Fear of the Dark

It was a dark dark night, in a dark dark town, down a dark dark street, in a dark dark building, up a dark dark staircase, along a dark dark corridor, through a dark dark door, was a dark dark apartment. In the dark dark apartment, a TV flickered with static. A coffee table was piled with over flowing ashtrays, empty pizza boxes, several bottles of wine and a mirror smudged with flakes of white. Crashed out on the sofa behind the table were two people. Sleeping at opposite ends, their legs intertwined in the middle. One was male, probably in his late twenties with long brown hair and a neatly trimmed goatee beard. The other was female, shorter than the male and somewhere in her early twenties. She had shoulder length red hair and fingers adorned with strange, silver rings. Pieces of paper with roughly scribbled drawings were scattered on the floor. A laptop computer sat under the table, its low battery light flashing. Welcome to the world of Rafferty and Rae, best friends and masterminds behind Tripping the Light Fantastic, a nationally syndicated cartoon strip. It chronicled their day to day lives in London and, on occasion, would show them how to deal with the fundamental problems of living in a big city. Dark and twisted, it only ran in a heavy metal magazine but now a publisher was showing a big interest in doing full-length graphic novels.

It was the morning after the night before and Rae, feeling decidedly lightheaded, had finally awoken from the warm, dark depths of her slumber. She left her long-haired flat mate sleeping while she cleaned up and made breakfast. The toaster produced a plume of smoke which escaped through a ventilation tube in the wall. Her stomach felt like a walnut but she knew that she should force something down her throat before that day’s meeting. It was with an international publisher that had a lot of swing in the market that they were looking to get into. They had shown immense interest in the comic strip that she wrote and Rafferty illustrated. It had taken them long enough to get the weird world of music magazines involved and now that the big publishers had taken the bit, she wasn’t going to let it go. Stumbling over the discarded sheets of artwork, she fell back onto the sofa.
‘Raff, wake up,’ she whispered.
No response.
‘Raff, wake up,’ she said a little louder.
Still, no response.
‘RAFFERTY!’
A mumble emitted from the sleeping man. Rae hit him around the back of the head.
‘Today’s the day,’ she said.
‘For what?’ came the barely audible voice.
Rae hit him again.
‘The meeting with the publisher.’
‘Can’t be arsed,’ was the reply she got.
‘Why not?’
‘Just not.’
Rae sighed and got up.
‘Are you sick or something? This could be our biggest break,’ she said.
Rafferty pulled himself into a sitting position.
‘That came a few months ago.’
Putting on her “Just Do It’ face, Rae stared him down.
‘Ok, I’m coming,’ he said, beginning to drag himself from the sofa, ‘I’d never hear the last of it if I didn’t.’

‘As it’s silly season and I’m a magnet for trouble, I’ve got a message for all you weirdoes. Fuck off!’
Rae was sprawled on the sofa, listening to her favourite radio station, KPQX. The meeting, once she had gotten Rafferty out of the house, had gone very well. They had signed the contract and the graphic novels were now official. If all went well, they would be on the shelves of every major retailer within the next few months. There were just a few odds and ends to clean up before they sent of the final copy. Picking up the remote for the stereo, she flicked it off and changed controls for the TV, picking up the TV guide as she did. It revealed an old, heavy looking book. Putting down the magazine, Rae turned her attention to the book. She picked it up, nearly dropping it as she did. The pages crackled slightly as she opened it, the edges gilted in gold, and the paper yellowing with age. It was written in what she could only assume was Latin and illustrated with strange symbols and sigils. Slowly, she ran her fingers over the writing, imaging the power that it somehow had locked inside.
‘Put that down,’ Rafferty’s voice came from behind her.
Slowly, she returned it to the table, the leather bindings creaking as it was put down. There was certainly something strange about the book that Rae couldn’t put her finger on.
‘I was only looking,’ she protested.
Rafferty walked over and picked it up, secreting it away into the book bag that hung from is shoulder.
‘There’s things in there I don’t want you to see,’ he replied, ‘I’m only protecting you.’
Rae sighed and stared at her long-haired friend.
‘I think I’m old enough to look after myself.’
Rather than reply to her, Rafferty turned and walked into his room. Rae inadvertently shivered. He was definitely acting weirder than normal. Normally he was nice, a quiet, compassionate soul who spent his time doting on her. But the tone of his voice had scared her and made her start to think about him. The second that she heard his door click shut, Rae was on her feet. Riffling through cupboards and drawers, she was determined to find evidence of Rafferty’s strange behaviour. At the back of one of the kitchen cupboards, she found a wooden box. It was about the same size as a shoebox. Pulling it into her lap, she found that it was engraved with symbols similar to the ones that she had found in the book. A dragon and snake were intertwined on the lid. Rae knew, from research on alternative religions, that the dragon and snake were often used as symbols of power and sex. Her fingers wandered across the surface of the box, feeling the grooves and etchings, the brass hinges on the back, the heavy lock on the front.
‘Shit,’ she whispered to herself, holding the lock up to her face.
Suddenly, she heard the noise of a door opening. Hurriedly, she shoved the box to the back of the cupboard and started to put everything back in place. Rafferty swept past her, dressed from head to foot in a long black cloak, his hair tied into his neck. He flew past her, ignoring her as the front door slammed shut. Getting to her feet, Rae picked up the phone. Dialing a number, she looked out of the window. On the street below, she could see Rafferty, speeding away to some remote part of the city, his cloak flapping in the wind. Suddenly the phone was answered.
‘Ethan? It’s Rae.’
‘Hi,’ came the slightly muffled reply, ‘what’s up?’
Rae twisted the phone cord round her little finger.
‘It’s your brother. He’s been acting strangely.’
‘He’s always been weird, you know that.’
‘This is a different weird,’ she replied.
‘Do you want me to come round?’
‘Please.’

