The wind howled around her causing her to pull the collar of her coat tighter around her neck. She was in a hurry and was oblivious to the weather around her.
The wind was wiping up piles of leaves and throwing them all around her; but she continued to walk with head down, she had to get there.
As she turned the corner she could see her aim, the big oak doors offered warmth from the weather and shelter from the wind. Her step quickened until she was stood outside the doors.
It was then she stopped and looked up and down the street; she didn’t see anyone, the road was deserted. The weather had put off most of the people who usually were seen wandering around. She looked back at the door; her mind was all over the place, she knew that behind these doors her fate laid.
She took a deep breath and raised her hand as if to knock on the door, but the door opened before she had chance.
A small, very rotund man ushered her inside, his face was white against his jet black hair and when he spoke it almost made her jump; expecting him to have a deep voice but, instead, it was almost high pitched.
“Follow me please, they are waiting for you,” he said as he led her from the hallway down a long corridor.
Imogen followed trying to take in all the doors; wondering what was behind them. Her heart started to beat faster as she knew they would soon be there.
Paul suddenly stopped in front of a set of huge double doors; he looked at Imogen, smiled and then opened both doors at once. He walked in and announced Imogen’s arrival.
She heard someone say that she should be allowed to enter, and with that Paul turned around to face her and beckoned her in.
She took a hesitive step, took a deep breath and proceeded to walk into the room with her head held high.
As she entered she realised just how big the room was, there was a huge marble table in the middle and seated around it were several men.
The one that drew Imogen’s gaze was the one sat at the head of the table, he was huge with emerald green eyes that bored into her, she was transfixed with his stare, she was incapable of doing anything not even think. A grin started to spread across his face as he realised the effect of his stare had on her.
She shook her head and tried to regain control, she looked around at the rest of the faces at the table which were all staring at her…but none of them had the effect that The Undertaker had.
Sitting to the left of Taker was a man that looked as big as Taker, but he wore a mask that covered his entire face. She could just make out his eyes; they were eyes you could drown in she thought.
She continued to look around but no one else made her feel like Taker had, when he looked at her she felt like he was looking into her soul; his gaze was disconcerting to her and the worst thing was that he knew it.
With a nod from Taker, Paul put a hand on Imogen’s back and she was led to a seat at the opposite end to Taker. She sat down knowing that her legs wouldn’t have held her weight for much longer.
She waited, she had nothing to say, she needed to know what was going to happen, and she looked around the room and realised how out of her depth she actually was. Panic started to set in, but she fought it with a deep breath and pushed it back to where it had come from. He must not know that I am weak, I have to appear to be in control. She knew that she was no where near in control but she had to look as though she knew exactly what she was doing.
She waited for what seemed like a life time before anyone spoke.
“You decided to come to me, you made the right choice; though I would have just taken had you not.” Taker stared at her, a sneer appearing on his face as he continued.
“You are in my world now and things are done my way.”
She didn’t like what he was saying to her and her first instinct told her to run, to get away; but something in Taker’s face held her there transfixed.
She didn’t know whether she should answer, in fact she had no idea why she had actually come. All she wanted was for this to be over and then she could move on.
The thought of getting up and running had not left her mind and the longer no one said anything the more the idea appealed to her. She tried to remember the way she had come into this room, she knew it was just a straight corridor and a hallway to the front door, she knew she could make that. The thing that was bothering her was if the door was locked, because if it was she was trapped.
She shifted slightly in her chair to get a better look at the door, no one was stood by it, Paul had taken a seat a few chairs away from hers. With her heart racing she decided to go for it, she leapt up from her seat and ran to the doors. Yanking at them she managed to get one open. She fled down the corridor, her heart pounding, finally reaching the front door. All she could hear was Taker’s laughter…fading as she got to the door. She said a silent prayer and tried the door handle, it was stiff but it turned and the door was open, she didn’t look back as she ran on to the street outside and carried on running until the house was well out of sight. She stopped to catch her breath and turned to look behind her, no one was there, and breathed out a ragged breath as she realised that she hadn’t been followed. She turned around and started to walk back to her house, Taker’s laughter still ringing in her ears.
