Darkness Girl: Trickster God

Chapter Sixty-Four: The Living Flesh

Sarafina listened to the sobbing coming from the darkness at the bottom of the stairwell. There was a note of animal fear to it, like the sound of a dog caught in a fox trap, which made her feel like ants were crawling across her skin. She ran her fingers down her arm and shivered. 

Forester chewed his thumbnail and glanced back up the way they had come. 'There might be another way out.' 

Bennet shook her head. 'We can't go back.' 

Forester took an agitated step and ran a hand through his hair, but he didn't argue. 

Bennet unstrapped the spear from her back and adjusted her grip on the shaft. Sarafina followed her as she started to move down the stairs. They took each step slowly. Sarafina felt like she was slipping into a pool of ink as the darkness gathered around her. As they descended, the crying became clearer. Sarafina started to be able to make out the sound of mumbled words between the sobs. It sounded like someone was pleading. 

They paused on the landing at the top of the final flight of stairs. The blackness at the bottom was like velvet, and Sarafina's eyes adjusted slowly. Whoever was crying was just below them now. She felt like she was intruding on a private moment. She could hear a woman's voice in the darkness. It sounded like she was trying to calm someone. Her words came in short, hurried streams that were overtaken by the breathless sound of tears. It sounded to Sarafina like the woman was talking to someone else that she couldn't hear. 

'It's going to be all right,' said the woman. 'No. I know you're scared. Please, don't be afraid. Please, don't hurt me.' 

Sarafina leaned against the railings to peer down into the darkness. She could make out the outline of the stairs and the faint line of light that ran along the edge of the plywood sheet covering the doorway. For a moment, she wondered if there was even anyone there -- perhaps the noise was just a disembodied voice floating through the empty shell of an abandoned building -- then she saw her crouched in the corner. She was easy to miss. She had folded herself down into a tight ball facing the wall beside the door. Even in the darkness, Sarafina could see that she was terrifyingly thin. Her bony arms were wrapped around her knees, and her shoulder blades protruded out of her back like fins. Her thin, grey hair was a tangle of matted clumps that looked like it had been cut with a knife. 

She was begging now. Her whispers came in an unceasing stream that had taken on a note of panic, which hadn't been there before. 

'Please, please, please,' she said. 'It's okay. We're okay. We're going to be okay.' 

'She's scared,' Forester whispered. 

'How did she get here?' said Sarafina. 

'We could try talking to her.' 

Trevellian shook his head. 'I would suggest that's a terrible idea. Her grip on sanity sounds tenuous already.' 

'One way or another, we need to get past her,' said Bennet. 'As long as she stays there, I don't care if she's nuts.' 

'Should we try to sneak past then?' said Forester. There was a nervous energy in his voice. He sounded like the strands of calm holding him together were at breaking point. 

'I suspect sneaking is going to be rather difficult,' said Trevellian. 

He inclined his head, and Sarafina turned to follow his gaze. 

The corner where the woman had been crouching was empty. 

Sarafina felt a cold sickness swirl up from her stomach. The woman was standing at the foot of the stairs watching them. Her eyes shone in the darkness like polished metal. Sarafina felt herself stop breathing.