Helen’s eyes sprung open, panicked. She sat bolt upright; the sensation of being unrestrained scared her at first. After so many years of being bound and immobile, the sudden range of motion her body was given was too much for her and she collapsed back down onto the hard floor.
Helen let out a long, slow breath, wincing in anticipation of the pain that she had learned accompanied such sudden movements. Behind her closed eyes she could see Luther’s face, a smirk spread across it, his eyes glowing with orange fire, no doubt merely a trick of her mind, a dream. Yet she felt his hot, acrid breath blow against her face as his mouth opened up into a laugh; a sneering, howling laugh that revealed rows of shark teeth. Behind him fire spurted into the air, flames fanned outwards, licking Luther’s colorless skin, leaving red tattoos patterned over his flesh. She saw hazy images of shadowy skulls, and bony limbs twisted and danced within the flickering background inferno – and so, with no other option...
Helen opened her eyes.
The initial burst of panic replaced by a nervous caution; she fully expected the freedom to have been dream, and didn’t even entertain the notion that she had gotten away. Helen was certain that she was still hung upside-down in the forest, or maybe that was over and she was above a canyon or gorge. She could see the blood red river running far below her; it looked like nothing more than a small vein running through the body of barren land that stretched out in all directions as far as her inverted eyes could see. But no, the world was not dull and hopeless, yet nor was it bright. The world was pastel. The colors were there but faded, yet felt so real, it was unmistakable. Helen had escaped and woken up in some vintage world, a water-washed pastel kingdom where nothing could be too bright or vivid.
Despite what appeared at first glance to be safe surroundings, Helen could still feel the insects crawling over her skin, and with a frantic flail of arms she pulled off her shirt. Helen wasn’t sure where the shirt had come from, but she was glad for it, as she wasn’t sure she wanted to see the damage it covered. Her skin was smooth, unblemished. Even the scar from where she had had her appendix removed when she was sixteen was gone. Helen ran her hands over her body, fingers trembling in near disbelief. She refused to believe what her eyes showed her; she needed to feel it for herself. She patted herself down, and only once she was satisfied that her body was her own and that no bugs were preparing to erupt from her chest in a reenactment of the alien birthing scene did she put her shirt back on.
Getting to her feet wasn’t as difficult as she had envisioned. Keeping her balance, however, that took some practice. Holding out her hands like a blind woman, Helen supported herself against the grey wall that she had been slumped up against when she woke. It took a few moments for her balance to return but when it did it was instant, with nothing worse than a slight popping sensation in her ears, like when adjusting to the pressurization in an aircraft cabin. The wall was solid and warm to her touch, its surface was rough against her skin, which seemed overly sensitive. The walls looked smooth, but felt like raw brick, scratchy and unrefined. It was dusty, and when she removed her hands Helen saw it had once been a yellow color. No sooner had she removed her hand, when the strange, dust-like coating – which she would notice at a later date once having left the confines of the room, seemed to affect everything in the town – returned, covering her palm print like steam on a bathroom mirror.
There was a large window to her left. The curtains were tied back neatly, but the glass they were hung to cover was so filthy that it offered up no view of the world beyond the walls. With first impressions being the powerful tool that they are, Helen thought that it was merely misty out. Reluctantly, Helen pushed herself away from the wall, giving herself complete control of her body. Once she was stable, Helen walked over the window, wiping it with her fist, creating a small porthole through which she could see. While Helen could not make out any distinguishing features or individual landmarks because of the ‘mist’ as she thought of it, it was obvious that she was in some sort of town. From the shadowy look of the buildings opposite, Helen had only one thought occupy her mind and it was too absurd to even speak aloud.
(The Wild West)
“Where the hell... Where am I?” She caught her words without realizing it. The stupidity of the statement occurred to her, however, and when thinking about it after the fact she realized it was a silly saying when one thought about it.
“I hoped you could tell me,” a deep, somewhat groggy sounding voice said from behind her.
Helen let out a startled scream as she turned around and saw the shadowy figure of a semi-naked man standing in the far corner of what she now saw was a large bedroom; a hotel room. The random scenic paintings placed on the wall above the bed, the rather surreal oil painting in the far left hand corner of the room, a small alcove where there should have been a desk or wall mounted trouser press. The floor was carpeted with cheap nylon and the bed decked with an ever outdated floral bed spread. In fact, the only thing that looked out of place was the small clapped-out cupboard, which looked as if it would fall apart at the slightest of touches. The cupboard was immediately to the left of the door upon entering, yet it stood at least six inches away from the wall, with no obvious obstruction having caused its unusual placement.
“W-wh-who are you?”
Luther?
Helen stuttered, her voice a shocked whisper. The small amount of power she did put into her words seemed to be absorbed by the air long before they reached the stranger’s ears. She moved backwards as she spoke, reaching behind her for support of some kind, her legs losing the strength they had just found.
