Soul Crafter

Chapter Eight: Something

No matter where Michelle turned, or which road she took— they were always empty. There were no other cars in sight. No traffic whatsoever. Not only was there no traffic, but there was no sound, either. The trio rolled down their windows and heard nothing but the wind. They heard no sound of people, of other cars— not even the sound of birds or other animals. They all remained quiet for the most part, their eyes wide open as they desperately searched for signs of life.

     “What the f**k is going on here?” Chris exclaimed, terror evident in his tone.

     “I think we were sent somewhere else,” Michelle commented.

     “You mean like another dimension?” Bianca said, trying to hide her sob. “Unbelievable. We’re trapped in another dimension, or reality, or whatever, and we’re stuck here and we’re going to die,” Bianca panicked.

     Michelle, on the other hand, while she was indeed somewhat afraid, also felt a sense of serenity come over her. For the first time since her parents died, she was distracted enough to forget about them, and not be reminded of their faces as she watched them die before her.

     “If we die here, it’ll probably just be of old age,” Michelle said, turning into the local supermarket’s lot.  

     Chris and Bianca both exchanged looks.

     “What are we doing here?” Chris asked.

     “We’re going to use the phone inside, and I’m going to get some supplies and food,” Michelle said.

     “What for?” Bianca asked, tucking her dark brown hair behind her ear.

     “Because if we’re going to be stuck here for a while, then we’d better stock up on what we need,” Michelle explained, parking in front of the supermarket’s entrance.

     “You think we’re going to be stuck here a long time?” Chris asked, a haunted sound in his voice.

     “I don’t know, but I guess we should prepare for the worst-case scenario,” Michelle said in a detached tone.

     Her own words triggered a memory, and with that Michelle momentarily stared off into the distance as she fought the pangs that memory brought.

     “Worst-case scenario, you can always change your mind, and let us know which one you’d prefer,” the funeral director had said. Michelle was at the funeral home. Her eyes became glassy as he spoke, so she looked down to hide the tears that were about to well up.

     “No, no, I think cherry wood is fine,” Michelle said to the man, her voice cracking. She remembered she hated thinking about coffins, or the fact that she needed two in the first place.

     But now, in the present moment, as she entered the grocery store with Bianca and Chris, she was not as worried as she used to be. She was not as scared. She knew she put on a brave face in the real world, and she knew it was very convincing— but she was still terrified that what happened to her would repeat itself. Maybe not in the exact way it had happened before, but she feared that she, or someone she loved, would, or could be brutally murdered at any moment if they just turned down the wrong street.

     But now, in this new place, where there was nothing to worry about, Michelle felt hopeful.

     Just like outside, there was not a single soul to be seen in the supermarket. The only sounds were that of machinery.

     Bianca swallowed nervously. “This is so terrifying.”

     “It’s freaky is what it is,” Chris said as they walked by the cashier stations.

     “Bianca, you go look for a phone— I’m guessing in one of the back offices? I’m going to shop,” Michelle said.

     “I’ll go with you,” Chris said to Michelle.

     “No, no, you should go be with Bianca; you need to find your mom,” Michelle said, though she felt she knew they were never going to see their mother again.

     Although he would have preferred to go along with Michelle, Chris begrudgingly agreed to follow his sister, while Michelle grabbed a handbasket and walked along the aisles, picking up things she needed and placing them inside.

     She found herself in the bakery area and stared through the glass-covered shelves at all of the different pastries. Since no one was around to stop her, Michelle snuck through the barrier by hopping over a desk, then reached inside and grabbed a chocolate-covered doughnut. She took a large bite and closed her eyes as she chewed. It was sweet, with thick, creamy chocolate filling that exploded in her mouth with each bite.

     Right next to the doughnuts were various macarons. She tried them, one after the other. First the vanilla, then the strawberry, and then an extra delicious cookie butter flavored one which she enjoyed quite a lot. She was about to bite into a miniature apple tart when she heard a loud, metallic crash from a couple of aisles behind her. She stopped mid chew and listened. Then she quickly turned around.

     She saw no one there. “Bianca? Chris?”

     No one answered.

     Michelle slowly walked toward the aisle she’d heard the loud crash come from. She tentatively looked around, and saw several large, wooden spoons on a rack. She picked one up and held it like a baseball bat as she approached the aisle. In her mind, she pictured someone stalking her, possibly with a weapon. She tightly gripped the wooden spoon in her hands and tried not to tremble in fear. She waited, and then quickly jumped out with a loud “AHA!”

     There was no one there.

     Just a huge can of paint that had fallen on the floor. It had broken open and was still gushing blue paint.

     “How the hell did that get there?” Michelle muttered aloud to herself.

     “AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

     Michelle heard Bianca’s scream. It was so loud and disturbing that every single hair on the back of her neck stood up.