Somewhere, outside of London, Ethan snapped an expensive mobile phone shut and secreted it away into a pocket. He was dressed from head to foot in black, a long heavy black cloak wrapped around his shoulders. A gust of wind ruffled his short, spiky hair and swept the hem of his cloak away from his ankles. Trees surrounded him, hiding from my prying eyes and dog walkers. Looking around himself, Ethan noted that his brother hadn’t arrived yet. Instead, four other people, all dressed identically in long cloaks stood around a fire. Reaching back into his pockets, he took out the phone. Flipping it open, he dialed a number from memory. It began to ring, a tone then a pause, a tone then a pause. Eventually it was answered.
‘Rafferty?’ Ethan demanded of the inanimate object.
‘Yes,’ came the reply. It sounded, to Ethan, like Rafferty was driving at speed.
‘It’s Rae. You’ve aroused her suspicions. I’m going to go and see if I can talk it out of her.’
‘Do that,’ the accented voice crackled over the line. There was a click and his brother was gone.

After she had put the phone down, Rae turned her attention back to the box. Placing it on the kitchen counter, she examined it from all angles. No matter what, she knew that the only way to get in would be to break the lock. If she did that, she knew Rafferty would suspect something, knew that he would suspect her. Opening a drawer, she took out a small hammer. She was going to take the risk of opening it because the not knowing what was on the inside was far worse than Rafferty being angry at her because she’d opened it. Holding the box steady with one hand, she brought the hammer down on the lock. There was the sound of metal meeting metal and the lock flew across the kitchen, clattering to the floor. Slowly, cautiously she opened the lid and peered inside.

‘So what’s bothering you about Rafferty?’
They were sitting out on the balcony, watching the sky and listening to the sounds of the city around them.
‘Books and boxes with strange inscriptions and black cloaks.’
Ethan sat and pondered what she had just said.
‘Research?’ he replied.
‘No,’ Rae said, ‘his behaviour says something more than research.’
She sipped from the glass of red wine that was clutched in her hand.
‘And earlier,’ she continued, ‘I found a box underneath the sink.’
‘The box that you just mentioned?’ Ethan raised an eyebrow.
‘One and the same. I broke the lock on it and inside is a lock of my hair and a lock of his hair braided together.’
Ethan raised an eyebrow again, his eyes boring into hers.
‘Relax,’ said Ethan, nothing her hand, ‘it’s going to be ok.’
She looked at him, her face deadly serious.
‘That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have to live with him.’
Ethan smiled a smile that Rae decided was supposed to comfort her.
‘I grew up with him. He went through enough strange phases then.’
He reached out and touched her hand. Rae felt herself start to recoil but stopped. She didn’t know why the uncomfortable feeling had washed over her but it had. Something wasn’t right about Ethan, something that she couldn’t put her finger on.
‘Look, I have to go,’ he said, ‘but why don’t you come over for dinner tomorrow.’
‘Sure,’ Rae replied, despite the strange feeling that had suddenly embraced her.

Rae spent the rest of the evening on the balcony, drinking wine. It was a warm, muggy evening and a storm was brewing. Dark, heavy clouds rolled across the sky, blocking out the stars. Getting up to stretch her legs, Rae lent on the barrier that surrounded the balcony and stared out across the park opposite the flat. It stretched away before her, dark and haunting. Many urban legends and tall tales surrounded the area from gruesome executions to, more recently, stories of murder and black magic.

