Chapter 15: Tears that hold memories

Night 7

Valentina awoke like a spring. She gasped as she bounced up. One of her eyes was shut closed as if it were super glued. There was a scar across her closed eye.

She looked up and Liam stood next to her as if he expected her to be awake by now. He quickly grabbed her arm and yanked it.

"Come on. Let's go." He said nonchalantly.

"Wait! Am I supposed to be discharged yet?" Valentina asked but the only reply she got was a cold silence.

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They both arrived home. Liam sat down, and did not look up at his wife.

Valentina stood patiently for him to say something.... However, Liam took out his phone then placed it beside him as he sighed.

"It's 7:34..."

The gradient soft shine from the balcony window came through, the colors of the sunset.

"You didn't paint today.....did you?...." Liam finally glanced up at her.

Valentina, shockingly, opened her mouth, gasping in the thought of darkness devouring her family.

"We are....all going to die...." Liam said in a deep, quiet voice as the sun desends and everything turned to darkness... Liam stood up...

"No....No!... No!.... NO! PLEASE STOP! LIAM!! PLEASE! DON'T DO IT!!"

As Valentina, viciously screamed these words at Liam while he took out a matchbox from his pocket in his grasp.

"It begins..." Liam lit the match stick, and held it in between his thumb and his index.

"NOOOO!! LIAM!! WE WILL LIVE!! I PROMISE!! DON'T DO THIS!!"

".... I'll meet you in hell..."

He dropped the match stick and the carpet grew into flames of fire. Slowly, eroding everything in sight, growing bigger and bigger. The fire was unstoppable.

Valentina ran to Liam and held him tight on his chest. The fire attached onto their clothes, putting them both on fire.

"NOOOO!!! PLEASE!!! STOP!! WE CAN'T DIE!! NOT YET!!"

Liam, calmly, placed his cold fingers on Valentina's cheek... and smiled mercifully. It was as if the heat and burn of the fire didn't harm him nor did it cause him to fear. Liam wiped away Valentina's transparent tears and kissed her on her forehead.

"Why do you fear death?... It's peaceful..."

"Liam?... You can't!-" Valentina groaned down to her knees in pain.

But she felt Liam's hands, with all its strength, to pull her up and threw her away from the fire, to the balcony.

He smiled as he looked at Valentina with love...

"I love you..."

"LIAM!!"

Liam collapsed and the fire devoured him with it.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Valentina screamed vigorously.

Her scream was like her soul pushing hard to escape the iron cage of her body.

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The fire grew more viciously than before, but was far away from Valentina. The flames couldn't touch her since she was outside, sitting on the balcony floor.

She stared blankly at the growth of the fire. Her husband groans, and moaned for mercy on his soul. But once it became silent... She stopped herself from breathing... All she could hear...was the cackling sound of the fire, eating away everything they owned and loved.

Their happiness... was taken away.

"That's it... I don't need my soul anymore... Satan... can have it..." Valentina mumbled to herself.

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"Oh! Won't that be delicious!" The devil arrived with something in his hands. It was a sheet wrapped around something.

"Here's a little present for you..."

Valentina refused to look at anyone except the fires. He placed it on her lap.

"Open it..." The devil, with his eyes hot as fire, the red color of his eyes, reflected evil.

Valentina looked down, and unwrapped the cloth below her. With just one eye... her eye widened the she screamed. Tears drowned her again. Before her, she held her baby's head. So small and innocent.

Blood poured down her cheek, from her closed eye, it opened. However, she looked distorted, her eye had an engraved scar inside it, blood continued to pour and it would not stop.

Her tears mixed into the blood, looked as if it were red paint mixed in water.

"AAAAAAAAARRGHHH!!!!!!" She screamed from the pain and held Emma's head in her hands, and threw it into the fire.. to join its father...

The sight from her reopened eye, was all clear to her. She looked behind her, where the devil stood on the railing, he smiled wickedly at her.

"Kill me!" Valentina demanded.

The devil, hand gestured for her to throw herself into hell.

She looked then turned back.

"NO! I won't die like them! Take me! Take my soul from me! And devour me! Do it! Burn me up inside and swallow me down!- into the pits of hell!!"

Her voice intensifies as it sounded dark and deep, like she had a sore throat.

The devil smiled. He stepped down from the railing and grabbed her by the waist, close to his chest. Valentina looked up at him. His clothes disappeared like ashes, he transformed into his 'real' form.

The devil, had two big black wings, his horns were black and high. His iris, were a dark green color but the rest of his eyes were black. His clothes turned into a long black jacket, only leaving his chest bare.

And a hole engraved his chest, were his heart was meant to be placed. His skin so cold and white as snow.

However, Valentina felt a burn against her skin. Like her skin was peeling and merging onto his chest.

"Finally... I have my queen...! And! My heart will be filled! With your soul!"

The devil began to cackle as he brought out his scythe from his arm, into his hand. As he laughed, Valentina began to scream as she was burning and colliding into his skin. He held the scythe carefully close in his hand and with his other hand, he pulled Valentina's head up, facing him.

"Forget everything... and fall asleep..." He said those last words and slice her neck.

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1 year ago

"Liam!..." Valentina stomped in the living room, where Liam was watching TV. She held a pregnancy test in her hand.

"Yeh!" Liam said ignoring his wife's presence as he was so into the football match.

Valentina grunt and stood infront of the TV.

"What?!" Liam said in annoyance. Valentina held out the pregnancy test.

"W-why? Do you have that?-"

"I'm pregnant! Why else would I be holding this?!" She said angrily.

"Oh!~ that's great!" Liam came in for a hug, and held her tight. Valentina simply sighed as she looked down. Liam seem so happy that even grumpy Valentina felt the need to stroke his hair.

"I'm going to be a father! Isn't that great?!" Liam looked up, however, only to see that Valentina wasn't as eager as a she was.

"What's wrong?.." he said. Valentina sighed as she sat down beside him.

I remember this day... I wasn't expecting it so soon into our marriage... But why?... Why?... Valentina began to cry.

Why do I have to see this?... Valentina stood before the couple from a year ago as she drops tears and her memories into the palm of her hands...

I love you...Liam...Emma. ..

I'm so sorry...