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Wash Away My Sins	By : horrorgal Category: +A through F > Amnesia: The Dark Descent Views: 2697 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, nor the characters. I do not profit from this story.

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Chapter 20

Daniel's eyes felt tired, the last few days of travel being more stressful than he had expected. They had stopped to rest at a inn, but his sleep had been troubled. He wondered if he would have a full night of relaxing slumber ever again. He moved the cloth blind that covered the small window of the carriage, and looked at the treeline along the road. It was the last stretch of their journey home, but it did not give him comfort. He searched, trying to catch sight of any movement. He was both relieved, and agitated, when he saw nothing but the trees, and overgrowth of foliage along the ground of the woods. The sun was beginning to set as well. He had hoped they would arrive before nightfall.
He could hear John's light and steady breathing beside him, as he let the blind fall back into place. He had fallen asleep, his head resting on his side of the carriage, a hand curled up under his head supporting it like a pillow. Surely he would wake up with a numb hand, and a crick in his neck, but Daniel didn't have the heart to disturb his sleep. At least one of them should be able to rest. He rubbed his eyes, determined to stay awake until they got to the house. He could not rid himself of paranoia, no matter how hard he tried to put what he was experiencing out of his mind.
The week of preparation for the trip had been quite uneventful. It wasn't until their journey began, that Daniel started having the unsettling feeling of being watched. There were flashes of movement from the corner of his eye, to even thinking he heard Alexander's voice, only for it to disappear just as quickly. The occurrences were fleeting, but his anxiety lasted much longer. He could never catch sight of Alexander, in any of the forms he had revealed to him thus far, but he had to consider he could possess others as he had John, or even take another form if he so wished.
Daniel shuddered involuntarily. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like to have someone controlling his body, their conscious overtaking his own. He watched John, his face peaceful in sleep. Alexander had made him forget the intrusion he had put upon him, but would he continue to forget? Daniel knew full well that memories could come back, whether you wanted them to or not. He could not stand the thought of anything happening to John, and he already felt anguish for what he had already endured. All he could do was follow Alexander's instructions, and pray for the best. Daniel was determined to come up with some kind of plan, but he was still stuck in what seemed a hopeless situation.
With a sigh, he opened and tucked the blind up for as much daylight as he could get, taking up the book he was reading to occupy his mind. He read until his eyes began to blur and droop once more. His weariness finally won, as his head slumped downward, the gentle rock of the carriage lulling him to sleep. It could have been minutes or hours. He transitioned from deep sleep, to being jarred awake, when the carriage jolted to a rocky stop. Daniel gasped, nearly falling forward off of the seat. John cursed beside him, in a similar position with a arm in front of him on the seat opposite to hold himself up.
"What in the bloody hell is the driver doing?" John said, still half groggy from sleep, but he was quickly waking, and more than slightly annoyed.
"I'm not sure," Daniel said as he realized they were now at a complete stop, and that the sun had went down. The moon was full, and he was able to see the side of the dirt road and the edge of the woods on his side.
"I'll speak with the driver, and find out." He opened the door on his side and took the step down.
"Wait." Daniel moved along the seat to followed. The night was pleasant, just cool enough to have evaporated the slight heat of the day. As he saw, the moon was high, the sky full of stars, so bright, that there was no need for a lantern to walk along the road if one wished to. Daniel looked upward and saw the driver had already dismounted from his perched seat, and he could see the lamps glow he held in his hand, moving towards the front of the carriage. He followed John to meet him. He got the feeling again, like eyes watching from afar. He ignored it the best he could, but he felt chilled by the uncomfortable sensation.
"Why did you stop so suddenly?" John asked, voice pleasant enough, even though Daniel could tell he was still slightly shaken from being jolted awake. He stepped beside the driver who was raising the lantern.
"Sorry, Sirs," he said when he spotted Daniel as well. "Something is in the middle of the road. Something big. Bloody lucky the sky is so clear tonight, or I may not have had time to stop.
