The Slash Of Truth: The Whispers From Under The Bed

135#

Fruit Family Household.

Dear Diary.

I don’t want to write much, I’m a sitting duck down here. I’m just hoping Sweetpea hurries and get the others. I briefly remember what happened. I fell through the floor, the floor moved when I pulled on the book then, My mind must have gone black upon the impact with the floor. I’ve sprained my ankle and I’m pretty sure I have a concussion from the impact. I can’t sit here much longer so, I’m going ahead to see if I can find Cherry. I’m leaving my diary here on this page to let you all know that Fenton is not the one responsible for his actions. A demon called Shasha has taken over him.

There is no way of getting the demon out of him. The only way you can do that is by killing him which I don’t want to do. I’ll try and find a way to prevent that, it’s not gonna be easy but, I have an idea when the worst comes to worst.

I don’t have to say that this demon is dangerous so stick together as a group. I hope you all find my daughter before I do.

Stay safe.

The frigid air only got colder as her body was numb to the bone, shaking violently as if her body was being possessed. She was dying from starvation and her thirst was driving her crazy; she briefly wondered what the flesh on the hooks tasted like before snapping herself out of it. She didn’t care for her body as she waited, her mind was elsewhere. How long had she sat there waiting for her capture? She didn’t know but, she was ready when the time came. Was she scared? Absolutely but, she couldn’t afford to keep running like this. If she wanted to live, to take another breath of fresh air, to see her mom and dad again, she had to fight, that she knew with certainty.

She didn’t know what she was feeling as she sat in the middle of the room, bodies hanging from the ceiling all around her. She was scared, she wasn’t afraid to admit that but, there was more to what she was feeling. She was suppressing her anger with a cool calmness, accepting that she might not live to tell the tale. As memories of the past ran rampant in her mind, she was sad that this could be her last memory, fighting to the death but, she was also happy. Looking back at the memories she had, she was happy with the time she had spent with her mom and dad, friends and family. It was a rollercoaster of a ride.

Cherry had a few regrets but only one stood out the most. She wished she gave Arctic a chance, given him the opportunity to be a dad. She thought about it a lot as she sat here and realised she was quite a nuisance to him. When she discovered that he wasn’t her real dad, she felt betrayed and angry. Why did she have to live with a stranger? Why did it have to be someone so uncool? Why did it have to be some nerd? So, Cherry neglected him and distanced herself from him in the hopes to drive him away. She thought Helly didn’t need him, Cherry didn’t need him, and they could live by themselves, just Helly and Cherry, mother and daughter. That’s what she thought.

Now, she could see the ignorance she had in her past self. She ignored his love, his advice, and the money he spends on her because she was blinded by hate and envy. He tried his best but, she continuously shuts him down every time. Honestly, she was surprised that he never gave up on her after trying to make his life miserable. She wished she could have a moment with him, to sit right in front of him right now and let her heart speak. She knew he would listen, she knew he would hug her tightly, and she knew he would come up with an answer to her problems. She wished she could have that moment just to get through all of this.

“It’s nearly time… He’s heading our way~.” A faint voice said behind her, knocking her out of her thoughts. “Are you ready?”

“I’m as ready as I’m going to get.” Cherry said with no energy, standing up from her seat with her hatchet in her hand.

“I’m sorry this happened to you… You don’t deserve this~.” The ghostly boy said, his face downtrodden. Cherry didn’t answer straight away, the comment feeling unrealistic. As bad as it may sound, she felt like she deserved this in a way she could only understand. This is probably the wake-up call she needed.

“Nothing we can do about it now, all we can do now is fight.” Cherry said after some time, turning to the boy that has helped her prepare. “Right?”

The boy saw it again, that spirit within her showed once again. It was fascinating how a young girl like her could stay optimistic in the situation she is in. For so long he has only seen terror and anguish on the victim’s face, seeing that small smile on her face was oddly refreshing, it was amazing to him. If only she was around back then, maybe, just maybe he would have had the power to fight back. Would he still be alive? Would his papa, mama and sisters be alive too? It’s a scary thought that if he had just turned instead of running and fought back, all this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.

Suddenly, distant echoing footsteps broke his train of thought, that blemishing sound haunting the ghost as he trembled. The ghost felt his enormous river magic, his black aura that crawled up and to the side of the door, turning this room as black as the void despite the light bulb’s flicking above him. All of a sudden, the boy remembered why he ran as he saw him in the distance, striding with power and intent. This evil the ghost felt suffocated him, driving him crazy of this insane power.

