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Chapter Twenty-Two
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2021-09-06 16:19:12
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Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Chapter Twenty-Three
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREEWe ended up at a house on the far side of town. I was expecting a crazy, broken down, dilapidated house that screamed, โHaunted!โ and, โDemonic!โ and, โHello, Iโm your worst nightmare!โ But this was a normal stucco house standing shoulder to shoulder with its normal stucco neighbors. There was even a kitschy little lawn gnome in the garden.โWho lives here, the Stepford Wives?โ I eyed the neat hedges rimming the cheery yard. โIs this house going to kill me?โโNo. Itโs just a house. The house itself canโt hurt you.โMouth was standing ramrod straight. Calm and happy he was not. He was more wispy than I had seen him in a while.โMouth. Youโre freaky nervous. Tell me whatโs going on.โHe didnโt say anything, which was unlike him. I wanted to kick him, but my foot would just go right through.โMouth?โHe turned and grasped my hands in both of his, but I didnโt feel anything besides a rush of cold air.โLuna,โ he said earnestly. โI canโt go in there with you. I
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2021-09-06Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Chapter Twenty-Four
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOURMy stomach lurched when the doorknob turned easily under my hand. I expected the door to creak, but it opened silently, and I stepped inside.Hazy light filtered through the windows, making it difficult to see the sparse furniture and filthy red carpet. It looked like the carpet had been ripped up, snapped out by a giant hand, and left to lie where it fell.โHello?โ I called. I didnโt expect an answer, but it seemed abnormal to simply saunter in unannounced. My mama didnโt raise rude little girls. Thatโs what I told myself, anyway. Honestly, I was trying to restore some sense of order to the place. Maybe it would keep me from flipping out.Stop. Get a hold of yourself. I released the breath slowly and realized my fingernails were digging into the palms of my hands. The sound of water echoed, a sickly trickle that inexplicably filled me with thoughts of taint and decay. I was as drawn to the sound of the water as I was repulsed by it. My imagination was already s
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2021-09-06Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Chapter Twenty-Five
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVEThere wasnโt anything else I wanted to see here. I stepped over the shrieking, crawling starfish and headed deeper into the house of horrors. What was it Mouth had said? This house was full of illusions and deceptions. Starfish didnโt scamper around like that. Water didnโt turn into blood. This wasnโt real.Still, I wasnโt going to chance fate by standing around and declaring shenanigans. I was here to find Lydia, and thatโs what I was going to do.Blood wet my boots with every step. The carpet was no longer merely soggy but was drenched with more liquid than it could hold. The place smelled like a slaughterhouse. I pressed on.There were two doors on the back wall. One was painted yellow and one blue. I hate yellow, quite honestly, so I reached for the blue door.โI wouldnโt do that,โ said a voice. I whirled around.โWho said that?โ I demanded angrily. I couldnโt see anybody.โItโs a trap. Both doors lead to Hell.โA small girl appeared out of the gloom and
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2021-09-06Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Chapter Twenty-Six
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIXI woke up with something long and leggy skittering over my mouth. I sat up, spitting and sputtering, and the dark thing faded into the darkness. Thereโs nothing like tasting demonic viscera when youโre coming to. My life rocks.The hateful necklace of death was charred, blackened, and crumbling around my neck. I tore it free and threw it against the wall. Whatever that thing in the other room had been, it apparently didnโt have any hold here. Now whether that was because the prize truly was behind Door Number One or because there was something even scarier in here, I had to find out. I staggered to my hands and knees, still unable to get to my feet. My head was killing me, but the frantic pounding in my chest hurt even worse.It seemed quiet enough. I squinted through the dim light, taking in the small room packed to the gills with junk. Old bureaus and broken chairs were covered in so much dust that I instinctively covered my nose and mouth with my arm. Several m
