Submerging Inferno

by Brandon Witt

  I could feel the rage building up inside of me, felt it come rushing toward the surface, ready to release in a scream of agony.

  Nothing.

  Even my mouth had given up control. I tried to speak, cough, clear my throat. Nothing.

  A feeling of claustrophobia enveloped me. At least the part of me that could feel. The room shrank smaller and smaller around me, the bed closing in upon itself. I was clawing the inside of my mind, trying to find some way out. I slammed my eyes shut. It was the only control I had.

  Gradually, after several minutes, I began to calm down, attempting to force myself to take in the situation. Try to see what I could do to prepare for whoever or whatever came back for me.

  I looked around the room, hoping to find something I could use as a weapon, even though I had no idea how I would be able to use it if I found one.

  The room was strange. It appeared to be a little girl’s room, or an old woman’s. However, there were posters of sports figures plastered on the lavender walls and small action figure toys on top of the dresser and desk. I narrowed my eyes in an effort to see them better in the dim light. They weren’t the normal superhero-type action figures. They were gruesome. A wide array of monsters, most dripping with blood. A mummy, werewolf, ogre, two-headed Cyclops, and many others I didn’t have names for, the majority with large fangs and talons, some with dismembered arms or legs hanging from the mouths. Most of the time, such toys would have been only mildly interesting to me, but combined with the prissiness of the room and all that had happened, the sight of them made me shudder—or would have, if my body had been able.

  I forced myself to look away from the hideous toys to search the rest of the room. There was a stack of what appeared to be old yearbooks in the corner by the dresser. Next to them were a baseball, glove, and bat. Perfect! A momentary thrill shot through me until I remembered I couldn’t use the baseball bat very effectively while frozen in place.

  I continued to search the room, but found nothing more helpful than a few plastic trophies and a lightweight teal dumbbell set.

  It made me nervous not being able to see behind me. Since I was in a bed, the chances were good that I was against the wall, but what if I wasn’t. There could be anything there, just waiting. Waiting for what, I wasn’t sure, but the thought made me glad the monster toys were within my eyesight. Also, I realized I hadn’t seen a door, which meant it must be behind me. I wouldn’t be able to see whatever came through it.

  Mentally, I shook myself. I was thinking of these things as whatevers. There had to be an explanation for everything. Yeah, some guy had definitely sucked my blood in the alley, but you heard stories of people doing sick stuff all the time. It didn’t mean there were actual vampires, no matter what my kidnappers wanted to call them. And so what if they said something about demons? They were probably crazy, or just being dramatic. People at the church always spoke about demons when I was growing up. The stories they told used to keep me up at night straining to see the glow of red eyes peering from my closet.

  Those days were past. It wasn’t going to help anything if I let myself get freaked out over things that didn’t exist. I’d broken my back; that was all. Or my kidnappers had broken my back. Either way wasn’t good, but it didn’t mean they were demons. If there really were such things as demons, they probably didn’t have pastel paint and curtains.

  Still, if I had a broken back and was paralyzed, there were no guarantees that whoever had captured me was going to do anything better to me than the scenes the toys depicted on the dresser.

  Then, out of the blue, it hit me. I couldn’t talk! If I had broken my back and could still see and move my eyes, then I should be able to talk. I would be paralyzed from the neck down. That wouldn’t affect my speech. Whatever it was, my back wasn’t the problem. I brightened at the possibility. I would be able to walk again. To swim.

  Following that train of thought led me to the conclusion I was drugged. That had to be the explanation. It would all wear off. Then I could escape out the window and call the cops. Even if it was a couple of stories high, I could manage that. No. There would be no jumping. My eyes found the baseball bat again. As soon as I could manage to move, there were a couple of heads I was going to bash in first, and then I’d call the cops. I felt like I had been unconscious for a long time, so surely the drugs wouldn’t last much longer. Soon, I’d be able to—

  A soft creak broke my thoughts, and I could see light flow into the room from the left side of my peripheral vision. I slammed my eyes shut. Better to have them thinking I was still unconscious from the drugs. Then maybe they’d leave again, giving me time to get my body back.

