The Adversary

Hi all, this is my first short story which i've just self-published over at Smashwords. Would love to hear your thoughts

Prologue

The rain lashed down, like the sultry tears of God, shattering into the face of the earth as the breezy air swirled through the rocky terrain. Feeling the prickly shivers run down my spine, I stood there drenched and motionless, clenching my fists in rage.
‘Lift this wretched curse! I’m begging you.’
The weight of the burden had finally gotten the better of me. It had been playing on my mind and oppressed my thoughts. The feeling clung to me like the sour stench of defeat and spun me into a deluge of madness. This had to end. Tonight.
It turned in its tracks and flashed a cryptic smirk. Those glowing white teeth blinded me with their unnatural glow.
‘Why would I help you, boy?’ snarled the beast.
‘I’ll do anything it takes. Please… just do what you have to do’ the desperation in my voice made my knees weak. I never thought I'd need to plead with this monster for my salvation.
‘My services are not without consequence. Be careful what you wish for, boy.’
‘I can’t go on like this any longer. The nightmares are getting worse, I know they’ve given me the evil eye. I see their hideous, smiling faces when I close my eyes. Their vile thoughts are stopping me from getting anywhere. How can I live like this? I’ve made up my mind.’
‘Very well’ spoke the thing with a finality in its voice that unnerved me to the very core.
The driving rain stopped like a switch had been flicked somewhere in the heavens. The darkness grew upon the land, the light fading as though the sun was being cloaked by a rising volcano. There was nothing left to say nor to plead. My pride had been vanquished. There was a black hole left in me that wallowed in its emptiness.
The shadowy figure had dissolved like smoke into the wintry night’s sky. It was like a scorching fire that had been banished and took my worries along with it. His disappearance struck me like a dagger to the heart; it had always amazed me at how someone could be there one minute, and gone the next. Like they never existed at all.

I
The flashy red banner was draped outside the grand entrance to the hotel and read: “Congratulations!” Hordes of people I’d never seen before closed in like ravenous vultures to shake my hand and wish me well. Their eyes glowed green with envy and the jealous energy in the room was palpable. My award-winning exploits had clearly sent shockwaves around the place. All those fake smiles were masked in bittersweet contempt; I couldn’t wait to get out and escape their pretence. The conversations were drenched in a gluttonous stew of self-interest. If I couldn't help in their endeavours then it rendered our exchange meaningless. The whole thing made me sick to the stomach. If it wasn't for their evil wishes being dashed that night, tonight wouldn't even be happening. As the lamentable speeches burnt my ear drums, I found my avenue of escape and bolted for an early exit from my own party.

The mountainous trees arched over the winding road, their dancing shadows creating a hypnotic façade under the dimly lit road lamps. The tentacle-like branches swayed in the howling wind threatening to bow down and swallow the car in their wooden grasp. My thoughts ran wild. The night had irked me so much that I left my coat at the party. With no phone or sense of direction, it felt like I was going around in circles. The road lamps were long gone as I drove into a sea of blackness with no immediate sign of civilisation. I took the nearest exit and began driving in search of help to ask for directions. I pulled up to a quaint village. It was a place that time had forgotten. There was not a soul in sight. Frozen by the deathly cold and deafening silence, the isolation was beginning to get to me. I’d never heard a place so quiet. Panic set in and finding a helping hand felt like a grim possibility until a light flickered in the corner of my eye.
Getting out of the car, I headed directly toward the country house from where the beacon of hope had emerged. A dim light was lit in the upstairs bedroom that glowed invitingly, it was like some forlorn magnet drawing me in to its ephemeral embrace. The house was surrounded by dense farmland; it stood like a derelict mausoleum of lost souls, a rotting leviathan where few had ventured but many had been lost. Peering into the downstairs window, I was deafened by the sound of my violently beating heart. It sounded like it was trying to escape the suffocating clutch of a python’s choke and losing the battle. Coming to my senses, I saw a dark figure stood silently in the centre of the room. It was still, as though it slept, awaiting an intruder to disrupt its slumber. I raised my hand to knock the glass but it turned and looked me dead in the eye. The thing grinned with malice, it had been waiting.