They all three looked ahead, maybe ten or twelve feet in the middle of the carriage's path. A large tree was indeed blocking half the road from the left side, but that was not all. There was something laying in front of it, about the size of a full grown cow, or horse from the look, but what instantly disturbed Daniel was the shiny, wet appearance that the moon showed coming off the corpse. At first he thought maybe the unlucky animal simply got struck by the falling tree, but it became terrifyingly obvious that it was far worse than that. They stepped closer, the lantern light revealing what the moon alone could not.
There was blood saturated in the dirt, pooled out all around it's body. Daniel sucked in a breath when he came to the realization that the poor animal was completely skinned, the lamp light showing them more than he now wanted to see. It was a horse, and to his horror, he saw the poor animal was still breathing shallow. It's body shuddered, legs and head weakly moving. The one eye he could see was wide and staring at them, pleading for them to put it out of it's misery.
When it whinnied in pain, and pointlessly tried lifting it's body off the ground in desperation, the driver gagged and ran to the trees to vomit, taking the lamp light with him. Daniel was too shocked to even feel his gut twist, as he took a few steps back away from the dying horse, gripping John's arm to move him away. John was speechless, letting himself get pulled back, staring at the horror in disbelief. Perhaps he was wondering the same thing. How could the poor animal still be alive at all, and what could have done something like this? Of course, Daniel had a idea what did it, but what was he to say to John? The driver was still coughing and hacking along the side of the road, the lamp jerking in his hand. The horse was quickly losing strength, and it's stuttering movement ceased as it took one last agonized breath.
It was then that Daniel felt his own gorge rise. "Oh, God." He swallowed and fought waves of nausea, closing his eyes to block out the sickening sight. He had seen many horrible things before, but something about it still twitching with life in such a state somehow made it worse. The strong metallic smell of blood filled his nostrils so suddenly, that he wondered why he hadn't been aware of the horrendous odor before now. The two horses in front of the carriage snorted nervously, hoofs beating softly at the dirt. Who could blame the poor things? Perhaps they sensed something in the woods, the same monster that killed one of their own. The same thing that Daniel felt watching. He shuddered and swallowed thickly, urgently wanting to leave this place.
"What madness is this?" John said softly, still staring at the dead horse. Again, Daniel did not know what to say, and did not even trust himself to speak.
"Sirs." The driver finally able to get his composure, walked back towards them, pointedly not looking at the horse again. He looked pale in the lamp light, his eyes red from violently vomiting his dinner up. "I suggest we leave. I don't know what did this, but if there are wolves, or some other damned animals out here, I don't want to be next."
"Oh course," John managed. "Can you get around it?"
"I can. The tree branches might scrape up the side of the carriage, but I'll take that over being eaten," he said, looking around nervously.
"Agreed," John said. "How much longer before we reach the farm?"
"A few hours. I'll try to go a good pace, as well as I can."
"Don't go too fast. I'd rather not risk an accident. If you had been going any faster, this could have been much worse."
"Yes, Sir." The driver looked towards the dead animal and visibly shuddered before he climbed back up to take the reigns.
Daniel got back inside the carriage with John, but he didn't feel any less exposed when he shut the door. The carriage started moving slow, a little more bumpy than usual as the driver urged the horses in the grass, and along the treeline to go around the horrific obstacle. Daniel flinched when the branches scraped the outside. He imagined long claws trying to rip their way in. John's hand touched his knee. He put his own hand over his, grateful when the unsteady rock of the carriage evened out and they were back on the road to continue on.
"What do you think did that?" John asked.
"Something unnatural," he answered, unwilling to clarify further. It was answer enough. No one could think what happened to that horse was normal. No wolf, or any other predator, would neatly take it's skin and nothing else, not to mention, it would be impossible to skin a animal perfectly like that unless it was done with a very sharp knife. For the animal to even still be breathing was impossible, unless it had just happened, and was done so quickly the horse didn't even know what was happening. The fallen tree was just another sign of what he already knew. Something knocked it over as it chased the frightened horse. If any of them had been paying more attention to the woods, he's sure they would have seen even more downed trees.
