Enclose Me

Chapter - 3

Evil spun through the room. Malevolence oozed from every crevice in the cellar. I couldn’t move. The air that followed Doctor Iniquity was daunting. It left me trembling hours after he’d gone. Why had he wanted me to look in the mirror so badly?

His brusque voice trickled down the walls long after he’d departed. His accent irritated me, and dug at my flesh. I could feel bloody wounds slide down my skin just from the hatred of his words.

Drawing my knees to my chest, hugging myself for comfort, I slowly began rocking back and forth. Doctor Iniquity was evil, and he was my doctor. There was nothing I could do to escape the horrible situation I’d been placed in.

A shadow crept past the window momentarily blocking the sun. Hesitantly, I vetted the situation. There was nothing there. A side effect from the good doctor’s lingering presence, I thought.

Footsteps boomed down the stairs. I curled up as tightly as I could without breaking contact with the wall. It was nearly night, who would visit at this hour? Gretchen had parted shortly after my sobs subsided, and there were no other “visits” scheduled.

Ominous air bled from the stairwell, slowly filling the room. As the steps drew nearer, the sun dulled and rain bellowed down. Right on cue, I thought. A bough swept across the window, a screeching branch scratched across the glass. Its gnarled fingers tried to unlatch the lock. I watched the gangly limb in stunned horror.

My eyes were fixed on the casement, watching as it gradually ascended letting in the demons scurrying around the tree. My attention was so transfixed on what was happening outside, I didn’t even notice that I was no longer alone. Doctor Iniquity stood before me. A band of demons circled around him. “Glorie,” he said.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his horrible sight. He towered over me, standing just mere inches away from me. A dead freeze seeped through the room. My breath puffed out in frail clouds. I looked down at my hands, in the dim light I could see ice creeping over my skin encasing me within its cocoon. My heart beat frantically as the frost consumed every inch of me.

“Don’t fight it. It will only make things worse.” Doctor Iniquity’s voice was a growling bark. His thin-lipped mouth, a sneering mess, attempted a smile.

Hissing laughter bellowed around me, bouncing off the walls and burying itself deep within my brain. A small demon placed its charred hand over mine, and crooned into my ear, “Mirror, mirror, mirror,” it repeated over and over again.

My lips were numb, stiff, they bled, yet I spoke, “Why are you here, doctor?” I asked venom dripped from my hesitant words.

Without responding, he lifted the mirror over his head, and placed it directly in front of me. I gasped. My body was covered in the filth of rotting demons. My skin was scorched black. My eyes were red, savage sparks of fire. Snakes webbed through my blond hair, their tongues licking my flesh. “Oh, God,” I screamed. I didn’t want to see anymore, yet I couldn’t look away.

“What do you see, Glorie?” Doctor Iniquity croaked.

“Get out of here. Get away from me!”

“I can’t. I need you, Glorie.” A sinister smile ruptured along his face.

“Gretchen,” I screamed, though I knew there was no chance she’d hear me.

“That’s useless,” he stated, laughing.

Should I run? I wondered. There was no way I could get past all the creatures blocking my way. Fleeing would only put me right where they wanted me, within their seizing grasp.