A Shadowlander’s Dream: Book Three - Rules of the Flesh
Written by Kathryn K Williams
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Kim rushed through the field of grass, desperate to keep up with the strange girl who always seemed to keep the same distance ahead even though she did not appear to be running at all. Finally the girl came to the edge of a forest and without hesitation vanished between the trees.
Kim halted in front of the line of trees, memories of the Western Woods entering her mind. She glanced around only to find the forest rolled off into the horizon with no way around it. She took a step back from the forest to look up. A deep blue sky hovered overhead as soft clouds rolled passed by, she considered turning away from the forest and heading back to the hill she awoke upon. Maybe she could find her mother again, or that other girl. She turned back to the forest again and was startled to find the trees had parted to make a path for her. Nervously she peered into the gloom of the forest to see the little girl skipping down the path and around a bend.
“Down the rabbit hole we go again…” Kim muttered partly to herself.
“Is that such a good idea?” Another part of her spoke up.
Kim sighed, “What choice have we got?”
The internal voice sighed and seemed about to say something, but did not. Kim nodded firmly and stepped into the shadow of the trees. The moment she was blanketed in shadows a pain shot through her head and she clenched at her right eye.
“Not now.” She hissed at the pain. Struggling with her emotions, trying hard to keep under control, “I’m in control here.” She demanded, digging her nails into the flesh around her eyebrow, fighting the urge to crawl at her skin.
“You like to think you are in control.” The voice whispered in her ear, “You know far too well how little your grip holds and it scares you. You thought you were rid of this side of you, but you were wrong. It is one with you once again.”
“I’m threw with this garbage.” She growled, “Now leave me ALONE!” She shoved the voice from her mind, causing the leaves of the trees around her to rustle and she stood tall once again. She waited for a moment, wanting to see if the voice would return, only to find herself greeted by the wind. With a satisfied nodded she started down the path once again.
Before long she found the forest opened to a large grassy clearing, in the middle stood a long rectangular mobile home raised up on cement blocks just like the one she lived in as a child. This one, however, differed slightly from her memories, both houses were long with a small patio along one side and a sliding door, a high fence encircled the back half of the building, keeping passer-by’s from glimpsing at the backyard. Wooden stairs lead up to the patio near the front and up to the main entrance. However her home had light blue siding and this one had off yellow, almost as if the siding used to be white, but became tainted from exposure with the sun. Also there was a different feeling emitting from this building then she remembered from her own. While her home felt dark and filled with despair, this one felt empty. As if no one existed within its walls in a long time. However there was something oddly familiar about the building, something she could not quite describe.
Cautiously she approached the building, certain that the child she saw moments earlier must be inside. The wood steps creaked as she accended the patio step, pulling herself up the railing to keep her weight off the stair and hopefully make her less of a racket. Cringing and clenching her teeth with each sound the worn wooden steps emitted. When she finally reached the top of the steps she stopped to talk a look around. From where she now stood she could see the patio stretched most of the length of the house. With an overhead wooden awning talking up the front half and stairs leading down the back into a small yard below. A barbeque was set off to the side, under the awning, with a black plastic tarp pulled overtop to keep the rain off of it. There were a couple of kids bikes leaning against the side of the house, one pink with rainbow streamers attached the to handles and training wheels, while the other was slightly bigger and blue with a yellow banana seat. Below the patio was a long grassy back yard with a small swing set, plastic slide and tool shed. Everything seemed so real to her, like a distant memory returning to the surface.
Slowly she turned to the large siding door off to her right and peered through the glass to see a small living room to her right, with a tattered couch against the far wall and a small kitchen to her left, a narrow counter dividing the kitchen from the living room. Anxious to learn whom this house belongs too. She pulled open the patio door and the moment the door opened a crack she regretted it as a wave of a nauseating smell hide her hard, forcing Kim to put a hand to her mouth in an attempt to keep herself from throwing up. She rested a hand on the railing next to the door, leaning over as a wave of dizziness tried to overcome her, breathing in as much fresh air as she could. She swallowed back the need to vomit and glanced back at the door, unsure where the smell was coming from. She was beginning to reconsider entering the house when she saw a something move quickly through the living room and down the hall to her left. Kim moved closer to the patio window, pressing her face up close and cupping her hands to either side of her eyes, squinting against the gloom; the blinds had been pulled tight allowing only a slight amount of sun to enter and making it very hard to see much of anything inside.