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2021-09-06Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Chapter Twenty-Seven
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVENThe picture fell from my hands. I heard glass shatter as it fell to the floor, but I was busy trying to keep myself in check. Was this it? Was I finally going crazy like my father? Was Seth going to find my body next just as he had found Dadโs?I heard my name again, slightly muffled. I closed my eyes, but it was distinctly my fatherโs voice.The demonic me grinned from the mirror, reaching a hand from the glass, almost brushing my hair with groping fingers.What was a demon compared to my real fear? Demons were nothing, just sad beings that had it in for the living. But the things that lurked inside of my own brain were what scared me the most. My outer toughness was a lie. It was a shell. I was horrifyingly vulnerable underneath.I looked down at the shattered glass around my feet. The shards glistened like stars. I had never seen anything more beautiful.โLuna!โ My fatherโs voice was a sharp command, and it brought me back to myself.Demonic Me had steppe
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2021-09-06Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Chapter Twenty-Eight
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHTI have to admit I was taken aback.โHelp me, huh? Thatโs a new one. And why would you want to do that, demon? Picking up some brownie points for the afterlife?โHe snorted. โThatโs a good one. It would be nice if I could do that, but no. Truth is, I was a friend of your fatherโs.โNow it was my turn to laugh, but it sounded ugly to me. โA friend, huh? Iโm sure you were. You were all lovely friends, werenโt you? Hanging around Dad until he couldnโt stand it anymore. Taunting him and luring him until it was easier to take his own life than to listen to you any longer. Some friend. No thanks.โI dropped the picture on the ground and turned away. Although I was loathe to head back into the room with the burning girl and the two doors, at least it was better than being here with this nutcase who claimed to pal around with my father. Ho ho, thatโs rich.โLuna!โ he shouted from the floor. In his desperation and fury, all former trace of my fatherโs voice had disappe
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2021-09-06Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Chapter Twenty-Nine
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINEThere wasnโt a charred and burning little girl in the room, and I was undeniably grateful for that. I was still trying to get over seeing a charred and burning demon-father in the last room. Mouth was right: This place was awful. I wanted nothing more than to get out and burn this place to the ground. Seems like there was an awful lot of burning going on as it was.โHey,โ said a voice. I grit my teeth and dashed for the yellow door. The knob turned easily in my hand, but the door itself was stuck.โHey, Luna. Iโve been looking for you everywhere.โโIโm not listening,โ I shouted back and braced my combat boot against the wall. I pulled on the door as hard as I could, but it still wasnโt opening. Unreal.โLuna, let me help you,โ the voice said, and a hand rested on my shoulder. I whirled around and slapped it off.โDonโt touch me, demon!โ I shouted. I was surprised to find tears rolling down my face, but I was too angry to care. Reed Taylorโs gorgeous green eyes
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2021-09-06Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Chapter Thirty
CHAPTER THIRTYMan but kicking Reed Taylor Demon in the head felt good. It revved up the anger in me, and I had a feeling that anger more than anything else was going to save my life today.The room was different than the others. It was large and cavernous, made completely of stone, both the floors and the walls. A mist blew through it like we were down at the dock. Come to think of it, it smelled alive, like forest and trees and something older than time.I didnโt like it. I didnโt like it at all.There was a chuckle that made the hair on my arms stand up. I recognized it immediately.โMmm, Luna,โ the voice purred. My head rocketed around the room, looking for the source of it, but it wasnโt to be found. This was my least favorite demon trick ever, I swear. It got old, fast.โMmm, Sparkles. Where are you hiding, you coward? Are you saying youโre afraid to face little ole me?โ I batted my eyes. โIโm flattered. I didnโt realize I was such a powerhouse.โThe voice laughed, and I h
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2021-09-06
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Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Epilogue
