Into the Cellar

This is a bit of a break from my horror writings, and this particular piece was to be part of a longer story that was ultimately put off for the time being.             





                Quickly now, he retreated to the cellar. The forsaken home that had been his isolated lair for the past 22 years was now revealed to the world. Society was moving in on him now; the piercing sound of sirens horrified Tom. Outside on the lot, he could make out the bustling noise of overly-curious spectators shouting above the din. He would not let them in, they would have to break into his castle of shrouded obscurity. Down the steps... through the door... to the right... and through another door leading into a room which held the very reason he withdrew from the world. He knelt down before an aged, wrecked bed one might find in a long abandoned hospital. Floods of tears ran from his eyes. Oh, how he dreaded everybody finding what lay before him. Surely they would cast him out for good, label him a madman. Tom could not bear to look at it, it was far too overbearing for him to tolerate. On the bed, the body of Sonia Winters,  his beloved, lay silently.

         Dead, no. Alive, not quite. In his mind, he knew all too well. No, no he didn’t mean to. He didn’t mean to do such a thing to her. He hadn’t known how hard he shoved her, it wasn’t fair that he hadn’t known his own strength. Tom felt the curse, the reverence as he traveled back to that harrowing memory.                    

         Sonia stared at him coldly, Tom just as much. Tom, now 20 and Sonia, 19. It wasn’t long before Tom spit out, “I’m fucking crazy! Diagnosed with goddam schizophrenia, and you don’t give a shit! You don’t want to be with me, never want to talk to me, you spend all this time avoiding me.”

                Sonia stood silent before she could manage to cry out, “I don’t think you’re crazy. I need you just as much as you need me. I want to be with you as much as you with me. We’re gonna see this through together, we’re gonna get you help.”

              “It sure doesn’t seem that way to me.” was all Tom managed to utter. “I’m just as singled out in this town as you are, you aren’t alone. You were there all those times when those self-righteous fucks were saying all that those sick things about me. Tom, please! I love you. We can leave this place, go far away from all of this.”

              Tom at first wondered and thought about this, but wondering turned to bitter accusation “Yeah, but first why don’t you help me with my straight jacket and escort me to my padded cell.”

              “Tom! Please! Don’t do this.” An almost daemonic fit of rage fell upon Tom, God knows what could’ve gotten into him. He turned to face her, with blood red fury coercing through his veins. “No... more...” Violently, out of nowhere, he pushed her away. The sheer force caught Sonia by surprise, as it did Tom. Sonia, almost in slow motion, whip-lashed backward into a stone border along the garden where they had been standing. Her skull connected with the corner, cracking onto the surface with such a sickening, twisted sound. No blood, but it didn’t matter anymore.

         Tom froze in fear of what he had done. He hadn’t meant to do this, he figured that it was a simple quarrel. Something that would no longer be a problem after the day. Now, he was sure the most significant person in his life, was dead. At least, that’s what it seemed to be at first. But on closer examining, he found she was not dead, but barely alive. She was in a coma, he knew for sure. He knew the signs that point to such a conjecture, and he was certain Sonia was trapped within herself. Dead to all but him.

         But he could not stand the wrath, the punishment, he’d face from all. Sonia’s family, the authorities, Tom’s own family, friends, and the church that held absolute power over the village of Windir in Redpine Valley. Tom could not bear to stand there at the scene of the crime, nor could he run away, they would catch him for sure. He heard her voice in his head now, we can leave this place... go far away from all of this... With an insurmountable weariness, he scooped up Sonia’s half-living, half-dead body in his arms. He quickly trekked back to the home he had planned on renting out. The place was one of the oldest in the village, and was in a state of disrepair, but as long as it provided a shelter to live in that didn’t matter.

         Now on the threshold, Tom had to make a decision that would affect the course of his life. He knew that if he set foot into the house, he’d never leave it again. No one would know he was there, and that’s the way it would remain once he entered. Sadly, he took one last look upon the world that brought him much cruelty but had also brought joy. After taking his last glance, he turned and walked into the house, never to return to the world.

         It had been here, that Tom kept Sonia alive. Her body remained on the bed in the cellar, and he constantly cared for her. Everyday, crying out to any listening deity above, begging that one day she may wake.

         But now, something strange began to happen. Eyes that had not moved once for 22 years, began to flicker with returning life. Hands began to twitch, feet began to kick. Sonia, partially dead for far too long, was now fully returning to life. Tom was immediately hit with a shockwave of pure joyousness that left him speechless. He had just began to cry out to her, but stopped himself. Happiness, turned to panic. The urge to whisper her name as she woke was gnawing at his soul; but how does a man cry out to a loved one when they are beginning to forget their name? The amnesia had been taking its toll for the past week, but now it was wreaking all out destruction on his most treasured memories. An echoing emptiness filled him further to the brink as memories of Sonia were falling into oblivion, never to see the light again.          

         Sonia had begun to sit upright, not having been able to absorb the foreign surroundings. Finally, she noticed Tom kneeling before the bed that carried her body for years upon years. She could not recognize the aged Tom and as a result, she grew frightened. She began to demand an explanation for all of this, “Who are you? Where am I? What’s happening? Answer me.”

         All it took for Tom was to say, “It’s me, Tom! It’s been 22 years and you’ve finally returned to me.” But he knew in his heart and in his mind that she would never believe him. But all he needed to do now was to say her name with utmost sincerity, but something had blocked that path.

         Sonia was beginning to hyperventilate, the terror was far too great to withstand. She rose from the bed slowly, trying to maintain her balance while keeping her distance away from Tom. Weakly, she managed to start for the door.

         All memories of Tom’s life had now completely torn themselves away him, all but one. He felt her name rolling off his tongue, ready to pass his lips, “Son...” he could no longer go any further. Tom collapsed into a tantrum of madness. Who was this strange woman in front of him? Where was he now? Why was this woman so scared? These questions ran rampant in his head at a rate he could not even begin to comprehend. Tom began to cry, not knowing anything, feeling as though he had just dropped onto the face of the earth. He pleaded Sonia to know what was going on, but she felt nothing for him. To her, this was no more than a lunatic, spitting ravings of an insane mind at her...