Inner Horror

by L. A. Tafe

  The window in the corner shatters inward, hooting shards of glass around the room, into Lancifer, into Jack, into me. Jack shrieks in pain, a high-pitched squeal that shakes the whole house. I kick free from Jack’s grasp, crashing to the floor, looking around the room trying to figure out what made the window explode.

  Lancifer is on the ground next to me, pulling three large shards of glass form his chest, blood pours from each wound as he pulls the glass out, healing himself right up when he’s done. I tackle him from the ground, pinning him to the ground, beating him in the face with my fists. Lancifer spits blood at me as I hit him, defiant even when he’s getting his ass kicked. Jack’s massive hand closes around my body, hoisting me into the air, swinging me around the room slamming me against the walls.

  I see Lancifer out of the corner of my eye looking at the destroyed window, a blur passes between the window and Lancifer, taking him to the ground. Jack throws me hard across the room and I crash into the wall next to the door, healing my broken bones just in time to roll away from Jack’s fist. I glance in Lancifer’s direction, Dream Amy is beating the hell out of him, clawing at his face and screaming at me.

  “How fucking dare you leave me here!” She bellows. Holy shit, she’s really beating the hell out of him! My enjoyment of watching Dream Amy attack Lancifer is short lived, having to roll to dodge another of Jack’s blows.

  Jack roars a guttural howl as he misses me again and again, each time the house shakes so hard it feels like it will collapse. I look towards Dream Amy and Lancifer after jumping over a swipe from Jack, disheartened by what I see. Lancifer has Dream Amy pinned now, a hand around her neck and the other holding her mouth shut as he yells at her. “You attack me? Your fucking maker? You mean nothing to me!” Lancifer’s voice is as intense as I’ve ever heard it, squeezing Dream Amy’s neck harder, digging his talons into her flesh.

  A howl from Jack brings me back to my own fight, a massive shadow creature that is trying to eat me. Jack brings down both of his fists and I dodge the blow as the wooden floor collapses beneath the force of his blow. I look at Jack and see he has an idea. He raises his arms above him, putting his fists through the roof, making it crash down throughout the room, massive chunks of wood that could do some serious damage if on comes down on you.

  I look at Lancifer, the look in his eye tells me how close he is to killing Dream Amy. I rush him while Jack brings down the ceiling, dodging huge pieces of wood as I cross the room, slamming into Lancifer, and pinning him against the wall in a daze. Jack seizes me before I can even get my hands around Lancifer’s neck, instead I scrape my fingernails into the ground as Jack grabs me to his gaping mouth. Dream Amy moves fast, getting to her feet and picking up on Lancifer where I left off. She spats in his face like she did to me earlier, the acid is stronger this time, burning Lancifer’s face till his bones are showing through his deteriorating skin. Her hands grow into sleek claws and she plunges them into Lancifer's chest, tearing him open with ease. When her hands come out she is holding a black heart, Lancifer’s heart. She squeezes it till it bursts, black blood splatters her teeth through her malicious looking smile. Lancifer cries out as his heart explodes, his body seems to shrivel like a corpse almost instantly.

  I can’t hold on any longer and Jack gives me one hard pull, flicking me up into the air with his massive gaping mouth right below me. I close my eyes, knowing I have nothing I can do about it, just enjoy my last few seconds alive.

  “Jack! Don’t eat that.” Dream Amy says, startling Jack by throwing Lancifer’s corpse into his massive maw. I watch as Lancifer slides down Jack’s throat, from where I am I can see into the void, an utter blackness that seems bottomless. Jack howls one last time before his body loses all of its shape, crashing upon the ground like water, then sucked into the small box till the top clicks shut, locking him away.

  I crash upon the floor, just inches from the small box that now contains Lancifer. Dream Amy runs over to me, roof is caving in and I can feel the house giving away beneath me. “Close your eyes!” Dream Amy screams at me. I listen, shutting my eyes just as the house falls down around me.

  CHAPTER SEVEN.

  My eyes shoot open, immediately getting to my feet, finding myself in the middle of my room. My first thoughts are. Am I really awake? I scan the room, It’s pretty trashed. The whole place smells like stale beer and sweat. Empty Bottles of beer and liquor are scattered everywhere, dirty plates with half eaten food, and stain above my bed where a bottle was thrown and smashed, the shards are all over my bed, some with blood glinting from them.

