The Witness

Margaret’s eyelids fluttered open as the water was poured slowly over her face. She attempted to use her hand to wipe the wetness from her eyes, only to feel tension on her wrist, on both wrists. Shaking her head, Margaret managed to shake enough of the water off her face to allow her eyes to open comfortably. The room was dimly lit, and she noticed her bound wrists and ankles, the bindings attaching her to the table propped up against the wall. Margaret’s angle allowed her to see the whole room, the dark and empty space, with a chest in the center and a grandfather clock placed up against the back left corner of the space, her eyes then fixating on the individual to the side of her.

           The individual, a woman, spoke. “There you are. You were sleeping longer than I had anticipated, but you’re awake now, the water seemed to do the trick.” The woman grabbed a towel and wiped the remaining water off of Margaret’s face. “I apologize for that, but I wanted to make sure you were awake on time.”

           Fear was beginning to control Margaret’s emotions, though she tried to stay cool and collected. “Where am I? Who are you? Why am I here?” the panic in her voice still shown through.

           The woman smiled. “You’re my witness, that’s why you’re here. And this is my home, my basement to be specific. I’d rather not share my name, but that is mostly because I don’t want to get emotional, names would connect us in a way that I am not comfortable, I hope you don’t mind.” The woman began to pick up on Margaret’s fear. “Oh, I am so sorry, I know this must be horrifying for you. Please don’t be worried though. I have no plans to hurt you, I just needed someone to see, and I really needed it to be a stranger. Kidnapping you was a difficult decision, but I needed someone tonight and it would have been too tiresome to try and convince you of why you were needed. I won’t be here for long, but I set up my phone to call the police at midnight, that way someone will be here to let you out.”

           Margaret didn’t know where to start, nothing the woman said had made any sense to her. “Please let me go.” It was all she could think to say.

           “Oh, I’m sorry but no. You have to stay and watch, but again, you won’t be harmed, that’s not what this is.”

           Margaret’s stomach was getting tight, an empty pit seeming to form in her abdomen, she didn’t believe the woman. I’m going to die. Her breathing became shorter, and her eyes started to dart around the room, her hands and feet pulling against her binds in every direction.

           “Whoa! Careful dear, you might tip the table you’re on. That was kind of difficult to prop up and I’d hate for you to slide down, or worse fall forward onto your face, you’d surely break your nose. Just please, calm down, you’ll be fine.” The last sentence escaped the woman’s mouth quickly, being accompanied by a hint of frustration.

           The woman began walking towards the chest in the middle of the room. Margaret attempted to slow her breathing, realizing that, whether the woman was lying or not, there was no way of escaping, and it would be best to not frustrate her more. The woman approached the chest, which was facing away from Margaret. Opening the chest, a slight greenish yellow glow began emanating from within, lighting up the woman’s face as she smiled. Margaret’s eyes were glued to the woman now, the light starting to transition into a greenish blue.

           Looking up at Margaret, the woman began to speak. “Are you ready?” She asked, her smile growing even wider. “It’s time.” The grandfather clock struck twelve and began to chime with an intensity that felt as though it was shaking the room. The woman’s face peered back into the chest, the color now a blueish purple. The light began to glow brighter as an orb came into Margaret’s line of sight, cresting over the open chest door. “I’m ready!” The woman shouted. “I have my witness and I am ready!” The light glowed brighter, now a deep purplish red.

           Margaret’s eyes were dilated, her body unmoving. The light grew brighter as beams of light began oozing out of it in the shape of tentacles. Two, three, seven, twenty; the orb now resembling a reddish pink sea urchin. It moved closer to the still smiling woman, her arms now open wide, as though ready to embrace. The orb’s tentacles began to wrap itself around the woman, covering her arms, and moving down her legs. She winced, as steam began coming off of her body. “Yes!” The woman shouted. “I am ready!” The glowing orb moved closer to her body before fully making contact with her chest.

           The woman screamed, belting her lungs out as her shouts transitioned from joy to pain to torture. Her wailing was deafening as the orb pressed into her, slowly disappearing as it moved through her chest, its tentacles moving into her body at all of their contact points. And then it was dark, the bright orb and all of its tentacles now gone, only a slight glow emanating from the entirety of the woman’s body, her presence now a faint iridescent glow.

           The woman looked up at Margaret, her eyes now glowing and changing colors like the orb. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but instead of words, a loud sound began to fill the room, sounding almost as if a muffled train engine was wailing out from the woman’s body. The bright light was growing brighter in her eyes, her mouth now emitting the same glow. Her body began to lift from the ground and her limbs were being stretched wide. The woman’s head was tilting back, and her body started to convulse in front of Margaret’s eyes. Flakes of the woman started floating off her body, flashing different colors as they did. Margaret could start to hear the woman’s screams breaking through, causing Margaret to wince in terror.

           The woman’s body was flaking to the point of being unrecognizable, more and more parts of her falling off, and then, without warning, a bright light burst out of the remaining pieces of the woman. No blood, no viscera, only bright, multicolored glowing fragments of light. Each fragment individually disappearing slowly until the room was dark again. Margaret was staring at the still open chest, her entire body frozen, and tears now streaming down her face, in shock as to what she had witnessed. Police sirens could be heard in the distance.

The End