Tourniquet

by Chuck Buda

  That’s what she is counting on.

  Your weakness.

  Your purity.

  Your goodness.

  Zoe laughed aloud as if she had read Aiden’s thoughts.

  He shivered. Aiden tried to work himself free again. Scrambling to reach the safety of the fruit station. If only he could reach solid footing to take on Zoe, he would have a better chance of fighting.

  Surviving?

  Aiden threw a few wild punches at Zoe’s face. As short as her arm was, Aiden’s punches never neared her. He gave up trying to hit Zoe. He had to figure out how to get out of this trouble.

  Zoe toyed with Aiden, bringing him in closer to her, tempting him to lash out at her. Just as Aiden believed he could land a good shot, Zoe’s small arm would swing him away from her reach. The frustration ate at Aiden’s gut.

  Just as he began to formulate another plan to overcome Zoe’s transformation, Aiden quivered. He suddenly shrank to an infinitesimal size. He stared up as he got smaller and Zoe grew larger. She towered into the sky like a high rise building set in a thousand acres of flat farm land. The sound of Zoe’s bellows grew exponentially louder as he shrank. Aiden’s hands flew to his ears. He felt her howls burning his ear drums. Aiden looked at his hands, covered in fresh blood which poured from his ear canals. He returned his hands to his skull, clasping tighter, as much to keep the blood and brains in his head as it was to keep the painful screams from getting in.

  The supermarket darkened to an opaque blackness. Aiden’s senses deflated as any grip on reality evaporated in the solid shadows. His struggles faltered. The world around Aiden dissipated and just as quickly as Zoe had overpowered him into being her rag doll, Aiden felt lost.

  Everything went dark and silent.

  Aiden found himself at the bottom of the well which he had feared moments ago.

  From somewhere above and around him, Zoe laughed.

  Chapter 48

  Zoe grinned wide. She was winning. And Aiden would soon be out of her way. Zoe envisioned the final hours of her rise to power unfolding before her. Dispatching Aiden and Samantha, Zoe would go after Spencer. Zoe would defeat Spencer and usurp the crown of the underworld. Becoming the supreme being of all. Once she took her rightful mantle, Zoe would bend the world to its knees. She would have whatever she wanted. Whenever she wanted it.

  No more worries about who would follow her or listen to her. No concerns over who felt she was cool or the trend-setter.

  Where is Spencer?

  Zoe had offered Aiden a get-out-of-jail-free-card in exchange for bringing Spencer to her. Either Aiden had decided to come after her on his own, which Zoe thought was a huge mistake. Or Aiden had no clue about Spencer’s whereabouts and had decided to try to stop her without Spencer’s help. An even bigger mistake.

  What if Spencer waited in hiding for Zoe to get caught up in her bloodlust?

  If Spencer were smart, he would definitely use Aiden and Samantha as bait or a distraction. Zoe knew Spencer was a sharp guy. But she had some reservations about his ability to formulate an attack. Book smarts wasn’t the same as battlefield strategy. The greatest military generals in the world studied history, for sure. However, they also spent countless hours developing strategy and tactics skills through games like chess and poker. Honing their abilities to think several moves ahead, anticipate the emotional state of their opponent, and wear a stoic, calm expression the whole time. Spencer had not been so diligent.

  Zoe had to stop wasting time.

  She reached into Aiden’s mind, feeling around for the crumbs of his innermost fears.

  Zoe found something.

  She identified Aiden’s worries about his parents. He feared the moment they discovered their innocent little bookworm had led a very different life than the one they believed. The posters of astronomy and science fiction movies was a ruse for a murderer. A kid who would seek out another student and attempt to harm them.

  What’s this?

  Zoe smiled. Hiding behind Aiden’s fears of his parents’ discovery of his recent actions, Zoe found something much more powerful.

  Aiden was afraid of dying without having better served his Lord.

  How sweet.

  He really is a goody two-shoes, isn’t he?

  Zoe couldn’t contain herself. She laughed hard.

