Tyler paced about the house. He sat, stood back up, then sat again with his arms crossed, and eagerly awaited some sort of sign that would never come. She left her phone in her rush to leave and could be gone for some time. He rested his face in his hands. Then a sinking feeling emerged in the pit of his stomach.
Tyler stood up. At first he didn't move. He new he had to eventually, but he resisted. every step was a fight as he walked to the kitchen. It was right there. He could barely make it out in the corner of his eye. There was something outside, peering in from the street below. Don't look, he thought, don't look.
He started to fidget in place, his body dumping adrenaline into the bloodstream, but no apparent threat to fight or flee from. His body was giving him a warning, a desperate need of caution. It told him to avoid looking out the window. He pulled the curtain back and scanned the street below.
“No,” he said. He walked to the front door, opened it, and stepped out. He forced himself to look. In the shadows of an alleyway, he saw a figure dressed in a black suit. He felt colder as the blood flowed away from the extremities to his legs, preparing him to run. The figure stood motionless for a moment, another creature like before. It bared its many rows of teeth as it inched forward, staring at him.
Tyler backed up, then jumped when an old woman spoke up beside him, “Take the rite.”
“What?” he replied. The woman dressed is ornate red robes, and despite her age, had not a shade of gray in her hair. Her hair was a deep red, not unlike Morrigan's.
The woman didn't move, speaking with a sense of urgency, “Take the rite, or you die. Morrigan can't get here in time.”
“Who are you?”
She stared at the creature below, "Does it matter?"
Tyler backed into the apartment, “I can't. Morrigan said-”
"Again," The woman shouted,“Does it matter?”
He looked up to the wards Morrigan placed above the door and the woman in red looked in kind. She smiled at him, raised a knife, and cut out a large chunk of wood on the door frame, breaking the ward. Tyler fumbled in his pocket, pulling out a small knife. He recreated the ward. A circle first, then a triangle within it. He began to write out the formulas. The paint chipped off the wall leaving a pile on the ground. The woman watched, amused by his futile attempt.
He heard the steps making their way up the metal stairwell. Tyler growled in frustration, abandoning the half made wards, and turned to run to the bedroom. He slammed the door shut, then flinched as a loud bang rang out.
He looked around for something he could use to defend himself. He turned back and saw the claws ripping the door apart. He saw the ornate wooden box, grabbed it, then turned away. He opened the box and saw the strange mass within. He hesitated, but the sound of the door swinging open forced him to action. He reached into the box.
It was warm, almost hot. He could smell apples and spice as the fumes radiating from the mass reached his nose. The mass seemed alive. It engulfed his hand and crawled up his arm, setting his nerves ablaze in both pain and ecstasy. He screamed and fell to the floor. His muscles contracting, forcing him into a fetal position. The black mass, like sentient sludge, traversed to his face. He breathed in the scent and heard a hiss. He cried out hoping someone could help.
The slurry inched its way up his neck. The sticky black slime reached his lips. His pupils dilated. Time slowed to a crawl. He lost himself, a state of mind most would consider madness. The mass now circled his neck, it crawled up his cheeks and into his mouth, He arched his back, chocking on the taste of mulled spices.
It was impossible to describe. It drew him in as the mass disappeared, sinking into the pores of his skin, and through his mouth, eyes, and nose. He let out a final breath and time came to a halt. The creature had clawed its way through the bedroom door and stared down at him grinning. Tyler turned his head and felt around his neck. The mass was gone. He felt a sharp pain, like needles, pricking every nerve in his body. A high-pitched ringing chimed, forcing his hands over his ears. He arched his back again, planting his feet on the floor. He was dying. Black tears streamed down his face as he fought back. He began to choke, coughing up blood through each scream.
He felt a rumble in the ground as all color faded from the world around him. His brain seemed to shake in his skull. He was afraid and alone when the light came. A bright blinding light with no source.
It was strange. At this point he felt nothing, neither pair nor bliss. He was content. He coughed again, sending a splatter of blood on the carpet; brown to scarlet. The only color in the gray scale world Tyler could perceive. He closed his eyes. Behind the choking he felt, satisfaction. He felt that just beyond this experience lay euphoria caused by either rapture or insanity. He shuddered violently, every muscle in his body involuntarily seizing. His nerves were not only on fire, they were alive; awake.
The seizure stopped, and he laid there motionless, with his eyes closed. The pain stopped, the pleasure stopped, and in that final moment of passion and fear, he was left empty. He saw without seeing, knew without knowing. He was tangled in a vacant mind, basking in life’s afterglow. His final thought: Why did death have to be so horrifying?
Woah. There's a lot to say here. First: this chapter is super short. It does it well, though I was surprised at first. Second: this is the most typo-dense chapter yet. From punctuation to capitalization, there are a lot of typos. Third: I loved the mystery. I don't think the monster felt horrific. Granted, I read fast so I had moved on by the time that slower readers would be left in a moment of anticipation. The mention of a woman, who is likely the Red Maiden that Morrigan mentioned, is well placed. It was smart to previously introduce her to the reader, though I don't know why Tyler wouldn't make the connection; though, he was likely distracted. The chapter also leaves off on a great cliffhanger that will presumably lead into a chapter from Morrigan's perspective as she deals with Max/Clara and returns to find a struggle plus Tyler's body. Loving the story. It's definitely not horror. However, it does give a nice sense of dark fantasy with a complex and somewhat mind-boggling magic system. There are also fewer problems in construction here, which is great!