The Broken

by A. L. Frances

  “Do you like to play games, Mr Honey?” a voice suddenly says.

  “Why are you doing this to us? Where is she? Eve, Eve!” Matthew shouts out, desperate to free himself and not engage in these torturous mind games.

  “Wrong answer, Mr Honey. I hope you’re ready. Let the games begin.”

  Intimidating, insane laughter circulates in his mind alongside the incessant nursery tune. Suddenly a spotlight lights his surroundings. As his sight adjusts to the brightness, Matthew takes in his unfortunate situation. He’s suspended inside a huge spider’s web made of thick rope. As he struggles, attempting again to free himself, he hears Eve’s desperate cry: “Dad, help me.”

  Looking down, he sees Eve dressed in her mother’s nightie, on her knees, helplessly staring up at him. Reaching out she says, “Please, I’m dying.”

  “Eve! No, I will not lose you, don’t worry, I’m coming, darling.”

  As soon as these words leave his mouth he fights with all his might against the ropes that bind him. The web begins to shake violently. Peering up above his head, Matthew sees evil, blood-red eyes approaching from the darkness. Attached to these sinister-looking eyes is a thick-legged tarantula the size of a t-rex. Tripping over its long legs as it makes its way rapidly towards Matthew, the monstrous creature spits venom. Before he has time to react Matthew hears, “Mi temono.”

  He is instantly released from his entrapment and falls once again into the darkness. He lands in a heap and curls up. Rocking back and forth, he firmly holds his head in both his hands in pain, his skull having smashed off the ground as he landed. Petrified of the unknown, he screams out loud with agony. He’s confused, frantic. He tries to allow his mind to process what’s happening. He pats his body to ensure he’s in one piece and searches his surroundings, not realising that his wrists and ankles are wounded, and blood is gushing out.

  “Eve, where are you, darling?”

  Night has fallen and not a single star can be seen. It’s as though he is lost deep within the universe. His surroundings are dimly lit by streetlamps. It’s freezing cold. Matthew can see his breath leaving his body. He hears the chiming of bells and sees the outline of a cathedral across the way. A castle stands alongside. The desperate cries of his daughter begin to echo alongside the vibration of the chimes. Matthew looks up high at the ruins of the castle and sees Eve at a broken window. She’s calling out to him: “Help me, I want to go home.”

  “I’m coming for you, darling, stay there.”

  “Hurry, she’s coming for me.”

  Without so much as a second thought for his own safety, or indeed his life, Matthew runs towards the castle and attempts to force his way through the huge wooden door with its steel fixtures and bolts. He’s unsuccessful, but that’s not going to stop him. Running around to the other side of the castle, Matthew is confronted with another challenge: an unsteady, manmade grey-brick wall stands before him, supported by a thick, razor-sharp metal fence that is almost half the height of the castle. He throws himself at it, the metal clinking as Matthew grips onto the gaps and begins fearlessly climbing, one leg after the other. Like a rocket he launches himself over the top. The razor-sharp metal rips through the layers of his clothing and gouges deep into the flesh on his leg. He falls from the top onto the ground on the other side. With adrenaline surging through his veins, he doesn’t notice the blood gushing from his head and limbs.

  Stumbling up onto his feet, Matthew refuses to give up. He feels an electrical, powerful surge of energy as he charges at the castle, determined to save his daughter and break free. Scaling the wall of this huge structure, he finally makes it high enough to throw himself through one of the unprotected gaping holes on the side of the castle.

  Matthew is finally inside. His heart is racing. He may be inside, but now he’s got an even bigger challenge on his hands: he’s got to find his daughter in this haunted-looking building, and he doesn’t think for a second it’s going to be easy. The only tiny glimmer of light comes from the streetlamps outside.

  Matthew’s current physical state has become somewhat life-threatening. He’s rapidly losing blood and his body is getting weaker with every second that passes. But his attention is fixed on finding his daughter. His heart is strong and the love he has for her is empowering him enough to ignore his body’s signals and keep fighting.

  “Eve? Eve? Where are you, darling?”

  “Dad, I’m here.”

  Following the sound of her voice, he frantically runs around the castle.

  “Eve?”

  “I’m over here.”

  He trips over his feet, struggling to keep up with himself. Finally, Matthew reaches the room where he hears her voice. Without any hesitation, he rushes down the grey-brick stairs. His feet kick debris, which bounces down the steps. The sound of the crumbling falling rocks echoes throughout the castle. The internal structure of this historical building isn’t as sturdy as it looks. With his heart racing, Matthew peers into the dark, empty stone-walled room. One streak of light beams in from the streetlamp outside. He closes his eyes and breathes in deeply, on his exhale, with his voice low, he says, “Eve?”