  Using her mind like a mortar and pestle, Zoe ground at Aiden’s ultimate fears. She conjured the most horrific images of Hell she could summon. She cranked up the heat, watching Aiden sweat profusely, smelling his flesh crisp at the edges. Zoe felt Aiden tremble. She heard him whimper, sobbing for his Maker to come relieve him of his torture cell. Zoe pinned Aiden’s limbs back with steel barbs. Each one pierced his skin and bone, locking him in place for her machinations.

  Zoe showed Aiden memories of helping people as he was growing up. Interspersed with nice thoughts, Zoe flashed images of Aiden fucking. She showed him each of his sexual transgressions. Zoe floated scenes of his religious upbringing, praying before meals and attending weekly services with a sprinkling of his violent attacks against her. Every time the pictures in Aiden’s mind changed, his body contorted and convulsed. Tears of blood streamed down his cheeks. Aiden screamed for God to save him. Zoe increased the pressure. She rotated the steel barbs in his flesh. Each twist renewing the bloodshed. Zoe whispered the words of false prophets in Aiden’s ears, leading him to believe his Savior was on His way. Simultaneously, Zoe picked at Aiden’s fears and insecurities like a boy playing with his scabs. She felt the madness churn in Aiden’s mind. His self-loathing and dread a constant undertow. Zoe fostered hope while pulling the rug from under Aiden’s feet.

  Every moment was a joy for her.

  Zoe tightened the clasps on her torment. She sealed Aiden’s mental iron maiden, forcing thousands of nails to breach the surface, burrowing underneath his skin in hopes of feasting on the last drops of sinner’s blood. Aiden writhed, failing to fight off the demons which haunted him, using his emotions as a playground for their whimsy. He spit up a wave of blood as the roiling scenes in his mind carved tunnels in his innards. Zoe lapped at the excess flows, never ceasing her maniacal ramblings. Each moment brought Aiden closer to the abyss. Zoe was ecstatic with her ability to completely dominate one of her own species. Her newfound skill became a toy she batted around between her paws. Zoe cackled with delight, her tongue probing Aiden’s bleeding wounds. She flicked her tongue like she had when she had gone down on Jordyn and Leah.

  Aiden groaned. His pulse weakened. Zoe hugged his body closer so she could relish the moment his last breath left him alone in this world. She debated tossing Aiden to his death down the endless bottoms of her mind. But she wanted to extract every last morsel of his being. Zoe refused to waste an ounce of Aiden’s suffering. All of it would fill her reserves, swimming through the fibers of her tendons. Strengthening the power of the darkness. Making her a formidable force of evil. An eclipse of heavenly light.

  Zoe licked her lips. Her tongue snagged on a recent growth of tooth, sharp and razor-edged. Zoe threw her head back in an orgasmic sigh. She had become a fanged demon. Her mind traveled back to the genesis when the band of friends wanted to imitate the vampires of the television series, True Blood. Never in a million years would Zoe have imagined her transcendence into this supreme being. She had gone far beyond her dreams.

  Spencer would feel the full measure of her rebirth. And he would become another soul in her collection of subordinates.

  Zoe sensed Aiden’s spirit escaping. His body was beginning to shut down. It was giving up the battle, walking into the blackness. Zoe returned her attention to Aiden’s death. She wanted to experience it all. Each second. Savoring the flavor. Burning the memory into her brain so she could recall the occasion if she ever felt blue. Zoe would look back to this moment and remember the first day of her REAL life. The life which fed on life.

  Completing the circle.

  Zoe cooed into Aiden’s ear, reassuring him she was here for him. He need
n’t die alone. She would hold him in her arms...

  Something shifted.

  Zoe startled.

  The bliss evaporated into doubt.

  Chapter 49

  The world closed in around Aiden, narrowing around his form. Blackness surrounded him, shutting down his vision. Zoe’s whispers faded away, leaving Aiden alone in his misery. He felt grateful for the solitude because Zoe’s mock solace did more harm than dying alone. Aiden’s mind pictured himself as a microscopic fetus, curled in on itself. He gasped for a final breath, hoping for eternal light to welcome him home, saving him from the darkness.

  But it only got darker.