When Imogen reached where she lived she reached for her key in her bag and unlocked the door. She almost fell over herself to get inside and lock the door. She then proceeded to walk around the house checking that every window was closed and locked, she didn’t want to take any chances. It wasn’t until this was done that she sat down in the living room to think about what had happened. She knew that she should have stayed there, now she would be looking over her shoulder watching for them to come and get her. The words that Taker had said to her stuck inside her head, he would have taken her if she had not come. There was no doubt in her mind that she was not safe here, she knew she would have to move away from the area then she thought about her sister, Leila, the reason she was going through this. Her sister had always been different, ever since their parents died; she changed as if over night. She had gone from a sweet, innocent girl into a nightmare. She rebelled at everything Imogen said. At first Imogen thought that she would get over it, it was a way for her to deal with the shock of her parents’ death. Years later it dawned on her that it was her sister’s soul that had changed, it had been taken. By what Imogen had had no idea, but she was going to find out and that’s when everything started to happen and it was the reason she was in this situation now.
Imogen thought back to the time when her parents were alive, and they lived as a happy family. A smile came to her lips as she remembered the games her and Leila played as children. The smile slowly faded as her mind progressed through the death of their parents and to present day. Leila was the younger of the two sisters and had always followed Imogen around as if she were her shadow; there had never been any arguments between them, back then. Leila had made it clear that she wanted to be just like her big sister. Then the accident happened that smashed both their worlds. Imogen had taken charge of her little sister and for the first few months they helped each other get over the loss. It was after this that Leila started to change; she no longer followed her sister around. Instead she spent hours on end in her bedroom, barely showing her face. Imogen put her change in behaviour down to delayed shock, so she gave her time and space to come to terms with her loss. Looking back Imogen knew that that was a mistake. After a while she realised that it wasn’t just Leila’s behaviour that had changed, but something deep within her. Her soul belonged to someone else and it was a long time before Imogen realised whom that person was. She could still see the green eyes boring into her own soul, a soul that she was not going to give up so easily as her sister had. That was the reason she had gone there tonight, she wanted to get her sister back, she had never imagined how difficult it would be. She knew that if she wanted her sister back she would have to make sure that she was not taken in the process. With that thought she got up and went through to the kitchen to make a drink. She had no idea what was going to happen and making a drink gave her something to do. She carried the drink upstairs knowing that she should get some rest. She knew that she needed her mind fully rested if she were to stand any chance of getting her sister back. She set her drink down on the bedside cabinet and got ready for bed. As she climbed in to bed and closed her eyes all she could see was the emerald green eyes, almost as if she were still in that room with Taker. She quickly fell into a restless sleep.
Imogen awoke out of a vivid dream and leapt out of bed shouting her sister’s name. Her mind then realised that it had been a dream and she took a deep breath to try and steady her nerves. She looked around the room and realised that it was dawn. She wanted to go back to bed but she knew that she had to think of some sort of plan. Her time was running out, she had to get to her sister before they got to her. With that thought in her mind she dressed quickly and went down stairs to fix up some breakfast. It wasn’t until she entered the kitchen that she knew something was wrong. The kitchen was cold; the one room that was always warm due to its small size and the fact that it had two radiators that always came on long before Imogen got up. She looked around the room and walked over to the heater unit, which was set as it always was. A puzzled look came across Imogen’s face; the heat must be escaping somewhere. She looked around the room again and noticed the window was open. She thought back to last night; she knew she had shut and locked that window. She felt butterflies in her tummy as she realised that they had come for her. She couldn’t sense anyone in the house but she knew that they weren’t ordinary people. She bit on her bottom lip as she decided to check the house. She walked from the kitchen in to the living room and she couldn’t believe what she saw. Sat in one of the armchairs was Leila.
Leila looked at her sister as though she were a perfect stranger. Her eyes were empty; she was just the shell of Leila that was.
Imogen resisted the urge to run and hold her, she knew the person sat in front of her was not her sister, just someone who had allowed their soul to be taken.
“What do you want, why are you here?” Imogen’s voice was cold and harsh. She just wanted her sister back but not like this, in the back of her mind Imogen knew that this was some sort of set up, but she couldn’t help the feelings for her sister.
There was no response and Imogen wondered if Leila had actually heard her.
Slowly Leila opened her mouth, as though she was trying to remember what she was supposed to say. Imogen looked at her and saw a puppet controlled by something she had no understanding of.
“You should join me sister, we are so alike we could be united again”
Imogen shook her head, this wasn’t right all she wanted was her sister that she knew and loved back. Not the lifeless puppet she saw.
“He treats me well and I know have a purpose to my life now” Leila continued.
Imogen could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, she knew that this is what he wanted but she couldn’t help it.
“You see Imogen I can see it in your face you want to join me and serve the master as well…”
Imogen cut her off before she could wear her down anymore.
