Notes

“Welcome to the Death Chamber,” whispered the slimy voice. “Come on in; it won’t hurt a bit.”
“Why is it called that?” asked the girl, doe-eyes open eyes, staring into the dark room. She was young, but not a child anymore. A young lady; that’s what she was. For some strange reason though, she felt more like a child now than she ever had. She was a little suspicious of the dark room, teeming with low growls and sinister laughs, but she trusted the man and she was so sleepy...
“You’ll have to come in to find out. It’s got a pretty bad name, but you don’t need to be scared. It’s pretty fun when you get used to it, like me. There’s even a bed where you can take a little nap. Just a few steps forward sweetie.” He wrapped his cold arm around her, and she shivered. She didn’t ask how the man knew she was sleepy. She didn’t even know why she trusted him; she just did, no matter what he said or did to her. He saw her shiver, and gave her a heavy shawl to wrap around herself. She didn’t tell him that she shiver because of him; she was cold anyways, and wouldn’t turn down the shawl. Her clothes were dirty and torn to bits, so she put on the shawl, hoping it would keep her warm enough. She looked into the dark, abyss looking room, full of shadows and eerie sounds. Sure enough, she saw the dark silhouette of what looked like a bed. She felt like a just a little girl again, dependant on someone with authority-with power. She’d felt hypnotized by the man, like she was powerless and had to do what he said. She thought she saw the silhouette of her twin sister standing next to her, but it disappeared when she looked directly at it. Nothing’s there. You’re just exhausted; you probably imagined it. It was dark, but she still saw the man’s Cheshire looking smile. His teeth flashed and he looked hungrily at her, but he kept egging her on. She smiled at him, unbeknownst to what was about to happen, and gave in.

First step.

Just one step, and she knew something was wrong. There was a cold breeze in the room, but there didn’t even seem to be a window. In fact, the door she entered through seemed like the only way in...and out. Little flakes of plaster fell from the ceiling, coating her dark brown hair like dandruff. Instinctively, she raised her hands to her hair and shook out the plaster, but she noticed her hair was greasy, and coated in something wet. It’s probably water, she thought to herself. She wondered how this could be, since she hadn’t gotten the opportunity to take a shower in over a month. She figured she should tell the man, but then thought it might be from the ceiling. It’s falling to bits anyways. I wouldn’t be surprised if water is dripping out of it as well as plaster. She looked back at the man, tilting her head and expecting to be consoled or at least told she could go wash her hair out, but the man just shook his head, and grinned. “You’ve gone just one step. The fun is just starting. It’s too late to turn back. Keep going...darling.” He called her darling! Only her daddy ever called her that. But...how did she remember that? It didn’t matter. She wanted to yell at him, tell him her daddy was dead, and he couldn’t call her that, but...he seemed so kind and he loved her...didn’t he? She turned back towards the bed.

Second step.

Suddenly, she felt more alert, more aware somehow. It was somehow a little lighter than the last step, but maybe her eyes were just adjusting to the dark. Something scuttled across the floor. A mouse? A roach? Her eyes widened and she gasped. She hated rodents, with a capital H. She heard little squeaks from a corner, and shivered. She looked back at the man once again, eyes pleading for an explanation. He knew she hated rodents too. Why bring her here? Once again, he just shook his head, and whispered in that slimy voice of his, “On your second step. I’m so proud of you. Keep going...honey.” He called her honey! Only her mama ever called her that. She stared at him with wide eyes. She was unsure how she remembered that, but it didn’t matter. She wanted to scream at him, tell him her mama was dead, and he couldn’t call her that, but...he made her feel safe, and he loved her...didn’t he? That’s what he said, and he had only been kind to her. She was grateful, and figured she shouldn’t doubt him. She turned her back to the man and looked towards the bed.

Third step.
Last step.

