Brielle

Chapter Three

    Chapter Three

    Sand underneath her feet, the amazing smell of barbeque on the grill…Brielle sat underneath a large weeping willow, playing with the doll in her hand. Her grandmother made it for her—so her mother said—and she never let it out of her sight. It looked so much just like her it was uncanny.

    Hair black as a starless night, eyes the color of jasper. Such a light grey with just the lightest tinge of green. It’s lips were pouty and plump. It’s chin sharp, and jaw soft. Nose on the longer side, and face round and plump. It’s brows were on the thinner side, and the eye lashes long and black.

    She brushed the dolls hair out, keeping her back against the rough bark of the tree. The grass underneath her cool, and the sun warm. She took a deep breath in, smelling something else.

    The soft smell of fresh cranberries.

    Brielle turned around, and watched a boy climb the weeping cherry blossom. Her eyes went wide in surprise as her jaw dropped open. She’d never seen someone climb so fast! He was a natural at it.

    He was a year or two older then her, and he was already growing into his early teen body. Long, and awkward legs, he already had small peach fuzz growing on his upper lip. His eyes were metallic blue, his skin the color of almond, and his hair was naturally curly. Right now, it was darker, covered in sweat.

    It was early summer, and he didn’t have a shirt on, and only his shorts. Brielle watched him flop down on the branch above her. He gave her a big, bright smile and waved down at her. “Hey! How are you?! I just moved in next door. What’s your name?!”

    She slow blinked for a second, “Brielle.”

    He tilted his head, “Is that short for something? I’ve never heard a name like that before.”

    “No. It’s just…Brielle Alice Erikson. And who are you?” She kept her look-alike doll in her lap, brushing her hair.

    He swung his feet, watching her for a minute. “My name is Ezekiel…Ezekiel Atticus Dankworth, nice to meet you. We moved from Nebraska. Mom cheated on my dad and got custody over me.” He plucked at something on the branch, “They decided it was best if they just split ways. So, I’m living with my dad.”

    When he smiled at her, her heart skipped a beat. He had all his teeth, and they were white as porcelain. He hopped down from the branch, landing with a solid thud. She pulled her doll close to her, unsure if she should—

    “Wow, it looks just like you.” He plucked it from her hands.

    “Hey!” Brielle got up and tried reaching for it, Ezekiel was taller than her by a solid few inches. And he turned it over. “Be careful with her!”

    He pulled the top of the dress down, “Your names not Isa, is it the dolls name?” He handed the doll back to her.

    She took it from him—rougher then she should—and hugged her tight. “No…I named her Evanna. I don’t know a Isa.” She brushed the dolls hair, “And who are you to take—”

    “Ezekiel! Come help me unpack!” A voice shouted from the back door of the house right next to hers.

    He gave her a warm smile, ruffling her hair. “I’ll catch you around Bri.”

    Her heart stuttered at the nickname as she watched the man-boy take off at a sprint.

    Bri…he called me—

                                                                                    ***

    She woke with a start; it took her a minute to realize her eyes were even open. All around her was pitch black. She tried sitting up, and she couldn’t. Whatever she was laying on was rough and dug into her back. She was chilled to the bone and stiff.

    Where…where am I? She stared straight up, her eyes slowly becoming accustomed to the dark. She longed to have that sweet, summer day come back to her. She hadn’t thought of the strange doll her grandmother gave her since she was ten, and that summer of meeting Eze…everything changed.

    They quickly became friends and hung out every day that summer and all day on the weekends. She even went over there to help him unpack—Now’s not the time to think about that…she wanted to stay calm and try to think her way out of this. But the panic had become settled deep in her stomach. What am I going to do?!

    “Ezekiel?” She whispered to the darkness around her, and she was welcomed with the ear ringing silence. Brielle tried to keep her breathing calm. “Ezekiel?! Where are you?!” she was on the verge of screaming. Brielle tried to move her arms again, as she did her skin touched something that seemed so cold it was hot. That brought a scream of terror out of her.

    Even as she tried moving her legs, the biting cold went through her flesh. It reminded her of when she used to take the public transit with her mother, she would touch the bus stop pole, and the metal would be so cold it caused pain to shoot through her hands.