  Somewhere inside Aiden’s soul, a fraction of hope refused to give up. A synapse, in the reptilian portion of his brain, fired a nanosecond worth of memory to his forebrain. It flashed an image of young Aiden holding hands with his parents. The thought awakened another memory. Aiden in grade school, helping a handicapped student in the restroom. Another memory awakened. Aiden handing collected donations to the local food bank. An elderly neighbor stood close by. She rested on her cane, watching Aiden and his friends filling the shelves. A tear of gratitude streaked her face. Aiden had been moved by her emotion. All along, Aiden had thought the collections they had gone door to door for amounted to a hill of beans. Until he understood the full impact his sweaty actions had brought to the world. To his local community.

  Aiden twitched.

  Survive.

  A new voice whispered to him. This voice came from within himself. Aiden had no idea where the voice came from. Was it his own fight instinct? Was it Leah reaching through the veil of the afterlife to will him on? Had an angel come to Aiden in his most desperate hour?

  Fight.

  Aiden twitched. He spasmed.

  He felt a door opening in his mind, but he was still too weak to manipulate his body. Aiden recited the prayers his parents had taught him as a youngster. As his memory stumbled through each verse, Aiden became aware of the void surrounding him.

  He sensed its doubt. Or was it fear?

  Aiden continued with his prayers. The world around him shifted, as if an enormous mountain moved due to the tectonic plates rubbing against each other. It was an enormous sensation. The momentum gave Aiden hope. He still felt alone in his fight. But another force was present. He chose to believe it was Leah.

  The prayers slowly worked themselves from the recesses of his mind to his lips. No sounds were uttered. Yet, the power of his soul shifted the mechanics to his jaw. Even through dry lips, Zoe recognized the struggle she had to face. Aiden felt Zoe dig her nails deeper into his flesh. Instead of pain, the cutting raised his consciousness a few notches. Zoe’s panic worked to Aiden’s benefit, stirring the sleeping giant within.

  A few holy words croaked from Aiden’s mouth. Zoe screamed with all her might to try to dampen his burgeoning spirit. Again, Zoe’s counter strikes opened pathways that had been previously closed. Aiden quaked in Zoe’s arms. For the first time, Aiden felt Zoe’s wicked embrace as that of a small, fragile being. He burrowed up the darkened, narrow tunnel. Swimming through the void, Aiden pictured Zoe for what she really was.

  A human being.

  All this time she had manipulated her presence as a gigantic, demon figure with massive powers. Aiden had bought into it. He gave into the winds and the violence. How could he not? It had been so huge, larger than anything he had experienced before. But behind all the spectacle, a small girl worked the strings of forces she didn’t fully understand. Zoe had learned enough of the occult to do some damage. Complete control was still outside her grasp. Zoe had believed she had the ability to summon the dark forces and use them for her bidding. However, she had never given thought beyond the show. Zoe was clueless about dialing it back. And she had not faced an equally powerful presence. A light so blinding it could topple her evil intentions.

  Aiden whispered the words. Like holy water, Zoe thrashed against his awakening. She tried to chant over his prayers. Both beings harnessed their beliefs to battle each other. The tide swung several times between the two. Just as Aiden felt he was reaching the end of the darkness, Zoe’s chants compelled him down the tunnel.

  His heart skipped a beat when Zoe uttered his name. Spencer.

  As Zoe shoved Aiden’s form down, she bellowed at Aiden. She said he wasn’t strong enough to stand up to her. Only Spencer could stop her. And then she had laughed. Zoe whispered that it was time for Aiden to die so she could fight Spencer.

  Aiden saw Spencer with his shaved body, pouring blood down his torso. He saw Spencer chanting and passing the chalice of blood. Then he remembered Spencer’s body on the pavement. The police processing the scene.

  Spencer is dead.

  Aiden repeated the thought in his mind. If Spencer was dead, then her epic final battle could never take place. And, if it couldn’t happen, Zoe wouldn’t be able to succeed in her plans to rule with her evil. The power she stood to gain from defeating Spencer was gone. So this was the best she could do. Zoe could never be more powerful than she was at this moment.

  Spencer is dead. Aiden tried to say it aloud but Zoe’s control had increased. She had the upper hand in the struggle.

  Spencer is dead.