  I wonder for a moment if I might still be asleep, but seeing the flat screen up in the cabinet and hardwood floors beneath my feet rids me of my fear. I am finally awake!

  With the realization I almost jump for joy, taking hard breaths, finding myself enjoying the sweet taste of each inhale. I look towards the window, light is pouring in, warming my skin like only the real sun could.

  A throbbing pain begins in my head and my arms start to sting and burn. I put my hands to the sides of my head, massaging the sides hoping to alleviate some of the pulsing pain. I catch sight of my arms, seeing small, deep cuts all over my forearms; no doubt the reason there’s blood on the shards of glass. I sigh, “Sick fuck really did a number on me.” But he is gone.

  The thought of him being gone plays over and over in my head till a smile is spread wide across my face. He’s gone. “He’s gone!” I say out loud to myself and laugh a little.

  “Not quite” A voice says. I look up, startled, to see Dream Amy sitting on top of the table in the corner, her black hair dark even in the sunlight. “Amy!” I yelp, falling onto my bed as I step back. Am I still sleeping?!

  Amy quickly answers my question as if she read my mind, “Relax. You are awake. I'm just in your head.” I let out a breath and stand from the bed, shards of glass sting my ass. “Why are you here?” I ask her, annoyed with her presence. I just want my nightmares to leave me the hell alone. Lancifer is dead, what the hell could she want.

  “Because I need to talk to you.” Dream Amy says, her tone of voice sounding a lot like my Amy’s, sweet sensitive, nothing like how she talked to me earlier. An obvious questions dawns on me, “Why did you help me kill Lancifer?” Amy looks at me for a moment, a look that says, “Are you really that fucking stupid?” I look to the ground, embarrassed, waiting for her to tell me what I don’t want to hear.

  “He’s not dead.” She finally says, that would be exactly what I didn’t want to hear. “I saw you kill him and jack dragged him into his box!” I yell, not wanting to believe that Lancifer isn’t dead, or at least trapped forever.

  “I can’t kill him. Only you can.” Dream Amy tells me, “And Lancifer made that trap for you. He will know how to get out.”

  “Fuck!” I growl, slamming my hands on my knees in frustration. “Why now? How the hell did he get out in the first place?”

  “I don’t know. Lancifer didn’t make me until he was already out.”

  I sit there for a moment, another question surfacing on my mind. “Why did he make you?”

  Dream Amy pauses for a moment, reluctant to tell me. “Because he was jealous of your Amy, the real Amy.” Something flashes in her eyes as she says “The real Amy.” It unsettles me enough to stay quite for a few minutes.

  “You never answered my question.” I say, finally breaking the silence. “I helped you because he fucking left me while he had a joyride with your body!” Dream Amy snaps, that flash in her eye has spread across her face, showing something dark and evil beneath her skin.

  Dream Amy gains her composure as quick as she lost it, starting to talk again. “I am here to tell you that Lancifer’s minions have disappeared. All except for the strongest, I believe you will remember them when you see them. They will do anything to please Lancifer, and what would please him more than to find out you have been—“ Dream Amy pauses, choosing her words carefully, “taken care of, in his absence.”

  Oh great. Someth
ing my grandfather once told me before he died comes to mind. While the cat is out, the mice will play. He used to tell me that when my grandmother would leave me and him alone, then he would pour himself a double of scotch and pull out the playing cards.

  “And what will you be doing?” I ask her; curious of where she falls in all of this. “They will be after me as well. I’ll be fine.” Is her response. Judging by what she did to Lancifer, I don’t doubt it. One more player in this game comes to mind, “What about Oliver?”

  “I don’t know an Oliver.” She says, clearly telling the truth. What is He up to? I wonder, thinking it over silently.

  Amy stands and walks over to me, “Jack’s box will keep Lancifer trapped for two nights tops. When he comes out, you better be ready because He will be.” Amy raises her hand to my cheek, it grows into a sleek claw like it did before ripping Lancifer’s heart out. She drags a talon down my cheek. Even awake I can feel it, cold, sharp, and somehow, sexy. “Then we can talk about how you can repay me.” she says, disappearing into thin air. Leaving me with one last whisper that echoes from inside my head followed by giggling, “By the way, look in a mirror.”

