Unlocking Part 2

I stared dumbfounded, the pieces of the DVD still in my shaking hand. I wondered if I should run, but where could I go? Just turn and bolt and hope for the best? I swallowed heavily and began to slowly step backwards.

The woman with the fish scale veil scoffed haughtily, "Just look at her. She's filthy."

I was suddenly brought to my knees, as if someone had kicked my legs out from under me and. I looked up and saw that they were now mere inches in front of me and my heart could have stopped from fear. Their scent...it was not in the least unpleasant, but it was so heady and rich my nose began to burn. I couldn't describe to you how elegant their dresses or how detailed their masks--they were beautiful in an unnerving, terrifying way.

In all of three of their right hands they clutched large, plain jugs. Simultaneously they all tipped them sideways, directly above me, and I was drenched in a seemingly unending downpour of water.

I blinked and they were gone. The trees, the dirt, the sky above me, too, all melted away and was replaced with a dark basement. I was soaked to the bone, so confused and frightened I thought I was going to

As I found my footing, I turned around to see a set of stairs and an opened basement door. One final time I looked around at what was once a vast forest and--

I saw it.

Standing there, in the corner, head cocked to the side slightly. Its piercing, eyeless gaze cut through me like nothing ever has and ever will again. I did not scream.

I ran. I ran and it followed. I felt it upon my spine and in the wind that blew my hair. I threw open the door and raced out of the house in a mindless panic.

This proved to be foolish. I made it about five steps before I slipped...and when I hit the ground I was in the grove of trees near my house.

My shoes were now gone, only the socks remained. Nothing else was missing, for which I was thankful for. But in what could only be described as bizarre, the three pieces of the DVD fused into a single, immaculate disk.

I walked out of the grove in a daze, still wet, still shaken, but I had gotten what I needed to get. I suppose. My poor mother wondered what happened and I made up a story about falling into a pool. The shoes I was honest about: someone stole them right off of my own feet. I threw my clothes off in the bathroom and took a long hot shower. My car was most likely still near the house and I would have had to go back and get it. Eventually I did, and I was proud of myself for not fainting when I saw a face in one of the top floor windows. Since then I've been reluctant to go places, even with my girls.

The DVD sits on my desk and I wonder when I'm going to find the courage to play it.