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It yanked at her, harder this time, as she tried to break free. She slashed the knife behind her again but missed. Desperate, she raised her arm to toss the useless blade away, but saw blood dripping from the tip, curling down her wrist.
She had struck it. Frozen, she stared in disbelief at the trickling blood. She had felt no resistance and was confused at the sight of the blood falling from her blade.
The entity took advantage of her confusion and lunged at her. It tore at her dress, ripping the train to pieces. Bella spun and stumbled backward. The knife, still in her grip, sliced across her abdomen as she fell. Blood seeped instantly, slowly soaking the side of her off-white wedding gown. The knife didn’t fully penetrate but went deep enough to slow her.
She balanced herself on her elbows and cried out as the pain shot through her. Her vision blurred, the wedding guests and the cathedral itself twisted around her. She turned her head and saw her husband lying about fifteen feet away from her, dead. His tuxedo was covered in blood. His face was ripped open, shredded by whatever was now tormenting her. She wasn’t sure if it was him, but when her eyes fell upon the ring that she had just placed on his finger minutes ago, she knew.
“Fontaine! My god, Fon-“, her screams were cut short by a more intense, louder version. The demented, disfigured entity let out a piercing, skin-melting shriek. It tore through Bella’s ears. Its pressure brought tears to her eyes. It paralyzed her. She stared in horror as the formless entity morphed and shifted. It was formless yet defined all at once; simultaneously something and nothing.
It was at that moment when she realized that all hope was lost. That escape was impossible. That her death was inevitable. Her frenetic breathing slowed, each gasp giving way to a faint whisper. Her pounding heartbeat softened, each beat a step closer to silence. And her shivering body stilled, surrendering to a meditative calm. She closed her eyes and waited, resigned to her horrible fate. She could still hear the shrieking, could still feel the entity in every atom of her being. But all panic was gone.
The shapeless entity approached and hovered over her. Bella refused to open her eyes. She would not give it the satisfaction of a weakened kill.
She thought of the day Fontaine proposed. She focused on the image of him kneeling beside their chariot, just before they left for the ball. He always did things privately, out of view of people that didn’t matter.
The entity let out one final, angry shriek. It removed her head and tossed it beside Fontaine’s body. Her face landed inches from his gouged-out eyes, the ring still glinting on his finger. Even in death, they found each other. The entity ripped her apart, limb by limb, tossing her torso into the rafters. A final, brutal period at the end of a vow.
Jay Owens 