He glanced over to Cherry who stood there, unmoved by the appearance of the figure and his godlike power. How… How can a mortal like her stand in the presence of this higher being? He knew he told her to fight but, can’t she feel his tremendous strength? No… She can. Her knees are wobbling and he could hear her heart race but, still, she wears a smile on her face. Has she given up? Has she fallen into despair? No, that’s not it either. She is terrified but, she’s facing it head-on. Is this what facing your fears looks like?

When the man was at the wide open doorframe, Cherry’s eyes widened slightly as the top hat was gone, his whole face on for show. She gripped the handle of her hatchet tightly.

“Fenton…” She growled, surprised to see the pompous boy being the one behind all this, it actually made her cold blood boil from seeing his face but, something was different about him. His eyes are as black as his magical ambience, it was like it wasn’t him looking back at her, but more like something darker within himself was glaring back with a steely stare. That’s right, this wasn’t Fenton she was dealing with. It was the demon. Fenton didn’t respond to Cherry, opting to stare at the ghostly figure of his old victim, he could still smell the fear of him even when he was dead.

“You hold barely any fear and yet, you are far from despair. You are strong-willed and yet, not strong enough for me. Breaking you will be fun.” A demonic voice croaked from Fenton’s throat, creeping Cherry out for a second.

“Break me?” Cherry smirked. “More like you’ll have to break a sweat to catch me.” Cherry mocked, making the demonised Fenton scoff. Cherry didn’t waste a second as she ran the opposite way from Fenton, through another door leading her deeper. The ghostly boy however just stood there, still frozen in fear. He wanted to move, to run, to do anything but stand here. Nothing, he did nothing just like when he died. Fenton didn’t even look down at him as he walked passed the ghost, knowing for a fact that he will run away like every other time he tried to help a lost soul.

The demon within Fenton knew this underground bunker well, knowing what room was what, what to expect in each region, knowing that there is no escape. It didn’t matter what the childish girl did or do, her little games are only going to put her in a loop of misery and eventually death. It’s laughable that she thinks she is in control of the situation. The next room he stepped into was dark and gloomy but, he knew what this room was. It’s not even a room, it was just an old gangway bridge above 4 massive circular economies that contain sulphuric acid, nitric acid, hydrofluoric acid and perchloric acid, a body hanging over the railing. Huh? Did he forget to push him over into the acid? Strange, that’s not like him.

The demon never understood what the foolish Tangerine was doing at the time with all these acids but, it amused the demons very much when he tossed his victim into them. However, he had to be careful, the toxin of these acids are quite dangerous, even for him. So, the demon didn’t sit around long as he passed the body, pushing it off the side of the catwalk. Little did he know, that little shove of the body coursed a chain reaction to happen in that instant. The demon didn’t see the rope around the wrist of the corpse.

Cherry smiled as her little trap was set into motion. She knew a demented killer like him couldn’t resist throwing over a corpse into acid so, she took advantage of that and set up a trap for his hopeful demise. It was a trap that Arctic had once told her before on his adventures. A simple trap that involves an anchor, a rope and a very heavy object. Once the corpse was pushed off, the crate that was dangling over the top of the bridge would fall on top of him and collapse the bridge in the process, Cherry made sure to loosen the screws on it. None of this wouldn’t have been possible without her new friend, he was the one that made this trap possible.

When she saw the speeding outline of the crate crumble Fenton to the ground and fall below, making him stagger to one knee and grunt, she cursed to see that the bridge held the weight of the sudden pressure. The bridge falling was meant to be the finishing blow. A low grumbled chuckle reached Cherry’s ears, a haunting deep sound that made Cherry step back. No… That crate weighed over 50kg, he should be at least unconscious but, here he is, laughing as if it tickled him.

“I must admit, you caught me of guard. For that, I will end your life swiftly.” Fenton chortled, standing straight back up with an outlandish smile on his joyful face.

Is this it? The way she dies? To a plan that failed? To the hands of this murderer? No, not yet. Cherry wasn’t going to give up with her life and her family’s life on the line. He has to be hurt from that hit and previous wounds that she was told about. Here. This is where she holds the line, this is the room she lives or dies, running wasn’t an option anymore. She was weak, hurt, freezing and beyond ready to fight but, she took her first step forward towards Fenton with her hatchet in her hand, a motion that wiped the smile off the demon’s face. Never in his ageless years has he come against a mortal who dared to approach him. Everyone that has crossed his path has rather run away or given themselves up to him. The nerve of this puny girl. The things he would do to this girl if he had his knife.

Meeting in the centre, the height difference was major but, it was to her advantage as it was in a small, closed-in area where she could manoeuvre around easily. Fenton wasn’t shy of making the first move as he shot his hand out towards her neck, intending to end this quickly and shatter her spirit completely but, he was slightly taken by surprise as she directed his arm away from her free hand and lunged up with her hatchet, aiming for the side of his neck. Fenton’s eyes widen at this fearless little girl, a little girl who easily guided his arm to the side and created an opening for herself skillfully. Did he underestimate this child’s combat capabilities? He certainly did.