  I stand and go to the bathroom, a good idea of what Lancifer has done. I look in the mirror. Aw fuck. My head is shaved bald, piercings all over my ears with large spikes at the bottom, and worst of all is the cut that Lancifer no doubt stitched up himself. Blood seeps from it just a little, without the soaked stitches holding it closed it would bleed and bleed. Even with seeing Lancifer in my nightmares, knowing he must have done it too my body while he had control, I'm still horrified.

  Hopping to wash away the horror of my night, I turn the shower on as hot as it will go and strip down. In the mirror I can see cuts previously hidden by my clothes, each of them still bleeding slightly.

  When blood red water stopped swirling around the drain I step out and dry off. I find a bottle of painkillers and down the days maximum, hopping to numb my headache. As I get dressed I think about the approaching battle with Lancifer, or better yet, who will be haunting me in his absence. Dream Amy’s words come back to me. How do I know them?

  Mindlessly I pick up my phone, hardly thinking as I open it up, checking the screen for anything new. I read the last few text messages sent and received and my heart drops as I see the newest one in my inbox, “I hope your up. Don’t make me drag you too the doctor mister!” It read, sent from Amy.

  Oh no. She was going to take me to the doctor yesterday! I call her and pull my shoes on as quickly as I can. It rings twice then goes to voicemail. Did she ignore it? I look all over for my keys, finally finding them hung over the neck of a beer bottle, realizing when I find them that Amy had my car to come get me yesterday.

  I run down the stairs, skipping every other step. There’s a note on the front door, “When we get home, we’re gonna talk.” Is all it said.

  Oh good now my parents want to give a fuck. They haven’t bothered me for months! But now, when my life is spiraling out of control, they are concerned enough to want to talk. Great.

  I snatch the note from the door and stuff it into my pocket, too concerned with Amy to truly give a shit. I get to my car, astonished its in one piece. I start it and peel out of the driveway. Please be okay Amy.

  I try calling her three more times on the way to her house but she doesn’t pick up. I try telling myself she’s just sleeping or something, wouldn’t be the first time she slept till noon or forgot where she put her phone. “Dumb ass!” I yell as I pass someone going way to slow, no one knows how to drive today.

  I pull into Amy’s driveway, quickly getting out of the car, and running up to the door. I lift my hand to the door to knock but it opens up before I can. Amy is standing in the doorway, a frightened look on her face. Before I have a second to speak she is pushing me back to my car yelling, “You have to go! Go! Leave before—“ A mans voice, her dad’s voice, roars from somewhere in the house. “I’ll fucking kill that sonofabitch!” Her dad roars. The tone of his voice scares the shit out of me. Immediately I listen to Amy, sprinting to my car, pulling the driver side door open and getting in, turning the key in the ignition and putting the car in gear all in one fluid motion.

  Amy knocks on the window and I turn to see her, a big black and blue discoloration around her right eye. Oh my god. Lancifer must have done that!

  I roll down the window just as Her dad appears in the doorway. “Meet me at the park! Go now!” She says, her voice stressed but just as sweet as ever.

  My blood is boiling from the sight of her black eye, wishing I could face Lancifer right now and rip him apart limb from limb. “Amy I’m so sorry!” I say, knowing an apology will probably never heal how she must now feel about me. She nods. “Go,” She says again and I pull out of her driveway, speeding off towards the park.

  The park is filled with parents and their kids, people walking their dogs and dogs walking their owners to catch squirrels in the trees, barking furiously as their owners tell them to heel.

  For me, memories are everywhere in this park. Me climbing the monkey bars as my mom watches from a park bench, back when she gave two shits about me. I got my first stitches because of those same monkey bars. It had rained earlier in the day and the bars were still a little wet, I got all the way across then slipped on the last bar, coming down on the ledge and getting a nice cut on my leg.

  There are loads of parks near by but only one that Amy could have been referring too. Amy and I had our first kiss here, under a huge oak tree that was towards the back of the park. Sounds cliché I know but it was perfect.

  As I think of Amy’s black eye my blood begins to boil. How could He, why would he do that too her? The image of Lancifer striking her precious face being hit makes my stomach turn.

