A Hollow Soul, page 11
“Don’t. You won’t like what happens if you test me,” he whispers against my ear. He shifts his stance and pins my body with his. Each one of my legs are on the outside of his.
I look at him, and then up at the ceiling. A tear rushes down over my left cheek, I squeeze my eyes shut hard wishing he would just go away. A sob is pulled from me without me meaning too, the pressure increases on my throat, his fingers scratch at my neck. I cough in his face. It sounds hoarse.
My shoes scrabble for purchase against the tile wall to release some of the tension he is pressing on me. He squeezes me back against the wall pushing his body into my pelvis and grinds there. He sniffs my neck deeply and keeps pressing on my neck making it harder for me to struggle.
I kick at his outer legs, but it doesn’t do anything other than press him into the center of my body. He loosens his hand a bit for me to gasp in a breath, and then tightens his grip once more. I hold the air in my lungs, wanting it to stay there. He inhales once again. I cringe away from his nose, his mustache tickling my neck and repulsing me.
“Stop,” I gasp.
“Your fear is intoxicating.” He breathes in a deep lung full of air, sniffing a couple of times and holding in the scent. He grins with pure ecstasy as if he is smelling something delicious. His eyes begin to shine and turn red, his nose begins to lengthen and protrude from his face. His teeth buck out and long hairs start to poke through his skin near his nose.
“What?” I gasp in horror; my eyes are glued to his face.
He presses his nose in my hair and neck area, grinding and thrusting against me. The long whiskers press into my skin, making my skin crawl and itch. My mind scrambles to make sense of all of this.
“What are you?” I whisper as he lowers his hand further down my neck, closer to my sternum.
“Rat shifter. I told you I was a rat,” he growls. “Do you like?” He nibbles on my neck, rubbing against it.
“I don’t know what that is.” I neither say yes or no. I wiggle to see how hard he has my hands still pinned. They budge only a smidgen.
“Mmmm, yes, wiggle some more,” he chatters. “I can shift into a full rat form or a half and half form like this.” His nose fully goes into my hair, his head so close bringing his neck close, his thumb creeps down into my shirt caressing my skin there.
Anger blooms in the pit of my stomach and radiates out to my extremities. “How can a girl suspected of being a murderer, be so filled with delicious fear? You’re not dark at all, are you?” He notes.
I am furious at his motives and what he is insinuating. “See you get it! You are the only one to believe me so far, and you don’t want to help me at all.” My voice turns low.
He laughs. “You have so much to learn. Let me teach you.” The hand that was hovering near my throat slides over my small chest and pulls up the edge of my shirt. He hums and then huffs in my ear. “Something else comes forward, fear is but a taste now.” He pouts.
I pull my head back and slam forward. He doesn’t move. He actually pulls me closer, so I bite down on his neck—hard. He squeaks in pleasure. I continue to keep applying pressure; my teeth clench down. He scrambles away, but I come with him. He lets go of my hands, and I fall on top of him, my arms wrapping around his neck, keeping me close.
The other wall stops him from fully falling down. I latch my legs around him, gripping tightly. Blood pours down my throat as I bite down and wiggle my head back and forth, sliding my teeth through the wet skin, doing the most damage possible.
He pushes at my chest, and I unlatch to try to get a better purchase on another part of his body, my tongue licks my lips as I lunge forward once again. He stops me easily and kicks me against the other wall. I hit it hard and slump down. My breath comes in growling gasps as I glare up at him.
“You bitch!” He takes off one of the gloves and reaches back on his neck and brings his hand back, showing it is covered in blood. He uses the glove stop the bleeding. He looks down on me in horror. “Your eyes. They are pitch black,” he says, taken back.
I pick myself up off the floor so he is not standing over me. I bare my teeth and squeeze my hands into fists. Nails bite into my skin, so I loosen them a bit, not able to close them fully. I do not want to take my eyes off of Doug to look down, so I bring a hand forward to hold it in front of my face. My fingers have elongated into claws.