Rae didn’t remember coming in from the balcony. She also didn’t remember falling asleep on the sofa either. She certainly didn’t remember covering herself with a blanket. Wearily, she looked around the living room and noticed that Rafferty’s book bag was hanging from one of the dining room chairs. She concluded that he had covered her up. Maybe he did have a bit of compassion left in him. Rae wondered if she was overestimating the sudden change in Rafferty’s behaviour. Maybe the book was research and maybe he was cranky from all the extra work that he was doing. The cloak could be explained as a new fashion craze, although at 28, Rae decided he should pretty much know his identity. But all this didn’t explain the odd book or the strange box. In the back of her mind, Rae knew that she was trying to find reason behind her friends’ sudden personality change. A soft “whoomph” of the local newspaper landing on the doormat brought her back to reality. Sliding off the sofa, she went and picked it up. The headline instantly caught her attention.

OCCULT RELATED MURDER CONFIRMED
The body of a young woman that was found on heath land close to the city was a victim of a black magic ritual. Strange symbols were found etched into her body. Cause of death was a slash wound to the throat. Police are currently trying to confirm her identity although they believe that she may have been an illegal immigrant brought into the country for this ritual.
Local occult groups are up in arms about this murder. All are denying it and many are joining forces to issue statements. A local new age bookstore is preparing to close its doors as attacks from other religious groups become imminent.

Rae put the paper down and sat down. A strange sense told her that Rafferty was somehow related to the news item that she was staring at. Finally, she got to her feet. Walking across the room, she opened the door to Rafferty’s room and looked in. The room was dark, heavy curtains covering the windows. Artwork was spread out on a drawing board, a desk lamp angled over it. On a bedside table sat the book that he had caught her looking through. A couple of half burnt, blood red candles stood beside the book. Next to the book was a little velvet pouch. Quietly, Rae picked it up and opened it. Into her palm fell a metal tube about seven inches long and three across. The tube was decorated with dangerous looking metal spikes. They weren’t very long but, to Rae, they looked like they could do a lot of damage. Slowly, Rae replaced the heavy metal tube back in its bag and put it back on the table. Sprawled on the bed, Rafferty was soundly asleep, his hair spread across the pillow. He looked at peace with himself. Rae pondered waking him, not wanting to disturb his deep sleep. Eventually, she cautiously stepped into his room and up to the bed.
‘Raff.’ She whispered.
He didn’t stir.
‘Raff,’ she said a bit louder.
Rafferty stirred slightly, mumbling something in his sleep.
‘Come on Raff,’ she said, ‘ wake up.’
Only then did he sit up and rub his eyes. His hair fell into his eyes, giving him a strangely innocent look. Very strange in light of his recent behaviour.
‘What do you want?’ he mumbled.
‘This,’ Rae said, throwing the newspaper on the bed.
She watched as he wearily picked it up and scanned the front page.
‘And?’ he asked.
Rae looked at him.
‘I just have this strange feeling that you’re somehow involved with this. I don’t know how and, personally, I probably don’t want to know but something’s telling me that you are.’
Rafferty just stared at her, sleep still crusting his eyes.
‘It has nothing to do with me,’ he replied, ‘and I don’t even know why you think that I am. Why? Why are you checking up on me? Why are you going through my stuff?’
Rae stared at him, not quite believing what she was hearing.
‘You’re acting weird Rafferty. Not a little bit weird either. Strange books and boxes, black cloaks and blood red candles. It’s all pointing to some weird new hobby of yours.’
She caught Rafferty staring at her.
‘Rae, I honestly don’t know what to say. You’re standing here accusing me of doing something that I had no involvement with. You’re telling me things that I don’t need to hear.’
‘Tragically, Rafferty, there are some things that you need to hear. If you have been involved with the dark side then you really need to know what you’re messing with.’
Rafferty slid off the bed and stood up. Rae backed off, her back up against a wall. He towered over her and, in the dim lit room, he looked menacing.
‘I’m not messing in anything Rae,’ he said, slowly advancing on her, one foot placed carefully in front of the other, ‘what I choose to do is my choice.’
He finished walking across the room and placed one hand on the wall just above Rae’s shoulder. Rae shuddered as he did, her breathing becoming shallow. His hot breath washed over her, his mouth only inches from her face.
‘You have absolutely no say in what I do in my spare time.’
His eyes looked down at her neck and he leant closer. Rae heard as he drew breath in through his nose, smelling her scent. He pulled away and walked back across the room. Trembling, Rae slid to the floor and sat with her knees hunched up under her chin. Rafferty stood with his back to her. Rae could see the muscles rippling in his shoulders as he tensed, his long hair spilling down his back. Letting her breathing come back to normal, she slowly got to her feet and walked out of the room.

That night, Rae walked along an empty street. Dark clouds hide the sky; another night of rain had been promised. Rafferty had left the house soon after their argument. She hadn’t seen him since. Part of her didn’t really care; he was acting like something was wrong and he had to know that it was bothering her. The other part of her did care. She cared a hell of a lot about him. Rae didn’t know why but she knew that her feelings for him ran a lot deeper. Suddenly, the heavy clouds that loomed overhead burst open and warm, spring rain pelted the streets. Rae pulled out an umbrella.