  “He knew it would bother you.” “Amy?” I say, turning to my right to see dream Amy sitting shoulder to shoulder with me, staring at the park.

  “What do you mean?” I ask, calm, cool, collected, her sudden appearances becoming the norm. “Lancifer is jealous of you, Lance,” she says. “He wants your life.” She pauses, “And everything that comes with it.” A shiver runs down my spine at the thought. He wants Amy. We sit in silence for a moment, looking down at my feet, thinking exactly what Dream Amy said next. “If you fail and Lancifer takes over. Amy won’t be safe.”

  I lift my head and look at Amy, “I know.” Dream Amy disappears and I hear footsteps coming towards me.

  I look up to see Amy, the real Amy, cautiously walking up to me. I jump to my feet and try to put my arms around her, wanting so desperately just to touch her.

  “Get away from me!” She cries, instantly in tears and backing away from me. I take a step forward, holding my arms out to hug her. She won’t let me. Her makeup begins to run and I can see the swollen skin around her eye, starting to glisten with fresh tears.

  She stops backing away and just stares at me, unsure, scared, and hurt. “I did that to you, didn’t I?” My voice comes out barely louder than a whisper. She nods and the tears continue to flow. Again I try to hug her, taking a step towards her slowly. But she lashes out at me, “No! You fucking hit me! And you laughed at me after. You fucking laughed at me, Lance!”

  “I’m sorry Amy! I'm so sorry!” I cry, hot tears coming down my cheeks. Amy looks into my eyes now, searching for something. She must have found it because she embraces me, pulling me into her as much as she can.

  It’s never felt so good to have her hug me, never felt so close. “I think I'm going . . . crazy, Amy. I’m losing it.” She stops crying and looks at me with affection and worry. She stares at me for a few moments then takes my hand in hers and has me sit down with her.

  “I can see it in your eyes that you’re scared,” she says. “Tell me what’s going on,” she adds. I sigh, not sure whether I should really tell her or not. She could get me throw in a nut house! She could think I'm crazy and never speak to me again. but too much of me wants to unload on someone, tell someone everything about my nightmares. So
I do. I explain everything to her. All the nightmares since as far back as I can remember, leaving out a few gory details she doesn’t need to picture.

  I tell her about Lancifer and how I created him, locked him up, and now he is out and as powerful as ever. When I get to the part about him taking over my body, I kind of hesitate. Everything I have told her can be explained by just normal nightmares, fucked up nightmares, but nothing crazy just yet.

  “After you dropped me off at my house the other night, I watched some TV on the big screen downstairs and before I knew it I had fallen asleep. I didn’t wake up until this morning, in the middle of the floor in my room. My whole room was trashed, still is actually. And—“ I pause, having a hard time saying what I'm about to say, “And then I came to see you, saw your eye, and I knew I must have been the one that did it. I'm so sorry!” I put my arm around her and lay my head on her shoulder. “So sorry, Amy.” I add.

  “You didn’t do it, Lance. So stop saying you did.” Her tone is compassionate and commanding at the same time. She holds me close to her, feeling as if she won’t ever let go. “Come on.” She says, kissing my cheek then getting to her feet. She grabs my hand and pulls gently, “We need to figure this shit out and we might find something at the library.” She follows her blunt statement with a smile, a quick peck on my lips, and then a strong pull on my arm to get me up and moving. “Don’t worry babe, we will find out what kind of crazy you are.” Amy says, bumping me with her hips as we walk to the car. Where would I be without her?

  We pile into the car and I check my rear view mirror, no sign of Lancifer. I’ve got this. A flood of reassurance comes and goes as Dream Amy whispers inside my head, “Lancifer will kill her, Lance.” I start the car and drive off; any smile Amy had given me has now crumbled to nothing.

  CHAPTER EIGHT.

  In the car on the way to the library Amy catches me up on what happened yesterday. How she came over to pick me up for the doctor and knocked on the door. When I answered my head was shaved and there was a freshly sown up wound on my forehead. How Amy was worried and wanted to take me to the hospital and I just kept coming onto her, trying to feel her up and stick my tongue down her throat. Amy pushed me away and that’s when I hit her. When Lancifer hit her.