Doug’s eyes land on my hands as well and breathes in carefully. “What are you? I thought they said you were a witch?” he says in confusion. “Are you a shifter? Badger?” he questions as he shakes his head back and forth.
“I have no answers for you,” I bite out. “Leave me alone.” A loud thumping noise beats rapidly. I look at his chest. “Is that your heartbeat?” I ask. The rhythm draws me in, swaying in time with it as I move closer.
He backs away towards the door, retreating. “You can hear that?” He covers his chest as if that would cover up the loud booming that rapidly increases with his movement.
I crouch down, ready to pounce. I smile at him this time and slide one foot forward, ready to make my move. I glare at him, my eyes catching every movement, something in me wanted to fight even though in my head I was screaming that we should be running. I breathe in a deep breath loving the sweet scent that has permeated the room. “What is that deliciousness?” I ask, my mouth watering in answer.
Doug shakes his head and the whiskers, long fingers, mouth, and nose are back to normal size. He is human once more. “They did not state you were a shifter. If I knew that, I would not have activated your animalistic nature.” He paws at the door behind him, scrambling for a way out. “He said you were a witch. Why would witches have you?”
“No.” I tilt my head to the side, eying him. “You would have made me cower in a different way then.” My legs move me forward following him. “You only stopped because you are not the predator anymore, I am.” Growling at him, I crouch down scraping my nails on the tile below me, finding purchase to leap before he opens the door. I seethe in a tide of red-hot anger, thinking of nothing else as I surrender myself to this thing that has awoken in me.
“This can’t be part of the spell. Where is your shadow creature?” He grabs my arm with the one hand that is still covered. The glove doesn’t light up like they did last time. “No, not a spell.” He quickly releases my arm and twists away, keeping out of reach.
I slash out with my clawed hand. “I can’t wait to bite into your juicy center,” I spit out, licking my lips, my tongue catches on very sharp teeth. I touch my tongue to a couple of them and notice they are all pointed. I smile baring my teeth at him.
“What animal are you?” he questions, bringing his nose to the air to scent.
“All the better to eat you with.” I laugh out loud.
He gets spooked and turns, opening the door quickly he clips his shoulder as he races through the door and slams it shut in my face before I can launch up at him. A noise fumbles on his side. I walk up to the door and claw at the handle. It doesn’t budge. “Locked me in here? You are a coward!” I yell.
“No… You need to calm down...” he stutters. “I will let you sit here for a while and come back with someone to take you back to your room before everyone gets up for the day.” His voice shakes. “No one else will bother you,” he says for good measure. “No one that could help you will be able to hear you.”
“No, can’t have someone find your dirty work,” I hiss. “Let me out now!” I bellow and pound on the door in front of me, scraping my claw down the door, leaving deep grooves in it.
“Not until you have time to breathe and think through things. You are more a danger to everyone else with the state you are in now. You don’t even know how to control yourself,” he squeaks.
The beast inside me riles up, wanting to fight and flee all at the same time. My stomach growls in answer, more importantly it needs substance and his stringy body would do just that.
“I can’t wait till I can have another taste,” I sing. “Lick that red dripping goodness, letting it cool the heat that you have awoken inside of me.” I crouch low, trying to peer under the door. My breath sniffs like his did to me. “I can still smell you, rat.” I hear shoes click down the hallway moving quickly away. “Run, run little mouse. I’ll be along later,” I hiss ramming my shoulder against the heavy wooden door, trying to budge it. I yank on the handle, wanting to tear it directly off the wall and door frame.
Saliva runs out of the corner of my mouth; I wipe it on the side of my shirt. I roar out a cry as I push through the anger and instincts to remember who I am and that I’m not this animal.