Ethan welcomed her with a warm smile and open arms.
‘Come on in,’ he said, ‘dinner will be ready soon.’
Looking through the plate glass door that separated the hallway from the lounge, Rae could see a table set for two and a room lit by candles.
‘Make yourself comfortable and help yourself to some wine.’
Walking into the lounge, Rae sat down on one of the two sofas that sectioned the lounge area from the dining room. In front of her was a black ash coffee table with a bottle of wine and two pewter goblets carefully placed on it. Reaching forward, she picked up the bottle and poured a dark red wine into one of the goblets.
‘Do you want some?’ she asked.
‘Sure,’ he replied.
She poured another goblet of wine and handed it to him.
‘Come on,’ he said, ‘dinner’s ready.’
Getting up, Rae walked to the table and sat down. Ethan placed a plate in front of her, filled with steaming pasta and sauce. He sat opposite her, smiling as he did. The slight feeling of unease that she had felt on his last visit to the apartment washed over her again. She smiled weakly at him and turned her attention to the meal in front of her.
‘So, how’s Rafferty?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know,’ she replied, ‘I haven’t seen a lot of him since you last visited.’
She took a mouthful of food.
‘I don’t know what’s wrong with him,’ Ethan said, ‘I honestly can’t explain his behaviour.’
Rae shrugged and carried on eating.
‘Are you ok?’ he asked.
She looked up.
‘Yes, I’m fine. Just a little tired.’
Ethan looked at her. Her eyes connected with his and she saw what she could only hope was worry in them.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Oh, I’ve been having some bad dreams, that’s all,’ she replied.
‘Tell me about them.’
Rae took a sip of wine and breathed deeply. She decided to ignore the feeling of unease and tell him. They had been friends for a long time and her gut feeling said to trust him.
‘Dark, disturbing dreams.’
‘Like what?’ he asked.
‘Dreams where I’ve watched myself being tied to some kind of altar, being raped, having weird sex. Stuff I’d never normally think about.’
‘Any other significant things?’
Rae smiled and sipped at her wine.
‘What is this?’ she asked, ‘the Spanish Inquisition?’
‘No,’ Ethan replied, ‘I’m just curious. So was there anything else about these dreams that stands out?’
‘Yes,’ she said, putting down the goblet, ‘your brother was involved in every one of them. He was the one raping me and having sex with me. He was the one preparing to sacrifice me. Can you see why I’m a little worried?’
‘Of course,’ he said, ‘have you ever had sex with him?’
‘No,’ Rae replied, ‘and I don’t plan on it any time soon.’
‘Do you have feelings for him?’
Rae snorted with laughter, hoping to hide her true feelings.
‘No.’
Ethan smiled at her and carried on eating. Rae followed suit and picked up her fork.

After dinner, they sat on the sofa, drinking wine and talking. Rae started to feel drowsy, the red wine going to her head. The candles burned low, the flames dancing on the walls. Eventually, she stood up.
‘I’ve got to go,’ she said.
‘So soon?’ Ethan asked.
She nodded, feeling her eyelids droop. She yawned slowly.
‘Yes, but thank you so much for tonight. It’s been nice to get out for the night.’
Ethan stood up, towering over her tiny frame.
‘You could stay here for the night,’ he said.
Rae slowly shook her head.
‘I don’t think so,’ she replied.
‘Why not?’ Ethan asked.
Rae sighed tiredly and stretched.
‘I have to go back to the flat and screw with Rafferty’s head.’
Ethan laughed and stepped a little closer to her. Rae shivered slightly.
‘I won’t bite,’ he said.
She smiled wearily, not sure what to do.
‘I wouldn’t put it past you.’
Picking up her coat, she started to walk to the door.
‘Night,’ she said, reaching for the front door.
Ethan stepped closer to her. Rae backed off slightly, the door only centimeters from her back.
‘Don’t worry,’ he whispered.
Gently he took her chin in his hand and softly kissed her on the lips.
‘Night,’ he whispered, looking down into her eyes.
He reached behind her and opened the door. Taking one last look at him, she stepped out of the door and into the velvet black night.

Ethan stood in the open door for a moment longer, watching Rae disappear into the night. The stairs creaked as someone walked down them and Rafferty appeared at Ethan’s shoulder. His hair was loose, strands streaking his face. His eyes flared with a strange, dark force.
‘She didn’t stay,’ he stated.
‘No,’ Ethan replied, the look on his face changing to malevolence, evil lighting his eyes.
‘I’ll go after her,’ said Rafferty.
With that, Rafferty swept past Ethan and headed into the night, following Rae’s echoing footsteps.

