Elusive

by Dolores Storey

  Chapter Two: Haunted

  Night came once more. Darkness was the worst. It brought them out.

  “They’re elusive. They hide in the closet in the day.” Riza had said to the doctor. They didn’t have names; they didn’t even look like people. They were shadows in the form of humans. In the beginning, Riza saw them at the hospital. They first believed they were her family, but it soon became obvious that they were otherwise.

  When Riza’s mother went to bed, the room was locked so she wouldn’t wander in the night. It had seemed that in her sleep, she’d often roam the streets in an effort to go back home.

  Riza lie there, sleeping lightly when the softest noise awoke her.

  “Catherine?” No response. “Mom?” Nothing. She rubbed her eyes and sat up to look at the door. It was creaked open, but only darkness had entered. She stood and closed the door before lying back down. The moment she relaxed the door opened once more. Riza furrowed her brows and looked across the floor for her mother’s cat.

  “Noodles? Get out of my room.” She scoffed and got back up and closed the door once more, however this time the door swung open and slammed against the wall. Riza jumped, spinning on her heels to look into the hall.

  “Mom?” she yelled out. A light in the corner of her eye down the hall. She probably just can’t hear me, she thought, traveling down to the living room. She looked to all the old photos of her family going farther and farther back in time until she reached a new room and the pictures of her brother and herself.

  “Mom, are you in here?” She turned the corner and suddenly the light went out before she could see anything. She could fear her pulse in her ear as she fumbled to the light switch.

  “Riza.” Came out a gasp of relief. Across the room was a flaming red girl holding a bundle of blanket in her hands.

  Riza froze, unable to speak. It was Catherine with her curly ponytail and her yellow sundress she wore all to often. That familiar smile felt like a stab wound.

  “C-Catherine-”

  Suddenly the lights went out again. The cry of an infant echoed through the room. At first it was quiet and then soon developed into loud wales. Without thinking, Riza ran forward to her son but only a few feet it she ran face first into something. The lights flickered back on and she was looking face first into yellow fabric. She stumbled back, gathering herself before looking into the quiet room. “Cath,” she muttered, looking up at her. Suddenly her wife was covered in blood with the side of her head caved. Riza tried to scream but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out.

  “Take our son.” Catherine begged, holding out the blue blanket. Riza couldn’t help but take it and look down at the infant. It was an undeveloped fetus that squirmed in her arms before gurgling out a cry.

  “W-what happened.” She stuttered, reaching out to touch her child’s face. The moment her fingers touched her son’s sticky flesh the lights began flashing and every time darkness reappeared the screams from the baby was louder and louder and – gone. Everything was gone. Riza was back in her bedroom, sitting up in her bed.

  Was it all a dream? She stood up and turned on the light, resting her head on the wall before turning back to her room. Everything was the same. The same pictures, the same old posters, the same rocking chair, gently rocking in the corner. Wait, why was it rocking? There was only a shadow casted over it.

  A small black glob soon churned and an infant’s scream had crawled through the room. Riza dropped to the floor, covering her ears and cried out her wife’s name.

  “Please! Catherine, please, I’m so sorry!” she sobbed, begging for it to end.

  “Catherine.” A deep voice bellowed out. “Catherine and her pretty blood, Catherine and her wet tears. Not as pretty as yours. Not as pretty as your child’s.”

  “Just stop this, please stop!” Riza rubbed her eyes and looked up, face to face with a dark form. Her cries were uncontrollable as she tried to speak through her trembling lips. “Who are you? What are you? What did I do to deserve this?”

  A voice seem to have come from everywhere. “We are you, Riza. We are what you regret.”

  She swallowed hard. “You killed them, didn’t you? You killed my baby, you killed Catherine.”

  Riza distinctly remember turning around in her apartment to see the dark shadow throwing Catherine around like a rag doll. It pounded her gentle face into the sharp corner of their bookshelf. After the once living woman was reduced to a pile of gore the darkness came after Riza. Before she could escape she was dragged beside her wife and with no weapon was ripped open. Her child made no cry as it was pulled from her body and tossed aside.

  “Did I?” said the darkness, awaking Riza from her thoughts.

  “I remember you.” She shook, somehow calm through this conversation. “I remember what you did to my family.”

  “I am you protection, Riza. I hide you from your fears. I am a part of you.”

  She came to a full stop. “What are you hiding me from, then?”

  The form disappeared and in place of her childhood room was her apartment.

  Chapter Three: Protection

  “Riza, Riza, I love Riza.” Catherine pranced around and laughed. Suddenly a voice called out from the kitchen, “Cat! Can I get your help?” With a huff, the redhead wiped the sweat from her brow with a grin. “Coming!” she called out. She rushed to Riza on the couch and kissed her growing belly. “I’ll be right back my babies.” She then kissed her wife’s forehead and rushed to the other room.

  Suddenly a scream came from the kitchen and Catherine rushed out. “Riza! Riza, run!” she cried out as the person emerged into the room. It was Riza’s mother with a large kitchen knife in hand.

  “You disgusting faggot.” Marie growled, grabbing Catherine’s arm. Without another second she threw the young woman into the bookcase and grabbed her by the ponytail before repeatedly thrashing her face into the corned until brain matter fell onto the floor.

  “Riza! Don’t you fucking move!” Her mother cried out, dragging her daughter by the foot to her wife’s side. Riza was in shock as she faced a single unattached eyeball of Catherine.

  “You think you deserve any of this?” Marie yelled, “A fucking wife? A child? You fag! I should have killed you when you were a child. If only I knew you’d be a queer piece of shit!” Pain suddenly shot through Riza’s body as her own mother dug a kitchen knife though her pregnant belly. With no care at all, Marie dug her hand deep within and pulled out the fetus. “He would have been as gay as you are.” She hissed, pushing the bloody infant into Riza’s face. “Kiss your baby, Riza! Kiss your faggot baby!” She then threw the body into Catherine’s pile before playfully stabbing it.

  “You worthless shit! I wish someone had done this to me with you. I wish I could have died here instead of raising a faggot like you.” Marie stood up, stepping on her daughter’s face before walking out of the door.

  ***

  “No…” Riza murmured, looking at the figure. “Mom, mom couldn’t do that.”

  The figure let out a sigh, “I’ve always been here to protect you. But you need to know the truth. The only way you can overcome this is knowing what truly happened.”

  “But… What even are you? An angel?”

  “Your small, human mind could not fathom what I am, Riza. I am both everything and nothing, but I am a part of you. Let me help you.”

  Epilogue

  A medical doctor adjusted his white lab coat and sat down in front of his patient. He looked through a folder of papers and placed his glasses on.

  “Alright, your name is Riza Firaben, yes?”

  “…Yes.”

  The doctor nodded, “It’s nice to meet you Riza, I am Doctor Broadbor. Now, is it okay if I go over your chart with you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Great! So, you’ve been here for six months. Your wife and unborn child were murdered and…” he licked his finger and turned the page, “And you spent four months in the hospital before being relea
sed to your mother, who was also killed. I see, well how unfortunate. How are you feeling after all this?”

  “Better.”

  “Good, good. Well, I’ve been in contact with your brother, and he’s wanting to bring you home. How do you like that idea?”

  Riza loosened her grip on her stomach and looked past the doctor at a darkened form against the wall. She heard the figure’s response ringing in her ears.

  “Alexander is a safe soul. You can go home. Catherine and Mathew will be there with you. I will be here with you.”