Lilah Chapter 4 Excerpt
...The city is dark, slowing down and quiet with its usual load bustling nature. Lilah in an attempt to clear her head takes in the cool air that brushes against her as she walks. She watches as people walk by, rush by, talking, listening to music, all engulfed in themselves, their own lives, not taking notice or turning a deliberate blind eye to the evils that surround them all. Evil that announces itself in many ways, through the tiniest of acts that people commit in everyday life opening the door to bigger more seductive evils to grow and make themselves known. To the openly deviant acts people get away with on a daily basis. The little old lady being robbed down the street as people face the floor or change direction, to witnessing a beating and remaining silent. These people who she believed would all proclaim to be good people, good citizens, who would undoubtedly claim they hold no prejudices and yet slay people with their fork tongues when they believe they are out of ear shot of the public and then be the first to point fingers in a crisis. Those who are so concerned with themselves they will lie and place blame on another.
These people she passes along the grey city pavements make her feel sick to her stomach. They would all hang her for saving them from the evils they love to pretend they hate and then proclaim her the devil.
"Weasels." She mutters under her breath.
The street grows quieter the further she walks, corner shops are closing for the night, street lights lay claim to the dark the covers the rest of the street. Cars lining the curb become sparse. Lilah's walk with frustration has taken her to an area of the city she is unfamiliar with. The road ahead looks bleak, screaming at her not to continue. She hugs her stomach and stares into the darkness before spinning on her heels. Her thoughts have played games with her mood presenting a pounding in her frontal lobe. She has upset herself. All she wanted was to clear her mind, but her mind is now anything but clear. Heading back to the strip of street with shop lights she passes a pathway from which she hears the weakest of squeals, scuffling and deep breathing. It sounds far and yet near. Thumping picks up in her head. She turns to face the lights, stretches out her foot to move in the direction she was heading. Her stomach begins to knot. In her silence she hears the scuffling lessen, the beat of the thumping picks up speed. Anxiety takes hold as her eyes begin to burn. She draws her foot in and turns towards the pathway. There are no lights to mark the path, a gangway between two buildings. The stone is wet from the days earlier abrupt shower, she touches the wall to reassure her steps.
The pathway curves, the scuffling grows. As she edges her way around the corner, she holds tighter to the wall. Scampering out of the blackness runs a small bulk. A rat. Lilah grabs hold of her mouth as she throws herself back on to the wall. A scream is trying to work its way up her throat. She squeezes her burning eyes shut, counts backward from twenty.
"A rat..delightful!...You can calm down now, just breathe. " She mutters to herself
Lilah peels herself off the wall to head back to the road.
A scream encapsulates her, making her heart rocket. But the scream was not from her, it came from behind her. In the darkness. Lilah glues her hand back on to the wet cold stone as she urges herself to walk further into the darkness.
"Shut that pretty little mouth bitch." A gruff voice demands.
Lilah, on her toes creeps around the corner. Two men are there, one standing facing the floor another crouching. Thin legs are stretched out between the crouching mans.
Lilah eyes burn with acid, her stomach tightens while a swirl of vicious hate attacks her system.
Sobbing leaks out from in front of the crouching man. His accomplice kicks one of the legs sprawled along the stone.
A bundle of fabric lays across from them.
Lilah steps out into view, her hand has left the wall, her shoulders have rolled forward. The men seemingly do not notice.
"What is this?" The standing man says "come to join little girl?"
The crouching man rises, one hand balled into a fist.
Lilahs gums bleed as they tear allowing for the sheath of teeth to cage over her human nashers, her fingers cry while the claws edge their way out and over her finger nails. She looks at her hands and looks to the men in front of her.
"What the hell is this?" Snickers the now standing man
"Halloween is over sweetheart." The other man retorts.
Lilah slowly walks forward, the men mirror her movement, spreading out as far as the pathway will allow.
They laugh looking at the young woman boldly walking towards them.
She walks up to the man standing in front of the woman on the ground. He grabs at her, drawing her in with both arms. His fists wrapped up in her top.
The other man walks around and stands behind Lilah.
Lilah stares into the man's eyes and relinquishes a smile, revealing the sharp spindly ivory teeth. Her hands wrap around the fists of the man, before she plunges her claws into his skin, sinking them deeper and deeper. The man screams.
His friend grabs Lilah by the hair and yanks her back tearing out some of his accomplices flesh as he goes.
The man screams again as rage consumes his face. The accomplice wraps an arm around Lilah herding her away from the friend and the woman on the floor, he attempts to choke her. Her hands fly up and pierce into his neck before plying herself free.
The man behind her shouts in pain she turn to see the friend charging at her. She musters up power, enough to launch the charging man in the far curving wall with an earth shattering screech. The impact shakes the surrounding building. Lights fly on from windows above. Lilah turns to face the man cowering behind her.
"Who do you work for?" She says in a sickly sweet voice.
"No, n-n-no." The man stutters before turning to run.
Lilah digs her claws into the building, all teeth bared as she propels herself forward. Catching the man in an instant, she lands on his back, plunging her claws into his ribs forcing the screaming man to the ground.
Before he can move she grabs his head and smashes it into the stone.
Everything is still.
She wipes her blood stained fingers onto the mans coat, teeth still bared. Humorous, all is humorous to her. She kicks the mans legs apart before playing hopscotch with them.
A groan sounds from down the path. Her eyebrows furrow as she goes to inspect this new noise. The woman is there, leant against the wall eyes closed, breathing heavy. Lilah crotches down to inspect her. Her jade eyes show no sorrow for the woman.
"Pathetic" She mumbles before grabbing the woman by the arm and dragging her past the body of her of her attackers to the neck of the pathway. There she leaves her, making her way back into the lit street....
"...Everyone has their darkness! But it is how you choose to deal with that darkness inside that makes you." RBM 27/12/12
End of excerpt.
RBM
