by Rachel Funk

Created on: October 07, 2009

Excerpt from Descent Into Temptation, a novel.

Come with me, David...take my hand.

Her words reverberate in my mind. I wake up, stiff sore and confused in a blanket of darkness, panic sweeps through me. I scramble around in terror, not knowing where I am or how I'd gotten there. On my hands and knees in pitch darkness I crawl, my heart pounding, whimpering into the unknown, my mind praying, begging for something familiar, something solid.

In moments of confusion, time is elastic, each second lasting minutes, each minute taking hours to pass. I crawl for what feels like forever, muscles tight, a coppery taste in my mouth. Sweat runs into my eyes, stinging as it mingles with my tears. A terrified scream is trapped in my throat, my jaw clamped painfully together in an effort to contain it, my lips peeled back like a rabid dog. Sliding along a dusty wooden floor with my hands in front of me I move faster and faster, my breath whistling through my dry, clenched teeth.

About convinced I was in Hell, a never-ending dusty black Hell I felt and heard the blow to my head. Sudden light, bright flashing white, bursts behind my wide eyes, it fades leaving a momentary red afterimage. I let out a frightened yelp and freeze, afraid to move.

Gently I feel the top of my head, my hair is hot and wet beneath my hand, my fingers slip through it greasily. I'm bleeding. Jesus. I'm going to bleed to death in the dark. Alone. Am I alone? Where's Barb? Is she...

With that thought, everything from the day before collapsed upon my brain at once. My morning quest after Rebecca, Lo Prendo, Goldstone, Barb and Marty, the two of them together. My confusion and terror were swept aside by an orgy of emotions slipped through my mind: rage, jealousy, pride, loneliness, ecstasy, love, fear, horror. The whole gamut, each jostling for purchase, slipping and mingling with the next. None take hold alone, a sickening brew soaks my mind.

Confused and horrified I reach in front of me too find what had hit me. Or who... My traitor mind whispers with a bright twist of sadistic glee. The metallic taste of horror is still fresh in my mouth. I somehow keep myself moving, knowing if I stop, I'd stay that way indefinitely, until my mind shattered. So I reach into the unknown until my fingers brush warm metal. I let out a rush of sour breath.

With a familiar landmark, the geography of the room around me reveals itself in my head. I am cowering in my new living room. I'd hit my head on the out of date, but still functioning, radiator. I pull myself up on my knees in front of it and shakily stand.

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