“What do you say you tell me your name first and we’ll take it from there? Who are you, how did you just appear out of thin air, and what the fuck is going on here?” Marcus demanded, his tone serious, straight to the point and downright terrifying, or so the scared and disoriented Helen thought.
“I...I don’t know, I mean...I was, um...I think I died, but then I thought it was a dream. Him. Oh God, I just don’t know.” Helen couldn’t take it any longer and she burst into tears. She collapsed onto her haunches and buried her face in her hands, her hair doing its best to hide it all as she sobbed.
Marcus moved across the room and crouched down next to the woman. It felt strange to touch another human being, and he wasn’t surprised to see his hand shake as he reached out to her. Marcus laid his hand on the sobbing lady’s shoulder. He felt her shrink back from his touch and recoiled himself.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I guess we seem to be on the same side here. I...um, I died also,” he said, admitting it to himself and speaking it out loud for the first time. “You just put the wind up me with your sudden appearance.” Marcus continued, “Come on, why don’t we stand you up and see if you don’t feel better?”
Marcus slipped his hand under her arm and applied a gentle pressure that helped guide Helen to her feet. “You don’t happen to have a key, do you? I had kind of hoped we could get out of this godforsaken hotel. It doesn’t feel right here.” Marcus managed a half smile. He meant what he said but didn’t want to scare the girl; she looked as though she had been through enough.
“Wh-what do you mean, I j-ju-just appeared?” Helen asked, stuttering as she always did when nervous.
Or scared.
She knew that the conversation had progressed from the stranger’s opening statement but she didn’t care. It had stuck with her and she needed to know what he meant.
Marcus, who had turned to stare out the window – which had held him captive since he had awoken – looked at her over his shoulder. “Well, that’s just it. One minute I was here alone, the next, there was a strange grating noise and there you were.” Marcus looked Helen right in the eyes as he spoke. It was enough to convince her that he spoke the truth.
“I don’t understand, I don’t remember what...I was just at work and then, then I was...in Hell, with him. And it was so long, and...and, and now...” Helen’s words faltered as a fresh wave of warm, salty tears fell from her eyes.
“You were in Hell,” Marcus finished for her, jumping on her words. “You and I both. I was just walking back to the car ready to finish my shift when trouble starts just out of nowhere. This guy stabs me and boom...out went my lights. Next thing I know, I’ve got some strange creature showing me what I did wrong and sending me to some chamber. And I’ll tell you one thing...I saw that place, and I don’t plan on going back.” Marcus exhaled a long, deep breath. Under normal circumstances he wasn’t one to run his mouth, but after being alone for so long it felt good to get it all said in front of someone else.
Helen tried to smile – it was the only gesture she could think of – as she steadied herself on her feet. She stood steady and then walked over to the man. He was big, broad and in good shape. Three things which, when combined, made Helen feel safer than she had ever in her life.
“Helen, Helen Attinson.” She offered Marcus her hand. He took it – enveloped it, more like – within his own gigantic fist. His grip was gentle, although Helen felt the power that lurked behind it and felt safer still. “I was stuck in the chamber for years, or at least it felt like years. I was tortured every day in ways that even now I can’t fully imagine.” She stopped talking; the memories that flooded back into her mind were too painful and the wounds too fresh. Every time she closed her eyes Luther was there, smiling at her, waiting.
Marcus stared at her, his eyes wide. “Jesus—” he began, but Helen cut him off.
“It wasn’t your fault.” She tried to smile, and felt the corners of her mouth twitch; it was the best she could do.
“Marcus Fielding. You said you were there for years in one of those oil cauldrons? I can’t what that must have been like. I was falling, these things flew towards me and then...then I woke up here. I have no idea how long ago that was; the time never changes. Never day, never night,” Marcus said, trying to fathom how the attractive young lady in front of him had earned her space in the oil.
“Oil? What do you mean? I wasn’t in oil. I was...well...I don’t want to talk about it.” Helen quieted down as she finished talking, her eyes scanning the ground. “No offence,” she added as an afterthought, not wanting to hurt Marcus’s feelings.
Marcus didn’t push the subject; he knew that once somebody decided that they didn’t want to talk then there wasn’t anything that could be done to make them. Plus he knew well enough that she was on his side. There was a look in her eyes that just couldn’t be faked: sincerity.
“So what is this place? Have you been outside yet?” Helen asked after the silence between them became too much for her to bear.
“The door is locked; there isn’t any way out of this room. I thought I would go insane before you arrived,” Marcus answered with all seriousness.
Helen looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He was clearly in good shape; his body toned and showed signs that once it had been a muscular one. She also saw a wedding ring and the shadow left behind by a watch which was no longer there. “Well I guess we can go crazy together then.”
What happen next surprised the both of them. They looked at each other, and laughed. Not a crazy laugh, but simply a good, old fashioned ‘my sides are stitching’ laugh. Tears welled and rolled down cramp afflicted cheeks as every emotion they felt boiled over in a fit of the giggles.