II
The piercing stare ripped through me as I stumbled backwards and lost my footing. Before I knew it, I was hurtling into the ground beneath my feet. Something clicked and the ground gave way swallowing me into the depths of its nocturnal realm. Falling into the abyss made me feel weightless, like a piece of unwanted coinage flung into a magical wishing well. The momentary feeling soon dissipated into one of excruciating pain as I plummeted into the hard rock of some ancient underground world. Grey smoke filled the musky air and obscured all from sight. It was at this precise moment when I felt paralysed with a nameless dread. It felt like I landed in a cave with steep rocky walls but there was no way to be sure. My ears were ringing and I could have sworn I heard the muffled cries of that thing. Ignoring the temptation to find out more, I struggled painfully to my feet looking for an exit. Someone was clearly playing a sick game. I screamed at the top of my lungs hoping someone would hear me above ground. There was no use. My voice echoed as a reminder of my desolate loneliness. Searching blindly for something to cling to, I reached the wall of the cave that towered over me.

The black face of the wall twitched like a living, breathing thing. It glared back at me with venom in its eyes. Edging closer to the sharp edge, the groans of that forlorn beast became louder and filled my heart with fear. The earth shifted and life flashed before my very eyes. Something lurked on the other side.
‘Hello, is anyone there? You’ve got to get me out of here!’
The steep wall cracked and parted like the jaws of hell revealing a succession of stairs heading up towards the unknown. It was a climb into the mouth of madness. Taking a chance, I took my first step and began the steep ascent. Heading up left me breathless until I finally reached the summit. I was greeted by a bright red door which had an uncanny resemblance to the one in my childhood home. As I raised my hand to knock it, the latch loosened and the door creaked open…

III
‘I’ve been expecting you.’
The creature’s eyes were blacker than death itself. I drowned in their depths amidst a calm sort of hysteria.
‘Ah dear boy, you thought it would be that easy?’
The husky voice was eerily familiar. It can’t be.
‘What are you talking about? Let me out, I just want to get out of here!’
‘You know very well. It’s been five years and I see you’re doing very well for yourself.’
The hulking creature was barely visible behind the fog of smoke seemingly emanating from under its black cloak. That old feeling had returned.
‘I’ll give you as much as you want to let me go. What will it take?’
‘Now, now… Save your pleas for the weak. That paper won’t do you any good in here, boy. You think you were all alone when things suddenly began falling into place? Fool the world but spare me.'
'How dare you! It was me. I made all this happen! My success, my money. I earnt it. No handouts. It sure as hell didn't come from you.'

Those eyes gleamed as the dark walls dissipated into a raging blaze of fire. Sparks from the glowing flames blinded it from sight; the inferno grew by the second threatening to turn all to dust. The burning intensity of the heat torched my senses as the sound of that cackling laughter filled my ears.
‘Your money? Where is it now when you need it most? Eh, boy? It won’t be of any use where you are about to go.’ it sneered from behind the plumes of grey smoke.

My heart plummeted as those words echoed around the room. Flicking back to that fateful night, I racked my brains to search for something meaningful to bargain with.
‘After all this time, they finally have their wish and they’ve sent you back to finish me off. I just knew the curse would return. It was too good to be true.'
Feeling breathless, I hoped my last stand would get me out of there and the creature would feel pity for my plight.
‘I could feel their spiteful tongues backbiting, and I sensed their bad blood in every waking moment. All those people praying for my downfall. It’s all their fault. Please help me! You've got to get rid of it once and for all'
The house was crumbling around us like my remaining fragments of hope. There was no escape, the ring of fire was relentless. The cloaked behemoth walked through the blaze and stood right before me staring into my terrified eyes.
‘There is no curse. There never has been, boy.’
‘But you got rid of it that night! I felt it, I sensed it in my bones. Everything turned after that. My life finally had purpose, I achieved everything I ever wanted.’
‘You were always staring back at the one who limited yourself, boy. It’s just a shame that you turned to be out like the rest of them; still blaming others for your misfortune instead of taking control of your own destiny. The world isn't against you and never has been. You haven't learnt a thing. It didn’t have to come to this.’

Those piercing words ripped through me as the fire raged and spat flames of regret. I saw a resemblance of my reflection staring back at me through those giant orb-like eyes. For the first time I didn’t recognise the person looking back at me. I was lost in the depths of despair as the smoke filled my lungs. The thing was nowhere to be seen.