Shadows (#TNTHorrorContest)

Shadows

When my mother died, her final words were "Run. He'll come out of the shadows". I had no idea what she was talking about until I read the letter that she had left for me. It was spattered in coughed-up blood and written with a shaky hand. I could tell that she had written it while on her deathbed and as much as I loathed her and didn't want to hear anything else the bitch had to say, the compulsion to open it was too strong. I knew she was crazy, but still wanted to know if her words had any meaning behind them. I never had any idea that what I was going to read would ruin my life...

Annalise,

Baby, I want to start by telling you how sorry I am. I never wanted to tell you this. I thought that I could protect you but I know now that I can't. When I'm gone, you need to know everything so that you can protect yourself and I pray, that somehow, you'll find a way to end this.

The year that I met your daddy, I had just dropped out of college. It was too much for me, I couldn't handle the pressure and I was never meant to be there in the first place. I was waitressing at some hole-in-the-wall bar and your daddy was one of my customers. I know I've always told you that he was just some random one-night-stand, but that was a lie. And I think deep down you knew that. We fell in love and he convinced me to quit my job and marry him.

Little did I know that he was involved in a heavy crime ring that stretched from California to Mexico. When I found out, your dad claimed that he was at the low-end of the totem pole. He was just a drug-dealer, he said. I believed him. I was young and in love. But it wasn't long before I found out that there was more. This crime ring had implications in a Satanic cult. They were committing murders as ritualized sacrifice, trying to summon demons.

When I found out, I was disgusted. I wanted to leave your father but he terrified me and I had just found out that I was pregnant with you. I couldn't leave. He would find me and he would kill me. I thought that I knew the worst of the worst and that somehow, everything would be okay but then I discovered the real reason why your dad had married me and gotten me pregnant. It wasn't because he loved me, it was because the last sacrifice they had to make before summoning their demon was a pregnant woman.

At that point, I knew I had to leave but it was too late. Your dad kidnapped me and hauled me to their hideout. The police had finally gained their trail and they knew that they had to act quickly or not be able to follow through with their plan. It was the perfect night, dark and stormy. The moon was full and I could hear thunder pounding from where I was being held. When it finally sunk in that I was going to die, I heard screams. Terrible, terrible screams. I remember thinking that someone sounded like they were being torn apart, ripped limb from limb.

Suddenly, your dad ran into the room. He was covered in blood and he approached me, holding a knife. I trembled in fear as he cut my bonds, knowing that he was going to kill me. But then, the adrenaline kicked in. Somehow, he was easy to take down. At that point, I had attributed it to adrenaline and some innate motherly instinct that had come from being pregnant with you, but now I know that it wasn't. I jumped on him and stabbed him repeatedly. The knife glistened in his blood and I knew he was dead but I couldn't stop. I had to get him back for all of the abuse and torture he had inflicted on me. It didn't register until later that he had let me kill him. It wasn't a pregnant woman that was the last sacrifice. It was the "believers". All of the men in the crime ring were willing to sacrifice themselves to bring about their dark vision – to this day I still don't know what it was and I don't know if I want to. I don't think everyone knew about what was meant to happen – that would explain why there were screams – but your dad did and he tricked me into murdering him. By doing so, I unwittingly summoned the demon.