"Daniel?"
"Yes?" he answered softly.
"Was it the shadow you've told me about?" Daniel wanted to feign ignorance, but John was not a fool. He still hesitated to voice it. Daniel clasped his hand tighter with his, head nodding so slightly, that he wasn't sure John would even see the acknowledgement in the near absence of light in the carriage. He looked at John and saw him nod back. "It's alright, you don't have to say it." John moved closer until their legs touched, and put his arm around him. Daniel leaned against him, wishing more than ever that he had never went on that damn expedition in Algeria.
Daniel heard the agitated whinny of both the horses, then the sound of the driver's voice trying to calm them. It was all muffled within the confines of the carriage, but it was obvious the driver was feeling as alarmed as the animals were. The carriage jerked suddenly, as the horses bolted. The driver was yelling commands, but the horses continued to gallop at a dangerous pace. John cursed beside him. They both held on to keep their seats, unable to do much else, but be helpless passengers. The horrendous scream of the driver turned Daniel's blood cold. One second he was yelling for help, and in the next, it was the tortured wail of a dying man. Daniel was all too familiar with that sound. When the cry ceased, he knew their driver was gone, and that they were the next victims.
The carriage shook more violently, now that the driver was no longer there to control the direction of the fleeing horses. Daniel heard glass break as his head slammed against the window. The next few seconds were a jumble of confusion and pain, as he felt the carriage tumble over and slam into something violently, putting an end to their chaotic ride. He felt his consciousness waver as he fought to stay awake, moving gingerly, sore and bruised, but unsure if anything was broken. Moonlight filtered inside through the carriage door that hung half broken from the hinges. He couldn't see John, and feared he must have fallen through, or been ripped out the carriage. His breath hitched, eyes watering as he feared the worst.
"John!?" Bits of glass cut into the palms of his hands as he crawled to the opening, and pulled his way through onto the grass where the carriage lay. The horses were long gone, either still running in a blind panic, or dead, but all he could focus on was finding his lover.
"John?!" He used the side of the carriage to stand, and felt a wave of nausea as his head throbbed. He lowered back down, taking in deep breaths to relieve the dizziness. He heard a low groan just a few feet away. "John, I'm coming to you." He crawled, not wanting to risk passing out. He could see him now, on the other side of the dirt road, laying on his back.
"Daniel, don't. It's got me." John's voice was pained and weak, but he spoke clearly enough, that Daniel realized the horror of what he was saying. Still, he crawled closer, sickened when he saw the slimy flesh of the shadow wrapped around one of John's arms. It pulsed and wrapped around more, slithering down one of his legs to trap him further.
"Let go of him! Alexander, make it let go of him now!"
"Daniel, are you making demands?" Alexander didn't bother to stay hidden, walking from the thicket of trees to stand next to John and the monstrosity. He looked down at him and smiled. "Good evening, Mr. Wakefield."
"Piss off," John said, then yelled in agony when the fleshy creature twisted his arm in a unnatural position.
"Alexander, please stop! Just leave him alone, I'm begging you!"
Alexander sighed, and brushed the golden locks of hair behind his ear as he knelt down to him. "Calm yourself, Daniel." He waved his hand and the shadow began to completely wrap John in it's grip. His lover's surprised yell was more than he could handle, as he sobbed and tried to reach for his hand.
"Don't kill him!"
"I said calm yourself. He is very much alive in there, snug as a baby in a mother's womb."
Daniel shook his head in denial, gasping, unable to stop the tears that flowed, mixed with sweat and blood. The thing pulsed and throbbed, wrapping John until it looked like a large grotesque cocoon. Alexander's hand fell on his shoulder, and Daniel shoved it off, clumsily scooting backward to put distance between them. The moonlight showed it all so clearly, even the pleased smirk on the bastard's lips. Daniel didn't move far. He wouldn't try to run, not that he was able. He wasn't going to leave John, even if he wasn't completely sure if Alexander was lying or not.