Rae walked along a tree-lined alley, trying to collect her thoughts. She had been getting strange feelings about Ethan. There had been something not quite right, something that Rae hadn’t been able to put her finger on. It had been a sinister feeling, like the ones that had been there whenever Rafferty had been in the room. Rae was starting to suspect that whatever Rafferty was involved in, Ethan was also part of. Suddenly Rae became aware of footsteps behind her. They were quick and sounded like they were approaching fast. Trying not to panic, Rae sped up. She had heard stories about this part of town and she had no desire to be its next victim. The footsteps behind her also started to gain speed, gaining on her with every second. Breathing rapidly, Rae began to run, her boots slapping hard onto the rain soaked pavement. Flecks of water flew up, wetting her clothes and skin. Desperately, she looked for a gate or a hole in the fence but the iron railings seemed to carry on forever. The sounds behind her were getting closer and she started to panic. Her eyes quickly surveyed her surroundings, hoping, praying for a way to escape. Suddenly an arm grabbed her around the neck. Her body was swung round and slammed into the railings. The breath was knocked from her body ad she began panting hard, trying to regain control of her senses. A black clothed body was pushed her against hers, pinning her to the cold metal behind her. Slowly she lifted her head. A black hood hid the face of her attacker. She could feel their hot breath on her skin.
‘I’m not going to hurt you,’ her captor said.
Rae started to shake, recognizing the voice.
‘Rafferty?’ she asked.
Reaching up, her attacker pushed to hood back, revealing her housemate. An evil smile snaked across his face and malevolence flashed through his eyes.
‘You don’t have to worry,’ he whispered, ‘I won’t murder you.’
Rae gasped and started to struggle. Rafferty grabbed the railings behind her, making it impossible for her to move.
‘So it was you. You murdered that young woman.’
He nodded slowly, the streetlights casting eerie shadows across his face.
‘And now it’s your turn,’ he said, his voice low and husky.
Rafferty pulled away, keeping one arm wrapped tightly around her. Seeing her chance, Rae started to struggle.
‘Don’t struggle,’ he whispered, ‘it’s going to hurt you more than it’s going to hurt me.’
From nowhere, she felt the hard, cold blade of a knife pressed against the supple flesh of her throat.
‘Try and run and I will kill you,’ he hissed.
Rae stopped trying to escape and reluctantly fell into step beside him.

Out on the main road, a sleek black car, it’s engine rumbling quietly, was waiting for them. Under the shadow of the trees, Rafferty reached out and opened the door. Grabbing her by the back of the neck, he forced her into the back seat. Rae collapsed into it, automatically tucking her legs under her. A hand grasped her head, pulling her close to another body. She felt the car’s suspension react as Rafferty climbed in and slammed the door shut. The car smoothly pulled away and blended itself with the rest of the night-time traffic.
‘Stay down and stay quiet,’ Rafferty whispered to her, ‘I don’t want you trying anything stupid.’
The smooth blade of the knife was pressed into the base of her back. Moving her head against the rough fabric of her restrainer’s cloak, she looked up. From under their hood, they looked down at her. Their face was mostly hidden in shadow but Rae could make out characteristics.
‘Ethan,’ she whispered.
The hood nodded and Rae could just make out a smile, a smile that was filled with malice and evil. Shaking, Rae lowered her head.
‘What are you going to do to me?’ she whispered.
‘Nothing that’s going to hurt,’ she heard Rafferty reply.
Hot, salty tears started to roll down her cheeks, splashing onto the leather upholstery of the car.
‘Please don’t kill me,’ she begged.
‘Like I told you,’ Rafferty said, ‘I’m not going to kill you.’
Rae felt him stroke the hollow of her back.’
‘Now, calm down. It’ll all be over soon.’