  “Here, Dad.”

  “Eve, oh, my princess, there you are.”

  Matthew walks into the room, turns and sees Eve. She’s cowering in a dark corner. He runs over and bursts into tears as he reaches out to comfort and hold his daughter. But before he can take her in his arms an unforeseen force awakens and throws him to the other side of the room, well away from the exit. She’s gone. Jumping up with shock, Matthew attempts to run, but realises he can’t. He hears an unfamiliar, spine-shivering, daunting voice say, “Ring a’ Ring o’ Roses – I’ve been chosen for the dark side.”

  Looking to his left, Matthew sees Eve. She’s still wearing only her mother’s nightie, which is covered in grey dust, dirt and rips. She’s slowly crawling down the same stairs he’s just walked upon himself, singing, “Ring a’ Ring o’ Roses.”

  She stops and looks towards Matthew. Staring directly at him, her head tilted, with a deep voice that doesn’t sound like her own she says, “Are you scared, Mr Honey? Is this better?”

  Feeling physically sick but unable to throw up, Matthew hears a crack as she abruptly snaps her own neck. With her head hanging low, she says, “Help me.”

  Her body rises off the step, levitating up high. Her eyes are as black as the midnight sky and sit as gaping holes in her face. Eve is no longer Eve. She’s a true demonic reflection of the sadistic owner of her soul. Her body dangles in mid-air and begins jolting and twitching, her bones dislocating one by one. A black, thick substance gushes out of her mouth, lands on the floor and travels towards Matthew.

  “Help me.”

  She lets out an insane laugh as the entity that’s taken ownership of Eve drags her closer to him. Frozen stiff and attempting to process what’s taking place before his eyes, Matthew is unable to blink. His chest is rapidly moving up and down, his breathing erratic and out of sync. His heart feels as though, at any minute, it’s going to pop.

  “Help me – Ring a’ Ring o’ Roses.”

  With these final words, Eve violently throws herself at her dad.

  His mind spinning out of control, Matthew screams out loud… and is released from his entrapment and thrown directly into another.

  Getting weaker by the second as he’s still rapidly losing blood, Matthew reluctantly looks around. He’s surrounded by crispy autumn-coloured leaves which are smothered with dirt. Not a building can be seen, just tree after tree after tree. The sky is black and there’s not a single star in sight. A grey mist appears, circulating around the sturdy trees. It quickly covers the ground he sits on and rises to his neck. Slowly stumbling onto his feet, Matthew attempts to hold himself up. He leans against a tree trunk, trying to catch his breath. This deceitful mist is entering into his body, attacking his organs and suffocating him internally.
Matthew begins to pant uncontrollably. His back against the tree he huffs, “Eve.”

  The mist has a nauseating stench of death, and he almost falls back down to the ground as he retches.

  His eyes closed, he hears the crunching of the leaves in the distance, then getting louder and louder. Matthew is taking no chances. He hobbles in the opposite direction, trying to get as far away from whoever is making the noise as he possibly can. The trees all look the same. The branches begin pulling at his arms, scratching his face. One twig catches his eye. Blinded, he falls to the floor. As soon as he lands, the impure branches wrap around Matthew’s body and tightly restrain him. Slowly drifting in and out of consciousness, Matthew lies half-dead. The sound of the crunching leaves and snapping twigs has stopped.

  “So, now do you like to play games, Mr Honey?”

  Without a single molecule of energy left within his body, Matthew lies motionless. His breathing is slow and his eyes remain half-open.

  “Shame, I thought you might have put up a little more of fight than this. I must say, even your wife was a stronger adversary than this. Pathetic.”

  Slowly making her way around his body, Jezebel, in her true demonic form, is teasing his soul. The grey mist is getting thicker and thicker, surrounding Matthew until he can no longer see what’s in front of him.

  Suddenly the mist disappears. Through the narrow slits of his eyes, Matthew sees Eve. She is once again Eve. Precious, innocent and pure. Tears form in the corners of his eyes, spilling over and falling down his face. Slowly he whispers, “Eve…”

  With a glow surrounding her, she resembles an angel. Matthew’s levels of strength and life gradually begins to rise. His heart warms at this vision. He begins to question deep in his mind. His decision is made. He isn’t going to give up and let this evil woman win. There’s no way she’s ripping his life apart anymore. Clenching his fists together and tightening all his muscles, Matthew groans as he stretches out and rips all the strangulating branches from his body. Jezebel looks on, smiling deceitfully as he uses up the last of his life’s energy on a pointless task. Freeing himself, Matthew stumbles onto his feet and feebly makes his way towards his daughter. But as soon as he gets within reaching distance she disappears, and Jezebel stands before him. Reaching out to Matthew, she violently throws herself at him and drags him toward his death.