  The words came near the surface. Just not through the maelstrom. Aiden dug deep in his mind, summoning all his strength. He envisioned the good he had brought forth in his life. The sting of not doing enough while he had the chance spurred him on. Leah smiled through the darkness. At first, her cherry-red hair glowed. A faint smile grew in the blackness, revealing Leah’s face. Aiden saw her eyes. So beautiful. He felt his heart ache. He missed her already. Aiden knew he had to sacrifice himself in order to avenge her death. His pain would be temporary, shallow.

  Zoe must die.

  Aiden gathered his strength. He forced the words to come through the void.

  Spencer is dead.

  Zoe’s attack paused. Aiden sensed her doubt. It felt like she believed him even though she continued to question the validity of his words.

  Spencer is dead.

  Aiden’s vocal chords burned. The words came through like broken glass scratching his throat. Zoe laughed. It sounded unsure. Forced. Fake.

  Spencer is dead. No Spencer, no power.

  The words burned like a gasoline milkshake. Aiden gagged on his dry tongue.

  Zoe screamed. She refused to accept Aiden’s statement. Zoe threw Aiden to the supermarket floor. She roared against him. NOOOOOOOOOOO!

  Aiden slid across the broken floor, shards of debris scraping his elbows.

  Suddenly, the darkness moved.

  Chapter 50

  Aiden climbed to one knee. Lightheaded, he wobbled in his struggle to rise. Aiden felt weak. He needed to get back into the fight. He knew this could be his last chance to stamp out Zoe.

  Zoe screamed again. The loudness that had been behind her earlier vocalizations wasn’t present. It sounded like a somewhat muffled version. She leaned toward Aiden, her arms spiraling with clenched fists. Aiden recognized the sign of her summoning. The strength of the winds had abated. Zoe’s attempts to crank up the intensity came through in waves.

  Aiden pulled himself up. “Spencer is dead, Zoe. I’m all you got.” He held his arms out to the side in mockery.

  “You lie. Stop stalling for him. Where is he?”

  “He’s gone.”

  Zoe hurled remnants of debris in Aiden’s direction. He watched the fragments drift past him as if an invisible barrier stood between them.

  Aiden renewed his prayer. He pulled every last drop of emotion from his diaphragm to give as much volume as he could.

  “Where the fuck is he?” Zoe screamed at Aiden. Her eyes darted across the supermarket in search of Spencer.

  Aiden paused his prayer. “Don’t you think Spencer would be here if he was still alive?” He continued to pray aloud.

  Zoe spat. “He’s hiding, isn’t he? I don’t blame him. I’m going to kill him when I find him.”

  �
��Face it, Zoe. This is the end. I know you need Spencer’s life in order to reach your goal. But he’s not coming. He’s gone. Everyone’s gone.” Aiden smirked. “It’s just you and me.”

  Aiden got chills, imagining himself as Clint Eastwood. His own defiance surprised him.

  Zoe pointed at Aiden. Her eyes burned red hot. “You will die, Aiden. You can’t beat me.”

  Aiden laughed. The sound of his own laughter shocked him. He couldn’t believe he found anything humorous in such a dreadful moment.

  “I don’t have to beat you.”

  Zoe returned the laughter. “You’re a fool.”

  “You’ve beaten yourself.”

  Aiden shouted another prayer. He glared into Zoe’s eyes as he recited the words he had learned so long ago.

  Zoe jumped down from the fruit station and charged Aiden. He stood his ground as she rushed at him. Zoe rammed into Aiden like a linebacker making a game-saving tackle. The pair flew over the collapsed tables and shelving. Fresh cuts ripped at their skin, bringing new blood to the surface. Zoe snapped her teeth at Aiden’s face. He swung his arms up to block each of her attempts. Her teeth nipped at his forearm. Aiden saw the crimson lining her teeth. She had managed to get more of his blood. Aiden swung his knee up into Zoe’s crotch. The loud thump rocked her body into the air. Her expression showed the pain his knee had caused. But it didn’t last long. Zoe landed back in place, laughing in his face. She reached between her legs and squeezed a handful of his privates. Aiden howled as she twisted his balls in her fist. The pain was so excruciating, Aiden snapped into action. In a desperate attempt to free himself, Aiden threw his head forward. It connected with Zoe’s mouth, shattering most of her front teeth. Crumbling enamel and blood landed on Aiden’s chest.