EPILOGUEI wish I could say I had imagined everything. For once, I wished that I was crazy, but that isnโt how life ends up. Iโll tell you how it ends up: It finishes out in its own fine way.After Seth bailed out of the House of Horrors, he headed straight for the police department. Half of what he said didnโt make sense, but they managed to piece together something about the mother of his child being totally strung out and unresponsive, and his daughter was missing, and demons were frickinโ everywhere. โDemons everywhereโ is usually code for โHoly crap, everybody has gone nuts in that crack houseโ so they loaded up their gear and came. They made Seth wait outside while they came in and found me sobbing over Ceciliaโs boyfriend, who had overdosed on heroine. Poor little me, I was absolutely traumatized by seeing death so up close and personal, they thought. They carted Reed Taylor off and took Sparkles away in an ambulance. Then they turned their attention to Seth and me. Good, hard
Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Chapter Fifty
CHAPTER FIFTYI opened my eyes and gasped. The stabbing between my shoulder blades was too much to take. Every nerve was raw, a silver blade raked down each centimeter of skin. It felt right somehow, like hitting somebody on the head and killing them felt right, like running your car into a retaining wall felt right.โLet me die let me die let me die!โ I screamed. I writhed on the floor, trying to cover my head and curl my body into a protective ball.โI have you,โ Reed Taylor shouted to me over the noise. Wind roared and howled. No, not wind. The Tip-Toe Shadow. The shadow and somebody else.Mouth.My eyes were rolling up in my head. Reed Taylor gently shook me.โLuna, stick with me. I have to tell you something, okay? Okay?โMy lips were pulled back from my teeth and my body convulsing from the agony, but I struggled to meet his gaze, blinked.He tried to smile, but it didnโt reach his eyes. โBaby, Iโm sorry. About everything. All of it. But I have to tell you something very
Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Chapter Forty-Nine
CHAPTER FORTY-NINEIt hurt me to see the ones I loved damaged like this. Seth chased away, Reed Taylor broken, Mouth angry and helpless. All of these people brought together involuntarily because they cared about me in one way or another. Each, in their own way, only wanted to help.โLuna,โ Mouth said, and he sounded worried. โWhy are you looking at me like that? What are you thinking?โI reached for his hand, smiled. I ran my fingers down his cheek. โThank you for everything, Mouth. I hope you know how special you are to me.โโLuna,โ he said warningly, but I had already turned to Reed Taylor. โReed Taylor, I . . . โThere wasnโt anything more I could say. His wild hair, his gorgeous greens that had gone frightened and worried and were now narrowed with resolve. He was perfect. He was my everything. How can you explain that to someone?โI love you,โ I said simply, and then I turned to the Tip-Toe Shadow. โDemon!โ I screamed and spread my arms wide. โTaste The Mark! I invite you i
Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Chapter Forty-Eight
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHTMouth wasnโt happy. I could tell it by his wispiness. I could tell it by the way his mouth set itself into a firm line.I didnโt care.โDolly, dolly,โ sang the Tip-Toe Shadow, and he ran his long fingers down my hair, twisted them around my neck. They went around several times.โCan . . . can you let Reed Taylor go now, please?โI wanted to sound strong, but the feel of those dark fingers on my skin made my mouth go dry.โReed Taylor, where is Lydia?โโThereโs magic in the water.โReed Taylorโs voice but not his words. I reached for him, but the demon pulled us further away.โNo, dollies. Bad dollies.โ He shook us, and I choked, grasping at my neck. Mouth clenched his fists but did nothing.โHey, knock it off,โ I hissed as soon as I had my voice back.The Tip-Toe Shadow giggled. โYou want to talk to the puppet? Hear what the puppet has to say? Okay. Okay okay. Oh, it will make you cry. Big, soft, sad tears, and I will lap them from your face, and I will b
Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Chapter Forty-Seven