     “Bi?” Michelle called aloud. She swiftly turned and ran toward where she heard the scream.

      She heard footsteps next to her. She looked beside her and saw it was Chris, also running toward the sound of Bianca’s scream.

     “You weren’t with her?” Michelle asked incredulously.

     “No, we separated after we tried calling our mom.”

     They came upon Bianca, sitting on the floor, holding her knees and rocking back and forth, staring down the aisle in their direction.

     “Bianca?” Michelle said.

     “What’s wrong?” Chris walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. She winced.

     “I saw something,” Bianca uttered through trembling lips.

     “What did you see?” Michelle asked, approaching Bianca and crouching down in front of her.

     Chris knelt down beside her and tried to grab her hand to hold it.

     “It touched me. All along my arm,” Bianca said, tracing her hand up her arm.

     “What touched you?” Michelle asked, confused, her heart pounding. Something was very wrong and it put her ill at ease.

     Suddenly, Bianca’s eyes went wide with terror. She looked past where Michelle knelt and whispered, “That.”

     “What the hell is that?!” Chris exclaimed before Michelle had time to turn around. She had just barely registered the shock on his face when she herself turned in what felt like slow motion. Then, she was staring directly into the eyes of what had touched Bianca.

     It was fleshy colored and on all fours. Its body and face were both humanoid looking. Its skin drooped and curled at the joints, as if it had an excess of skin in those specific spots.

     It had horrifyingly long yellow nails that made it look like it would be uncomfortable for it to even walk or crawl. Michelle’s whole body began to quiver as soon as she looked into its eyes. They were pure red. They weren’t glowing, just shiny red, as if coated with a thick layer of blood.

     From behind Michelle, Bianca let out another scream, and Michelle sensed movement behind her. She didn’t want to let the hairless, humanoid-looking creature out of her sight. She was captivated and terrified by its blood-red eyes. Her lips parted and she wanted to say something, to scream even, but nothing came out. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

     “Michelle! We need to get out of here!” Michelle heard someone say behind her. She didn’t know who it was. It sounded like a male’s voice.

     “MICHELLE!” the male voice shouted. “GET UP!”

     “Get up?” Michelle echoed, too terrified to really register anything else. She then realized that her whole was quivering.

     She felt someone grab her shoulder and roughly pull her to her feet. Michelle finally broke her gaze away from the flesh-colored creature and found that Chris had his arm around her and was supporting her. He began picking up various items from the shelves and throwing them at the creature. It dodged each projectile— its movement were fluid and almost elastic at times. It slowly backed up, arching its back and barring its mouth full of sharp, short teeth. It turned and ran away down the hall, out of sight.

     Michelle let out a loud gasp.

     “We need to get out of here!” Chris said, turning around. Bianca had been backing up, away from both Michelle and Chris.

     “Come on, let’s get to the car!” Chris said. Michelle didn’t have time to really change gears in her mind or think about what was going on. She felt like she had left her body— she didn’t feel like she was “real” anymore as she ran with Chris supporting her. Bianca was right next to them as they reached the exit. They looked around and then spotted not one but two of the same humanoid creatures. This time, they were crawling on the wall in the distance, staring straight at them.

     “Holy s**t!” Chris breathed.

     “Let’s get out of here!” Bianca screamed, and they catapulted out of the automatic doors, nearly breaking them as they ran to Michelle’s car.

     Chris opened the passenger door, clumsily pushed Michelle in, and closed the door as fast as possible while Bianca got in the front.

     Chris got in the drivers’ seat and fervently asked Michelle for the key. She, in a daze, handed him the key, and then in slow motion, buckled her seat belt.

     As fast as he could, Chris drove out of the parking lot and sped down the road. Once he felt they were far enough away for him to calm down, he exhaled and then spoke. “What in god’s name were those things?”

     “I don’t know, but whatever the hell they were, I never want to see them again!” Bianca said, shuddering.

     Michelle remained silent.

     “Where should we go?” Bianca asked.

     “Let’s go home,” Chris said.

     “No, no we can’t go home. There could be more of those things there!” Bianca exclaimed.

     “What do you mean?” Chris asked, stepping on the gas.

     “I mean that Michelle and I both heard sounds in our house, and for all we know it’s one of those monsters!” Bianca explained, barely masking the hysteria in her voice.

     Chris glanced at Michelle through the rearview mirror. She was exceptionally pale. “Michelle, are you okay?”

     Michelle just looked at him, wide eyed, and nodded.

     “Mich, what’s wrong?” Bianca said, turning around. “You’re in shock,” she said, reaching back and putting her hand on Michelle’s, which was resting on her lap.

     Suddenly, the car came to a violent stop, jerking them all forward in their seatbelts. Chris felt something hit the back of his chair.

