Page 94 of Ethereally Tainted

Chapter 35

Naya

present day

Blood rushes in myears, and it’s the only thing I can hear apart from that squeaking sound coming from somewhere nearby. With so many noises in the air, the eerily thudding sound is most disconcerting. This noise has been echoing through the air for hours, days, and I have no idea what it is. The chaotic state of my mind and the pain I feel create an atmosphere of eeriness and heart-wrenching emotion.

I feel the warmth of a person’s breath on my neck, and my hair stands on end as they draw close. Though they don’t say a word, I feel the weight of their presence. Watching, listening, breathing. Anything to make my nerves go into overdrive, to make me even more scared than I already am.

I’m no longer aware of how long I’ve been here, and the clock’s ticking has become a distant memory. Why is it that time passes, can live freely, but I can’t? It’s like I’m stuck in a loop of feeling jealous and then realizing how pathetic I am for feeling this way.

Maybe it’s fate punishing me for my actions, hell knows I deserve it. I deserve every single bad thing that has ever happened to me, but that doesn’t mean it hurts any less.

The unsettling thud of something getting closer makes me clench my teeth in fear, the feeling of dread running through my body as I anticipate the worst. I don’t know what is going to take place, but something is likely to happen.

As I feel something move beside me, my body instinctively flinches in response, even though I cannot see anything. I am currently wearing a blindfold, yet I am unable to recall when I was blindfolded. I cannot remember anything about the last few days, only Emilio Ricci’s last words.

“Welcome to the dollhouse.”

After that, I remember him and that bald guard putting a needle into Grey’s and my neck as they sedated us. Then nothing. I’m struggling to recall any memories, though I feel like I’ve drifted in and out of consciousness.

A chill runs down my spine, an urge to vanish from this location consumes me. I am so burdened by these chains around my feet that I am unable to take more than a few steps. My hands are stuck in chains, too. I feel the heavy chains of mortality, like a ghost trapped in chains on this plane of existence.

As I sense the cold air against my ear, my body shivers, and the faint scent of exhaled breath fills the air. Something rotten is what it is, something that makes me gag.

The thudding sound continues, and the door opens with a loud squeak. There is a loud thud as someone falls to the ground, followed by a series of profanities hurled at them.

My heart leaps into my throat.

The fear brings back vivid memories of my horrible past, of being entrapped in a wardrobe with no escape or way out, and the only option was to sit and wait until whatever lurked outside came. Echoes of footsteps bouncing off the walls encase me, and the sound of breathing near me suddenly disappears. I’m uncertain whether the sensation of something breathing down the back of my neck was real or a figment of my overly active imagination and paranoia. All I know is that I want to leave.

It feels as if someone is sitting down in front of me and then I feel a touch on my shoulder, causing me to be filled with fear and jolt backward. Despite my efforts to stay strong and not demonstrate vulnerability, I am whimpering.

I’m trapped, and there is nowhere to go.

My mind is a jumbled mess of chaotic thoughts that create a horrible cacophony in my mind. I think about everything that has transpired during the past few months, how I ended up in a psych ward after being sold by the master whom I thought was alive all these months, fearing he would come for me. I wonder if my life was always supposed to end like this, if it was always meant to be chaotic and full of pain and ache. Each part of me hurts, both physically and mentally, yet what hurts the most is the psychological pain I experience in my mind. That of fear and abandonment.

As I feel the fabric of my blindfold being removed, I recall the tender way Grey removed it from me while we were in the vehicle, and I almost expect to see him there when I open my eyes. Despite the flame of hope that briefly ignited in my heart, I feel foolish for thinking we would be placed in the same room again. Of course, they wouldn’t. Grey said they had found out about the two of us. The realization of that fact has my eyes widening.

Oh god, I won’t see him again, will I?

It’s not my beloved in front of me. It’s someone else. The moment I see him, the color drains from my face, and I feel like I am about to stumble back had I not been sitting down.

“I-it can’t–”

Staring at the old man before me, my very being feels paralyzed by the fear that has gripped me, the words I want to say are stuck in my throat. The weight of the world pushes me down, and all I want is to disappear beneath the surface. There is a living and tangible force of terror within me that crawls over my skin, making sure that its claws touch every surface with which it makes contact.

“Hello, Naya. I’ve waited a very long time for you.”

I stare into the same vacant, eerily dark eyes that I fervently hoped never to come across again. His face still has the same grim shape, crooked jaw and nose, and liver spots indicating his old age, but something else entirely, as if his face has transformed since the last time I saw him. Now, he looks younger and healthier. He has the same face, but something about him seems different. His eyes are filled with an intense fascination, as if I am the most intriguing thing he has ever beheld, which causes me to feel the urge to move away, but I can’t.

I’m trapped.

“I-I thought you were d-dead,” I stutter out, not quite believing the sight in front of me.

I’m certain he must be a figment of my imagination, another of the numerous horrors that haunt me in my thoughts and psychological state. He cannot be real. I saw the photos of his dead and mutilated body. Emilio Ricci showed them to me and plagued me with images.

“Ah!” He smiles widely, his eyes glinting with malice. “I’m Arthur. Arthur Grimhill.”

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