Devil's Elbow

Act III: Chapter 15

Shani screamed for Vincent as his friend was literally snatched away from him and clenched the soil beneath him before finding the strength to run away. No sooner did he start, did his legs give out again and again, with Shani’s eyes forming tears from the loss and frustration of his falls.

“Damn it, Vince..! God damn it!” He said as it all began to sink in. First Cole, then Seth… Kodi… and now Vincent.

How much more do I have to lose..?

“Everything, boy.”

Shani froze in place as he heard a voice that made his blood freeze. As he turned he saw the face of a haggard middle-aged man, who stood taller than the young man stood.

“You’re not him.” He said, speaking as he gripped his machete, realizing he still had it.

The figure smirked at him. “Of course I’m not who you see, I’m a God! At least I have finally found someone that strikes some fear into that bravado you had all night.”

Shani fell backwards over a stump as the man began walking towards him, his crooked smile growing.

“All this time I have been trying to get an understanding of you. How can this boy be so willing to take his friends' lives while everyone is saying no? How could a boy who acts so gentle be so quick to act in violence? And even like it? I was curious… until I saw what Vincent witnessed beside you.”

At the mention of his friend's name, Shani found his voice and sat up. “What the hell have you done to Vince?”

“Oh relax, I haven't touched a hand on him,” He said, his smirk stretching into a sinister grin. “Not yet, anyways. I wonder if he will dread it like he did before," He said, making Shani furrow his brows in confusion as to what it meant.

“I swear to God if you-”

“What? You’ll do what, boy?” He asked as he crept toward Shani. “I’m curious, does little Gavriella know what you've been keeping hidden from everyone? That her best friend is really just savage?”

“Shut up…” Shani said as he crumpled into the tree behind him, shaking his head, closing his ears.

“Did you tell her, son…?” He said and got close for Shani to see in the moonlit fog, the side of his head appearing to be bashed violently with blood that had long dried and trickled down his nose and lips. “WHAT YOU DID TO DEAR DADDY?!”

“SHUT UP!!!” Shani screamed as he raised his machete and swung at the figure that was his father, who dissipated in blackened smoke.

“Let’s ask her ourselves.”

Shani froze wide-eyed and ran to try and find the girls before this monster could. He already lost enough… he didn't want to even imagine what would happen to Gavri… or Mica.

To Gavri, the night felt never-ending. No sooner did she feel safe again did she begin to feel dread set in as Shani and Vincent were nowhere to be found. She and Mica had been running until their lungs lost breath and sighed before stopping near the largest tree in the forest.

“We should have left a trail for them to find us with…” Mica said, clutching her ax Shani gave her.

“If they even got out…”

Mica looked at Gavri, who gave her a serious expression and looked down. She couldn't fault Gavri for her thoughts. Hell, she would be lying if she didn't think the same thing.

But she couldn't shake this feeling that both were still somehow alive and breathing inside this nightmare of a forest.

“Shani made a promise to find us, Gav. He will find us.”

Gavri didn't reply as she stared at her blade. She knew in her heart that Shani was still alive, but after seeing what had happened to Cole, she was not even sure if that was a good thing anymore. Even in the old journal, it seemed like a day in this place would break you, and the writer lasted for more than a week…

And we are already down to four… or two at this rate.

“Wait. Do you hear that?”

Gavriella looked up and focused more on what Mica was hearing, squeezing her knife tightly as her heart began to beat rapidly in her chest. But as she focused more on the sound, her mind began to waver.

“Gavri? Mica!”

“SHANI!” Gavri smiled as she saw his shape and ran to him, practically tackling him. Shani gave a sigh as he clutched the back of her head in his hand.

“Vincent..?”

“No… I couldn't save him.” He said and kissed her forehead with two tears down his face. “Bastard took him right out of my hands…”

She felt a sense of sadness for her best friend. Though she and Vincent didn't share as strong a friendship, she knew Vincent meant a great deal to Shani and could only imagine how he felt.

After holding him for what felt like ages, she let him go so that she could let him get to Mica as he looked at her with a smile.

Mica froze as she looked at him shocked, welled up with emotions as she looked at him. “Shani..?”

