Vanessa’s lips parted slowly and she let out a soft groan, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment before opening them. She squinted at first, her green orbs taking a moment to adjust to the pitch-black darkness of the room around her. After a moment, she tried turn her head from side to side, in hopes of seeing something, but realized something. She was on her back. She moaned in pain and frustration as her attention was suddenly drawn to the strong pounding in her head. It felt as if someone was taking a hammer to her forehead repeatedly.
But as she raised her arm to press the tips of her fingers against her temple, the presence of cold metal links made themselves known, keeping her arm firmly in place. She gasped once again and tugged with the other arm, then her legs, and let out a soft cry when she found them to be in the same position. Fear began to set in and she struggled against her restraints, crying out in obvious terror. She was only twenty-two. She didn’t deserve this!
Suddenly, heavy footsteps caught her attention as they echoed above her head. Was she in a basement? If so, who’s? And why? The questions once again flocked her mind as she tried to be quiet. The footsteps grew fainter for a moment, before regaining volume. It sounded as if whoever was there was pacing. What the hell was going on?
She struggled against the chains for a few moments before she realized that the footsteps had stopped. She wondered for a moment what would happen if she called out, ask for help. Told them where she was. But, what if they weren’t there to help her?
Vanessa’s thoughts were cut off, however, as she heard a door open and sudden light flooded the room. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head to the side, as fear once again coursed through her. The steps creaked beneath the weight of the person as she moved down slowly, closing the door behind them and leaving the two in darkness. But not long after, the footsteps continued until they reached the bottom, and a dim red light illuminated the room. Vanessa opened her eyes, and looked above her. A gasp was torn from her lips.
A mirror hung just above her, showing off her reflection and causing her to tremble. She was chained down to a wooden table, metal links wrapped firmly around her wrists, ankles, and torso. Her long dark blonde hair was in disarray, hanging around her shoulders in a tangled mass. The black dress she was wearing was torn and tattered; the skirt had been ripped so that it stopped a few inches above her knee, instead of mid-calf. Bruises littered her arms and what was visible of her chest. But her legs seemed untouched. With the exception of the long, deep gash on her left leg that ran from her ankle to her knee. It had been poorly bandaged, and blood was soaking through the material.
Tears fell from her eyes as her heart clenched, terror causing her breath to escape in short, painful gasps, occasionally letting out a choked sob. Her vision blurred as she heard her captor walking around, their boots hitting the cement floor with a sickening thud that made her cringe and whimper with every step they took.
“W-where am I?” she questioned, her voice no more than a whisper. Instead of responding, the person began to whistle an old tune, one Vanessa didn’t recognize. A rustling could be heard, and then softer footsteps were emitted.
“Why are you d-doing this to m-me?” she cried, her voice still soft. They continued to whistle, a bit louder now, and Vanessa could feel her heart clench again. What had she done to deserve this?
Suddenly, her captor came into view, and she blinked rapidly to force away the tears. What she saw made her gasp even louder.
A woman stood above her. Her ashy cheeks were sunken in, and her dull green eyes seemed almost lifeless. Wiry black hair that was tainted with silver rested, piled on top of her head in a messy bun. A black dress clung to her slender figure, one that matched Vanessa’s down to the small black beads that littered the bodice.
The woman had to be at least seventy-five, if not older. So, what did she want with a twenty-two year old?
When Vanessa opened her mouth to voice another question, the woman’s hand came down swiftly, covering her mouth firmly. Vanessa whimpered and squirmed, but the woman was much stronger than she looked, and Vanessa just couldn’t win. So finally she gave up and merely stared up at her, fear and tears in her eyes.
The woman muttered something in an odd language, one that Vanessa didn’t understand. She laid her other hand on the younger woman’s forehead and closed her eyes, breathing deeply before beginning to chant.
Vanessa struggled furiously, but to no avail. Panic continued to rise up inside of her, and she began to scream, again and again. But the woman didn’t even acknowledge her, continuing to chant. Suddenly, Vanessa felt her muscles tighten and clench, the pain of it all excruciating. She squeezed her eyes closed and let out another agonized, blood curdling scream. As she listened, she heard the woman’s voice begin to change. But when she opened her eyes, they were immediately drawn from the woman.