    Finally, the terror took hold of her. Brielle screamed as loud as she could. Trying to kick at the air and break free of her bindings. Each time she moved, the metal would dig deeper into her skin, moving her hoodie sleeves up and lay across her wrists.

    “Help me!” She would bellow.

    Nothing.

    Only the echo of her very voice came back. A deep sob came from her chest, she was alone, terrified, and stuck in the dark. Her bladder was full, and she didn’t know what to do. She was stuck, wanted her mom and Ezekiel. She wanted to go home. She didn’t care how bad things were getting with her mother, at least it was warm.

    As she laid on the hard surface, she started to really sob. The heat from her tears warmed her face for only a second, before turning cold. The longer the metal stayed on her skin, the harder it was for her not to cry. It was too painful—

    Something moved, something outside of where she was. It sounded like shuffling. Someone not picking their feet up as they walked, her heart skipped and Brielle started to scream again, so loud and hard that her voice began to crack.

    The shuffling didn’t stop, instead it was coming closer. “Thank god!” She breathed, and started to holler, “Hey! Hey I’m in here! Help me!”

    The footsteps paused somewhere around her, she had become accustomed to the endless darkness that when the sound of a door opened somewhere in the room, she couldn’t pinpoint exactly where it was. Even after her screaming attempts, she tried again. “Please, please help me!” Whoever was in the room with her, was quiet.

    Too quiet.

    That’s when she seized up. She heard something snap, and the buzz of fluorescent lights. Brielle had her eyes open…but she couldn’t see. All that was around her, was the abyssal blackness. She blinked, over and over…that was when she could feel it.

    She was blind folded.

    “Please let me go…” the worlds tumbled out of her lips and fell on deaf ears.

    The person was walking around her, shuffling their feet. “Why?” It whispered, it was the same voice from the shipyard, she couldn’t tell if it was male or female. Just that horrid stench it carried with it. “Why should I let you go free little bird? I’ve been looking all over for you, my little Eryna.”

    It’s scratchy tone made her shudder, “W…what? My name isn’t Eryna. You have the wrong person.”

    The thing laughed, “Ahh, yes you are. Your mother still hasn’t told you has she?” There was silence before it continued, “You…Eryna, were promised to me. Promised to Crom Cruach, to be given without hesitation. But your mother…your mother hesitated.” It’s voice moved around her again.

    “You have no recollection of anything, do you Eryna? Ah, you were so young then, I’m not surprised. After all, it took a lot of tracking to find you. We’ve been watching.” It moved around her again, this time standing above her, or in front. Brielle couldn’t tell.

    Brielle stayed quiet, listening to the ramblings.

    “…You’ve never heard of that have you? Of course, you haven’t. We try to stay away from the spotlight, we fade in and out so we could be forgotten. After all, Crom, doesn’t want the attention. He longs to be fed. Once he has enough, he will grant everyone who gave him a child, a single wish. Do you know what your mothers wish was?” The thing was coming closer to her, it was then she realized she wasn’t laying down at all, but suspended, and her back was against rough stone. A hard hand grasped her jaw, it was tight and painful. “Stupid little w***e. You know nothing about yourself, or your mother, do you?”

    A hard slap went across her face, it stung and left the taste of blood in her mouth. Brielle could feel the tears welling up in her eyes again. Another hard slap this time on the other side of her face. Of course, she never heard of these people. It wasn’t interesting to her. Brielle asked about her father once, and only once. Her mother told her he died over seas. Simple. Right?

    Her stomach knotted; she didn’t want to believe a single word this thing was saying. Deep inside however, she could sense an inkling of truth. “What do you mean? I know nothing about myself, or my mother?” She couldn’t help the nastiness in her voice. Still, she showed no fear.

    The thing laughed, it’s voice sounding like nothing she’s ever heard before. “Oh, my sweet, sweet little Eryna…you were promised to me by your mother. She wanted her daughter, and husband back so bad, she decided to destroy the very trust she built in her work. Matilda was one hell of a pediatric nurse.” It came around, running it’s long nails over her skin. “She saw you, and knew you were the one I wanted. In the dead of night by the end of her shift, she gave the signal and snatched you up. All she had to do, was rip up your birth certificate, your social security number…and you became a nobody.” His hot breath spread over her face, making her gag.

    No, this can’t be right. None of this is right…my mom…my mom would never…It’s hand wrapped around her mouth, squeezing her jaw hard.

