Intercepts

by T.J. Payne

the sounds — the choking, warbling screams these things made — wormed their way into Carson’s subconscious.

At that moment, she felt that something was out there in the woods. Something that she couldn’t see. But it could see her. And it was watching her.

“She brought us together in the darkness,” Riley continued, her eyes staring straight through Joe. “We were floating. Lost. But she found us. She taught us what we are and what we can be. She showed us how to work together. Before the pain consumed her and she was no more, she led us here. To your daughter. To her mind. It belongs to us now.”

A sliver of a grin stretched across Riley’s face. “She is ours. We can do what we want with her,”

That wasn’t his daughter nodding. It was one of them.

“Physical pain is fleeting. The mind closes it off, as best it can. But some pain runs deeper. Some pain lingers. It sticks to you in the darkness, and the mind cannot push it away. Pain such as the pain of watching your family suffer. And the pain of knowing they suffered because of you. That pain will never leave,” the voices said in unison. “Consider it not a punishment, but a gift. The pain will be your foundation as you swim in the black. It will be your light. Use it to find your way, Joe Gerhard.”