A black sphere about the size of a softball hovered in front of the woman’s open mouth, seeming to crackle slightly with energy. As the woman spoke, it changed in size. Growing a bit, before shrinking down some more. She was mesmerized by it for a moment, before another jolt of pain struck her body. She arched up off the table as much as she could and tugged furiously on the chains around her wrists, feeling them dig into her skin with a vengeance. She kicked and thrashed, rubbing her skin raw against the metal links.
When the pain lessened once again, she forced herself to try and stare at the woman. But it was incredibly hard to focus. Her head was swimming and her limbs ached terribly. Unable to keep her eyes opened any longer, her eyes drifted closed as she drew in a shaky breath, letting it out on a swift sob. She wanted out, she wanted to run away. But with the way her limbs were trembling and her muscles were pulsing, she didn’t think she’d be able to make it up the steps, much less out of the house. If she was even in a house. She still didn’t know.
When the third wave of pain crashed down upon her, she saw stars. Her body lurched and strained against the chains as her muscles tried to knot up and contort themselves. The agony she felt was beyond anything she’d ever experienced in her life. It felt as if someone was snapping her bones and trying to rearrange them within her. The only thought that crossed her mind was that at that moment, she would have willingly accepted death as an alternative to this torture.
But to her horror, the suffering didn’t cease this time. It remained steady as her heart once again constricted, tightening painfully in her chest. It felt as if her lungs were shriveling up inside of her, and she couldn’t catch her breath. Her body continued to thrash, and she could feel blood spilling from her ankles. The restraint across her torso dug into her skin painfully as she involuntarily tried to lift herself up off of the table. But not matter what she did, or how she twisted and turned, the woman kept her hands on her face.
Suddenly Vanessa stilled, and her eyes widened in terror as the woman raised her hands slowly and she suddenly found she couldn’t breathe. The lights flickered rapidly in the background, allowing Vanessa enough light to see what was happening, and for her to let out a silent scream. As the woman’s hands rose higher, a thin stream of silver mist rose from Vanessa’s opened mouth. She struggled furiously, but found she couldn’t move her head. A sudden sense of foreboding fell upon her and she fought harder. But with every move she made, she felt herself growing weaker and weaker. She still couldn’t breathe, so her panic was split several different ways.
When the mist ceased to escape her throat, Vanessa drew in a weak, helpless breath, and could only watch as the woman’s hands seemed to form it into yet another sphere. She watched as the woman tilted her head down to look at it, and the black orb followed her lips. When she formed an ‘oh’ and blew lightly, the black orb drifted away from her and melded with the silver one. The now large orb seemed to spark with electricity and shifted back and forth, from black to white, before it settled on a shimmering gray.
The woman cupped her hands around it and slowly guided it toward herself. Vanessa struggled to keep her eyes open, as her breath grew shorter and shorter with every inch that the woman moved the orb away from her. She didn’t know what was happening. The only thing she knew was that there was nothing she could do to stop it.
As Vanessa’s eyes finally drifted closed, the woman held the orb against her chest, pressing it until it was absorbed into her body. She gasped, her eyes widening before drifting closed. She tipped her head back and a smile graced her lips as she began to change. Her once black and silver hair fell from its confines and tumbled to her shoulders, becoming a silky blonde. Her face filled out and regained color, giving her a lightly tanned completion. The evidence of aging seemed to seep from her, until her body was once again youthful. She looked no more than twenty-five.
When she opened her eyes, they gleamed darkly as she looked down at the body of Vanessa. Her smile remained in place as she leaned down and pressed her lips to the wrinkled forehead of the once young woman. Turning on her heel, she turned off the light and climbed the stairs silently. When she reached the top and opened the door slowly, she looked back with a wistful smile on her lips and whispered three words before slipping through the door and closing it behind her.
“Happy New Year.”
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