Locked Away - Book 1

Chapter 24

The same room. Concrete walls. Dark. But darker than before. The shadows around the corners have grown. Spread across the room. Leaving just a few feet of light where I'm sitting, shivering.

"Ready. Ready. Ready." The voice is in the distance but still hurts my ears.

"What do you want?" I try to stand up but then a sudden invisible force pushes me back down.

"Out! Out! Out!" Out?

"Who are you?" That question brings about laughter.

A burst of laughter echoes. Laughter that scratches at my ears. One that makes my stomach drop and my heart race.

"Who are you?" I shout as loud as I can, using as much anger as I can muster.

The laughter stops, silence hitting. The silence is scarier than the laughing. I can't even hear myself breathe

"Me?" The voice is softer but angry.

"Who are you?" I manage to push from my throat.

"How dare you ask me that!" The shout rams into my skull.

For a split second, I see a hand come from the shadows. It's pale, cracking, and old. The nails look metallic, long, and sharp.

"Who are you?" I try again, knowing it will anger it.

This time it doesn't speak. Instead for a few seconds, it lunges straight at me. I meet its eyes. I see its teeth. I see the look of pure evil. Its hand wraps around my neck. And before I can even blink it's behind me. I can longer remember what it looked like. The more I try to think about it, the more I forget. But the one thing I can't forget is the fear in me. The fear inside my guts. The fear making my eyes water.

But its hand is still gripping my throat. Squeezing just enough to cause a lot of pain, but not enough to stop me from breathing.

"You..." Its voice slithers into my ear. "You think you're better. Your kind always has." I feel its cold wet and thin tongue slide across my neck.

"P...pl... pleas..."

"Shh." The word stops coming from my mouth as if I've just lost the ability to speak altogether. "You are mine. Contract was signed." Contract?

I feel it move around to the other side of my head, it's handing gripping slightly harder.

"No breaking."

"Eliot?" Tyler's voice in the far distance.

"He will die. Your fault." It sears its words into my brain, making sure I don't forget. "He will die. Your fault."

"Eliot?" His voice is closer this time.

It starts to laugh as its fingers release and slide back. The laughter gets higher pitched the farther away it gets.

"You owe me." The faintest whisper makes its way into my ear like a worm.

"You okay?" My eyes open to see Tyler, the teacher, and a few other students standing over me.

"I... I..." I feel around my neck and without seeing it I know it looks like I was choked, the aching immediately hurting as I breathe. "I've gotta go." I quickly jump up to my feet.

"Me too." Tyler is right behind me as I run out of the room. "What's going on?" He's right behind me as I walk fast down the hall.

"It has something to do with my past. More specifically my parents."

"But you don't remember anything about back then."

"I know..." I stop walking. "But..."

"But I think I know how to help." I look at him, confused. "First let me get Kinsey and then we'll head to Key House."

"Wait... why?" He looks at me, very serious.

"It's time to tell you about the Keys." The Keys?