The adrenaline kicked into her veins. As she took that step, she knew something was wrong. Big-time wrong. There was definitely a bit more light than her first two steps, and she felt like she stepped in a puddle of water. She looked down, and stared. She didn’t see a puddle of water. Oh no. It was blood. She remembered that the same smell filled her home that summer day as her mama and daddy lay on the floor, with dark red pools engulfing them, and as she and her sister hid in a cabinet. She practically tasted the metallic taste of blood, as her parents gasped for them to hide, and took their final breaths. It was so many years ago, but sometimes, it felt like it was just yesterday. Something changed in her that day. Something big. She was shocked out of her memories when a few little drops of some liquid fell onto her bare body. She touched it, but it wasn’t water, like she expected. Oh no. It was blood. She looked up, and to her horror, she saw corpses, covered in dry and fresh blood, hanging from the high ceiling by ropes tied around their necks and ankles. She dropped to her knees in the puddle of blood, and just as the blood went splattering around her and on her cold skin, everything came back. She stood up, turning towards the man. She was paralyzed with fear. She felt nauseous, but was too stunned to even gag. This man was NOT kind. He took her away from her family...or he took her family away from her. Suddenly, her whole body was overcome by a terrible ache, coming from her very bones. She managed to look down at her body, covered in scars, bruises, cuts, and of course, blood. It was all over her body and hair. She could hardly see a spot of her pale skin that wasn’t covered in blood. Her shawl was drenched in it, like it had been dyed red. Her hands were shaking and she saw goosebumps through the blood on her arms. The man stared at her, and tilted his head back. He started laughing, if you could even call it that. It was a deep, hollow laugh, like something being thown in a deep dark pit. He began wheezing and hiccuping from laughing so much. He calmed his breathing and stopped laughing. This time, he didn’t grin. He smirked at her. “Third step. You’re nearly completely though my dear. There’s no turning back now...Kitty. Go one more step. Just one, and everything will be ok. You’ll understand everything very soon.” Her heart almost beat out of her chest. She was too exhausted and overcome with trauma to even think of screaming. He had called her Kitty! She didn’t want to be called Kitty. Only her sister was allowed to call her that. She opened her mouth, trying to talk, or at least whisper that she wasn’t Kitty to him, just Kit, but all that came out was a pathetic whimper.

She crossed her arms, more protectively than defiantly, and managed to choke out, “I’m not going any further. I remember everything now. I remember what you did to my family.” The man’s eyes darkened and said, “Oh look, the little Kitty has become a tiger. If you won’t go by your own will, then we must force you, right?” He snapped his fingers, a loud, sharp snap that echoed throughout the room, bouncing off the walls. Before she could even come up with a snarky remark about how he was totally psycho and delusional or something along those lines, she felt something grab her. Somehow, it looked even darker than the dark itself. More and more of these ‘shadows’ grabbed her, by her arms, her legs, her neck. They surrounded her and lifted her off the ground. She screamed, kicking and clawing at nothing but air and the darkness.

The man walked up to her, and she finally caught an actual glimpse of his face. He had midnight-black hair, pale skin, and strange, silvery eyes that looked deeper then Hell itself. He grinned in a victorious kind of way. “Look now. The Kitty-cat has found her voice. Too bad she won’t get to use it for long.” She looked straight into his eyes, and spat on his face. As he wiped his face and growled at her, she laughed, “If I’m gonna go down, I may as well go down spitting in your face. If I could, I’d squish you under my foot, into the ground, like the bug you are.” She surprised herself; she sounded so brave! Lena was usually the brave one. He stared back at her, and surprisingly, he laughed. He snapped one more time. As he turned away, he said, “Take her away.” She tried to curse at him, but her voice was suppressed by the ‘hand’ of one of the shadows. They threw her onto a large, hard piece of metal, and strapped heavy chains onto her her limbs. She felt some strange liquid thrown onto her, but this time it wasn’t water or blood. It was gasoline. She could tell from the smell. Her mind went into overdrive, as she squirmed and panicked. The man turned back to her and struck a match. “Good night Kitty-cat. Sleep well.” She smelled the fire before she felt it. She cried out as the flame engulfed her. She cried for her family, for her friends, for herself. The fire crept onto her arms and legs and torso and hair. She felt an unspeakable pain; no words in any language could ever describe the pain. She screamed even harder.

But she refused to scream at the man. He didn’t even deserve to be screamed at. He deserved far, far worse. She thought she saw her sister and heard her calling her name, but she figured that she was probably hallucinating. As she burned, memories flashed into her mind. Not good ones though. In the matter of minutes while she was burning, she managed to relive her last moments hundreds of times in her mind, filled with hate and regret. Even as a pile of ashes, she was haunted by the cruel laugh of the man and her memories of him. She wanted to be home, drinking hot chocolate and playing Scrabble with her family, especially Lena. Her final thoughts were that she would be avenged; she vowed it. As he watched her burn and scream, a light formed in his eyes. He stared at her burning corpse, and a slow smile formed on his face. He seemed to be talking to her, but how could he be? She was dead now, and nothing could bring her back. “The deed is done. A candle can only burn in the dark for so long before it is extinguished. And you, my little Kitty, have been extinguished too, just like your family. At least almost.” With the final thought, he chuckled and crept out the Death Chamber, with Kitty’s sister, Lena, being forced to trail behind at his feet.