Jinn & Curses

Chapter 4- Scorched

Chapter 4- Scorched

The light was blinding at first. Sun rays pierced my eyeballs. I flinched and snapped my lids shut. I slowly lifted them halfway. The man's eyes bored into mine, watching from above as he held me in his arms.

 His face was clear. It was solid; well-formed like the statue of a Roman God. It looked as ancient as one too. Young in appearance yet it was molded with an unknown amount of years of wisdom. He was carrying me somewhere. The wind was blowing through my hair and across my face. We were moving very fast but I felt safe.

 All of a sudden, things changed. I was in my house. My old house. Everywhere was dark; the walls, the floors and ceiling. I was sat on our old couch but it was different. Everything was different and it scared me.

 I felt like the room was closing in around me. I started panicking. Strange sounds filled my ears. Screeching, scraping. Beneath the horrible din I could hear my parents talking to each other in the background.

My dad.

 I tried to look for him but I couldn’t see through the thick air that was as black as tar. It clung to my skin like it was trying to control me, to restrain me. My breathing increased until I was panting like I couldn't consume the air around me. I tried to move but my legs were too heavy. I looked down and saw a cast.

 I needed to get out. I couldn't breathe.

 I thrust my body forward and as I did a vaporous, menacing face jumped into my line of sight and with a deafening screech that went through my entire core, it grabbed hold of my hair and shrieked, “This belongs to me!”

I bolted upright from my bed. I had screamed aloud. I could feel the tightness in my throat.

 I cried out again at the sight of the man-shaped silhouette in the corner of my room. Swinging to my left, I nearly knocked the lamp over as I tried to turn it on. I grabbed it to steady it and flicked it on in one sweeping motion. My eyes darted back to the corner of the room where I saw the shadow lurking.

 It was gone.

 You just imagined it. Take it easy. It wasn't real, it wasn't real.

 It took me what seemed like hours to relax my rapid breathing. I was sweating and felt incredibly hot.

 My ears were ringing as though they were still recovering from the scream of that horrible creature. A flash of its face crashed through my mind like a crack of lightening. A woman. Well whatever it was I was sure it had been female. The way she had grabbed my hair as if I had stolen it from her and then those words. This belongs to me…

 What did that even mean?

I was then distracted by a foul smell. It slivered up my nostrils and the pungent stink made me hold my breath. I winced and carefully sniffed the air. Burning. It smelt like… I glanced down and gasped.

 The ends of my hair were black and the smell was awful. At least two inches of the front of my hair had been burnt off. I held up a few strands and stared at them in horror. I looked around me. There was no sign of the missing hair on my sheets. It was as if her very touch had burnt it to nothing.

 How was that even possible? It was just a dream…wasn’t it?

*

I sat at the breakfast table feeling like a zombie. I hadn’t slept. The images of the nightmare were burned onto the back of my eyelids. Whenever I had tried to close my eyes I saw her face. Even now, I could feel the fiery heat of her breath on my cheeks. I shivered.