Nate smashed his eyelids together as intense pain shot through his brain. He rolled over onto his side and threw up the contents in his stomach. The sour taste of vomit lingered in his mouth as the sounds of police sirens grew in the distance.
He continued lying on the pavement as several cars squealed to a stop somewhere nearby. People were shouting all around him, but all he could focus on was the intense pain in his head. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the night sky.
Flames were flickering out from an apartment building on the top floor. The windows up there were broken out; the glass pieces from the window were lying all around Nate. He was aware of the movement around him but was too focused on the flickering flames at the top floor.
God, please protect me. He thought.
Finally, someone came to ask him questions, but the voice sounded like it was coming from underwater. After a few more tries, the EMT picked him up and, with the help of his partner, shifted him onto a stretcher.
His head throbbed as the EMTs jostled him around. A sudden pressure rushed up from his stomach. He needed to throw up, but the EMTs had him firmly in place.
“Lie still, sir.” He heard the EMT say as they lifted the stretcher.
Nate struggled urgently, trying to break free from the restraints, but it was too late. His stomach convulsed, and a fountain of vomit erupted out of his mouth, going straight into the air and landing back on his face and all over his clothes.
“He’s going into shock!” The EMT yelled.
Nate’s eyes remained locked onto that burning apartment. Even as his vision began to fade, he kept a constant vigil, afraid his nightmare was far from over. Just before blacking out, he saw an image that made his stomach twist into knots. A shadowy figure was watching him. It stared from the window of the burning apartment, standing amongst the flames.
…
When Nate came to, he was in a white room with bright fluorescent lights. He looked around through squinty eyes. He was in some hospital room, lying down on a bed. A nurse hovered somewhere nearby.
He tried to call out to her, but his throat was too parched. He then tried to reach out to her, but something impeded his movement. There were handcuffs around his wrist, cuffing him to the bed.
The metal must’ve alerted the nurse because she suddenly stood up straight and backed away in fright. Nate looked at her, perplexed about what had caused such a reaction. The nurse abandoned the rest of her duties and quickly exited the room before he could even ask a question.
Shortly afterward, two serious-looking men in suits entered his hospital room; one was tall, and the other was short but so heavily muscled he looked like a Pitbull. They approached his bedside, looking down at him with utter disgust.
“W-water…” Nate croaked.
The tall man poured him a glass, picked it up, and brought it near him. Nate was about to thank the man when he suddenly felt his head jerked back as a torrent of water entered his mouth.
Cough. Cough. Gasp. The water entered his throat, making him.
“What the hell?!” Nate exclaimed when he regained control of his faculties.
“I’m going to ask you something, and then you’re going to answer me with the truth, do you understand? Any deviation, and I’ll put you in a world of hurt, you sick son of a bitch.” The short man spoke in a low, threatening voice.
The tall man gripped Nate's hair, forcing him to look up at his partner. The bright lights made it hard to see the man’s features.
“Why’d you do it?” He asked again.
“Do what?” Nate replied, confused.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Smack.
Nate’s head jerked to the side as the short one slapped him hard on the cheek.
“WHY DID YOU DO IT?!”
The door to the room swung open. Nate observed the men go silent—the sound of high heels clicking on the linoleum floor resounded in the room.
“What do you think you’re doing?” A soft voice spoke.
The two men stepped away from Nate and looked at the woman respectfully.
“We were questioning-“
“Don’t bullshit me.” The woman cut them off.
The two men remained quiet as she finally appeared in Nate’s view. The woman was mature, in her late fifties, and looked tiny compared to the two men. She walked up to the bed and looked down at Nate with a face full of disdain and contempt.
“We have a set of laws for a reason. Even pieces of shit like this have rights. The case is already won, gentleman. You pull some shit like an interrogation, and the judge will be forced to throw it out. Is that what you want?” The woman looked at the two men beside Nate.
The men shook their heads.
“Good. Now Leave.”
The woman stayed behind as the two men left. Once they were gone, she looked down at Nate and looked into his eyes. She slowly began to smile.
Nate felt his heart rate speed up. The woman suddenly brought her face to his ears.
“You thought I’d let you go?” A warbled voice sounded.
Nate screamed. He tore away from the woman as hard as he could, but his hand was still cuffed to the bed.
“Leave me alone! Leave me alone! Leave me alone!” He screamed.
Suddenly, Nate felt a pressure build and release in his head. His body jerked forward as the cuff on his wrist exploded into pieces.
