Briarcliff

by Lorraine Beaumont

  “Lola, that place you hate so much is where we are from,” he reasoned, trying to make her see his side. “It’s the place we grew up…our roots. A place, that maybe, we can raise our own kids someday. It’s our home.”

  “Maybe to you…” she spat.

  “Just think about it Lola,” he begged, feeling desperate.

  “I don’t need to think about it.” She grabbed her purse and looked around the room. “Where’s Vincent?”

  “What do you want with Vincent…?” he struggled past the lump in his throat.

  “I want him to get me outta here.”

  “So that’s it?” he asked in defeat.

  “Simon,” she exhaled. “It’s better this way. I’m not cut out to be a housewife of a normal schmuck. I want to be rich. I want everyone to see I’m with a rock star,” she said. “I thought you were that guy…I thought you were…” she sighed. “It doesn’t matter. Simon, it’s over. I can’t be with you anymore.”

  “Can’t or won’t?”

  “Does it matter?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said, but it came out sounding more like a whisper of air.

  “Fine,” she exhaled sharply. “I don’t want to be with you. Happy?” she asked meanly, delivering her final, fatal blow.

  He flinched. It felt like someone had sucker punched him in the gut. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. On some pathetic level, he tried to think it was all some big misunderstanding. But it wasn’t. It was the truth. He felt sick and pissed. He wanted to wring her neck. Anger filled his entire body. He had been willing to give up so much just to be with her and she threw it back in his face like it was nothing, like he was nothing. He was a fucking ROCK STAR! He could fuck anyone, anytime he chose and he had chosen her. Only she didn’t want him. Maybe she never had. She only wanted what he could give her. Hot tears stung the backs of his eyes and he quickly dashed them away before she saw.

  “Lola…” he whispered so low he wondered if he had even said her name out loud.

  “What?” She turned away from the door.

  “This is it then…for good?”

  “Yeah,” she said quietly, almost sadly. “It is.” She turned to leave.

  Simon’s heart lurched in his chest. “Wait...” he called out, his voice desperate. “ Did you ever…love me?”

  She paused with her hand on the doorknob. “Yeah,” she sighed and looked at him over her shoulder. “We could have been great, Simon.”

  His heart lurched again, somehow still hoping. “We still can.” He couldn’t believe what he was saying, he sounded pathetic. He, Simon, was anything but…

  “You ruined everything,” she said and walked out the door.

  All the hurt, anger, betrayal reflected in his eyes as he watched Lola walk out of his life forever…

  “Fucking Whore!”

  53-SILENT LUCIDITY

  We made it to the end of one of one of the darkened passageways. There were so many. It was like we were walking in a maze. We rounded another turn and an ominous growl sounded from behind us. Before I could do anything, Adriane swung my body behind his. I slammed against the wall so hard my vision blurred.

  “Stay here! Do you hear me?” His warm heavy hands, once comforting, shook my shoulders roughly.

  I nodded. At least I thought I did. It was hard to tell. My brain felt rattled.

  “Evie, please don’t go in that room. Do you hear me?”

  Another low growl emitted from the darkened shadows.

  “Yeeess.” Fear quickly replaced anything else I was feeling as it tore through me.

  “I will be back.”

  “You promise?”

  “I promise.”

  I reached out to grab him, but my hands came up empty.

  He was already gone.

  Horrible unnatural guttural noises ensued, echoing down the passageway. Just like last night, I covered my ears to block it out. I had no idea how long they fought. It was as if time had no meaning. And then to my horror, the noises stopped and the suffocating feeling of helplessness closed in on me all over again. I couldn’t breathe.

  “Adriane…” I called weakly, needing to hear his voice, needing him to tell me everything would be okay. The silence grew and fear came back to get me as it wound its icy fingers around me, trying to pull me back into the darkness that I wanted no part of.

