SWORDS AND ROSES

CHAPTER 16: -

I was shaken awake by Micah. I had again fallen asleep, but I dreamed a lot. And I could remember nothing except shadows and darkness. The car had been parked in the lot of a motel. I looked at the clock of the dash board. It was 7:30.

Micah opened the door, while I unwrapped the blanket, which had wrapped itself around me. I stepped out and stretched. It felt good to flex my muscles.

"The room number is 12." He said, pulling the duffle bags out of the car.

The sky was cloudy and grey. There was a game that Samirah and I used to play when we were kids. We looked at clouds and tried to find what were they shaped like. Most of the times the clouds were fluffy rabbits, cats, snowman and one sinister clown. Don't ask me clowns are scary. The sky now even looked worse. It was dark grey and menacing, as if it would rain pitch all over us in seconds and destroy our lives. Micah meanwhile seemed unconcerned by the air of creepiness surrounding us as he walked ahead of me.

The room wasn't as disgusting as the last one. This one seemed as if the person decorating had cared instead of relegating the duties to his grandmother. Micah threw one of the duffle bags on the table and pulled up a chair. He pulled out a gun and started to clean it.

"The other one had stuff for you." He said pointing at the other one with the barrel. I picked that up and placed it on the counter in the bathroom after locking the door after me.

The tiles were coral green. I twisted open the valve for the hot shower. I shoved my hand in the shower. The water was cold but it was starting to heat up. I shoved my hand through my curls. I hoped the dye was water proof. I quickly took off my shoes and placed it near the door. I took off my jeans and plaid shirt along with my underwear and kept it on the small counter above the sink. The shower was steaming up the mirror. My muscles were begging for relief. Luckily who had packed the bag had added soap and shampoo.

I took a deep breath and jumped into the shower. The warm water battered down on my back and I groaned in relief. The muscles in my back began to loosen up. I sighed and placed my hand against the tiles, in turn my head came to rest on it. The water threading through my hair soothed me. I never realized how much I had missed having a hot water shower.

The feeling of sweat and dirt washing away from my body as I scrubbed at my arms and legs. I needed this. I washed my hair using the shampoo in the bag. I stayed in the shower till, the hot water ran out. I wrapped myself in white towel placed on the rack. The mirror was covered in steam from the shower. I wiped the steam off with my hand.

The face staring back was that of a stranger. There was scratch above my eyebrow, my face looked tired and haggard. That was most probably because of the possession. My eyes were the same shade of green but somehow, they were duller. But the tiredness was coming back. The room was getting stuffier. Was that the steam? And suddenly I saw it, in the mirror. A shadow in the corner. It started moving towards me. What the heck? I turned around. There was nothing. I moved forward, there was nothing. Was that a trick of light. Maybe. Yes, I was just stressed out.

I turned around. And the shadow was back. It was standing just a few feet away from me. it wasn't more than a translucent cloudy back mass, with wisps hanging off here and there. There wasn't a face, but there were rotting black teeth. The worst smell blew into my nostrils making me gag. And suddenly I was reminded of the night when my sister was pulled away from me. And I screamed. At the exact same moment, the shadow jumped at me. I moved back to get away, tripped over and feel down. But my body was paralyzed. I couldn't move. The events of that horrific day were playing in my mind. The burning wood, the screams, the heat, the smoke. I curled up into a ball.

"Diana?"

I heard someone yell, but I couldn't move or react. I lay there, shivering. Everything on my mind went on and on as if it were a broken tape recorder. None of my senses were working. I was trapped in my own mind. I was back in the car, the smoke rising, Mrs. Dallas laughing awake as I sobbed. The smell of burning wood became stronger and stronger. I couldn't breathe, and I was struggling to move and breathe. It was as if something heavy had settled on my chest. I gasped.