Bound by Darkness

Chapter 10: The Last Goodbye

After a few days, there was no room for doubt to be, it was the end of the line. In the early hours of the morning, Vincent arrived at the community center only to see it had been vandalized. The walls were completely painted with graffiti, and the messages were clear: "Murderer," "You can’t hide," and "Your time is up." It made Vincent feel really cold and catch up everything in the sight of it. Someone made a shift of their personal hatred from him to the only safe place he had and it was his sanctuary, where he had felt secure until now.

Not only the employees but also the volunteers of the community center were shocked and horrified, but they made a circle around Vincent and offered their help. Nevertheless, Vincent felt more alone than ever despite their heartfelt words. The fear that had been eating him up for weeks finally spilled over and he became a wreck. The day of realizing that he could no longer pretend that he could handle it on his own had come.

This night he went late to his house, but he had a lot on his mind. He heard Lily in the kitchen messing with the food for dinner. As soon as she saw him, she stopped preparing and looked at him with a worried look in her eyes. "Vincent, what happened at the center today?"

Vincent hesitated but then he communicated every detail saying how he couldn't deal with the horrible situation except that the graffiti and the threats were real. While he was saying, he could see in the sad expression of Lily that his situation hurt her and it made him hate himself the most.

"We should pack up and leave," Lily suggested, but her voice was shaking. "This has gone too far, Vincent. We can’t stay here any longer."

Vincent only nodded with broken courage that was shown as it crumbled. "You’re right. We have to go but where? Where can we go where they will not come after us?"

Lily held his hand tight even though it was evident she was afraid. "Anywhere, but here, Vincent. We will come up with something. First, we only need to get away from here."

Though Vincent wanted to accept his words, the inner darkness that tormented him in agony told him it was too late. He felt like the shadows that were the enemy in his life had already overpowered him. For weeks, they were slowly closing in around him, and now they were going to finally engulf him.

As the bag-packing session was in full swing, there was a sudden knock on the door. Vincent instantly froze, his heart-trembling, and the way it beat in his chest was audible. Lily looked fearfully at him, and her eyes were wide like saucers. "Could it be someone at this late hour with good news?"

He stopped her with a hand gesture as he got close to the door. After he opened it cautiously, it was found to be empty. But when he took a step outside, he found a box on the doorstep. With trembling hands, he picked it up and brought it to the room.

Lily kept staring as he opened the package and pulled out a single sheet of paper. Just two words were written on it, and they said, "I’m coming."

The fear that had been smoldering in his heart for weeks at last flashed into panic mode. He dropped the slip of paper, and his hands, they were shaking uncontrollably. "Lily, we need to leave. Right now."

Lily was not in denial, and that could be seen on her face. They hurried to finish the packing, the thriftiness of the steps and the condition of the clothes were badly out of sync. As they were about to leave, Vincent with a shady subconscious predicted they were already too late. The shadows had outpaced him and it was impossible to escape them.

The road was dark throughout the hours they were driving without seeing any other cars, almost like the sky was made of black paint. Vincent was Yoda-looking in the rear mirror checking from time to time if there were headlights behind them. But the road at the back of the car was still and empty.

A motel, situated at a very secluded location, was discovered and they registered it going by fake names. The setting of the room was tight and filled with mildew; however, it was a secure zone to stay for the time being, at least. Vincent was really tired that night, but he could not help but reflect on what might happen next.

They got up the next morning, They opted to continue their journey to cover maximum distance between them and the threat, though. But when they were taking the exit of the motel, Vincent spotted the car trailing them through the rearview mirror, maintaining its distance but not letting them escape their sight turbo.

He panicked and tried to lose the stalker by stepping on the accelerator. In contrast, the car which was following him mirrored Vincent's pace, keeping a safe space but quite enough for him to remain on his toes.

Feeling his tension, Lily turned and consulted the back window. The words "Vincent, what is happening?" she asked.

"Someone is tracking us," Vincent stammered with palpable fear, "I don’t know who they are, but they are sticking around."

Lily grew pale and grabbed the seat while Vincent increased the speed and shifted lanes like a madman. In an attempt to shake off theirs but the car stayed behind their tail like a vigilante watching its victim.

As they driving rapidly on the empty freeway, Vincent's mind was frantic. He had to act, not just any act but Illogical to search for Lily, he had to shield her. He was afraid of the darkness taking her as well. He believed it was all over for him; the turn of the road would be like the by-pass, he was a madman going into the depths of the mountains. The following car promptly followed, after a time of contemplating the question of whether to choose the hill or not.

As they climbed higher up the road, it became rather treacherous, the sharp turns and steep falls making it difficult for one to control the vehicle properly. Vincent's knuckles turned whiter than ever as he held onto the steering wheel, his heart beating like a drum in his chest.

Then, as they came up to a very sharp bend, the deepest fear Vincent had came into existence. The tires slipped, thus, the car rotated out of control. Time seemed to stall as it ran off the road and the slope fell down.

Vincent's entire existence got distorted into a blurry picture of devices of steel and glass as the car took a series of flips, the sound of Lily's wailing boomeranging through his ears. At last, when the car lay there, upside down, the world around them suddenly became ghostly quiet.

Vincent's sight almost disappeared, and just the slightest body movement caused a surge of pain that went through him. "Lily," he breathed out like a skillful whisperer and exposed himself to great physical pain. "Lily! Are you alright?"

There was no reply. Vincent's heart fell as he craned his head, and his pupils started to dilate at the shocking sight of Lily who was bent over her seat, a little trickle of blood from the cut on her forehead.

"No, no, no," Vincent said with grief, pushing his way out of the wreckage. He crawled over to Lily. He was nervous as he checked a pulse. A pulse was there, though weak, it was there. She was alive, but only just.

Vincent was fading as the pain and tiredness were settling in. He could catch a sound of distant sirens. However, he was fully aware that they wouldn't arrive in time. The obscurity that had been feeding on him for so long had finally reached its objective quietus.

While being there without giving up on Lily's hand, Vincent's thoughts went back to that life they had tried to live wisely, the love they had shared even against all odds. Deep down he mustered to protect her, and bring her the light of life that had vanished so far in the future. Finally, the end log of the days was crept into their lives by the shadows.

While weeping, Vincent cried out "forgive me, dear Lily. I regret a lot," as the heart of his apology fell silently on the score of his sins.

The air was deafened by the cries of some sirens, and the darkness was drawing in, making the decaying body of Vincent sink in its black sea. Clutching his fingers on Lily's hand, he felt the faint ray of hope shining in his life. However, through his waning power, he realized this was over now.

Vincent's last breath was a little whisper of her name, a prayer for the love which was so hard for him to save him. Then the world went off like a light.