Once the laughter subsided and their breath had been re-caught the pair began their introductions again. The mood between them lightened; a friendship was instantly formed.
***
“Wow, I can’t believe you were a boxer. My dad used to love watching boxing – all sports actually, but boxing was his favorite,” Helen said. She sat cross-legged on the bed, listening intently to Marcus’s life story. Wondering at the same time how she could make her life sound half as interesting.
“Yeah, they all claimed that I was the next big thing, but I got out of the game. I discovered that it had a dark side...a very dark side. I didn’t want to become a Sonny Liston, some puppet who winds up dead in a hotel room. So I left, retired before my time had even begun and joined the force,” Marcus continued. The entire time he spoke he held studied Helen. He couldn’t help it. She sat with her hands in her lap, and played nervously with her fingers, twisting them, rubbing them against their opposite number like Lady Macbeth. She was uncomfortable, not to mention shy. Marcus kept his story short, giving her the highlight reel rather than the blow by blow account.
“And that was how you died? You were stabbed?” Helen asked.
“Yeah, this guy was beating up on his girl. I tried to split them up and that was when he stabbed me. The blade must have gotten under my vest. I just bled to death in the street. It all happened real quickly. I know it sounds like a standard movie cliché, but it is the truth.” Marcus paused for a moment, looking down at his own hands, which he saw were clasped into tight fists. He ground them into his thighs as he spoke. “The last thing I heard was the baby screaming,” he added absently. ”My wife was at home packing for our holiday. I never got to say goodbye, or hug my kids.” Marcus stopped, his tale done. It was the condensed version, but it had been said nonetheless.
It had left him feeling sore, as if someone had scrubbed his soul with a wire brush – but it was said and he did feel better. Even if the sudden mention of his wife and children, the realization of the withdrawal of his role in their lives, reduced him to tears.
“I’m sorry,” Helen offered. “I know it doesn’t exactly help, but I am.”
She rose to her feet and both her knees gave a loud crack. “My life wasn’t anything like that. I was just at work. The next thing I know, I was naked and hanging upside-down. The first time I was in a warehouse. There were large hooks everywhere. Like a meat factory, I guess; a slaughter house. I was alone and these large hooks had been put through my feet. That was when he came.” Helen paused to compose herself. She had moved over by the window, and as she peered out into the grey she thought she saw a shadow float across the street. No, not a shadow but a figure, someone else. She blinked, clearing her eyes, and it was gone.
“Who?” Marcus asked. He had moved beside her. He didn’t push her for an answer. He knew that she would tell all when it was time, when she felt ready for it. Together they stood in silence and stared out of the window, simply enjoying the feeling of company. It was quite some time before either of them spoke, and it was Helen who broke the silence, continuing her tale as if she had never stopped.
“Luther. It was always him. Every day, for years on end he would come.” There was a slight pause as Helen fought to find her words. Her voice sounded embarrassed by the admissions she was about to make. She could feel her cheeks beginning to heat up with a blush. “He would do all sorts of things to me, always smiling; sometimes he would even hum some Hell tune to himself. It was strange because he was...well...charming. When he spoke he was a real gentleman. He was never crude or vulgar, but the things he did...” Helen stopped, unable to go on any further without having Luther come forward out of her mind, a shining steel blade in his hands, his eyes glowing with hellfire, yet pining at her absence with the same longing lust as a couple reunited after a period of separation.
The click startled them both, although Helen was the only one who let out a startled scream. The atmosphere of wherever they were seemed to eat their words, but that sound – whatever it had been – thundered in their ears like cannon fire. Helen and Marcus both spun around, Marcus’s hands coming up in front of his body, fists clenched; his body weight moved onto the balls of his feet; his eyes narrowed. He was ready for anything.
Helen was startled. She shrank within herself. She brought her arms up and wrapped them around her chest. Unknowingly, she had taken several steps backwards, behind Marcus.
Or had he stepped in front of her? It didn’t matter.
The room was still empty.
“The door.” It was Helen who saw it first. The booming sound they both heard must have been the lock turning. The door, a large windowless point of entry, swung open a few inches. It wasn’t much, yet at the same time it was just enough. A beam of bright, powerful yellow light squeezed through the opening. It looked like something from an early Technicolor movie where most parts were still in black and white, and any color that appeared seemed far too powerful and brilliant to be true.
“We’re not alone,” Marcus responded. His gaze was focused on the door, but his body was more relaxed: if there was a threat lurking out there, it wasn’t ready for the fight just yet. First it wanted to play.
“Well, you’ve been here longer than I have, but I’ve already had enough of this place. Let’s get out of here while there is a doorway we can use. Please,” Helen said, making the statement, but not wanting to be the first one to make a move.
“Stay close to me. We don’t know what’s out there,” Marcus said, his voice quiet, his words slow and steady.
His eyes never left the door. They studied it the way an artist studies a slab of clay or blank canvas before beginning their masterpiece. He took a gentle hold of Helen’s right arm, moving her even further behind him, and then, together, they headed toward the door.