OMENS [updates biweekly on Wednesdays]

Chapter One: Resurrection

Ember didn't know what she did to deserve this. She tried to shake off the stakes jammed into her body with violent spasms, but they dug further in. The mind numbing pain intensified as needles pressed further into her pupils, blinding her.

Fleshy cords piercing her body suspended her in the dank, confined space. Her arms outstretched in a "T." Her legs hung futilely. She sobbed in agony. It was as if the meaty cavity itself was alive, pulsing, throbbing, draining the life from her. She tried to think of something, anything that could get her away. But recent memories took over instead.

My mother...my mother slammed a blunt object onto the back of my head...

Beneath her dangling body was a black hole, stretching endlessly below. Beads of sweat slid down Ember's face and dripped, falling into the darkness. She fought her nerves to stay calm. God, she'd never been so scared. But she needed to find a way out.

And then...my lungs were filling with water...

I was sputtering, coughing for breath...

Ember began ripping the cords from her skin, fighting down a rising scream in her throat. The sharp cords that dug into her skin, peeled some of her flesh with it when she tore them away. When finally-

I couldn't breathe...I couldn't-

She fell.

She heard the sound of a baby wailing as she came to. The sound faded off when she opened her eyes.

Ember splayed on the cold hard ground, shivering. Her vision slowly returned in pulsating blurs. A vignette of black dots throbbed in her view. She willed her damaged body to move, but it would not obey. She felt as helpless as a newborn.

A shape emerged from the shadows. Ember laid still, evening her breaths, pretending to be in deep sleep. Unearthly, vulturous eyes that shone brighter than yellow flames probed Ember. The shape moved toward her in a creaturely manner. It looked something like a woman. With long strings of ebony hair and a grayish pallor.

The creature halted, tilting its head as if it was alerted by a noise off in the distance. Gigantic, black feathered wings sprouted from its slender back, and they flapped downwards. Its wings exploded the creature upward and gone from sight, sending a gust of particles swirling in its wake.

It was now or never, and Ember knew it was better to leave before the winged creature came back. Wincing in pain, she wobbled to her feet, legs almost giving out from exertion. She leaned against the wall for support, recoiling when she felt the sensation of sinewy, wiggling veins attached to it.

She focused on putting one tremulous foot in front of the other. Where was she? What was that creature? Will she ever find a way out?

A pale light indicated an opening. She hobbled toward it. A doorway! As she neared it, her hope died. Something at the entrance stopped her dead in her tracks. It was a single, dismembered hand. As she moved further, a thigh followed. And then intestines.

Her mind exhausted all theories, and her body was just exhausted. Ember paused, considering her path. Should she turn back and face the winged creature, or should push forward and search for a possible exit among the carnage?

Ember decided that a possibility of escape was better than going back to a dead end. She urged herself to move mechanically onward.

The coppery scent of blood intensified as she trudged along. Body parts and viscera littered the path. It looked as if these people were pulled apart and mauled by something, something that she was possibly going toward. She went chill with terror, but cowering in fear wouldn't solve anything.