Page 100 of Ethereally Tainted

“No, it’s not. Listen, I have to tell you–”

But we are interrupted.

For in front of us, one meter away in among the trees, are the two people I dread the most, along with five other guards. A soft sob escapes my throat, and I stumble backward, but Grey is there to catch me. He is as frozen in fear as I am, and we are like two deer in the middle of the road on a highway with cars coming at hundreds of kilometers an hour.

As I see Emilio Ricci standing with his back upright and wearing the same suit, he looks at me with visible disappointment in his eyes. Beside him, Arthur Grimhill’s eyes glow with rage, as if his fury is directed solely at me. There’s a strong bond that unites them, a bond that threatens my and Grey’s life as they stand beside each other, ready to make us disappear from the face of the earth.

And I realize something. It’s something that causes me to drag in a deep breath, and with this breath, I feel another sob force its way out of me.

There is no way of escaping this fate of mine, no way of ever breaking free and earning freedom without losing my life. Death is the gateway to freedom, and I’ve just now realized the truth in those words.

I have to accept my fate, even if it sucks, even if I can’t, because I know I deserve to be here deep down. I understand that the reality we live in is twisted. Fuck, it’s twisted to the point of mania. The places I have stayed at, Grimhill Manor, Dankworth Institute, and this dollhouse, all have ruined me, fucked me up in every way.

I realize now that I’ll never be free, or maybe I’ve always known that. I’ve known my life would never return to normal since I was seven years old. My mother also stole my life when she murdered my father and blamed it on him committing suicide. She ruined it when she sold me over to Grimhill Manor, she is the reason this ever-growing rage and hatred lingers in the core of my soul. But there’s also no denying that I wouldn’t have met Grey if I didn’t end up at Dankworth Institute.

The wind slices against my face like a multitude of knives, and the sky above lets out a deafening roar. I see the way Arthur Grimhill stares at me. His eyes devoid of any life or empathy, and I will never forget those black eyes that remind me of the darkest hours of the night. As a matter of fact, these are the eyes of a man who tortured me for seventeen months, the eyes of a man who has tortured and stolen the lives of many innocent children. They are the eyes of Frederick Grimhill, and his brother is wearing the same killer smile that is way too wide.

Fuck, I’ll never be free from either of them.

Frederick lives in his brother’s presence.

He stands before me, but I barely acknowledge how the guards approach Grey and me, grabbing him in their grasp but leaving me alone. Suddenly, Arthur gets closer to me, and as he stands in front of me with a knife that gleams in the dim light, I recall Frederick slicing my skin and causing me great pain. The memories hurt.

I know Arthur is readying himself to twist that knife into my organs, to steal the life from me once and for all, something his brother failed to do. What a relief it will be to finally be released from this earth.

But the pain never comes.

He stands there with an abnormally wide smile as if his lips have been cut open to make them appear larger than usual. In my peripheral view, I see Grey being dragged away from me and how his lips move in a silent scream. I can’t hear anything but blood rushing through my ears, and I don’t know what to do.

A sea of trees surrounds us, and the sound of guards’ footsteps crunching in the snow echoes behind Arthur. I’m stuck looking into the eyes of the man with a devilish grin spread across his lips and nothing but trees surrounding us.

There’s no way to run or hide.

“I won’t let you escape again, my dear,” his voice is like a hundred daggers stabbing inside me, his smile a promise of never-ending torture.

Before the moment of truth, I feel my forehead dampen with sweat, anticipating the agony of losing Grey.

And then Arthur lifts his knife, plunging the sharp blade into my stomach until I stumble back in pain, and the guards catch me.

To be concluded in