<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The smile on her face brightened as he agreed, his arms wrapping around her to hold her close. She leaned into him, absorbing the warmth his body heat radiated. Her own arms found their place over his shoulders, gently draped around his neck while they stood beneath the dim light. Ava’s forehead rested against his, but the moment he shifted to capture her lips in yet another passionate kiss, she lifted her chin. Instantly that giddy little flutter formed in her stomach, excitement like electricity running up and down her spine. It must have been that very feeling that made it so that she missed his hand slipping into her pocket to retrieve her key. Soft laughter came from her between playful kisses as the door opened. Footsteps carried her backward through the threshold as she kept her lips to his for as long as she could. When they were inside she set her bag down beside the bed, removing her jacket and placing it on the nightstand, she began to remove her boots. Ava couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his comment, “Yes, I asked for the penthouse suite and told them to give you something fit for a peasant.” She explained sarcastically as she moved toward him. Standing between his legs, she stared down at him. “I just love the gaudy carpet and the pink, floral patterned bedding that’s likely hiding <i>so</i> many stains.” Ava chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her to pull her down to those blankets, the melody of her laughter filling the room but quieted as she found herself against the comfort of his chest.<br/>
<br/>
Fatigue caught up to her once again, and as she rested against his chest she was soothed by the stroke of his hands through her long, dark hair. Outside the wallpaper walls a deep rumble sounded from the sky, a flicker of lightning shining beneath the drawn drapes. Ava’s eyes became heavy, and the arm that laid across his stomach and the leg that hung over his hips began to relax to a pleasant weight. By the time the pitter-patter of rain was pelting the ground and those distant rumbles became more frequent, her eyes were closed and she was drifting further to sleep. <br/>
</span><br/><div style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">***</span>​</div><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><br/>
<i>Paralyzed by exhaustion she could not move, could not force herself to wake despite the pounding in the confines of her chest. The mattress, the blankets, and the pillows vanished, replaced by a bed of dry, decaying leaves. Try as she might to resist the pull of the otherworldly forces that demanded she look and listen, her participation was mandatory. To struggle was quicksand, ensuring that she sank; to be swallowed so far and so deep that it would take her hours to claw her way out of its black gullet.<br/>
<br/>
She blinked finally, bright, olivine eyes beholding the eerie setting she had been transported to. It was as though she were staring through crimson-stained glass, like the air and the sky absorbed oceans of blood. Pushing herself up, her long locks were decorated with that pungent foliage, making her appear as though she were born of the earth as she rose. There was this stillness that had her senses in a frenzy, imploring her that something wasn’t right. It was as if time had frozen, no longer the linear stream that moved forward and onward. Motionless was the atmosphere, stagnant and static.<br/>
<br/>
In a nightgown of gleaming black silk, she wandered aimlessly through the woods. Her bare feet crunched at the brush, the sound amplified by the silence until a faint sobbing snatched her attention. It was a child’s cry . . . Sorrowful. Hopeless. Lost. Heart-wrenching. Ava followed the helpless weeping, letting it guide her like a beacon in the darkness. Weaving through gnarly trees, up steep hills where the mud and muck painted her hands, knees, and soles, she searched frantically. Across a trickling stream, the water bending around rocks as black as coal, a little girl crouched with her head pressed to her knees and her arms hugging legs. Blonde curls hung forward as she sobbed. She’d know them anywhere, the golden mane of her sister.<br/>
<br/>
“Scarlett?” Ava called softly, undeterred by the obstacle before her as her steps took her across frigid water. “Where are you?”<br/>
<br/>
Scarlett only continued to cry, her back rising and falling with each sob. Ava moved closer, reaching out to her hesitantly and lowering herself to her level. Her skin was cold to the touch, discolored and sickly. The contact ceased her weeping.<br/>
<br/>
“It’s alright . . .” Ava assured her, consoling the young one with a warm smile that curled onto her lips. “Just tell me where you are. I’ll come for you.” There was no response, but she could tell something had changed. She looked up and above the treeline was an ominous structure, enshrouded by a veil of fog. Above the mist was what looked like a steeple. <br/>
<br/>
Before she could study it further, little Scarlett lifted her head abruptly, letting out a guttural and unnatural growl. Yellow, bloodshot eyes and jagged teeth bared, she snarled so loud that it startled her. There was a rattle of a chain, her small wrist shackled and preventing her from going far. Still Ava stumbled back, landing harshly onto the dirt. She tried to scramble to her feet, but inky hands sprung up from the earth and wrapped around her limbs. Greedy and desperate, they grabbed her neck and her face, covering her mouth and her eyes as they pulled her down into the ground.</i><br/>
</span><br/><div style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">***</span>​</div><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><br/>
Ava awakened abruptly, forgetting that she could breathe as she sat herself up quickly. Her hand went to her chest as she let in a shaky breath. Though her throat was tight and it barely filled her lungs, she gasped for another. Each one she breathed came a little bit easier, helping her calm her heart as it raced rapidly. She was further eased by her surroundings, amazed to think that she could be so comforted to see the cheap, shabby motel room. Morning light crept through the crevices in the blinds, spilling onto the floor and streaking onto the bed. It, too, was a comfort; knowing that she was no longer hostage to a dark place. </span>