     “What are you stopping for?” Bianca exclaimed, and then she saw it.

     Several meters away was a man in a suit standing in the middle of the road. His skin was dark, almost russet, his hair short, black and neatly combed.

     “We’re not alone!” Chris exclaimed, excitedly.

     Michelle looked through the window at the tall, dark man approaching them. She did not feel relief, but terror. One of the men who had killed her parents had been wearing a black suit, just like his. And there she was, yet again, with two people she loved, potentially in danger. 

     “Maybe he’s here to rescue us?” Bianca suggested, acting as if she’d never seen him before. He approached the drivers’ side window and Chris rolled it down.

     “Hello, my name is Melek Amos,” he said in a British accent.

     Michelle had heard that name before. She tried to remember where. It was Victor! Melek was the one who had hurt Victor, who was hunting him.

     If this man was strong enough to hurt someone like Victor, what chance did she and her friends have?

     “What are you doing here?” Michelle asked, quivering.

    “You know him?” Chris said, perplexed.

     “He’s not a nice man,” Michelle said.

      “Oh, it seems someone told you the truth about me,” Melek said, eyeing Michelle in the back with wild, piercing brown eyes. “I am not nice.” He snapped his fingers. As soon as he did, all three of them passed out.

     As he opened the car door where Michelle’s unconscious body now lay, the sky began to dim until it appeared as if it were dusk.

     Melek looked behind him and smirked. “Right on time,” he grabbed Michelle and set her limp body down in the middle of the road. He gazed down at her in admiration. “How lucky he is to have you,” he said, caressing her from her temple down to her chin. He touched her soft, fair, blonde hair.

     Lightning crashed in the distance, followed by the rumble of thunder.

     “That’s my cue,” Melek whispered, leaning down— his face was just inches from hers, and his lips barely grazing hers. He noticed her pale eyelids, tinted in blue from her veins.

     “GET AWAY FROM HER!” Victor shouted, crashing into Melek’s body and throwing him into the air. Melek flipped in the air and landed on his feet on top of the hood of Michelle’s parked car.

     Victor stood firmly planted in front of Michelle’s unconscious body. His teeth were bared, his eyes nearly fully black with very small red irises. “What have you done?” he snarled.

     “That’s for me to know, and you to find out,” Melek replied. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have things to attend to.” He turned on his heel and swiftly pulled out a dagger from inside his jacket. He violently slashed the air before him and created a luminous scar in midair. The scar suddenly erupted into a portal which looked like a shimmery mirage. He was just about to jump through when, from behind, Victor created a large, black sword from the palm of his hand. He quickly slashed it in Melek’s direction, and at least twenty, gleaming black swords went flying toward Melek.

     He was almost through portal when one of the swords followed him from behind. Victor watched with a slight, victorious smirk as it went all the way through his back before he completely vanished inside the portal, which also disappeared as soon as he was out of sight.

     The rest of the swords that were hurled at him had pierced through trees and buildings in the distance and were slowly beginning to dissipate like black smoke.

      “God damn you, Melek,” Victor spat. His own sword in his hand dissipated. He turned around and knelt beside Michelle. He examined her to be sure she was not injured, and then picked her up in his arms. He was just about to walk away when he noticed that her car had both of her friends inside, unconscious as well.

    “Three humans, and one vampire,” he said out loud.

     Victor stood there as the scene around him began to change and fade like vapor. The surrounding houses wiggled, zigzagged, and shimmered. The light returned and the shimmering stopped. Victor was standing exactly where he had been; only now, noises could be heard, and a couple of cars passed him by.

     Unlike inside the realm they had all just been inside, which was bright, sunny, and warm, it was night, and the air was colder, crisper.

     “I guess I can’t leave you there,” Victor said, still holding an unconscious Michelle. He looked down at the road where Bianca and Chris now lay, since the car they were in could not come with them.

     “Back to your home you go,” Victor said, looking in their direction. They vanished from the road in the blink of an eye.

     In another blink of an eye, Victor was in Michelle’s bedroom, laying her down on her soft bed.

     “Michelle, can you hear me?” he said, the redness and darkness in his eyes now gone.

     Victor put his hand over Michelle’s forehead and waited. His hand began to glow for a few seconds, and then he removed it from her forehead and waited, watching her expectantly.

     “Wake up, my love,” he whispered.

     Michelle gently stirred, moving her head to the side. She tiredly opened her eyes halfway. She slowly looked above her where she saw Victor’s face. Startled, she quickly sat up, closing most of the distance between them and putting her lips dangerously close to his. Victor could feel the heat emanating from her skin, her breath— from her whole body.

     He clenched his fists as he slowly backed away from her, and then delicately placed one finger under her chin and smiled wistfully.