  Now I fought to hear them, the horrible noises, knowing if they were still fighting, at least, Adriane was still okay. But I still heard nothing. The quiet was unbearable. My body shook all over as I took a tentative step away from the solidness of the wall. I wasn’t sure I could stay upright though, so I reached back and held onto the cold stone. It felt slick under my fingers and cold, so cold, but I felt like if I let go I would be swallowed up by the darkness in front of me.

  And just when I thought I would lose my mind from worry, I heard another sound. Except it wasn’t coming from the passageway, it was coming from the room Adriane told me not to go into. Stupidity reared its ugly head and my feet seemed to move of their own accord toward the only light, toward the entrance.

  “I’ll just take a peek,” I reasoned, feeding my guilt. That way I would still be doing what Adriane asked, right? Sure, sure, my stupid brain said. Pressing my palms against the rough stone, I made my way along the wall to the end of the hall and leaned forward. However, once I looked inside, I instantly wished I hadn’t.

  Blood smeared across the expanse of the room and coated the stone floor underneath a dark shade of red. A lone creature that looked a lot like Cujo was tearing apart the last recognizable human body in the corner. The steam from the fresh kill released an acrid stench into the room.

  I jerked back out of the doorway and stumbled back into the wall. To stop myself from crying out, I clamped my hands over my mouth as the hot burning taste of bile rose in my throat. I needed to get sick but I couldn’t or else that thing in there would hear me. A cold sweat broke out on my skin as I made myself swallow back the burning vomit.

  “Where did all the people go?” Chance’s words that seemed silly at the time echoed in my mind.

  “Gee Chance, they ran and now some awful creature hanging out down in the bowels of Briarcliff is having them for dinner,” my sick mind echoed back. A scream of hysteria threatened to come out and I clamped my trembling hands tighter over my mouth.

  Wave after wave of fear coursed through my body, until something finally gave. Voices broke through my slipping consciousness and revived my tenuous hold on reality.

  “Find a weapon,” someone yelled.

  I wasn’t real sure if it was my mind finally snapping or my battered resolve finally kicking into gear.

  “I can do that,” I told the disembodied voice. With shaking hands, I patted my pockets, looking for a weapon. I pulled out my iPod. “Stupid iPod,” I groaned inwardly. I shoved it back in my pocket and my fingers grazed across one of the rivets on my belt. Thank God! Quickly, I unbuckled my belt and unwound it from my waist. It swung like a pendulum above the floor.

  Again, I heard voices, louder this time and one distinct voice rose above the rest.

  Was that Heather?

  Hope sprang in my chest. I never thought I would be relieved to hear Heather’s voice, but right now, I didn’t care. I made my immobile feet leave the safety of the shadows as I inched forward. Gripping the wall with my rigid fingers, I leaned forward and looked into the room again.

  Over to the far right, a group of people were still alive. They were standing on top a slab of stone that jutted up from the floor. It was my friends!

  Relief and fear washed over me simultaneously. Shoulder to shoulder, they stood in a semi-circle around the edges of the stone using makeshift weapons to battle against the creature. Michael Kors, Betsey Johnson, and Coach would have been proud as they used their designer purses like maces and whipped them through the air against their solitary attacker.

  A Coach purse slammed into its hindquarters and the creature let out a high-pitc
hed whine. “Yeah, take that you nasty piece of shit!” Heather yelled crazily and whipped her purse again in the air.

  Another low ominous growl emitted from the beast as it shook its massive head and stalked with lethal intent toward Heather and the rest of my friends.

  Getting up momentum, I swung my belt above my head. The end made a whizzing sound as it sliced through the air. Pure adrenaline poured from me as I prepared to do some major damage. With every bit of strength I had, I slammed the buckle into the back of the beast. The action sent jarring ripples of pain through my arms just like when I hit a fastball at the batting cages.

  The creature reared its massive head and swung it in my direction. Demonic yellow eyes bore down on me and I started second guessing my impulsive moment of bravado. I was no hero. My body pressed up against the wall. I had no place to go. I was about to become dog chow and for what? Saving Heather?

  I waited for my life to flash before my eyes, for surely it would at any moment but it didn’t. I was being robbed and the beast was almost to me. I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing for the inevitable…

  “Waa,” split the air.