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVENSeth was crouched over somebody on the floor. My heart sunk. Itโs Reed. Itโs Reed. Itโs Reed.โItโs Sparkles,โ Seth said, checking her pulse and breathing. She looked like she was barely conscious. Her demon twined around her arms and legs. โI heard her moaning in the back room.โI narrowed my eyes at the sight of her and spit on the ground. โWhatโs she doing here?โ My eyes widened. โWait, if sheโs here, whereโs Lydia? Is she here too?โSeth shook his head. โI didnโt see her. I looked everywhere.โI knelt by Sparkles, tried to make her eyes focus. โSparkles! Where is Lydia? Lydia?โ Her eyes rolled. I slapped her in the face, but she didnโt even react. Even her demon was moving slower than usual.What was going on here? Suddenly I had a thought. I yanked up the sleeve of her shirt. Fresh track marks. She was using. Disgusted, I let her arm fall to the ground with a thud.โYouโre useless,โ I spat. โYouโre a waste of a person and a mother. You deserve everything
Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Chapter Forty-Six
CHAPTER FORTY-SIXSeth opened the door from the inside.โI donโt see him,โ he whispered. โI thought maybe heโd come to investigate the window.โI stepped inside and was immediately assaulted by the stench of rotting meat. Flies buzzed around the room in a swarm, blackening the broken window.โUgh,โ I said and covered my nose with my hand.โWhat? What is it?โ Seth peered around me anxiously. โWhat do you see?โSomething that looked suspiciously like entrails hung from the walls. Spider webs made out of skin covered the ceilings. I noticed my feet soaking in the familiar, bloody carpet.โI see a slaughterhouse. How about you?โHe touched the walls gingerly. โThis wallpaper is atrocious, but thatโs the worst of it. Thatโs it. Itโs not real, Luna. Letโs go.โI nodded and removed my hand from my nose. If it isnโt real, it isnโt real.A small boy swam through the air. He kicked his feet and splashed in nothingness. His dark eyes ran over Seth curiously.โSoul surfer?โ I asked and
Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Chapter Forty-Five
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVEThe sun was starting to rise by the time we bailed out of the hospital.โI am so tired,โ Seth told me. He yawned as he got into the car. โI canโt wait to go to bed.โโSpill,โ I demanded. โYou said I wasnโt astute about Reed Taylor. What was I missing?โโCripes, Luna. You sure you want to do this? Youโll be wound up, and weโll never get any sleep.โI grabbed the lapels of his shirt and yanked him halfway out of his seat. โSeth Masterson, if you donโt tell me right this minute, I swear Iโll . . . โโHe was high, okay? He was high. Or coming down from it. Thatโs why he couldnโt bring you in or risk the ambulance. They would have known.My fingers went slack. Seth pulled himself gently out of my grip. โListen, maybe now isnโt the time to talk about it. We already have a lot on our plates, and thereโs nothing you canโโโHeโs using again.โโLooks like it.โโAfter being clean for so long.โโIt happens. Iโm sorry, Luna.โโBecause I broke up with him?โHe shrugge
Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Chapter Forty-Four
CHAPTER FORTY-FOURโOh, Luna,โ Reed Taylor said and squatted down beside me. I was too dazed to move. I noticed the blood running from my face and soaking into the porous stone steps. Nice color, good body. I wasnโt as iron deficient as I had told the counselor.โSorry,โ I tried to say, but the word came out funny.Reed Taylor cupped my face gently, turning it tenderly this way and that. I closed my eyes.โI havenโt seen you attacked on the street like this before,โ he said finally. I missed his hands when he pulled them away.โThey usually donโt . . . โ I stopped talking, tried to touch my mouth. The mere thought of my own searching fingers made me cringe, and I blinked tears out of my eyes.Reed Taylor stood up. โYou need to go to the hospital. Is Seth home? Iโll give him a call, tell him to pick you up.โโCanโt . . . you take me?โMy words were slurred. I suddenly felt very tired and cold. I shivered, and Reed Taylor looked away.โI canโt,โ he said. โAnd I canโt have an amb
Nameless: The Darkness Comesย ย ย Chapter Forty-Three
CHAPTER FORTY-THREEMy thoughts were going wild as I drove to Reed Taylorโs house. Anubis had very nearly stolen my soul as well as breaking my face, and I was still cursing myself for that. I had misjudged him. I thought about Sethโs confession about the Tip-Toe Shadow, and my eyes narrowed. I had misjudged everything.Well, if I was so great at misjudging, perhaps I had misjudged Reed Taylor.I pulled into his driveway and felt like pulling right out again. His house was perfect. His lawn, although more overgrown than I had ever seen it, was a thing of beauty. The flower bed was blooming with more flowers and . . . wait, are those actually weeds? Real weeds dared to invade Reed Taylorโs yard? Suddenly, every sense was alert. I slammed the car door and scanned the area. Something creepy and relatively harmless hovered around the backyard, yes, but that wasnโt alarming. But weeds? And the too-long grass? For such a cool, laid-back guy, Reed Taylor usually kept things surprisingly ti