  The floorboards creaked as my captors made their way around the bed, and I felt a hand press down gently on my chest. I felt breath on my face. It was a good thing I was paralyzed, or I would have jumped. As it was, I was impressed I didn’t fling my eyes open.

  “I can’t believe you’re still unconscious,” the male voice from earlier whispered a few inches from my face. “Mom swore she didn’t use that much force. I guess you just needed to sleep.” He exhaled, his breath smelling like cinnamon. “I don’t know what we’re going to do with you, but it would sure help if you could wake up and give me some assistance explaining this. The others are going to be home any time, and it would make it easier if you weren’t sleeping.”

  The pressure lifted off my chest, and his steps made their way across the room. As he walked away, I cracked open my eyes just enough to see where he was. His back was to me, and he stood in front of the desk. I let my eyes open the rest of the way, certain I could close them should he turn around.

  He appeared to be a little shorter than me, and his tight green T-shirt showed off a muscled back and thick tan arms. Tousled black hair reached most of the way down his neck. “God, Caitlin, you always were a bit of a freak,” he muttered as he picked up one of the more gory toys.

  As he inspected the figure, I realized I could see most of his face in the mirror over the desk. He was extremely good-looking—light caramel complexion, thick neck, squared jaw, full lips, smallish straight nose. His honey-colored eyes met mine in the reflection. He let out a gasp.

  “You’re awake!” He turned around, still holding the toy at chest level. “I’ve been so worried about you. I was afraid that….” He made his way nearly to the bed but paused suddenly midstride, cocking his head to one side and narrowing his eyes. “Did you drink any of his blood?”

  I felt my eyes grow wider. Drink his blood? The guy in the alley, or was there someone else I couldn’t remember? What kind of question is that? Why would I possibly drink someone’s blood?

  The man turned the toy over in his hands and began to pace in a small circle between the foot of the bed and the dresser, muttering to himself. “Even if you did, surely, it wouldn’t have had an effect so quickly. But if you did, then it will probably happen before the night’s over. I wish I understood how this works.” He glanced back up at me, his voice almost irritated. “Well, did you?”

  I could feel my face get warm with anger. I wanted to scream at him. Did I look like some blood-guzzling freak? Was I the one who had drugged someone and put them in a strange bed? As it was, my mouth didn’t move. I thought I started to feel some of the heat going through my body. I was vaguely aware of my arms at my sides.

  “Oh. I’m sorry.” The man looked down sheepishly. “I forgot, you can’t answer that, can you?” He came and sat down on the bed and put his hand tenderly on my left forearm. “Okay, I need you to stay calm. It will take me a little bit longer than normal since Mom is the one who secured you. Just give me a couple of minutes, and you’ll be able to move around and—”

  “Oh no, he won’t!” A short dark woman swept into the room and smacked the man’s hand that reached out toward my face. “What do you think you are doing?” Her voice was shrill, and she pointed a finger in my direction as she bellowed at the man. “First, you bring this demon here, expecting me to care for it, a
nd now you’re just going to set it loose so it can kill us and then wait around for your father and sisters to get home? I thought I raised you better!”

  The man’s face flushed, but his voice remained calm. “Mom, come on! You know he’s not a demon. If he were, you wouldn’t have been able to even get him to stay on the ground, much less float him up here and put him in bed.”

  Did he just say float me up here?

  I didn’t have time to consider it before the woman began yelling and waving her hands dramatically. “We are going to wait for your father to get home. He will decide how to handle this mess. I swear to the good Lord that you are going to be the death of this family! You need to learn to take care of yourself and quit worrying about everything that crosses your path! Thank goodness your sister and the kids left before you dragged this thing in!”

  “Mom! Enough!” This time his voice was loud, and it caused her to stop her ranting. “Look at him! Does he look like a demon to you?”

  She glanced over at me and then back to her son. “Yes!” She nodded emphatically, crossing her arms over her chest.