He ducked just in time to evade the swinging but, she was prepared for that as she grabbed him by the collar, using his momentum and the position of her leg to drag him down on his back with all her earthling strength, giving her another opportunity to strike. Again, he was in shock at how easily she controlled his body as if she was the one possessing him – a demon.

A two-voiced roar escaped Fenton’s throat as the hatchet struck the collarbone, fracturing it in two as raven blood splatted out and onto her face. Yanking the hatchet out roughly, her next target now was his neck as he was disoriented but, with force, she was pushed off of him, making distance for himself as he had time to stand back up, his icky black blood spilling as his shoulder was slumped down. Cherry stood back up almost instantly from his push, her ribs feeling the pain of the quick and forceful shove. Cherry knew he was strong from his aura alone but, feeling the pain only confirmed it.

“You insolent rat! You’ll regret that.” Fenton said darkly, rushing forward with speed that Cherry was ready for. Fenton started to slowly realise what this martial art was with each kick and blow that was evaded. Karate, a martial art that he has seen, and by the blocks and strikes, this little girl has knowledge of a black belt and with a hatchet at her side, she is not one to take likely.

The ghost was in awe of the fight in front of him. Never has he ever seen someone fight back with the odds stacked against them and hold their own against a superior being. It was like a lion fighting a rabbit but, the lion couldn’t land a blow on the small figure of the rabbit as it avoided every throw. It was incredible, it was awe-inspiring and it brought hope that he yearned for but, the real question was, how long can she last in the lion’s jaws?

Cherry’s arms felt like they could break at any moment trying to block these strikes from Fenton. They were so heavy and fast, but his injuries didn’t look like they affected him much as she couldn’t keep up with them, all she did was just block and wait. Suddenly, her breath was knocked out of her as her chest felt like it was hit by a bulldozer, feeling and hearing her ribs buckle and break from the punch she received, a punch so powerful that it send her flying into the room with all the hooks.

She found it impossible to breathe as her mouth was wide open, freezing as she couldn’t stop shaking, an astronaut in the black spare with no suit on. She wanted to stand back up, she wanted to keep fighting, and she wanted to live but, her body wouldn’t let her. Where was her hatchet? She couldn’t feel it in her hand, she must have dropped it from that blow, that’s fine, she could fight without it.

She tried to get up on her hands and knees but, a heavy kick to her gut sent her flying to many of the hooked bodies from above, whelping in pain when she hit the ground, coughing up blood and wheezing in agony. She was in immense pain but, she knew she could stand up, she had to stand in order to keep fighting. She wasn’t going to let herself be beaten laying down. She wasn’t going to give up, not just yet.

“I must admit, no child has even fought me before – never mind land a blow on me so, I won’t let you suffer no more pain than you already should. Are there any last words you wish to speak before I end your life?” Fenton murmured, administration in his tone as he stood in front of the struggling Cherry.

There is no time to be afraid… There is no time to be pathetic… to be a coward… to be a pushover… This is your last chance… Don’t fuck it up or you will end up like us~…

You have to fight… No matter what~…

He is hurt… He is vulnerable… This is your chance to escape~…

Stay strong… You can get through this~…

From the start… From the very start they were there for Cherry, rooting for her to be the one to finally escape, to end it all. These kids who had lived just like hers are counting on her; to free their souls, to find her freedom, to find their revenge. She could feel them, their eyes on her, every single victim of this bastard quietly cheering her on. She has to stand, she just has to.

“I’m-I’m not—done yet… I can keep fighting.” Cherry said, managing to to get up on her feet but, her knees were wobbly and she couldn’t manage to catch her breath. Fenton chuckled at her claim.

“Don’t be foolish, you gave it your best shot, that’s more than any of the little runts did. Give up, you lost.” Fenton declared, arms wide in victory.

“I-I am not done yet.” Cherry said again, standing in a stance similar to before but, more sloppy. Fenton huffed and went for the girl's neck once again but, like last time it was guided away readily, Cherry was ready to strike with her other fist but, Fenton wasn’t going to fall for the same trick as he went to Cherry’s striking fist but, Cherry wasn’t stupid or desperate in that moment. Fenton caught thin air as the strike was nothing more than a faint, the real strike was in her other fist as she used the boney part of her palm to slam upward to his chin, sending him off the floor. With a blood-curdling war cry, she used that velocity of his vulnerable state as she slammed his head down on the concrete floor with the strength that a demon would be wary of, cracking the concrete under his head.

“I. Am. Not. Done. Yet!”

Then she felt it… A flash of numbness in her arm.