Dropping to the floor, he curled underneath the hospital bed, yelling, “Leave me alone!” over and over again. The nurses found him there underneath the bed, curled up in the fetal position.
…
The two men in suits left the hospital after being tossed out by their Captain. With nothing else to do, they got into their car and went back to the precinct. They both knew they wouldn’t get much sleep, not after witnessing what happened back at the burning apartment.
When they entered the office, they were met with many looks. The whole special crimes unit looked up at them from their desks expectantly. When nothing came forth from the two men, one sitting at the desk stood up.
“Don’t leave us hanging, Jake; tell us what happened?”
Jake was the taller of the two, with a shaved head and brown eyes. He remained quiet. The men then looked to Jake’s partner.
“Steve?”
Steve was usually the darker of the two, always making crude jokes, but even he was speechless at this time. The two partners quietly went over to their desks and sat down. They felt the eyes of the whole department on them as they walked through the room.
The sound of the TV being turned on cut through the room. Like a flock of birds, they turned as one, fixing their eyes on the TV screen.
“We now go to Chris Andrews, who’s live at the scene. Chris?”
The image on the screen showed a downtown street filled with spectators and police. A news anchor was speaking into the camera with dismay written across his face.
“Well, John, I’m standing here on Twelfth Street, where the incident occurred three hours ago. You can see several dozen scared civilians lining the streets. Police are still questioning the residents, but we’ve managed to speak to some who’ve been released.
One young man says he lives on the same floor where the shooting took place, and he’s willing to speak to us about what happened. We want to take a moment to warn our viewers that what you’re about to hear may be upsetting. Viewer discretion is advised.”
The camera turned to focus on a young, disheveled-looking man who was staring vacantly into space.
“Matt, can you repeat to us what you said earlier?”
Matt glanced at the camera, but his eyes were unfocused. He was silent for a while before speaking.
“I live on the top floor. Three doors down from where it all happened. I was opening the door to my apartment when I heard the screams. At first, I thought it was just some stupid prank, you know? Friday the thirteenth: play horror movies too loud and mess with people. But when I saw the blood pooling out from underneath the door, I knew something was wrong...” He seemed to get lost in his memories for a second.
“I rushed into my apartment and called the cops, then went for my gun. I couldn’t even hold the thing straight because my hands were shaking badly.” Matt’s face took on a pained expression.
“I left my room and passed by the apartment door, only now it was open. I-I… I just couldn’t help myself, you know? I had to look inside.”
Tears began flowing down from Matt’s face. The news anchor put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, son.”
“W-when I looked inside, all I saw was red. Red everywhere; on the floor, on the walls, on the drapes.” He took a deep, slow breath. “There was a severed arm laying behind the couch... it was too small to belong to an adult”.
Matt was hysterical now. The news anchor offered a hug as the man broke down sobbing.
Jake suddenly turned off the TV. He looked back at the rest of the department with a face full of anger.
“We’re going to get this son of a bitch.”
…
Two months later.
Nate sat before a court full of unfamiliar people, his heart pounding with fear and disbelief. He couldn't believe he was being accused of killing his entire family. The evidence against him was overwhelming, but he knew in his heart he was innocent. Yet who would listen to a boy who cried demons?
The demon hadn’t returned since that night in the hospital, but Nate could see her warped smile behind every human he interacted with. He could see it in their eyes, in the words they spoke, and even behind their actions. Nobody treated him humanely.
There was motion in the room, and all eyes focused on the judge. Nate was barely conscious, but he also turned to look. As the sentencing was read out, he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“Having carefully considered all the evidence presented during this trial, I find the defendant, Nathaniel Walker, guilty of murder in the first degree. This court must ensure that justice is served. Therefore, I now sentence you to life in prison. Your prison sentence shall be carried out at Black Watch Asylum.” The judge banged the gavel down, bringing an end to the trial.
Everyone around him celebrated. Nathan’s throat went dry. He knew this was coming, but part of him held a sliver of hope that they would find something or that someone would rescue him. But nobody came, and he was all alone. He tried to plead his innocence, to tell the court that he had been framed and that he was the real victim in all this, but no one believed him.
Now it was final. There was movement all around but Nate couldn't hear anything but the gavel ringing in his head, striking him in his soul. He would spend his life in the worst prison known to humanity. Worst of all, he knew it wasn't the last he'd seen of the demon.