  I opened my eyes just in time to see Colton jump off the slab. His hands sliced toward the creature as he landed short of his mark and hit the floor with a dull thud.

  The creature swung its gigantic head in his direction and snapped its massive jaw, inches from biting his leg off.

  “Ahhhhhhhhh…” Colton scrambled backward, but he couldn’t move fast enough.

  A blur of black and red sprang from the center of the slab and landed in front of the beast. In one swift movement, Simon grabbed its neck and twisted it to the side. The bones snapped with a cascading cracking sound. A vile steam emitted into the air as pieces of stone clattered loudly to the ground.

  A loud chanting erupted into the room. All of my friends climbed down off the stone slab. One by one, they dropped their makeshift weapons into a pile at the base and lined up like soldiers. Their bodies swayed in time to the luring sound. They looked like they were sleepwalking. Each of them filed out of the room, through an opening in the wall I had not seen before.

  “Wait!” I called but no one seemed to notice or hear me as I raced forward. There was no way I was getting left behind.

  Simon blocked my path.

  “What are you doing?” I tried to move around him. “I have to follow them.”

  “No.” He shook his head at me. “I don’t think so.”

  I didn’t know which to feel. Fear or anger? Both ended up coming out. I planted my hands on his chest and shoved. “MOVE!”

  Simon didn’t move. Not an inch. His eyes glittered strangely as he gave me a wounded look. “You know, that was not very nice.”

  “I need to follow my friends!” I pushed past him.

  He caught my arm and jerked me back.

  “Yeah, about that…” He exhaled. “I’m afraid you can’t leave.”

  “What?” I gaped at him. “What do you mean I can’t leave?” I tightened my hold on my belt.

  A slow smile crept over his face. It was not a nice smile. It scared the shit out of me. Suddenly I felt like little ole Red Riding Hood facing off against the Big Bad Wolf.

  Within two strides, he had me backed up against the wall. Both of his hands came down on the wall on either side of my head. His eyes glittered in the dim light and he dipped his head closer to mine and I almost laughed. It was the most ludicrous thing. In that moment, I felt like he was going to kiss me. Cold stones jabbed me in my back as I pressed away from him. “Simon...what …”

  “Shhh…” He lifted his hand and caressed my face. “It’s going to be all right.”

  “Simon.” My body involuntarily shook, betraying me.

  “I’ve wondered about you.” His thumb slid over my jaw.

  “WH—what do you wonder?”

  “I’ve been wondering if you taste as good as you smell?”

  My skin prickled. “Simon, move, please.” I turned my head, appalled by my reaction to him. I felt a pull towards him like I did with Adriane, not as potent but still I felt it.

  “It’s going to be all right,” he repeated and slipped his hand under my hair.

  “Stop! Please.” I forced myself to turn away.

  He pulled back just a bit as confusion marred his otherwise flawless features. “Why?”

  “I want Adriane!” The words rushed from my mouth a little more forcefully than I intended and by the look on his face I probably should have tried to be more delicate but my reaction to him was freaking me out.

  He laughed. It was a bitter, angry sound. “You’re all the same!” His face contorted. “You’re just like her!”

  His demeanor had completely changed. One minute he was being sweet and the next he was screaming at me like a crazed lunatic. My friend fear was back. He reminded me of the character, Dr. Henry Jekyll when he turns into Mr. Edward Hyde.

  “Who?” I stalled, trying to inch my way toward the back wall. Except each step I took brought me no closer. The wall actually looked like it was getting further away, like an illusion at the fun house. Even the big black hole all my friends had went through was now gone and in its place was another solid rock wall.

  “I was a Rock Star.” He cocked his head strangely to the side as he paced in front of me. “Did you know that?”

  I shook my head. “No, I didn’t know,” I told him even though I could believe it. He definitely had that certain “something” that draws people in and apparently I wasn’t immune to it either.