    “You don’t believe me. I can see it all over your face. Crom teaches us not to lie. Not to those destined to die, for they deserve the right to know.” It leaned in closer, she could smell the stench coming off It in thick waves. “You have been lied to, your whole life Eryna.” He let her face go, before giving her another solid smack. She could feel something like a ring, break the side of her lip. Don’t. Show. Fear.

    Warm blood trickled over her bottom lip and down her chin, “Tell me your name.” The Thing whispered, it’s breath smelling of decay. “So, I can give you Croms last rights.”

    “Brielle…” She huffed.

    Another hard slap, this one was much harder than the last. It didn’t sting, it f*****g hurt. Her teeth crushed against her inner cheek. More blood exploded in her mouth and spilled from her lips. “That’s not your real name.” The Thing hissed.

    Brielle’s head lowered, her head started to hurt and ache from the hard slaps. Each time she swallowed blood it made her want to throw up. She kept herself steady. She wasn’t going to give It what it wanted. She wasn’t Eryna. She was Brielle. “Yes. That’s my name. Brielle Alice—”

    A punch to her stomach, it was hard and knocked the very wind out of her. Her bladder gave out, and she felt the warm trickle of her own urine run down her legs. The Thing walked to her left side, Brielle’s head was fuzzy and foggy memories were starting to surface—

    Something clanked.

    The metal around her wrists grew tight, tighter than before. This time they were completely against her wrists and the frozen metal dug into her flesh. Brielle did scream. It was sharp stabbing pains shooting up through her wrists and ankles. “Stop!”

    The Thing moved, stood in front of her. “Why should I? After all, Crom loves his meat tender.”

    Brielle whimpered, “I told you! You crazy son of a b***h! You have the wrong person!” She bellowed as loud as she could, praying someone would hear, praying that anyone—

    “Wrong again…” This time, something hard came through the air, striking her in her stomach. It wasn’t the Thing’s fist; it was long and metallic.

    Brielle coughed hard, gagged, and spewed that days lunch all over herself. She kept heaving till she couldn’t breathe. Each time she would catch her breath, it would escape again.

    Her head throbbed; it was difficult for her to catch her breath. It grew so quiet she almost wanted to believe she was alone. “If you’re not going to tell me…I’ll make you tell me.”

    She could feel something be turned over, running water coming through old pipes…I’m somewhere old. The pipes rattled as the water ran through them. She heard water fall into a…bucket? She tried listening harder for anything, something that could help her—the water stopped running.

    Her back stiffened, she could hear the shuffling steps come close to her. What happened next took her by surprise. The already cold water splashed over her body. The frigid water took her breath away. It was hard enough for her to get her bearings straight, but now she was going to freeze to death—

    “What’s your name?” The thing hissed.

    Brielle shivering from the freezing water, took a mouthful of her blood and spit and shot it at the Thing. “f**k you!” She screamed.

    The silence was deafening, she could hear her heart thump in her ears. Her breathing came in sharp intakes. Her clothes quickly became cold. Colder than before. Her teeth chattered.

    Something flicked on, a burst of static came through before calm, instrumental music began to play. The sound of something being sharpened came from her left. A cold wind blew in from behind her, and she shivered.

    “You’ve managed to escape the followers of Crom once, you will not be allowed to escape again. You were promised to our lord, and I intend on sending you to him.” The voice was in front of her, something freezing touched her right hip. She tried to move away from it, and the Thing started to laugh. “You’re not going to be able to leave. No one will find you. No matter how loud you scream.” The cold bite came quick, cutting through her skirt and tights followed by the surfacing warmth of blood.

    The first one didn’t hurt.

    The one that came next did.

    With each cut, there was a deep burning sensation as the Thing worked down her leg. It was a quick swipe of the wrist, but the flesh that got cut kept resonating with a burning pain.

    Brielle held back her scream. She wouldn’t let it win. She wouldn’t—

    The knife got her behind her knee, she lifted her body up and tried to position herself away from the Thing. All she heard was the dark laughter that came from its throat. A deep, rattling laugh.

    It surprised her when it stopped cutting her halfway down to her calf, and moved to her left side, cutting into her left breast through her thin hoodie. No matter how hard she tried to pull away, it never worked. She was in so much agony, the only thing she could do, was close her eyes and let the monster hurt her.