“No!” I yell in a guttural voice, not liking how close the walls are. “Let me out of here.” I slam my hands at the door once again. I make my way over to the mirrors above the sink gripping onto the sides with my claws and stare at my reflection. “I will not stoop to his level.” I say angrily. Staring back at myself, forcing myself to calm down, my arms shake with anger and fear of being stuck in here.
I watch as my eyes return to normal as the fear takes over the anger. My vision dims a little as they return; things are not as crisp or clear as they were. I shudder as my teeth flatten back out. I open my mouth in the mirror and run my tongue along the flat white teeth. Blood still stains them. I fumble with the faucets to turn them on and cup cool water into my hands. I watch as the claws remain, not disappearing like the teeth and eyes, the water overflows running over my sharp talons. I bring my hands up splashing the water on my face and take a sip afterwards from the rushing water.
I hesitate as the claws stay put. “Go away,” I whisper to my hands. I sniffle as they do not listen and just sit there not going anywhere. Shaking I try to flick them away. “Stupid,” I growl to myself glancing at the door, making sure it does not move.
I find myself getting more and more frustrated as the minutes tick away. I pluck at the claws trying to pull them off and then push down on the sharp points to make them go back in, but nothing I do makes them turn back into human fingers.
I slowly crouch down, leaving the water on, keeping my feet under me. I hug my knees as I let out a small wail. I crouch under the sinks and sit down beneath them sniffling back the tears and try to keep myself from crying and letting it all out. I hold it back inside silently crying and screaming. The blood rushes through my head, and a small moan whisps out, I wipe my eyes. The tears fall freely after that, I let them cover my face as I let go. “What is happening to me?” I bump my back against the wall.
“Shade?” I cry out hopelessly in an anguished growl. “Where are you?” My hands lay beside me unsure what to do with them as I cry into my knees. “Why were you not here to help?” I ask. The sobs rack my body, but I try to pull it back and to calm myself. No answers come to me, though I didn’t expect any.
I lean to the left and slowly fall the rest of the way and lie on my side staring at the door from under the sinks. The lights turn off after a bit, I wave my hand to turn them back on. They flicker back to life as the sensor registers movement, I lie there doing that a couple of times the hiccups from my sobs have all but stopped now. I notice to the far right a black little worm-like creature wriggles out of the drain on the floor that is near the first shower. It slithers toward me like some hurt little snake. It pauses near my sneaker. He is small and tiny; his form can be really small or huge and intimidating. I have seen both now. That is good to know.
“Did you not hear me call for you?” I ask, still lying on the cold tiled floor. My mind feels numb as I focus on him crawling over the floor. I watch as my hands melt back to their normal form, but keep my eyes set on Shade’s little worm form, lest the stress makes them come back. I wait for his answer as he sits by my shoe.
Shade shakes his lithe form back and forth in a no answer. He curls deeper into the shadows, slithering past my shoe and up my side and sliding around to my arm.
I raise my head up to look down at him. “Why are you small? I know you can be bigger.”
He shrinks back into the shadows, calling them as if they were real. He grows to the size of a small cat. He crawls up to me and winds his way over to me. I sit up fully once again.
“Were you hurt?” I pause sliding my hand over his arching back.
He motions his head up and down in answer, yes.
“From the gloves?”
He nods once again.
I take a moment and pull myself back into a sitting position, grabbing his shadow body and hauling him into my lap, patting at the darkness. He feels cool to the touch and smooth, not at all like fur, more like a cool hard marble. He curls into my hands enjoying the pets.
My eyes search his form in question, wondering if that was really what happened or only what he could explain. “I wish there were another way to communicate,” I whisper to him.
He nods in agreement but doesn’t say or do anything more.
“Where did you go?”
He twirls in my hands, and he settles down sighing and going flat.
“Were you scouting out the place?”
He nods once again.
I take a moment to think of what I could ask him or talk to him about to get further answers. “I need to know what you can and cannot do. I need to know what is going on, and I find it real annoying that I can only talk to you with yes or no answers.” I huff.
