Chapter 2
The Question of Escape
Jessica was shaking in the chair, thrashing and screaming. She could feel hands trying to grasp her and hold her down. She heard people yelling, “Calm down Jessica,” who was still shrieking, “I don’t want to go back”! Jessica kept screaming and shaking trying to fight off the many hands that were attempting to subdue her. Jessica could feel them holding her down and something like a needle being forced into her arm. She kept screaming and shrieking, “don’t put me to sleep!” She turned her head, and saw Chris smiling widely to reveal a set of razor sharp teeth. She knew that he would move in to get her as soon as she fell asleep. She knew that he would be bringing her back to the house, the moment her eyes closed. “Please Chris don’t bring me back,” she felt the tears beginning to form in her eyes but the drowsiness was soon overcoming that. Soon, she fell asleep with all the security guards holding her limp body down. Her eyes shot open and realized that she was back in her room.
How she had survived or how long she had slept remained a mystery. There were no windows just an empty room with silver walls. Upon closer inspection, this was not her hospital room just the frame of it. There was no bed, no sink, no toilet, no nothing. She walked over to the door and began to run her fingers over the only giant window contained in the middle of the door. She eyed it suspiciously as it looked strangely familiar. She peered out of the glass seeing a strange ominous green glow out in the hallway. She could see that doors lined the hallway, and it looked as if shadows were moving in them. There were empty gurney beds that also lined the walls. She had seen this before, she had been here before. “No,” she whimpered her hands slamming against the glass window.
She had been here before in a dream, she turned around and screamed. Her body was lying on the floor of the room. She couldn’t believe her own eyes. Why was she laying on the floor? How could she be on the floor when she was standing at the door? She walked closer to her slumbering body and noticed hand marks on her neck. Jessica saw herself shoot up and started screaming and shaking grabbing at her own throat as if someone was choking her.
Just as quickly as it came, Jessica saw herself stop. A sense of calm came upon her face. She saw herself get up and she retreated towards the door. She was examining the room, and finally realized what Chris was talking about, this is how she escaped. She couldn’t exactly remember how she escaped, but was now not taking her eyes off of herself. Jessica now saw herself just sitting in the corner not moving. Jessica just sat down to watch herself sit in the corner crying into her hands.
Jessica sat there for hours, possible even days. She began to grow bored and began to wonder when she was going to do something. She stood up and ran to the door beginning to kick it. Jessica began to think, there was something different about her, she was not possessed looking. Jessica remembered how zombie and horrifying Brad was in her dream. Jessica noticed that she was acting how she normally did. Maybe the house wanted to preserve her the way she was, but why?
She pounded on the window but nothing happened it wouldn’t budge nor show signs of breaking. Slamming against the door she heard her other self fall to the floor again. She checked her pockets to find nothing in them. Jessica saw her other self beginning to rise again, trying to ignore herself she took her foot and drove it at the window one last time. It collided with the window, and it began to crack. She continued to smash it repeatedly over and over the cracks growing longer over the window. Finally a little piece fell from the window and then Jessica’s final blow made the window shatter to pieces. Clearing the rest of the glass with her sleeve she wiggled her skinny frame through the window.
The lights in the hallway began to flash as if the curse knew she escaped. She saw a door open and two little girls at the end of the hall. “You can not escape,” said the little girls in unison. Ignoring them Jessica climbed up a flight of stairs at the end of the hallway and then barreled through a door. She was now in a room, where it looked like there were no exits at all. “Please,” Jessica whimpered as she began to push and feel around the wall to see if there was a door. Something in the darkness grabbed her wrist. Its hand was cold as ice as Jessica let out a tiny scream. Her eyes were wide with terror as a marble face appeared from the only open door on the floor. A woman with long black hair came out from behind the wall her rotting skin seemed to fall off her hand. She had a simple Chinese face that had been replaced with scars and a weathered look of a rotting corpse. Her voice was rotten as well but Jessica had remembered her face almost from another lifetime ago. “Sun,” she said softly as her nails began to dig into her skin. “I can help you out”. Her whole body shook as if her strength was leaving her every second they touched. The little girls advanced on her their distance becoming shorter. “You must take me with you,” without even thinking on the subject, she just knew that she would do anything to make sure her family rested in peace. After all she had to finish what she had started, she wouldn’t fail them again. She nodded at her and emerging from behind the frame she took her arm and led her down the hallway without gazing back at the twins. She moved like smoke but was as solid as a rock.
Jessica could hear the twin’s footsteps as they approached them. She looked wildly all around but Sun pointed towards a spot in the ceiling. Her eyes fell on the ceiling it looked like there was something in it. She ran over to it and jumped up to it. She hit it as it bounced in its place, she had to dive out of the way when the top of the ceiling came crashing down to the floor. She could see another ceiling up there and jumped again. Her hands gripped the sides and she could see the door opening. A hand was stretching out from the door as it opened wider. She took a huge breath and turned back to Sun, who made sure that Jessica kept her promise. The moment Jessica turned to her Sun was already flying in the air and collided with Jessica’s face. It was weird having something stretching your mouth to the breaking point. As Sun’s whole being was shoved down her throat and found refugee within Jessica’s own soul. She wrapped around it like a blanket. Shaking her head and giving a final look to the twin’s whose hands outstretched for her. With a full stomach she gripped her sides and climbed up through a hole in the ceiling, out to freedom.