  He let out a slow, deliberate breath. “You are just being stubborn. He isn’t big enough to be a demon, and you know that.”

  “Look at his face!”

  “Yes, Mom. I can see his face. So what?”

  “It’s perfect!”

  “I can see that, Mother, but that doesn’t mean he’s a demon. Since when do demons come in normal human size?”

  “He’s big enough! You don’t know. You’ve never seen one. I have!” She whirled around toward me, thrust out her index finger, and touched my lips. “You tell us! Tell us you’re a demon.”

  “You’re both crazy!”

  It took a second to realize I had spoken the words aloud and hadn’t simply thought them. As soon as I did, however, I tried to throw myself off the bed. If I was fast enough, I could take out the son before the mother could respond. My body, however, didn’t so much as flinch. I couldn’t feel anything other than the heat slowly making its way down my legs. The drugs must be starting to wear off. The angrier I got, the more I could feel.

  I moved my mouth, slowly opening and closing. “I can talk.”

  The woman rolled her eyes. “Of course you can talk. Don’t play stupid with me. That won’t get you anywhere. I promise you, I’m no fool.”

  The man looked at his mother and then back at me. “I don’t think he’s playing, Mom.” He reached down and placed his hand below my knee. “Brett, are you feeling okay? Do you remember—”

  “How do you know my name?” As soon as I asked, I felt stupid. It’s not like it would have been that hard to search my wallet when I was unconscious.

  “What? You don’t remember me?” He moved closer to the head of the bed, but his mother placed her hand on his arm and stopped him.

  His response made me pause. I looked at him closer. I couldn’t draw a name to match his face, but I guessed it was possible we had gotten together at some point. He was most definitely my type. The dark hair, tan skin, thick muscles, even the faintest hint of a hard little belly under his T-shirt. Is that what this was? Some twisted retribution for not calling him back the next day?

  “Wow! You really don’t know who I am, do you?”

  “Listen, if I did something to upset you or hurt your feelings, I am sorry. I’m sure I didn’t mean to, but this isn’t the way to handle things. You could have just called or something. If it meant this much to you that we get together again, we could’ve—”

  “Brett, stop!” The man cast an embarrassed glance toward the woman before returning his imploring gaze to me. “It’s Finn! From the restaurant?”

  “Who?”

  I thought I saw a flash of hurt pass over his eyes. “Taberna de las Brujas. I didn’t realize I was so forgettable. My brother-in-law was trying to set us up.”

  His mother made a disgusted sound in her throat. “That reminds me. Don’t let me forget to teach Ricardo a lesson! Trying to set up my boy with a demon!”

  “Ricardo? Is he here?” Finally, someone familiar.

  “No, we haven’t called him. Mom just called Dad. He would know how to help you more than Ricky.”

  “We were on a date tonight?”

  “No, you were at the restaurant, and Ricky came and got me to introduce us. You don’t remember meeting at the restaurant?”

  Flashes began to break through the fog. “Oh! I remember Ricardo telling me about Finn. About you. Then he went off to find you. Then this red-haired guy came in with these green eyes and….” I closed my eyes, trying to visualize the restaurant. “That’s all I remember. Until the alley.” I squeezed my eyes tighter in an attempt to block out the memory. It didn’t work. I felt my fear, terror. Then a flash of pleasure, followed by guilt. Fury exploded, burning away every scrap of arousal. Fury at what had been done to me. Fury that I hadn’t killed the fucker. Fury that I was still helpless and at the mercy of strangers. That I’d traded my prison in an alley for one in a bedroom!

  “The vampire.” The mother stepped between Finn and I. “How did you set the vampire on fire if you are not a demon?”

  “Lady, why do you keep calling me that? I am not a demon. There’s no such thing!” She started to interrupt, but I cut her off, every ounce of my anger spewing forth in her direction. “There’s no such thing as vampires either, so could you give it a rest! And while we’re at it, give me something to get these drugs out of my system. I’m not staying here another moment!”