“No, I don’t want to join you, I want you back with me how we used to be. Look at yourself Leila, look what you have become. You are merely a shell of the person you used to be. I know the real Leila is in there, you have to fight him and find the old you, I know you are still in there.” Imogen saw that her words were getting a reaction, she moved towards Leila, but before she could continue she felt a sharp blow on the back of her head and darkness engulfed her.
When Imogen started to come round, she moved her head and felt a dull ache at the base of her neck; she tried to move her hand up to her head but it wouldn’t move. She panicked and tried to free herself from the bounds that held her on the stone table.
She opened her eyes and the room was blurred, it was a few minutes before she could focus on anything.
“Welcome back to my world; you see now that I was not lying when I said I would just take.”
Imogen tried to move her head to see him but he was stood in the shadows.
“What have you done with Leila? Where is she?” Imogen’s voice was horse and strained.
Her only reply was laughter; the same evil laugh that had followed her home last night.
“Oh, I get it; you are brain washing her again; I know I was getting through to her last night, I could see it in her eyes, and that’s why you brought me back here. You know I can get through to her.”
The laughter stopped and The Undertaker moved out of the shadows and starred down at Imogen, who lay there helpless.
“You really believe that? I thought that you were brighter than that. Leila belongs to me, her soul is mine and she gave it to me. There is nothing you can do to get her back. In fact you should be thinking about where your soul belongs.” An evil grin crept across his face as he spoke.
As Imogen starred into his eyes she knew she was weakening to him; it took all her strength to look away, she knew she had to fight this but she wasn’t sure how long she could hold out and he knew it.
She heard the laugh again and then he was gone, into the shadows. Imogen tried to get up but her bounds held her fast and she collapsed back down on to the table.
All was quiet and Imogen began to panic, she had no idea what she should do. She was tied down to a stone table in a cold, damp room on her own.
Then it dawned on her; they were trying to break her down, make it easier for The Undertaker to take her soul; something she couldn’t let happen.
Imogen’s mind was spinning; she had no idea what to do. The dull ache at the back of her head was getting worse. She closed her eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
Imogen woke up with a start; she sat bolt up right and looked around her bedroom.
She shook her head to try and make sense of what had happened, had she dreamt the whole thing? She raised her hand to the back of her head where she felt a lump and pain shot through her, making her scream and recoil.
Her head was pounding and she couldn’t think straight.
Imogen laid back down, trying to stop her head spinning, nothing made any sense. He had had her right where he wanted her and yet here she was back in her bedroom. She looked down at her wrists, which were still bruised from where she had been bound.
She knew how vulnerable she actually was, she knew that she would have given up the fight had The Undertaker kept her there.
Imogen wrinkled her nose at the smell of fresh coffee; her heart began to race, who was in her house? She knew she wasn’t safe anywhere now; The Undertaker had his sights set on her and she began to realise just how strong his powers were.
Imogen had always been proud of her strength; she had over came her parent’s death while helping to bring Leila up. Her thoughts turned to Leila, she understood now how Leila had given herself so easily, Leila had always been the weaker of the two and if Imogen was now having problems, Leila had probably needed little or no persuasion.
She sniffed again, the aroma of coffee still drifting into her room, she could hear someone clanking pots in her kitchen, and unable to move from fear she just continued to listen. She heard someone start up the stairs, Imogen began to panic, she looked around her room but there was no escape, she had to accept whatever she was about to meet. She heard the footsteps reach the top of the stairs and them turning and heading towards her room. Then the knock at her door, Imogen drew the bed covers around her neck, as though that would help protect her. Imogen said nothing, she was frozen with fear, she knew that she couldn’t fight it anymore, she had to accept that The Undertaker had won, he already had her sister. Imogen had nothing left to fight with, her strength evaporating against that of his. She took a deep breath, knowing this was her fate, and in a small, weak voice she mumbled come in. She held her breath as the door handle turned and slowly the door opened.
Leila walked in carrying a breakfast tray, she set it down on the bed, smiling at her sister and then moving to open the curtains.
Imogen was in shock, she didn’t understand what was happening, she knew he was playing mind games but she didn’t know how much more she could cope with.
She watched, silently, as Leila opened the curtains and went to sit in the chair by the side of the bed. Imogen, still unable to say anything, just stared at her sister. The atmosphere could have been cut with a knife.
After a few minutes Imogen had managed to gather her thoughts and started to speak.
“Is this another trap Leila? I’ve had enough of these games.” Imogen’s anger began to rise, she was getting her spirit back; she was building on strength she never knew she had.
Imogen got out of bed and started to get dressed, all the while watching her sister. Imogen deliberately chose bright colours; it made her feel more powerful against the black heart of The Undertaker.