    Is It wrong? Really wrong? How many times have you tried to get a job, and they could never find you? Or they get a hit with a missing girl’s social security number? The secrets mother has been hiding, the pain in her eyes whenever she looks at me. The screaming, the nightmares…the pain. Is this Thing, really wrong? Another deep searing pain shooting up from her side.

    She could hear it move to in front of her, the knife cutting away at her clothes. Revealing her stomach. Are you really Brielle Alice Erikson? Who are you?

    The knife was working its way over her stomach, her body tingling from the pain. She allowed the edges of blackness to wrap around her and bring her under.

                                                                                        ***

    “Hey Bri! My dad said you can come over for dinner. We’re having steak!” Ezekiel sat next to her at the shoreline. Brielle still held the doll in her hands, as she averted her attention to him, he’d grown in the last year or so, he just turned fourteen and was starting to lose that boyish look about him. He was coming into his manly looks.

    Ezekiel didn’t look at anyone else but her, and she didn’t understand why. She wasn’t much to look at and her mother was crazy. At least that’s what her classmates kept saying. She gave Ezekiel a warm smile, her cheeks turning a slight pink. “I’ve never had steak before.” She played with the dolls hair.

    He seemed surprised but kept his comment to himself. Instead he just wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. She could smell his shampoo and bodywash. He smelled musky. Brielle didn’t want to pull away from him. “Steak is a red meat. It comes from a cow. And just like everything it should be eaten in moderation.” He chuckled, “At least that’s what my dad says, and he knows his stuff.”

    She could feel her face start to burn; she’s had a crush on him since the very first time she saw him. It wasn’t just how he looked—even though he was ridiculously cute—it was something else. His personality shone, and he had gone through a rough time just like she did. Brielle felt like she could tell him anything and knew it would be safe with him. He never looked at her different, even with her mother—the way she was—

    She couldn’t stop the question from coming out of her lips, “Why do you hang out with me? I know people tease you about it.”

    “I like you.” He rubbed her shoulder, as he watched the river flow by them.

    Brielle was surprised, “You like me?”

    “Duh, Bri. Of course, I do. You don’t make fun of me because of what happened. You tolerate me being around.” Something in his eyes changed, “You…you’re pretty.” She watched his cheeks darken.

    She nudged him lightly, “You’re just saying that.”

    He was quick to shake his head, “No. Seriously. You’re very pretty. And you’re strong. I’ve seen what you have to deal with…and I know it’s hard. I talked to my dad about it, and he wanted me to tell you that you’re welcome over whenever you need to…to get away.” He pulled his arm away to face her, there it was again. That emotion in his eyes, “Listen to me. My house is a safe haven for you. If you ever need to just leave. Please, come over.”

    Brielle could feel her heart skip, this was almost too much for her to believe. She daydreamed that this would happen, that he would—

    “Bri? May I…may I kiss you?”

    Her eyes grew wide, her heart skipped a beat and she stared into his ice blue eyes. “Y…You’re not joking right? No one put you up to this? Arianna didn’t—”

    “No. No one put me up to this. I like you, like…I like, like you. And I…” He was stumbling over his words. “I think you’re pretty, you’re strong…and I hate seeing you sad.”

    She relaxed, “I like, like you too.” She glanced away from him for a second, “Yes.”

    “Are you sure?” He touched her chin.

    Confused, “Why are you touching me like that?”

    He gave her a light smile, “I saw it in a movie, it was a guy about to give a girl a kiss and he did it like this.” His thumb rubbed over her bottom lip, his eyes were warm and reflected off the river beside them. Leaning in, he cupped her face in his hands and his warm lips touched hers. A warmth spread throughout Brielle’s body. Her fingertips tingled, and her toes were threatening to curl in her shoes. She didn’t understand what she was doing, but she pressed her lips against his and kissed him back.

    The warm summer sun kissed their skins as they sat underneath the cherry blossom tree.

    “Ezekiel! Brielle! Come in for dinner!” His father shouted from the house.

    Ezekiel pulled away and looked down into her eyes. There was happiness in his eyes she’d never seen before. “Come on Bri, let’s go get dinner.” He took her hand and helped her stand; all she saw around him were stars.