“Mica… I’m so sorry-”

She didn't let him finish as the bullet in her gun went through his skull.

“WHAT THE f**k MICA?!” Gavri said and couldn’t hide the rage in her eyes as she ran at her best friend and strangled her friend who struggled.

“Gav… wait…”

“For what?! YOU SHOT SHANI THROUGH HIS SKULL!” She shouted as she had her hemmed against the tree.

“Look..!” She said, pointing at Shani… only to find his body pop up and stand as though he were doing the matrix. The horrid cracking of his bones was loud as the joints popped out and back in place before he stood hunched over, his arms dangling as he looked up with an inhuman grin and sickening eyes.

“Well… that was dramatic.”

“Oh my…”

“God ain't here girl.” The Entity said as he looked at his shooter. “What gave me away?”

“You don't have Shani’s tattoo…” She said glaringly. “He does his best to hide it, so of course you will miss it.”

“Ah, I see… If you only knew why he was hiding it,” He smirked, stalking towards them.

“Shani has no reason to lie to us you f*****g monster!” Gavriella growled as she held up her knife at the impersonator, making him laugh as his hand covered his face.

“First of all, what the f**k you expect to do with that little knife?” He smirked, eyes wide as he moved closer. “And second, you focus so much on me,”

“When you should be focusing on me.”

Mica froze as she felt the voice above them, looking up to find the shadowy grin swoop down and snatch her by her hood as she tried to run, forming a scream from the girl as she was lifted immediately off the ground.

“Mica!” Gavriella stood and tried to catch her, only to snatch her by her leg and held her as tightly as she could.

“GAV!” She turned to find the ax wielding Shani running up to help bring Mica back, gripping her hand as she began to slip from Gavri’s grip.

“Shani! Please don't let go!” Mica cried with tears forming.

“Hang on, baby! Don't let go!”

“YOU CAN'T SAVE YOUR LOVER, BOY. JUST LIKE YOU COULDN'T SAVE VINCENT.” The Entity teased mercilessly as it tugged more.

“SHUT UP!”

“Now I’ll take your little girlfriend too.” It said as Mica was being tugged out of Shani’s hands. She looked back at the entity and growled before rearing her free leg back. “f**k YOU!”

As it raised a brow, she kicked as hard as she could in it's eye and broke free as Shani caught her and dragged her until she stood and kissed her hard. “Run!” He whispered as the three broke into a run as the Entity growled loud enough to echo across the forest.

As they distanced themselves, both girls tackled themselves into Shani with tears.

“Damn asshole…” Gavriella managed to finally get out with tears as Shani wrapped the two close.

“Don't leave us again, Shani…” Mica said, surprising Gavriella, as not even a half hour before, the redhead was ready to leave Shani when he told them to run.

“I won’t. Not again.” He promised the two, which Gavriella smiled at until she realized they were still missing a person.

“Vince..?”

As she asked, she felt him tense his body at the name and Mica looked up confused. Both were pained by the visible hurt in their friends' eyes as they realized their answer.

“No…” Gavriella said as a tear went down her face. While she wasn't as close to Vincent as the boys were, she remembered him always being a reliable friend to her and Shani.

“I… I tried to-”

Shani didn't finish as he was bit in his shoulder by yet another of the wolves in the forest and fell immediately.

“NO!”

Gavriella did not have any time to move, because, as she did, Mica shot the wolf in the skull. Its blood became fragments on her face and Shani’s as the beast went limp on top of him. “Get it off!” He grunted from pain and both girls kicked it off.

As they looked at Shani, his shoulder was bleeding from the deep bite though he didn't seem fazed by it. “Shani, we need to get that-”

“No time. We gotta go!” He asked as he stood and grabbed Mica’s hand while the other gripped his ax tightly.

Gavriella ran with Shani as the three friends sprinted, hearing snarls close in from their left and saw something move fast to their left. “SHANI!”

As she screamed his name, Shani spun his ax hard growling as it hit the demonic wolf that sprung at them, cutting halfway through its neck as it fell. “Go!” He grunted as he pulled the ax back out, with Mica holding Gavriella’s hand running ahead until the raven haired girl tripped over a stump and fell inside the root area of a tree.

