force myself to breathe. I feel a light caress along my exposed flesh, and slowly, I turn my head, knowing that when I do, all my nightmares will be present before me.Don’t look, don’t do it! Save yourself, wake up!
The monster’s wretched face stares back at me, his skin molten with black and red scales, his descended nose flares with my scent, and his cruel lips lift in a hungry smile, exposing large, sharp teeth that will rip apart my flesh. “There you are, little Dinah, how tasty you look.”
His voice is guttural, filled with promises of pain and violence, and familiar. Confusion wars within my mind, the need to run away, to escape this horrendous creature, clashing with the need to find out who he truly is.I know him. The answer is here, I just have to find it.His hand with sharp claws caresses my arm, pushing aside my hair and exposing more of my bloodied flesh to his emerald green eyes. Eyes that sparkle with joy at my fear and misery.Run, Dinah, run!My mind urges me, but I’m frozen to the spot, those emerald eyes piercing me down to my very soul.
“Don’t do this. Please let me go,” I beg, the words leaden as they leave my numb lips, the sound of my voice weak and small in the vast space that surrounds us.
“I will have what is mine. Nothing will stop me, not even your pretty little lips begging me,” he snarls, and a whisper of a haze creates a mirage where, in one moment, he is the monster, and then, in the other, I see the faded visage of a man in his depths. A man whose outline and face are familiar to me, one I have known all my life. As he moves closer to me, his features become more pronounced, less a monster and more flesh, but even more frightening.
“You are so pretty like your mother was, Dinah. I shall have a taste of you, consume you until there is nothing left of you.” The monster continues to morph into the visage of Noah Rothesay before my eyes, his evil glare trailing across my exposed flesh and leaving a burning sensation in their wake.WAKE UP! Do it now! Save yourself!
“No!” The word rips from my mouth with a scream as I fight against his touch. Those sharp claws dig painfully into my flesh, ripping tissue and crushing bone in their wake, as tears slide down my face.I have to get away! I have to run. I can’t let him have me.Death will find me if he gets his claws deep into me.
Where is my knight? Why isn’t he here to protect me?
“You have always been mine. You will always be mine. Fight, little girl, I enjoy your struggle.”
I try desperately to get my feet back under me, and tear away from his grip. My legs tremble as they bear my weight, and I pull, using all the strength I have left. “SAMMY!” The name rips from my lips, calling for my protector to come save me from the monster like he has in the past.
“SAMMY, PLEASE!”
“He can’t hear you now, little Dinah. He’s gone,perished. No one is coming to save you.”
Gone? How could Sammy be gone?No, he would never leave me. He will come for me, he always comes for me. He is my knight, my warrior who will defend me until his dying breath. The only way he wouldn’t come for me is if he’s dead, and I would know if he was. I would feel the loss in my very soul, a crushing weight that I would be unable to survive.
He can’t be gone. He wouldn’t leave me here alone, I know it. He promised me I would never be alone again.
“Give in to me, Dinah. Let me have all of you. Let me consume your heart and soul so you can be remade into my image. There is evil inside of you, girl, just waiting for an opportunity to escape and lay waste to this world. Let me release you from the chains you place around yourself.”
He snaps his jagged teeth, and his acrid breath skates across my face. “Be my whore, Dinah, and I will give you everything you have ever dreamed of.” His words are an attempt at seduction, calling to that part of me that I hold tightly to, never fully releasing it for fear that I won’t be able to lock it back away.No, hold fast. He is a demon, spewing nothing but false promises.
A memory climbs through the confusion and terror, my mother begging me with a gun placed against her temple, her beautiful eyes filled with tears as they make their way down her haggard face.“Avenge me, daughter! Avenge all of those who cannot save themselves from this Order!”
It’s immediately replaced by another.“You see, Dinah, you cannot fully corrupt my useless son with your sinful ways. There is still a part of him that belongs to me and the Brotherhood. Isn’t that right, son?”
Betrayal swims like acid through my veins, and Noah Rothesay transforms into his son Ezekiel before my eyes. My heart beats rapidly in my chest, confirming to me that I’m still alive and not simply in hell. The same menacing emerald eyes stare down at me with loathing and lust.
“Is this better, little Snow? Would you rather succumb to me?” The monster questions with a tilt of his lips.
“Zeke, please help me,” I groan the pain-laced words.
For a brief moment, the visage of Ezekiel looks at me with almost tenderness and compassion, but then it’s quickly replaced by venom and rage. He leans forward, his mouth opening and his tongue licking the side of my face, to capture the tears that continue to race down my skin. “Your fear tastes delicious, Snow. It’s almost as tasty as your cunt. Will you scream for me while I take everything from you? Will you call my name, baby?”
In the blink of an eye, the large claws slam into my body as if they were blades, sinking deep into my flesh and ripping me apart. “If there is… any part of… the boy I knew… inside of you... promise... me you... will protect... them. Promise... me, Zeke.”
The words leave my lips, but they feel like a facsimile. I know I have spoken them before, but the memory of when stays deep in the shadows as I struggle against the pain. Who am I asking him to protect? It’s right there on the tip of my tongue, the names of those who are causing all this concern. The reason my heart feels like it will explode out of my chest.Who are they, and why are they so important to me?
“They will be joining you in hell shortly, Snow. Don’t worry, baby, I will ensure you are not alone for long.” He yanks his claws, tearing out flesh, and in his palm is my beating heart. It thumps loudly, taunting me before darkness rolls me in its comfort again, and I’m lost in its enveloping force.