  Her face crunched into a disgusted expression, her temper attempting to match my own. “You’re on drugs?” She turned to Finn, her voice rising. “He’s on drugs! Ricardo not only set you up with a demon but a drug dealer! Your sister sure picked a winner when she married that idiot!”

  “Mom, come on. Don’t be like—”

  “For the last time, there is no such thing as demons, and I am not a drug dealer! The only drugs I am on are whatever you gave me to make it where I can’t move!” For the briefest of moments, fear began to set in once more. Eagerly, my anger burned it away.

  She narrowed her eyes and gave me a hard stare. I glared right back. After several moments, she looked back to Finn, her voice a mixture of surprise and begrudging surrender. “He’s not lying. He truly thinks we drugged him.”

  Finn seemed as bewildered as his mother. “Do you really not know? How is that possible? You set that vampire on fire with your bare hands. I saw you.”

  “You saw me? You were there?” My system was about to overload. One second I felt anger, then fear, then anger again, and every bit swallowed up in helpless confusion. It was bad enough to think I’d not been able to defend myself, let alone know that the entire thing had been witnessed by someone else. “What? You saw something you liked? Didn’t get the date your brother-in-law promised you, so you thought you’d drug me up and take your turn!”

  The man’s hands flew up, as if warding off punches. “Whoa, not at all. I had only just found you. I rounded the corner into the alley, and there you were. Both naked. He was on top of you. Blood everywhere.” He shook his head and wiped a hand over his eyes, letting out a strangled sound, like he was trying to regain control of his emotions. He forced his gaze back to mine, a pleading expression in his eyes that made me feel even more uncomfortable. “I thought I was too late, that you were already dead, but then he burst into flames right where your hands were. I’d never seen a spell like that. Hell, I’ve never seen anything like any part of that. I had no idea what to do. Then you did whatever spell that was, and got him off you before I could even take in what was happening. I’m so sorry. I swear, if I’d have realized—”

  “It wasn’t a spell.” Finn’s mother placed her hand on his shoulder, and her voice grew gentle. “You always want to see the best in people, Finn, you always have. This time, it’s gotten you into trouble. You know spells don’t work like that. We don’t have that kind of power. The only thing that could have burned him like that is a demon. I can’
t say I understand it. I agree with you. A demon should have completely burned the vampire to ashes. I don’t blame you for trying to help after witnessing what happened. No one deserves that. No one.” She eyed me cautiously. “Regardless of the circumstances, he’s a demon. And now he’s here, under our roof.”

  I looked back and forth between them. They were serious. Crazy or not, they believed everything they were saying. Plus, he had seen me set the guy on fire. How was that any less insane? I returned the mother’s stare. The insanity of it all, stripping away the anger, leaving me tired and empty. “How is it possible? How did I set that guy on fire?”

  She simply stared at me, her brown eyes slowly moving back and forth, searching mine. At first they were still hard with anger, but slowly that anger began to give way to confusion.

  This was all too much. All of it. The things in the water. Hurting that boy at the beach. Getting raped in the alley, and someone drinking my blood. Setting the man on fire. I was losing it. I was either developing some bizarre strain of schizophrenia, or I was becoming something else. Something like the monster toys on the dresser. As a tear leaked out of my eye, the woman placed her hand on my cheek, giving a slow, decisive nod. “I’m going to release you bit by bit. Don’t try anything. If you do, you won’t be leaving this bed. Understand?”

  The last thing I could do was understand any of this. I stared at her numbly.

  She lifted her left hand, reached over my body, and slowly ran it down the length of my right arm. Sharp tingling sensations started in the skin and slowly trickled toward the center of my arm, leaving a warm itch in their wake.

  “Move your hand. Slowly.” She stood and backed away from the bed.

  I raised my arm and squeezed my hand into a fist several times in front of my face. As part of my body regained control, the original feeling of claustrophobia came over me again. Desperate to get out of the bed, I reached over and grabbed my left arm to move it out of the way. It didn’t budge. It was like it had been melted onto the bed.