She screamed, a long drawn out hollow sound that echoed throughout the house. Her head turned wildly as she took in the room, the darkness filled it, like water seeping into a sinking ship and she screamed again, edging away from the walls, her hands shaking and her body trembling. She had it on her, over her fingers. She could feel it's blood. It dripped down the walls; it was bleeding through the fucking walls. It would get to her soon. She knew it would, and all she could do is scream.

She stopped, listened. She had heard something, a child, crying pitifully. Her eyes scanned the room, and she saw it. Moving towards her slowly, it was broken, battered, bruised. She crept further back from it, falling backwards over a chair, ending up sprawled across the floor. She felt the fibres of the carpet reaching up to get her; they were trying to hold her in place. She scrambled to her feet, her eyes never leaving the monstrosity that was still approaching her. It had stopped crying now; it was talking to her, in a language she couldn't understand.

Thunder. She paused. Her eyes tracked to the door, which creaked open in a wash of crimson. The darkness slithered over the doorframe and her eyes widened in terror as the ethereal tendrils leaked throughout the house. He stood in the door watching her, her gaze trailed up him, "Sol!" she exclaimed. He rushed to her, pushing the overturned chair out of the way, enclosing her in his embrace. Burying her head to his shoulder she breathed in his familiar scent, "What's happening Sol?" her voice sounded weak, like that of an abandoned child. He soothed her, leading her slowly and blindly out of the room. She had trashed it; he didn't want to think about what she could have done to herself.

"Sol, you can't leave the child there, they'll hurt him". He looked at her curiously, "What child Caley? You were alone". She looked at him disbelievingly, something a mixture of fear and anger burning behind her bloodshot eyes. He held her tightly and she began to struggle, a scream rising in her throat again. She glared at him; "It was you, you done that to him!" Sol shook his head vehemently.

He dragged her into the main room where a raven-haired man raised an eyebrow at them. They struggled as he forced her to sit down, his hand clasped over her mouth to stop the screams that were coming endlessly now. Gabe rose to his feet, "What did you do to her?" he yelled at Sol. Sol climbed astride her, pinning her down to try and stop her from hurting herself and breaking anything else. "I spiked her drink… I didn't think she'd trip like this!" Gabe uttered a low sound, his eyes taking in Caley has she fought against Sol. "Get off her".

Sol peeled himself away from her and let Gabe move in on her, her eyes were still wide with terror, but at least she had stopped screaming. "Go get some salt" he instructed Sol. Caley's eyes followed every move Gabe made, "You'll help him, won't you. He hasn't done anything wrong… he's frightened".

"Who is?"

"The child, he's hurt. He needs help"

Gabe glanced away from her, his eyes caught on Sol who strode back into the room, a packet of table salt clutched in one hand, "What child is she talking about?" Sol shrugged, "She was hallucinating". Gabe took the salt from Sol, and looked at her. He pulled his knife from his pocket and lifted her hand palm up. He pulled the knife down the base of her palm, pushing it deep before withdrawing it. She started screaming again. All around her, the walls seemed to bleed again, except this time it was her blood. It was her time to die.

Gabe motioned Sol closer, "She's your girl, drink deep my friend". Sol pressed his mouth to her hand, suckling like a newborn on this fresh wound. His tongue pushed into it, trying to get every last bit of blood it would give. He felt dizzy she tasted so good. Gabe smiled and opened the salt packet. "Hold her hand straight and still". Sol obeyed, watching in wonder as Gabe packed the wound with salt.

As the salt hit the wound, she bucked, she screamed till she could scream no more and finally, with all her struggling, she broke free of them. Stumbling out of the room, she ran back up the stairs. She had to save the child. Sol ran after her, and caught her half way up the stairs, they fought on the steps and she fell, her balance gone as she crashed back down the darkened steps, and for her. Everything went black.

She awoke in hospital, her head felt fuzzy, had she dreamed it? "Sol?" she called out weakly. He appeared beside her, his face obviously pained, "What happened to me?" she asked. He sat down slowly beside her, taking her hand gently in his, "You were at Gabe's, you got drunk, and you fell….", his voice trailed off as a sob choked his throat, "You were pregnant, you miscarried."

They sat staring at each other, each lost in their own world of guilt. Hers for failing to save the child she had known was dying. Him for what he done to her, what he had let Gabe to do her. Gabe would be gone soon, he'd seen to that. He reached forward and embraced her, a warm embrace that made her shiver as she remembered the darkness, and her child's futile pleas for help.

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