With every second her sister was silent Imogen’s anger grew, and with it so did her strength.
She finished getting dressed and scraped her hair back into a tight bun. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and realised she was ready to fight this with everything she had; she just hoped that that would be enough.
Imogen turned to face her sister took a deep breath and spoke.
“Take me to him; its time this was sorted out once and for all.”
Leila looked up and saw the determination in her sister’s face and her smile faltered, she nodded and rose out of her seat and gestured for Imogen to follow her.
They followed the same route Imogen had taken when she had gone there the first time. Imogen followed her sister closely, glancing over her shoulder now and again. They finally reached the oak doors, Imogen was still angry and that was the only thing keeping her there; she knew when she stepped inside there was no turning back. She didn’t know what was going to happen but she did know that this was the final showdown. Leila climbed up the two steps and opened the door; she turned around and stepped into the mansion. Leila let go of the door and it slammed shut. Imogen knew that no matter what happened, she would always remember that sound.
She followed Leila down passed the room she had first encountered The Undertaker, a slight smile coming to her lips, the niceties were over, and it was the hard way now.
Leila turned left and opened the door in front of her, which led to some stone steps; Imogen followed down the steps. When they reached the bottom Imogen saw that it opened out into a huge room lit by candles.
Imogen’s eyes were drawn to the figure sat in a throne, candle light dancing off his face, his green eyes glittering. Surrounding The Undertaker were twenty other men, Imogen noticed to the right of Taker stood the man with the mask.
Leila left Imogen to kneel in front of Taker, he glanced away from Imogen to wave Leila away who stood up, lowered her head and went to stand next to Kane.
Imogen took a step forward.
“I want my sister back, I am not leaving without her.”
The Undertaker appeared not to have heard Imogen as there was no reaction to her words, he didn’t move a muscle and Imogen took a step forward repeating herself, this time louder and with more conviction.
“I want my sister back, I am not leaving without her” With this said she glanced at Leila who looked back at her for a fleeting second, her eyes betraying the fear that she felt. Imogen’s heart almost stopped as she saw her baby sister trapped in a place that she didn’t have any understanding of. Emotion built up inside Imogen, the anger was fighting away the fear as she stood in front of the man who had taken her sister and now had plans on her.
Slowly The Undertaker opened his mouth and in a low rumbling voice that cut straight through her spoke.
“Leila has made her choice, she belongs to me,” his eyes, shining bright green, dared Imogen to continue the fight. Imogen starred back lost in the power that emanated from this huge man.
Imogen started to speak but she didn’t know what to say she had to fight this man, whether she won or lost she was going to give it her best shot. With this newfound confidence she walked straight up to The Undertaker and starred into his eyes. This was a mistake as she felt herself been drawn in, as though all his power lie in his eyes. She shook her head fighting him with everything she had. For her own state of mind she took a step backwards, as if distance would help. She took a deep breath and spoke in a voice that she didn’t even recognise as her own.
“Give me back my sister, she belongs with me.”
The Undertaker flashed a fleeting look of shock across his face, showing that he had never had someone still fighting him at this point.
He chuckled and stood up and with this Imogen took a few more steps back and then froze as though she couldn’t been any further away from him, she felt as though she were glued to the floor and didn’t want to be any further away from him.
“Leila belongs to me, don’t you?” As he finished speaking he looked over at Leila, now physically trembling with fear.
Leila looked up at Taker her eyes empty and then at Imogen. She starred into her sister’s eyes and saw the love shining back. Still trembling she just starred at her sister, knowing what she had put her through, the fact that she had come back to fight for her…
“Don’t you Leila?” Taker demanded, interrupting her train of thoughts. She looked back at him, though she didn’t look into his eyes she was looking through him. She realised that he didn’t mean anything and her sister meant the world to her and she was not going to lose her this time. She looked back at her sister and Imogen saw those empty eyes were now filling with love for her sister.
Leila glanced at The Undertaker and back to Imogen, she shook her head slowly and took a step towards Imogen. At that moment Kane grabbed Leila’s arm and with a nod from Taker raised a dagger, Imogen screamed and leapt forward but it was too late; the dagger was plunged into Leila’s heart.
The Undertaker smiled; Imogen ran to her sister, she stopped and looked at the lifeless body lying on the floor, then she turned and looked up at Taker, her eyes full of unshed tears, her face asking why.
“She was weak, she would have joined you, I have no use for the weak.”
Imogen listened to his words and something within her gave up. She walked over to The Undertaker, standing right in front of him, as she slowly sank to her knees all Imogen could hear was the slam of the door…
The End