God Complex

Chapter Five: Liam

                This must be what Hell feels like, that is, if I believed in Hell.  I could hear Jess’s screams, they were piercing and seemingly internal. Now, there are only moments of silence interrupted by the pitter patter of water drops from the leaky roof. My body endlessly shivers. I’m cold, naked, and alone. The only warmth in this shit hole has been taken from me. “She is dead” continuously rings in my mind. The silence that replaced her screams is more piercing than ever. Thoughts of what the bastard could be doing to her plague my mind. She must feel so alone. She is probably wondering if I am trying to save her or not. I wonder if the police from town have any clue as to where we are, I mean, I sure as hell don’t.  I begin to wonder about my mother, she must be wallowing in despair. First her husband, now her only son. Tears roll down my cheeks as I picture the warm, glowing face of my beautiful mother. I would give anything to see her once more. I used to think that I would be able to get Jess and myself out of here, but I am not even capable of stopping him from taking her. I realize now that it was just naïve hope, only leading us to more anguish. Maybe it was just a tactic to get Jess to calm down. I mean, did I actually believe I could ever be her hero? No. that’s just it, I am no hero, no savior. I’m just a boy. I’m scared and alone. More than anything I just wish I could see my mother again, just to hug her one last time. I think about Jess’s parents. I wonder about how they must feel the same as my mother. My mind suddenly takes a twisted turn.

                What if I do make it, and I have to be the one to tell them I couldn’t save her life

My stomach tenses up as I began to shake. Images of my potentially dead best friend flutter through my brain. Without hesitation I vomited up the remaining of any food in my stomach. I was literally worried sick, and not to mention physically sick from being naked, cold, and malnourished. Then it hit me; the man who took us must have done so just to kill us. No wonder he isn’t bringing food in for us! I should have been angry, but I was so tired, so ill, that all I could do was roll away from the vomit, and lay my head on the floor.

What must have been hours later, I awoke in a fright from nightmares, with nothing but the dim glow of the moon peering in through cracks in the wall. My head was spinning, and my stomach was flipping. I must have been crying in my sleep because my eyes were puffier than when I had fallen asleep. I had dreamt of my mother and father cooking what would be our last Thanksgiving meal. Of course we didn’t know that at the time. My father was sick, yes, but he wasn’t bad yet. I was just a small boy in my dream, and I was sitting on the counter watch them cook. My mother was singing, and stuffing the turkey. Every so often my father would pull her away and spin her in a circle, then sway back and forth with her. They would laugh tenderly, exchange a subtle kiss, and go about cooking. It was bitter sweet seeing them together again. Somehow I knew that when I woke up my father would still be gone, and I would still be in this Hell hole. The warmth of the dream went cold as my mother opened the oven. What was supposed to be a casserole was Jess’s crisp, burnt body. I screamed jumping from the counters, but I was caught by my father-whose face had morphed into the kidnappers. He held me down with so much force, I actually could feel it. Jess’s seemingly dead corpse rose from inside the oven, and screamed at me; “Why Liam? Why did you have to let me die?”

Footsteps behind the door broke me from my reminiscent trance.

Oh God, now he has come for me.

I couldn’t have been more right. Giddy with creepy excitement, he flung open the door, grinning from ear to ear. Wearily, I pushed myself against the wall, knowing my effort was pointless.  With one giant leap, the man was next to me within seconds. He knelt down, placing his forehead against mine. The stench of his breath hit me like a baseball bat, and my eyes watered almost immediately. He grabbed onto my face, pinching my cheeks with his fingers.