"I think it best if we all go home now. You've had a long few days of travel. You must be exhausted," Alexander said, standing back up, watching him.
"Home?" Daniel's voice wavered.
"Yes. You'd like to go home, wouldn't you?" he asked and grinned. Daniel didn't answer, staring back at him with wide eyes. He looked devilish as he stood above him, grinning down at him like a menacing storybook monster, except Alexander was real, and not a fairy tale to scare children. "Speechless, I see. Well, you have had an eventful evening." Daniel watched him raise his hand slightly, and it wasn't until he felt something curl around one of his ankles, that he realized he was commanding the shadow to grab hold of him as it had John. Panicked, he tried to crawl away from it's grip, but he had no hope of escaping it's cold touch. "There is no use," Alexander said, with finality.
"Alexander, you son of a bitch!" he yelled, as he felt it slither up his back, like a black wave of death. His wrists were seized, completely stopping his pitiful crawl for escape that he knew he could never reach. The little bravado he had evaporated, as he felt the unholy thing move up his neck and over his chin. He pressed his lips tight together, madly fearing the vile thing would fill his mouth. His eyes closed tight, and he braced for the unknown.

~~~

When he woke, it was not a slow struggle, but with a jerk and a yell. His eyes snapped open, as he took deep breaths, confused and trying to calm his racing heart. Had he been dreaming? He looked around the dim room, that's only light came from the fireplace. Stone walls and ceiling, with little else, but a table and chairs, and the bed he was laying on. He sat up, much too fast, as the ache in his head came back to remind him of what happened. His stomach knotted when he didn't see John. He had to find him. He pushed himself up, slowly this time. He hissed as he stood. It felt like every inch of his body was beaten, but he was determined as he moved to the door. To his dismay, it was locked.
"Dammit," he muttered, pressing his forehead against the cool wood. It shouldn't have been a surprise, but it still stung. He raised his fist and slammed it against the door. "Alexander! Let me out of here! Where is John?!" He slammed his fist repeatedly, but he didn't get an answer. He cursed under his breath and limped to one of the chairs. He dragged it back, and lifted it's weight to ram it against the door. Once. Twice. A third time. The only thing he was succeeding in doing was tiring his already weakened body. "Fuck!" He threw the chair across the room in frustration and staggered to the floor. He hung his head, panting to catch his breath. The door swung slowly open behind him, but he did not turn to look at him.
"There is no need for such unruly behavior, Daniel."
"Where is he?"
"Safe."
"I don't believe you."
Alexander sighed. "He is here, alive, as you are."
"I want to see him."
"Not right now."
"Why?!" Daniel finally looked at him, and saw he was still in his youthful appearance. He needn't play the part of the old baron again.
"You need to know what it feels like, to be separated from the one you love, as I did, when I was cast out of my own world."
"Do not blame me for things in your past."
"No, you misunderstand me, Daniel."
"Then why?"
"So you will understand why I did what I had to."
"I'll never understand," he said, and winced as he stood up gently, every ache more pronounced after his fruitless attempt at freedom.
"We'll see." Alexander extended a hand to him. "Come, let me heal you."
Daniel shook his head. "No."
"No?"
"Not until I see John." He took a step back when Alexander's expression dangerously darkened, the smile that slowly curled his lips warning him not to make more demands. Daniel shuddered inside, but he refused to back down any further. "I want to see him."
"Very stubborn, but I do applaud your newfound bravery." Alexander lowered his offered hand. "Very well. Follow me."

AN: Been ages since I updated, I know. I'm not happy about the slow going of my writing these last few years or so. Same for one of my other stories I am trying my hardest to get finished. Basic issues are, health problems, blocking, and life stuff in general. Going to attempt to finish this story by the end of this year, but we will see how it goes. As always, any typos, I am sorry. I always try to go over chapters now and then. In fact I fixed a few I saw in past chapters before posting this one. Anyway, thanks for reading.

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Wash Away My Sins