She feels the metal chains digging into her skin. It binds her arms to her legs, making it impossible for her to stand up. She's just lying there, helpless, on the cold stone floor.
She wants to know where she is. She wants to ease the mind-numbing confusion.
So she opens her eyes.
Immediately, she regrets it.
All she sees is one small light in the center of an otherwise completely black room. The light shines just bright enough for her to see a few other people: a trembling young woman, no older than twenty, an old man, and one other.
The other had one significant differance between the rest of the people there.
They where shackled to the floor, arms and legs spread apart, t-shirt and blue jeans ripped, cuts gushing blood across their entire body. A black fabric bag covered their head, but it is obvious that the person was a dying female.
She stares at the woman on the floor, utterly terrified.
The small light flashed out, shrouding the room in complete darkness for no more than five seconds. Five seconds full of adrenaline, fear, and pure horror.
Then the room erupts in a blinding light. As her eyes adjust, she sees that the overhead light bulbs have been activated. She looks around her, seeing shelves with food and appliances on them. There are old grocery store style refigderators that are completely empty. The stone walls and floor are crawling with dirt, mold, and weeds.
A gas station. A run down, adondaned gas station. The others there look just as confused as she does.
One last attempt to pry herself free from the chains. But it's no use. The footsteps have already begun.
They're closing in on her, the two other women, and the old man. They get louder, more and more thunderous with each second.
Then they appear. Three tall, hooded figures. Their cloaks are an emerald green with odd symbols she didn't recognize.
They're holding machetes.
She lets out a scream, and so do the others, but the hooded men pay them no mind.
They just lean over the woman sprawled out on the floor, and begin.
YOU ARE READING
The Wicked Within
HorrorFeatured Story//November 2017 *** Evil can be found in the most unexpected places. One being our neighbors. Our friends. Our family. Another being ourselves. Even worse: nine times out of ten, when we finally find it, A secret cult is running it's...
