I had always thought that when I would die, it would be so unexpected, I would probably question my ghost. It might be during an accident like choking on my own food, being electrocuted in my bathtub, falling off a building, hit by a drunk driver or shot by someone. The kind that you would never expect. So there was no time to actually feel the fear squeezing the life out of me.

I had been wrong, so wrong.

I sat rooted at the spot, watching, waiting for what I knew was inevitable yet hoping and praying silently that a savior would come rescue me. Wishing fervently that that the monster would have a change of heart and let me go. But the more time dragged on, the lesser that hope stood. Time and darkness pulling it away and feeling me with the dread of the very certain. There was no hope. I struggled against the rope that bound my hands behind a chair. My hands were numb and each movement was practically leading nowhere but I couldn’t give up like that. So I fought and fought till I had no more strength left.

Hours later, that door finally opened and with it, the stench of death. Slowly, I raised my gaze up and met that familiar mask. With wild crazed smile and wide hollow in place of eyes. He came towards me, his steps slow by all intention and my heart in my throat. My very dry and patched throat.

“Please…” I tried to speak but my words seemed to only be in my head because they were not loud enough.

“Please,” I tried again. My throat hurt, everywhere hurt, and for the life of me, I couldn’t speak loud.

“Are you saying something.” He hopped on one foot excitedly and came closer too quickly. My heart stopped. The smell of ash filled my nostrils. The very smell I had thought was nothing whenever I perceived it in my room. I never truly thought that someone had been in my room ever. Not till he stepped out of the shadow. And I found the monster who had been watching me. Tears blurred my vision as the fear of my own death tasted bitter in my tongue.

“I beg you, let me go.”

“Please.” I managed to say.

“Shhhh.” He placed his fingers on my lips. Then went ahead to caress my cheek with his rough palm.

“I won’t hurt you. I promise you that. I will never hurt you. Don’t cry okay.”

“We’ll be fine. I want to take us to a nice place. Away from all this people. Away from Aaron and Charolette and Mr. Bryan.” I shook my head, but his fingers came on my lips again, stopping my next plea and leaving the whimpers of my pain at its wake.

“You don’t need them, they don’t need you. I want them to stay away from you.”

“I know you want that too. You’ve always pleaded with me to take you away.”

“I will do just that. So don’t cry.” He wiped my cheeks with his thumb. But no, I couldn’t stop crying, I couldn’t stop the way my body trembled with his touch, his closeness, his smell. I couldn’t stop the fear that enveloped me, screaming in my head, in my heart, tearing me apart from the inside.

“Stop crying….” He said again, his touch slightly less gentle than before when he wiped my tears. But I couldn’t. His mask was stopping me from seeing his eyes but the hollow that stared back at me left me shivering. He wasn’t a human. This wasn’t a human.

“I said you should stop crying.” He wiped my tears again, more forceful that before, it hurt when his hands grazed my cheek.

“Why are you crying?” He screamed, getting up from where he sat as something slammed against the wall.

“Can’t you see that I am saving you?” He came to my face, his tone hard and harsh and crazed.

“Don’t you want me to save you?” He held the both side of my face, pulling me in while digging his fingers into my cheek.

“You want to go to them?” He tilted his head to the side.

“To leave me?” He sighed, holding tighter, pushing deeper till he drew blood. Then he took steps away from me. He sighed and raised his fingers to his face, then slowly lifted his mask enough to have his fingers pass through.

A moan escaped his mouth as he licked the blood out of his fingers. My blood. A shiver ran down my spine, as I watched him tilt his head from side to side in a jolly way.

“This is the sweetest thing I have ever tasted.” He jumped and was back in my face within seconds. I tilted back, pressing myself against the chair.

“So you win.” He leaned in, leaving no space till his mask pressed against my face and I stared into the hollow circle in place of eyes.

“I will let you get back to them.” I froze.

“I will.” He moved away, laughing as he ropes that bound my hands fell off while a sharp pain sliced my hands. I knew he had cut me. And blood followed. He took hold of my bleeding hand and lapped his tongue around it like an animal. Then he let go. But before he did that, I felt hairs graze my skin. He went ahead to cut the ropes that bound my legs. And when he was done, he giggled.

“You can go…” I stared at him, confused, shocked, scared.

“You said you wanted to be with them,”

“You can go.” He took a step back, giving me space. Yet,I didn’t quite trust him.

“Go…I allow you.” He took another step back and placed his hands behind his back.

Slowly, I got up. My legs gave way and I fell.

“Easy love.” He said.

“I am the only one permitted to hurt you.” He giggled again. I stilled, not sure it was wise to turn my back to him.

“You better run.” His voice turned cold, when I didn’t move immediately, leaving the dark claws of fear to grip my heart.

“Your time is up.” I watched him carefully and got up on my feet. The moment I did, I went straight for the door, ignoring the protest in my body, the warnings in my mind, the fear in my gut. I ran.

“You never asked where they were.” His voice came wickedly from behind me the moment I got to the door and I realized that he would never let me go, not when the door was locked, except it was to the jaws of death.

“No…” I screamed.

“They are waiting.” He grabbed me as something pierced my side.

“We will be together. All of us.”