Taking a deep breath she grasped the patio door handle and quickly yanked the door open. It slide with relative ease across its coasters and yet again Kim was assaulted by the wave of nauseating scents that lingered within. Putting a hand to her month she tentively ventured into the bowels of the house.
“H.. hello?” She said softly through her fingers, not wanting to alarm whomever was there.
She heard a small giggle emit from down the hall to her left. With a quick glace she could see the first door was ajar and ventured towards it.
“Hello?” She inquired yet again, trying hard to hide her fear and remain calm. Cautiously she approached the door and carefully pushed it opened. In the corner of the room, at the foot of a tattered old metal-framed bed she found the child she had been following all this time. The child had her back to Kim and was standing in a corner, her head down as if she were being punished for some wrongdoing.
“Excuse me?” Kim slowly approached the child, “Is there something I can do to help you?”
The child began to giggle. At first it was a simple soft sound and then it began to build. The child lifted their head to look up at the ceiling and let out a maddening laughter that startled Kim, causing her to take a step backwards.
Abruptly the girl spun around and swung at Kim. Before Kim could react she felt a sharp pain as something raked across her face. She screamed out in horror and clenched her hand to her face. Finger were instantly coated in a warm liquid that pour forth from gash marks that cut across the girl’s face.
“I can’t believe it was so easy.” The girl laughed, “He told me you would come, but I never thought you would just walk right into my arms.”
Kim stumbled backwards, her hand holding fast to her face, she could feel her flesh peeling and blood dripping down her arm and under the sleeve of her dress. This couldn’t be happening. This all had to be some strange nightmare, but she knew that even nightmares stem from reality. Her good eye finally focused on her attacker and she suddenly understood. Before her was Nicole, her best friends little sister, the girl who deemed her a demon, the girl whom always had hatred in her eyes. While she appeared to be just as Kim last saw her there was something different about her. Blood dripped down tiny finger and when they clenched three small blade extended from beneath her long sleeved shirt. Blade no longer then a few inches, but double edged and shape as small razors. Nicole clenched her fist yet again and brought it up to her face, watching the dim light from a broken old blind glint off the reddened knives.
“Now I’ll finally be able to rid you from my sister’s life forever.” Nicole announced and without a second thought plunged at Kimberly.
Kim moved as quickly as she could, her hands wrapping around the girl’s wrist in an attempt to redirect the deadly assault, however she was moments to slow as the blades penetrated the soft tissue of Kim’s belly and sliced deep into her flesh. Blood sputtered froth from Kim’s mouth as she coughed in pain.
Nicole smiled up at the girl’s frightened face, then she felt something tingling in her hands. She tried to back away to find Kim’s grip held face. Kim’s eyes grew blank and dead. The blood from the cuts on the right side of her face started to bleed a black tar-like substance and her right eyes began to glow an eerie blue.
Nicole struggled to free herself form Kim’s grasp, “Let me go!” She cried out in frustration. This was not how things were supposed to go. This was not how she planned it. She would kill the demon girl and then Alyson, Natalie, Drake and herself could finally live together, as one big family. That is what big brother told her and that is what she believed.
Kim’s good eye blinked and looked down at Nicole. There was sadness in that eye, “Now I understand.” She said in a thick voice that sounded as if she were talking through liquid. “You don’t belong here.” She stated sorrowfully, “You’re a ghost.”
Book 3 End… To be continued in Book 4
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To be continued in Book 4
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Note: The world of the Shadowlands, Its stories, Characters and ideas are a copyright of Kathryn K Williams.
This story is based upon my manga of the same name. If you wish to view art from this series please visit my deviant arts site at: http://shinigami-shimai.deviantart.com/
For more of my stories visit my deviant hearts site at: http://www.devianthearts.com/viewuser.php?uid=159
Also if you spot any typos or other errors please contact me at katwilliams @ rogers.com
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