He shrinks away from my hands, slinking away back towards the drain.
“I’m sorry, wait, don’t leave.” I reach out a hand wanting to physically stop him, but I don’t want to cause him any more pain than he already was in. “I want to find out some things. I have so many questions.”
He stops his forward motion to the drain and just huddles under the sink where shadows collect, grabbing them and pulling them into him.
“Do you feed off of shadows to replenish energy?” I question.
He nods at first, but then shakes his head. As he pulls more shadows into his body, he grows a bit more in size, to that of a medium dog. He twirls once again and pads back over to me and lies down next to me. I brush my fingers over him, being cautious not wanting to scare him away. Or do anything to send him away.
“Shade?”
His head turns up to me.
“Are you a part of me?”
He cocks his head, but does not nod or shake his head, like he is confused.
“I mean, can you see, hear, or read what is in my mind, my thoughts.”
He shakes his head no.
“So, you are separate, but a part of me.”
He just stares at me, not doing anything since I did not ask a question.
“Are you real or just a spell that will fizzle out?”
He pulls his shadows into that of another form more humanoid and shrugs, not having an answer for me.
I lean my head against his shoulder as he sits next to me. “I am tired of people coming into my life and leaving me with more questions than answers.”
He sits there as I am though my body is mostly still his doesn’t move at all. There is no breath to him, just stillness.
I go for an easier question. “Did anyone see you while you were on your excursion?”
He shakes his head.
“Well then, I will go over what happened to me after the gloves affected you. Doctor Quintan took me into my head, and I got to see a memory, one of my real mother. She created you, and I found out who those dead people were. Well, at least the woman that took me from my parents, I think I have been asleep all this time, or if not, that was part of the spell to keep my memories locked up.”
I lower my head, having more questions than answers.
“Mother told me to trust you though, and you are a key to get more answers, or at least that is what I think she meant.” I watch as Shade looks down at his own form and then back up to me. “Shouldn’t you know if you are holding a key or have more information then I at least?”
He shrugs once again. I grind my teeth, holding my words in for a moment.
“I am not sure who we can trust or who to even go to get more information. Quintan said he would allow me to use the library, so maybe we can learn something there. I don’t know about my roommate, but maybe she will be in better spirits after getting some rest and can help us. Do you know who we can trust?” I look to him, and he stares at the ground. “You have to give me something,” I rant.
He pushes his form into a bulbous form taking the silhouette form of Doctor Quintan.
“I think not.” I flick my wrist and bat at him with my hand, causing him to fall back.
He looks up at me, hurt.
“Yeah, he helped me get to the memory, but he also caused me pain or were you not there at that time?” I ask, flabbergasted with all this. “Quintan I will be guarded with at the least. He acted really weird after finding out about Jade as well.” I give a quick dismissal.
Shade bobs his head in understanding and slinks down in size and climbs up onto my legs and nuzzles my arm before he attaches himself there. He pulls himself into another form that of crossed arrows. And stays on my wrist in plain sight. I run my fingers over the tattoo and try to urge him up my arm into an easier hiding spot. He stays put though.
“Okay, guess you’re going to stay there. Why arrows though? Couldn’t you be any more cryptic. You could have turned into something to answer one of my questions.” I rub at the tattoo getting to my feet and crawl out from under the sinks.
The water is ice cold now that the heat is long gone. I let the water run over the tattoo and my hands, making them go numb.
“Do you feel that?” I coo.
He doesn’t move or give an answer, just sits there as two arrows.
A series of knocks bang at the door. “Are you done in there? Are you all, right?” Quintan bellows beyond the door.
“Quintan, is that you? Yes, I am in here.” I turn off the water and rush to the door, jumping from foot-to-foot waiting.
“Doug said you had some sort of episode,” he says quietly hesitating with the door.
“I bet he did,” I growl. “He left me here saying no one would be able to hear me if I called for help.”
