Rona Vaselaar

I knew the apartment wasn’t empty the moment I stepped in the door. And the moment the smell it hit my nose, my face furrowed in disgust. It was harsh and metallic, the smell of something that shouldn’t be there.

“I know that’s why you’ve come here. At least, part of the reason. But I find myself compelled to inform you that this place isn’t safe…” She paused then, her eyes giving me a sharp once-over, before saying, “especially for you.”

I felt like a freak. A freak who cried at night when her parents couldn’t see and made friends with mirrors. Maybe that’s why the best dreams I ever had were ones where I wasn’t so strange.

I began to notice a pattern. I noticed that, when children went under, they didn’t struggle – they showed no signs of drowning. However, the adolescents and adults showed signs of distressed swimming, but not at the surface of the water.

“This is what I’ll be using to open the packaging. It might get a little messy, so I’ve placed a few tarps on the ground. Hopefully that will catch most of the mess.”

There is human evil, this much is easy enough to see. But it is not the only manifestation of evil in the world. There is another sort, one of a darker nature.

I wasn’t allowed to view the body – my parents were worried it would “damage” me. As if I hadn’t been damaged enough.

Before momma let them take me away, I started getting sick. Sometimes, I can’t stop from shaking. I get bad headaches and soreness all over my body. Sometimes, my arms are so stiff they’re hard to bend. It made momma sad and scared.

All in all, my services made everyone happy. I was a hero to the girls, and enigma to the boys. I was content. I should have known there would be consequences.

In a daze, I continued to run, choosing random pathways and praying that some exit would reveal itself. No matter how far I ran, however, I was greeted with looming masses of books, watching me eagerly for signs of distress.

My mind was racing. I wanted to run for the door that was swinging open on its hinges, but I couldn’t. Not with Tracy still in the apartment. The thought of her trapped in my room made me sick to my stomach. No, I had to protect her, I had to.

“It’s in the flesh, it’s in the blood, it’s Black Magic.”