Stunned and dazed, the girl opened her eyes to follow up with a bloodcurdling scream that made her friends jump.

What was before them was a mummified body of decay and rot that still had its rolled back eyes and no flesh around it's skeleton.

“s**t! s**t! s**t!” She shouted, backing away before a wolf crept from a branch snarling as she glared at it.

“I am sick of you f*****g wolves!” She growled as she lunged with the knife Shani gave and lunged at the snapping demon as she drove the knife forward with both hands. As it fell backwards, she continued to stab it more and more until it finally went limpo beneath her.

“Gav!” Shani and Maya went to her, picking her up before jumping as they saw the rotting body beside them. “s**t!” Shani said as he backed away from the body and slowly moved to the body. As she watched his face, Gavriella could tell that Shani’s reason for moving slowly was because he didn’t want the answer to the question being raised at the corpse.

“It's… not Vincent is it?” Maya asked, covering her face to block the smell.

Shani looked and noted the stripes of blue and white and the baggy blue jeans. “No. Clothes don't match.” He said, his voice a mix of relief and sadness. Gavri and Maya immediately hugged their friend tightly. A gesture he returned since he has seen just about all of his friends… all the people they grew up with, either dead or just gone.

Sometimes I wonder if it's best to not know.

“It's not…”

Gavriella widened her eyes at the presence of the trio turned to the little girl standing looking at the dead body.

“Krista…”

The girl moved past them and looked at the body lying before them with sorrow in her eyes. As she did, Gavriella looked at Shani as they both realized why the girl would possibly have any reason to feel sad.

“It's him isn't it… Liam?” Shani asked her with a frown.

“He tried to escape the Entity… after he killed me. He eluded him for a while and ran as long as he could… But this forest is the monster's domain. Nothing gets out without its permission.

“Does it actually give permission?” Shani asked, raising a brow, not buying it.

“So it says… but my brother died all the same. Just like your friends…” She said with a small dread in her tone but Shani looked at the ground, unable to disagree with the girl.

“First your friend Cole to his anger, then Seth to his own knowledge, Kodi to his addictions, then Vincent to his selflessness-”

Shani and Mica quickly looked up at the spirit confused. “Wait what?”

Krista looked back at them confused. Gavriella also looked at them.

“Guys?” She asked them as Shani gripped the ax.

“What you said about Cole makes sense, the Entity practically made a joke out of Seth. But, how. The. f**k,” He lifted the axe, glaring at Krista. “Did you know Kodi had an addiction?! Seth, Cole and I were the only ones who knew!”

Gavriella widened her eyes and looked at Krista who, after a look of surprised expression, looked down. Far enough to hide her eyes… but not enough to hide the amused smile that stretched beyond her cheeks. “Clever boy.” The girl answered, but the tone was all Entity.

“You were Krista this whole time?!” Gavriella asked, enraged at how much trust she put into the spirit.

“Just for this bit, yeah. The rest was hers up until the cave. The girl loves to escape my domain once in a while. But, like I said, this…” It answered with a nonchalant shrug. “I must say that little spill of detail was bad on my part,” it said, cracking its bones as black smoke poured out her nose, eyes and mouth.

“Where is she?” Gavriella asked, moving closer to the entity until Shani stopped her.

“Where? Where is she, you ask, sweet sweet Gavriella?” The Entity asked, turning its shape from the girl to something more familiar to Gavriella: herself.

“She is here!”

Gavriella stared in horror as the Entities form showed a torn smile, scars like tears of blood down it's face, as if acid went bone deep. It was a face that, somehow, the young woman was familiar with.

“Oh, what’s wrong baby girl? You look as though you have seen a ghost.” The Entity answered.

“Gavri? What is it?” Mica asked, making Gavriella look at her puzzled.

“Yesss Gavriella, what is it you see?” The Entity asked, smiling a sinister grin.

“You guys don't see it?” She asked Shani and Mica, who looked at her and at the Entity.

“Gavri, what are you-?”