  Just as suddenly, he changed again. His pretty face twisted with rage and disgust. “I saw her sucking Vincent’s cock.” Lifting his hands, he dragged the tips of his fingers over his face and raked them down his flawless skin with such force, red lines appeared.

  “Who?” Edward was back. I stumbled and caught myself on the stone slab my friends had been standing on. Dark stains marred the top and sides.

  “Lola,” he said.

  I turned back toward him and caught a glimpse of longing on his perfect face and my heart lurched in my chest from the sight. I felt so bad for him. He seemed so… lost.

  “I wonder why she did that?” he asked and once again, confusion marred his perfect features.

  “Who’s Vincent?” I asked just to keep him talking.

  “The lead guitarist in my band and my best friend…was my best friend,” he amended and then raked his hand through his hair making it stand at awkward angles. “Can you believe I still wanted her even after everything that happened?” his voice was pained.

  I nodded even though I didn’t know what I was nodding to.

  “I wanted her so bad I could taste her on my lips every morning when I woke up and every night when I finally fell asleep. I couldn’t stand not being with her.” A sound like a sob tore from his throat as he leaned his head back and rubbed his hands over his face.

  I was about to make a break for it when he dropped his hands again and gave me a look filled with so much pain, I could do nothing but watch.

  “She’s gone now you know?”

  “Did she move or something?” I asked stupidly.

  Shaking his head, he laughed then. It was bitter, full of defeat and something else, something scary and dark.

  “No. I killed her.”

  54-COVER OF NIGHT

  “Why did you do that?” I heard myself asking but I said it so low I wasn’t sure if I actually said the words out loud.

  “I….” he began but then stopped. A whirl of emotions flashed across his beautiful face—anger…pain…sadness.

  My heart lurched in my chest as he dropped his head down and covered his face. His shoulders shook. And for a brief moment, I thought he was crying, and I wondered how I could help him but then he lifted his face. He wasn’t crying at all. He was laughing.

  A cold dread filled me and took a step backward. I needed to find a way out. I had a feeling if I didn’t I may very well end up as dead as the girl he just told me about.
>
  “What’s the matter?” His face twisted in anger. “Was that too much information for you?”

  “Yes.” I told him honestly as I took another step.

  “Too bad,” he snarled as his eyes sparked with rage.

  Tightening my grip on my belt, I waited…

  If he was coming to get me, I wasn’t going down without a fight.

  Simon took a step forward the same time something flew into the room.

  One moment Simon was staring at me with his craze-filled eyes and the next, the expanse of Adriane’s broad back was in front of me. There were dark splotches over his shirt…and it was torn in places and exposed his back. There were dark marks but they didn’t look recent. No these marks were from another time. They were angry red welts—scars that were now healed.

  “Stay back,” Adriane yelled at me over his shoulder.

  “Now this is what I’m talking about.” Simon rubbed his hands together.

  “Simon.” Adriane lifted his hands. “You don’t want to do this.”

  “Don’t I?” Simon took on a predatory stance. “I beg to differ.” Something reared its ugly head from within that he couldn’t control.

  His eyes flashed as he took a step in my direction.

  “NO, Simon!” Adriane’s voice shook with restrained rage. “Leave her alone.”

  “That’s so sweet,” Simon cooed. “I’m getting a toothache.”

  He took another step toward me.

  “She’s MINE!” Adriane’s body shook.

  “Who says?” A slow, wicked smile broke across his face. “You?” Simon raised his brow. “I don’t think so.”

  “No, Simon.” Adriane blocked his advance. “As always, there’s an error in your judgment, just like with Lola.” He took another step toward Simon. “You see,” he explained, “she wants me!” He slapped his hands to his chest. “Not you!”

  Simon staggered back, like he had just been hit. “No,” he whispered. “That’s not true. SH—she wanted me,” he stammered. “It was her mother—that fucking bitch, lied!” His face twisted with pain. “It wasn’t supposed to end that way.” His body shook. “We were…” He lifted his hands to his head and pressed them to his temples. His vision skewed and his mind slipped back into the past….