Darkness Girl: Trickster God

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Shackles of Fear

Forester felt Gareth's hand roughly grip his hair. Gareth crouched down in front of him and brought his face in close, until their noses were almost touching. His expression was furious. 

'Did you bring other people with you?' 

'What?' 

Gareth violently shook Forester's head. 'Did you bring other people with you!' 

Forester tried to turn his head away as specks of Gareth's spit flecked his face. 

'No!' 

'Is it Sarafina?' 

'I don't know!' 

'Don't lie to me!' 

The enforcers behind Gareth shifted nervously, as the unceasing screams continued to echo around them. The anguished sound seemed to be having an effect them. They fidgeted with their assorted weapons and crowded together, as if they could draw comfort from the physical proximity of other people. 

Gareth let go of Forester's hair and turned on them. 'We have a rat gnawing on us, and you're huddling up like sheep. Who the hell is screaming?' 

'It sounds like Portway,' said the enforcer with the facial tattoo. His face was pale, making his tattoo stand out like a livid bruise. 

Gareth cleared his throat and spat on the floor. He pointed to the enforcer closest to the door. 

'Go and do something about that screaming. I don't care what you do, but make it stop.' 

'What about the rat?' 

'If I have to explain it to you, then you're too stupid to work for me.' 

The enforcer ran out of the room through the plastic sheets that covered the doorway. 

Forester could feel the tension in the remaining enforcers. They watched the doorway intently, as if they could somehow fathom what was happening on the other side. As the seconds stretched into minutes though, the screams didn't stop. 

The weak fluorescent lights running along the ceiling flickered. 

'What the hell?' said Gareth. 

He looked at three of the enforcers he had left, including the one who couldn't seem to stand still. Of the three of them, she was the only one who didn't look poised to run. 

'You three. If there's someone in there, I want you to kill them. Make sure they know it too.' 

The woman nodded and drew a wickedly curved dagger from her jacket. It looked like a metal claw made to tear and rip though flesh. It wasn't a weapon designed to kill, but a weapon designed to inflict the maximum amount of pain on its victims. She looked at the other two enforcers and motioned towards the doorway with her head. They glanced at one another nervously, but it was clear they understood her message: running wasn't going to be an option. 

The three enforcers ran through the plastic curtains into the darkness, leaving Forester alone with Gareth and the enforcer with the facial tattoo. He searched the shadows in the corners of the room, but he couldn't see Dieter anywhere. He still couldn't work out how Dieter had appeared behind him so suddenly earlier. He hadn't heard any footsteps, not even a rustle of clothing. 

Gareth ran a hand through his hair and took a few agitated steps back and forth. He stopped in front of Forester and glared at him. 

'What have you brought with you?' 

Forester shook his head numbly. The screams felt like a corkscrew being driven into the base of his skull. Whatever was out there in the darkness, it left him feeling cold inside.