“They see me as Krista still, baby girl. Why don’t you tell your big brother who you see?”

Gavriella swallowed hard and clutched her head as she remembered her childhood. “Stop…”

“Poor baby girl. Riddled in scars up here,” The mirror image pointed at her head smiling, before showing her wrists which were streaked velvet black lacerations.

“And those skin deep..!”

“SHUT UP!” She then charged at the demon, grabbing it by the throat.

“Oh baby girl,”

“GAVRI!”

The Entity smiled sinisterly as it grabbed her by her arms as she felt something snatch her by her legs, her friends running to her as she looked back at them.

“You just made your last mistake!”

The Entity wrapped around her from behind as she tried to run to Shani, both locking eyes hard as she saw him try to reach her.

As she attempted to do the same, she soon felt the soil of the dirt fade from her mind as she fell into darkness.

SHANI!!!

With one single word and thought, Gavriella felt the embrace of black.

“GAVRIELLA!” Shani reached for her as all he and Mica could do was begin to dig furiously through the dirt.

“No! NONONO!!!” Shani cried as his hands became cut from the digging, the only sound echoing being the laughter of the Entity.

“And then there were two.”

“What did you do with her, you bastard?!” Mica shouted in tears.

“Same as what I intended to, as I tried to tell you, a pretty little secret.”

“YOU WON’T LAY A FUCKIN’ HAND ON HER-”

“OR WHAT LITTLE HERO? YOU GOING TO STOP ME?”

As it spoke, Mica yanked Shani back as a large black scaled claw came out in smoke and began climbing out revealing multiple faces to the remaining two of the group. Shani was taken aback as he saw the faces of Cole, Kodi and Seth meshed together on the demonic head, each face smiling without emotion at him.

“Run!” He heard Mica shout before coming back into reality, and broke into a run, sprinting with Mica looking until he saw an old rifle next to the tree trunk. Not wanting to have no weapon, he reached for the rifle and took Mica’s hand, breaking into a sprint as he clenched her hand.

“Don't stop, Mica!” He shouted as they ran down the hill that met them, only to trip on a random root that caused him to fall cursing as he rolled down.

“I can't stop rolling!” Mica shouted as the two rolled down the steep slope, hitting the dirt as a shriek of screams and laughter followed them. As he hit a tree, Shani shouted in agony as he caught Mica, popping his arm out of place from the momentum of her fall.

“f**k!” He shouted and saw the Entity smile down at him as the demon started to drool in a prolonged anticipation. Shani cursed knowing he couldn’t use the newly-found rifle and hold his girlfriend all at the same time.

“Mica shoot the fucker!”

“I can't!” He heard her confusing him and forced him to look… the girl’s pistol was down the hill beneath them, causing him to feel dread as he looked at the demon charging at them.

He felt for the first time helpless, as the two faced their potential and slow death, causing Shani to make a decision against their assailant.

“Mica, you trust me?” He asked her as the Entity closed in. Mica looked at him confused at first.

“I do but-”

As Shani looked at her, she could sense the plan and idea he had formed… and immediately did not want it.

“No…”

Shani gave a sad smile and looked in her eyes, and she could see the warmth and hardened affection they had. “I love you.” He said and let her go down the hill tumbling.

“Shani!”

She didn't hear anything other than the first shot from the old rifle he wielded, stopping the Entity for the moment.

“GO!” He shouted and loaded the next shot, blocking the pain he felt in his shoulder.

Despite her stomach disagreeing, she grabbed the pistol on the ground and broke into a run. Her tears streaked her face as the slow repetitive shots went by before silence engulfed her.

On the trunk, Shani cursed as the final shot came and looked in the Entity’s eyes.

“Go ahead, kill me.”

As he saw his friends’ faces gleam gleefully back at him.

“Oh, you thought I wanted to kill you?” It asked him, grinning.

“You killed all my friends, what the hell is stopping you?!”

“One redhead and some secrets. And technically, you did the killing. I just tortured two of them… well I suppose this face,” The faces became meshed until they became just one: Seth’s. “Was the only one I can take all the credit for.” It smiled before laughing slowly as the color left Shani’s face as he saw the bite marks on the copy of Seth’s face.