  Then there is nothing.

  Matthew comes around. He is unable to move his body. He sees he is lying alone on Lauren’s grave.

  Then the darkness takes over again and he’s out.

  Matthew wakes to the beep of machinery. He looks down at his body and sees he is bandaged and bruised. The room is dimly lit and he’s wearing a hospital gown in a hospital bed. Looking to his body once more, he notices all the wires and machines that are attached to him. Taking these off one by one, he hears the machines begin to beep frantically as they lose their readings. Suddenly, two nurses burst into the room.

  “No, no, no, you mustn’t do that; just lie back, please.”

  “Eve, but Eve…”

  “You can see Eve when you’re better.”

  “I must… I need… I have to…”

  “That’s all well and good, Matthew, but at the moment you’re too unwell to do anything. Now lie back, please.”

  She injects him with a sedative. Matthew slowly begins to drift off. The last words he hears are from the nurse.

  “Who’s Eve? Do we have a contact number on his records?”

  “No, we can’t find any contacts on his records.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  You’ve Been Here Before

  The house is no longer a home. All the curtains are closed. Neglected and filthy, the Honey residence resembles a derelict building. The walls are dirty, the contents are smashed to pieces and the only item that stands strong is the golden mirror that was once proudly placed at the bottom of the stairs. The paint is chipped throughout the house and the carpet is black from dirt. The property is unrecognisable.

  The day room is dark, dim and daunting. The mirror stands against the closed curtains at the front window. Matthew sits in a wooden rocking chair, slowly rocking back and forth, back and forth.

  Wearing dirty, faded, black ripped jeans and black boots that are thick with dust, Matthew is unrecognisable from the strong man he once was. With his head tilted to the side, he resembles a sedated mental patient.

  Looking at his hands in the mirror, Matthew gently smirks as he sees what he’s holding. In one hand he has a 9mm pistol with a sleek black silencer. In the other hand he holds a golden picture frame. The image inside the frame is of the family he once had. Matthew Honey, Evelyn Jade Honey and Lauren Honey. The Honeys. How sweet their life once was, but no more.

  Hanging from the picture frame is the locket that both Lauren and Eve once wore. The hunter.

  “Whatever my fate, I ask you to free me. If death is in my cards, please let my soul know she’s gone with no return. If life is in my cards, please let my soul live free and tell me how I can bring her back.”

  Continuing to rock, Matthew is no longer Matthew. He’s a broken man at the depths of despair, with nothing left to live for except the hope that one day he’ll be reunited with his daughter; she is still living, after all. And what does he have to lose? The only thing to fear is death, and death doesn’t seem so bad given his current cursed life.

  “I will find her…”

  His rocking gets faster and faster as he looks in the mirror and says, “I won’t lose you, Eve.”

  He lets out an insane laugh. The room suddenly goes dark as he shouts, “So you want to play games, do you? Let the hunt begin. I’m coming for you, Jezebel. Eve, I promise on my life this time I won’t let you down.”

  The insane laughter continues… And so, the hunt begins…

  Until next time…

  About the Author

  A.L. Frances is a thirty-two-year-old British author.

  The Broken is the first book of a four-part series and marks A.L. Frances’ debut in literary fiction.

  Born in Wythenshawe, South Manchester, she is the product of a broken home. Her formal education was cut short before she could gain any qualifications and she became a mother to three children by the time she was just twenty years old. At twenty-one A.L. Frances suddenly finds herself cast in the role of a single parent, destined to repeat the cycle of her own difficult upbringing.

  Determined to give her children a better start in life, she moved to the countryside village of Hollingworth, and eventually settled into a career in law. It was during this transition that she found herself on a journey of self-discovery. Attending multiple mindset enhancing seminars in England, America and Canada, she was exposed to the tutelage of inspirational speakers such as Bob Proctor, Tony Robbins, and Mel Robbins among others. A.L. Frances was eventually introduced to Peggy McColl, a New York Times Best Selling Author. Standing on the stage, Peggy said the words that would inspire her into action. Peggy said, “Everyone has a book in them.” as she pointed into the crowd. It was at this point that A.L. Frances fell in love with the idea of writing her own book and telling her own story; one that would address one of her biggest fears: the vulnerabilities of broken homes.

  At the age of twenty-nine, A.L. Frances decided it was time to start the next chapter of her life.

  What follows is the start of her journey…