After what felt like forever, the car smoothly started to slow down. Ethan’s hand tightened over her head, holding her down. Silently the car stopped. Rafferty was the first to step out of the car, sweeping his cloak with him. He turned and reached behind him, grabbing Rae. Dragging her from the car, he threw her to the ground. Lying on the rain soaked grass Rae stared up at him. Her breathing became shallow and her eyes glazed over with terror. Looking around herself, she found that she was in a clearing deep in the park opposite their flat. The heavy rain clouds had disappeared, revealing a beautiful full moon. An old stone altar stood in the middle of the glade, a fire burning next to it. Surrounding the fire and altar were eleven other people, all of them dressed in black cloaks, hoods covering their faces. Pulling herself up onto her elbows, Rae scrambled to her feet. Watching Rafferty, she backed away, straight into Ethan’s arms. Quick as lighting, he had her gripped against his body.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’ Ethan said.
Rae struggled to look behind her, Ethan’s grip tightening all the more.
‘Go with Rafferty and you’ll be fine. Run and you’re only hurting yourself.’
Freeing herself, Rae started to run, putting the car between herself and the brothers. Together, they started to approach her, heads low, eyes focused on her. She watched as Rafferty reached beneath his full-length cloak and pulled out a silver sword. It gleamed under the moonlight, catching Rae’s eye. Waiting no longer, she turned and ran into the trees.
‘GET HER!’ she heard Rafferty scream after her.
Keeping to the shadows, she kept on running, not daring to look back. She could hear the sound of people behind her, running, chasing her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that some of them were carrying flaming torches, the light bouncing off the trees, as they spread out among the forest. Looking for her, hunting her.
‘Come on Rae,’ she heard Rafferty call out, his voice sinister, ‘I’m not going to hurt you.’
Rae kept running, hoping that she’d reach the edge of the trees soon, hoping that soon she’d find safety. Voices echoed through the darkness, the voices of the people pursuing her, the voices of the people who wanted to hurt her. Her lungs burned with the pain of trying to keep supplying her tired body with oxygen. Rae felt herself on the verge of giving up, the agony of red-hot needles slicing into her muscles. She turned to look behind her and saw that Rafferty wasn’t far behind her, hood down, hair streaking behind him, the sword welded with an un-natural power.
‘You’re mine,’ she heard him hiss at her, ‘come here and let me finish with you.’
Suddenly, Rae was sent sprawling across the forest floor, her foot caught in a tree root. She screamed in agony as she heard the bones crack and give way. Struggling to her feet, she tried to stand but her now badly damaged ankle gave way and she collapsed against a tree. Breathing deeply, desperately trying to catch her breath, she looked up to see Rafferty looming over her. He held the sword in front of him, his wavy brown hair streaking his face. Rae felt the will to escape and survive slip from her.
‘Just take me and get it over with,’ she whispered.
Rafferty smiled.
‘Oh, I’m planning on it,’ he replied as he reached out his free hand to her.
He grabbed a handful of her hair, half dragging her to her feet.
‘I’VE GOT HER,’ the battle cry emitted from deep inside him, causing Rae to shudder.
She heard branches and dead leaves crackle under their feet as they turned and headed back to the clearing. Rae stumbled and scraped her way along, fearing to put her weight onto her damaged ankle. The sword had fallen to Rafferty’s side and was scraping the ground beside her as he dragged it along. She screamed in agony, as the pain from her ankle and Rafferty pulling her hair seared through her body. Her feet kicked up little piles of dirt and leaves as she scrabbled around, trying to regain some of her balance. She grabbed hold of Rafferty’s cloak, desperately trying to pull herself up. Rafferty kicked her away, catching her in the side.