“You son of a b***h…” Shani cursed as he raised his arm to shoot, only to feel a grip that was tight enough to break it, causing the young man to shout in agony as he was lifted slowly, pain shooting down to his back.

“See, I thought I was rather clear, little man. I don't want to kill you,” The faces leaned in, the stench of blood and death making Shani want to wretch. “I. WANT. TO. FEED!”

Shani gasped as he became enveloped in shadow, his last thoughts on both failing Gavri, and abandoning every last one of his friends.

Mica…

Mica ran as far as she could and sat at the camp before breaking into tears. As hard as she tried to keep calm, she began to feel the weight of the situation. She was alone.

For the first time… she had no one in her corner, no one to build up confidence from. Not Gavri, not even…

Shani

Five years ago…

Outside the school grounds, Shani sighed, sitting, checking his cheek which he had to keep bandaged, cursing as it was still sore from the night before.

“Got in another fight?”

He widened his eyes, turning around to the voice, with Mica hovering on the school stone sign with a charming smile.

“W-what?”

“You always have a new bruise at least once a month when I see you on this street corner. So did you?”

Shani eyed the girl trying to read her, but couldn't help but look down and back up to her face as she raised a brow. “Y-Yeah….” He said, finally finding his voice.

“You’re Gavri’s friend, right?”

“Yup, and you must be the one she says is her best friend, Shani.” She smiled as she sat on the sign.

“And you’re that new girl, Mica Rini?”

Mica raised a brow, since this was their first time meeting in her mind.

“We have Civics Class together. I sit in the right corner.” He shrugged.

“Oh, right! So you were the one Mr. Krueger called yesterday, but wasn't listening.” She smiled.

“Dunno why he has it out for me. I did the damn work…” He said, wincing from pain.

“Maybe he likes you. Most teachers goad students that actually do well.” She smirked as she looked at his bruises reaching before he jumped, catching her hand with a mix of fear and alarm, making her stare wide-eyed. Both locked eyes as he let go and she frowned, concerned.

“Those are some reflexes…”

“Sorry…” He said quietly.

“Family?” She asked, making him freeze before looking at her.

“I know abuse when I see it.” She said.

He looked at her and looked at the ground, his silence being her answer.

“You know… I get you not wanting to bring your friends into this but,” She slipped a note in his hand, making him confused.

“In case you need someone to vent to.” She smiled and walked off.

As the bell rang, Shani looked at what she put inside his hand and saw it was a set of numbers.

Her phone number?

He then looked up at her as she walked and smiled slowly, watching her sway.

Mica looked at the case of beers and took one, quickly opening the bottle and felt the beer numb her adrenaline. And for a moment.... before hearing movement before smashing the glass bottle against the nearby tree ready to fight.

“Alright asshole! Bring your worst!”

“If you insist…”

She froze hearing the voice and saw it was Shani, injured and limping towards her looking exhausted.

“Shani?” She said, dropping her arm holding the bottle, only to lift it up as he limped over to her.

“Prove you aren’t the Entity or possessed.” She said glaringly.

Shani stared at her with his cuts on his cheek, lips and forehead and smiled sadly, as though he was glad she asked. “My sophomore year… our first time actually talking was in front of the school sign,”

She paused, lowering her guarded expression.

“Child’s play.” She said, not buying all of it.

He stared into her eyes. “You gave me a note, saying you would help me if I needed it,” He then began to move toward her and she backed up with the broken bottle held up.

“Don't-”

“206-289-4151.”

She stopped and stared hard but speechless as the two locked eyes. “What did you say?”

“206-289-4151. It's your old number you gave for me to call before-”

“It got changed…” She said and her wrist went down, that detail only known to him and her as she ran and hugged him tightly.

“You had me scared to death…” She said with a whimper.

“Sorry.” He said as he gripped her back, the tightness of his fingers making her furrow her brows.

“But not nearly as scared as you will be… liar.”

She widened her eyes, seeing the stretched grin on his face before looking up as she saw a shadow that snatched her off the ground with a scream as everything faded back to black.