Maxwell?!
1089 Words
"Hello?" I said as I struggled into a standing position. My vision blurred as I leaned against a wall for support. When my vision became clear, I found Annabella.
She was tied to a chair with a rag tied against her mouth. She was unconscious.
I stepped forward, falling on my face. I let out a moan that turned into a gasp of fear as I heard a door open.
"Poor child," a voice said, a female's voice, and arms wrapped around me as I was pulled up, "if you are to get better than you must stay in bed."
"Better?" I asked.
"My comrade hit you a little too hard," she said as she led me to the cot I must have fallen off of.
"What happened? Why is she tied up?" I asked as she sat me down. I turned to look at her before scrambling back.
She had skin as white as milk and her cheeks were sunken in. Her dark hair sat in clumps on her pale head and her eyes were bloodshot. She might have been pretty once upon a time but now...
The woman sighed as she stood. Her thin white dress hung limply over her bony body.
"Stay down, rest," she spoke slowly, her voice raspy, "you'll get better."
"What are you?" I asked as I leaned against the wall.
"I'm..." she sighed as she came closer, "not a monster like you think. I'm...human. Just like you."
I shuddered as she grabbed my arm and brought me up. She led me towards the cot and sat me down.
"Stay," she said, "or you'll end up like her."
I remained silent as she stood and left the room. I heard the distinct click of a lock and I was left alone with a tied up Annabella.
I counted to thirty before I made my way to Annabella. We weren't in a big room. It was small and square with only a door. The walls were stone and the ground was dirt.
"Annabella?" I said as she lifted her chin. Her dark hair was matted with dry blood as was the side of her face.
"A...Alaina?" Her eyes were unfocused as she blinked a couple times, "where are we?"
"I don't know but we're getting out of here," I told her as I started to untie the bonds at her wrist. It was tight and the skin underneath it was red and bruised.
It took me longer than I wanted to take to untie it. I was on the second one when I heard the click of a lock. We shared a glance of fear as I tied the bond back, though nowhere near as tightly. I hurried and plopped down on the cot just as the door swung open.
"Hello," a voice whispered as the door shut again. He was hidden in shadows and that was where he remained, "long time no see, Annabella."
"Who are you?" I asked. I turned towards Annabella to see not fear...but shame.
"Did she not tell you of her late husband, Maxwell?" The voice said. It was followed by a small laugh as the man stepped into the light.
"Maxwell?!”
The laughter was what creeped me out the most. It wasn't the sunken cheeks, the blotched eyes, or the bald head. It was the smell either. It was his laugh.
When he stepped into the light, it wasn't much different from the woman that had appeared earlier. He was bald, though. And unlike the lady, he still had his teeth.
It was his eyes that made me believe the words he said. I might have only known a ghost of him but he wore the same green eyes. Though his weren't nearly as comforting.
"How?" I asked.
"Ask your friend here," he gestured towards Annabella.
"How?" I asked him, "she's gagged. She can't exactly speak."
"Well..." He frowned like he didn't know how to respond. He stopped over to Annabella and took the gag off.
"Maxwell, she hasn't done anything," Annabella told him, "let her go."
"I had full intentions of doing that. However, I couldn't help but listen to your conversation last night. Felix, my son," he turned towards me, "you wish to bring him back from the dead?"
"No," I said, "I simply wish to free his soul. He isn't dead."
"Isn't dead?" He spoke slowly, "and Jasmine? Is she dead?"
"I don't know," I told him, "but she was taken just like Felix."
"By the warlock," Maxwell said with a subtle nod, "that leaves no survivors."
"He's alive," I said stubbornly.
"Alive? The warlock has him. If he's not dead," Maxwell shrugged, "he's wishing he is. I can't let you bring him back. I won't let him have...this."
"Why'd you leave?" Annabella asked, "you sound like you care."
"Why?" He spun towards her, "my own children were afraid of me! I couldn't live with that. Besides, it's not because I actually care for him. That ability is long lost. I just know that I should. Either way, I've felt pain that I wouldn't wish upon anyone else!"
"Except for Annabella?"
"Yes," he spoke slowly, "she did this to me. She made me this monster. I'm going to show her the pain she did to me."
"But does that make you any better than her?" I asked him, "I mean, come on. Just because bad things have happened to you doesn't mean that you have to do it to them. It's called doing what's right."
"What's right?" He laughed, "don't think I care about what's right when it comes to her."
"Maxwell, you were a good man once. Show us you can be one again," Annabella said.
"I don't wish to show you anything. Now, I'm gonna kill you. For the greater good, and for my pleasure. It'll be best to not fight against this, little girl."
I took a deep breath and stood up. I wasn't going to let him kill her. I wasn't going to let it happen.
And...I was not a little girl.
"Well, I'm not going to let you," I said. He turned towards me with an evil smile.
"Like you have a choice," he said as he turned back towards Annabella. I glanced around for some kind of weapon. Something to fight with.
There was nothing. Not even a spoon.
Guess I'll have to do it the old way. With a deep breath, I charged forward and jumped onto his back.
She wasn't dying today. Not if I could help it.
- Writer