Eventually, after much pain and pulling, they arrived back in the clearing that she had tried to escape from only moments before. The black-cloaked people had already arrived and arranged themselves around the fire and altar. Ethan was also there, hood down and arms folded, standing beside the car.
‘You’re in a lot of trouble Rae,’ he said, loudly enough for everyone else to hear.
Rafferty let her go, her head hitting a protruding stone.
‘Get her to the altar,’ Rafferty said to his brother, sweeping the sword up into his hands.
Ethan walked over to her and bent down, arms outstretched. Rae decided not to take it as a kind gesture and allowed him to put his hands under her arms and pull her to her feet. A scream emitted from her body as the red-hot needles shot from her ankle to her brain. Letting herself go limp, she let Ethan half carry, half drag her to the stone altar that stood in the middle of the glade. Rafferty was already standing beside it, his hair flowing down his back, leaning on the heavy sword. He stared at her; Rae could feel his eyes boring into hers. She looked at him sadly, knowing that whatever was about to happen was definitely going to hurt her more than it was going to hurt him. As they closed in on the altar, two members from the circle stepped forward and lifted her on it. Rae didn’t care anymore; she had given up caring and fighting. The stone was cold against the exposed parts of her skin.
‘Tie her down,’ Rafferty said.
Ethan backed away and the cult members secured her wrists and legs to the four iron rings in the corners of her stone prison. She let her head loll to one side and stared off into space, only vaguely aware that everyone but Rafferty were backing off to the tree line.
‘Look at me,’ she heard Rafferty say.
Reluctantly she moved her head to look up into Rafferty’s eyes. She knew that her own eyes were sad and listless. He was holding a chalice in one hand and the sword in the other. Reaching out, he placed the chalice beside her head. With his free hand, he took her right wrist and brought the sword down to it. Rae felt the cold blade slice into her skin yet didn’t complain. She was tired and the pain was nothing compared to everything else she suspected was going to happen. His eyes never left hers and she watched as he put the sword to one side and picked up the chalice. Holding her wrist tightly, he squeezed a few drops of her blood into the silver chalice. Rae heard it drop and hit the metal. She carried on watching as he sliced his own wrist, letting the blood drip into the chalice and mix with her own. She felt a hand, one of Rafferty’s hands, slide beneath her head, lifting it.
‘Drink of me,’ he whispered, ‘and become one of us.’
Rae shook her head as much as she could.
‘No,’ she tiredly whispered, ‘no. Please Rafferty.’
He bent close to her, his lips touching her ear.
‘You wanted to know what I was up to, so now you’re going to find out.’
Rafferty lifted the chalice to her lips, pushing them open with the metal rim. Rae tried to move her head but his hand held her hair, forcing her to look at him.
‘There’s no use fighting. You’re going to do this.’
She felt the hard edge of the chalice knock against her teeth. Biting down, she fought, stalling for time, hoping that someone would find them and rescue her.
‘I’ll break those pretty little teeth of yours if I have to,’ she heard Rafferty hiss at her, his face not far from her own.
The chalice knocked against her teeth again, the grip on the back of head forever tightening as Rafferty forced her mouth open. The cold, thick liquid of their mixed blood slid down her throat. Rae winced, at the sweet, slightly acidic taste. She opened her eyes to see Rafferty looking down at her, a slight smile on his face.
‘Good girl,’ he whispered.
He straightened up, holding the chalice in front of him. Lifting the chalice to his own lips, he drank deeply.
‘So be it,’ he said, addressing the crowd that watched them.
Rae felt a fresh wave of fear and revulsion swell up inside her. He turned back to her and placed the chalice at her feet.
‘And now to consummate this new union,’ he said huskily.
Rae heard the rustle of cloth and looked up to see the black clad figures slowly closing in on them. Rafferty stepped closer and leaned over her.
‘I know you’ve been wanting this for a while,’ he whispered to her.
The dark figures closed in on them and stopped, all of them, Rae could only presume, watching, waiting for what Rafferty was going to do next. Suddenly, she felt a cold hand slide up under her skirt, fingers stroking her goose pimped skin. She looked up to see Rafferty leering at her. Closing her eyes, she knew that she couldn’t fight whatever he was about to do. She felt her skirt being pushed up her legs, finally settling around her waist. Rough cloth scraped the inside of her naked thighs as Rafferty started to mount her. A hand touched her hair, the fingers tangling in it, pulling it away from her face. Hot breath washed over her, as Rafferty leaned close.
‘You’re so beautiful when you’re scared,’ he whispered, ‘I’ll have to do this more often.’
She felt the breath being squeezed out of her as he put his weight onto her. Terrible, grating pain ripped through her has he slid a spike encrusted penis into her. She screamed out loud as horrible, bloody pain ripped into her body. Every nerve ending was on edge with each of his agony inducing thrusts. She fought against her bonds, desperately trying to escape. Her hands clenched, desperately reaching for something to grab of hold of. In the back of her mind, she could hear chanting, chanting which grew louder by the minute. The more that Rafferty moved around inside her the more the chanting escalated. Suddenly his body convulsed on top of hers, pushing deeply into her one last time. She felt a thick fluid mix with the blood that was already starting to run out of her. She opened her eyes and looked up to see Rafferty looking down at her, his breathing heavy. He pulled out of her, whatever was in her scrapping and tearing at soft flesh. As he knelt in front of her, Rae could see a heavy metal, harshly spiked tube wrapped around his penis. The same metal tube that she had found in his room. Blood dripped from it, falling onto the stone altar. He climbed down from the altar, arranging his robe as he did and turned to the crowd that had closed in around them. Rae let her head loll back, the coldness of the stone cooling her battered and bruised body. For a moment he stared at the people that were watching before walking to the car. Exhausted and upset, Rae couldn’t find the strength to shout after him. She wanted to be left alone, the terrifying truth about her closest friend slowly sinking in.

