Fearless?

Fearless? - Chapter Three

'Men fear Death, as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other,'

- Francis Bacon, Essays

Chapter Three

Azelie lay awake, just staring up at the roof of her bedroom. She stayed completely still, trying to push all the thoughts that were running around in her mind away. She didn't want to shut her eyes, frightened of the dreams that waited for her to fall asleep again so they could take over her mind for the second time that night. She had been woken up from her own screaming around midnight, tears running down her cheeks as she slept, the nightmares exploiting every memory that she had and using it against her.

She turned her head slightly to the left to look at her alarm clock which sat on her bedside table, the luminous green light of the text telling her that she had been lying awake for three hours. She let out a small sigh, her gaze floating back up to the roof as she prayed in her head that the night would pass quickly. Her eyelids felt heavy, trying to pull her eyelids shut, but she couldn't shut her eyes, not even for a second. She was so tired that if she shut her eyes, even just for a second, she would fall asleep, and the dreams would start once more.

Azelie gave up trying to remain still. She pushed herself up on her bed so that she was sitting up straight. Her left hand stretched out to the switch of the lamp which stood on her bedside table, the switch clicking on, the light instantly lighting up her bedroom. Her hand reached out and grabbed the book she had been reading. She found the page that she had been reading from and started to read hoping that it would be enough to keep her awake.

As Azelie read her book, she found that instead of the book waking her up, it made her more tired. Eventually, she gave into the tiredness. She closed her eyes, letting them close for a second. She took a deep breath in, as she gently fell back to sleep.

Azelie slowly walked down the dark hallway, the floor boards creaking with every step she took, the sound echoing around the dark, old house. Her heart began to beat quickly as she got a sniff of her aunt's strong perfume, suddenly remembering where she was. Light shone through the windows surrounding the front door of the hallway she was walking up. She heard a light sobbing from the living room. Azelie peered inside the room, instantly spotting her aunt sitting in the chair where her husband once sat. Her aunt sat crying in the chair, her greying hair flowing down her shoulders and on to the black dress she was wearing. She had just come from her husband's funeral; the one that Azelie had been banned from.

"Anna?" Azelie whispered - her voice barely audible, scared to disrupt her aunt and attract attention to herself. When she got no reply from her aunt, she said her name again, this time louder, her voice stronger. "Anna," She got a reply this time, her aunt's head quickly snapped up to see Azelie, her dead blue eyes staring hard into her niece, the tears instantly drying up.

"What do you want?" Her aunt spat as she pushed herself out of her husband's old chair.

"I wanted to see if there was anything I could do," Azelie answered, her voice returning to its quiet level, fear and regret beginning to take over.

"Anything you can do? You can get out of my fucking sight!" Her aunt screamed, running after her. She ran out of the living room and into the hallway, her aunt not far behind. She scampered up the stairs, trying to get to her room as fast as she could before her aunt could catch her. Her aunt ran after, screaming at Azelie as she did, her words acting like daggers on Azelie.

Suddenly, Azelie tripped over a step, and went flying down on to her knees, just managing to catch herself on the stairs so she wouldn't fall down. Her aunt closed the gap between the two, her bony hand reaching out and grabbing on to Azelie's ankle. Azelie's blood ran cold as she realised what was happening next. Her aunt yanked her ankle down, her head hitting on the step as she fell down the steps, falling down past her aunt, screaming in pain as she fell. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she hit the ground, pain stinging around her entire body. Her aunt charged down the stairs, her feet thumping hard against the floor. Azelie tried to climb to her feet to run, but her legs just gave in over her weight. She had fallen on her back, and the pain made it almost impossible for Azelie to move. She tried to roll away, trying every motion possible to get as far away from her Aunt as she could, but it was useless. Her aunt walked slowly up to Azelie, a grin lighting up her face. Her foot struck Azelie's stomach, Azelie doubling over in pain on the floor as her aunt delivered another blow, just kicking Azelie wherever she could.