The next thing that Rae could recall was the sound of voices.
‘ . . . Survival seems good . . .’
‘. . . Seven days . . .’
‘. . . Healing well . . .’
She could feel warmth and a soft covering pressed down on her body. Her body started to react and she coughed, her lungs drawing in as much breath as possible. Trying to open her eyes, she found that they were restricted. Panic swept through her body, screams ripping from her body and puncturing the air.
‘Calm down’ a soothing voice said, ‘the nightmare’s over now.’
She heard a soft ripping sound as the tape that covered her eyes was carefully removed. She opened them, her pupils instantly dilating. As her vision adjusted to the light, she could make out a doctor and two nurses standing over her.
‘Welcome back, Miss Smith,’ the doctor said.
Quickly she looked around herself, taking in her surroundings. She was lying in a comfortable hospital bed, bright sunlight streaming through the window. Her body was a mess of wires and tubes, every part of her seemed to be hooked up to a computer or other apparatus. Low, continuous beeps assaulted her hearing from all sides. She tried to sit up but found that her body was un-naturally weighted down.
‘Stay still, Miss Smith,’ said the doctor.
‘W-what happ-p-end?’ Rae stammered.
‘You were in a relatively serious road traffic accident,’ he said, ‘a car hit you on the driver’s side, breaking your right leg, arm, collarbone and ribs. You’ve been unconscious for the last seven days.’
Rae tried to take it all in.
‘Car?’ she asked.
‘Written off, I’m afraid,’ the doctor replied.
‘Time?’
‘Time of the accident is thought to be around mid-night.’
The door at the foot of her bed swung open and Rafferty and Ethan walked in, concern in their faces. Rae felt anger and hate start to boil up inside of her.
‘YOU!’ she screamed, lifting a drip laden hand to point at Rafferty, ‘YOU BASTARD. HOW COULD YOU?’
Rafferty was clearly taken aback by her sudden outburst.
‘What?’ he asked, clearly shaking.
Rae drew breath through her nose, her nostrils flaring.
‘Calm down Miss Smith,’ said one of the nurses, ‘you’re going to do yourself more injuries if you don’t.’
Rae let her head rest back onto one of the full, comfortable pillows. She shook, her breathing uneven, hot tears flowing down her cheeks.
‘You attacked me, ‘she said, her voice breaking with emotion, ‘you tied me to a stone altar in the middle of a wood and then you raped me.’
‘Is this true?’ the doctor asked, visibly concerned.
Rafferty stayed where he was, his soft eyes glazing over. He shook his head.
‘No,’ he said.
He turned to Rae
‘I would never lay a finger on you. I would never hurt you. I love you Rae, more than you can imagine.’
Rae carried on staring at him, her eyes still filled with rage.
‘How can I believe you?’
‘Because you could be suffering from amnesia,’ the doctor butted in, ‘let us run some tests and we’ll be able to tell you what happened.’
Rae turned her head to look at him and nodded.

The next few hours were a blur of questions, needles and intruding tests. Rae just lay back and let them get on with it. She watched as blood disappeared into tubes and swabs were sealed in bags. Eventually the doctor came back to her, a clipboard in his hands.
‘Miss Smith,’ he said, ‘the results show that you weren’t raped. If what you said was true, then your vagina would have been ripped to pieces, even seven days later.’
He sighed.
‘All I can think of is, that while you were unconscious, you had a bad reaction to the drugs we gave you and what you experienced was a hallucination and a bad one at that.’
He sat on the chair beside her bed, bringing him to her eye level.
‘The good news is that you’ll be able to go home within the week. Your bones are healing well and there’s no internal injuries.’
Rae smiled.
‘Thanks,’ she said, ‘how’s Rafferty?’
‘The police have let him go now that we’ve told them we have no evidence against him. We’ve explained the drugs and the effects that it can have on the mind of someone in a coma.’
‘Is he angry at me?’ she asked.
The doctor smiled and shook his head.
‘No. He’s just happy that you’re alive and well.’
There was a creak and Rae looked up. The door opened and Rafferty quietly walked in, his hands buried deep in his pockets, his head low.
‘I’ll leave you two alone for a bit,’ the doctor said.
He left, closing the door behind him. Rafferty sat on the edge of the bed.
‘They told me about the drugs and I completely understand.’
Rae reached out a hand, untangling various wires as she did, and stroked his hand.
‘Everything’s alright now,’ she said, a tiny smile on her lips.

A week later and Rae found herself being carried across the threshold of her apartment. Her leg and arm were still in plaster and her ribs ached from the tightly wrapped bandages around her middle.
‘Welcome home,’ Rafferty said as he laid her on the sofa.
Rae smiled at him.
‘Thanks,’ she replied, propping her crutches at one end of the sofa.
‘Do you want a cup of tea?’ he asked.
Rae looked up from scanning the TV guide.
‘Please.’
She heard the reassuring click of the kettle switching on. Everything seemed to be back to normal. She didn’t know why she was still worried. It had all been a bad, drug-induced dream. Her body started to relax and she sank deeper into the sofa, her head resting against the soft cushions. Out of the corner of her eye, something caught her attention. Slowly pulling herself into a sitting position, she saw that the object was a small velvet bag about the same size as her hand. Reaching out, she picked it up. It was heavy, weighing down her hand. Holding it in her bandaged hand, she used her good hand to open it. Whatever was in the bag was cold and hard. Slowly she pulled it out to reveal a metal tube several inches long. The tube was studded with spikes. She stared at it, eyes wide, heart in her mouth. The gruesome object lay in her hand, glinting in the sunlight that streamed through the windows.
‘It’s a piece of jewellery,’ came Rafferty’s voice behind her, ‘I can show you how it works . . .’
Rafferty’s voice was drowned out by Rae’s long, deep, harrowing scream.