Chapter 14 Joy In The Dark

In the moldy and dark cell, Ruth laid awake with her weak eyes staring into the darkness. She had her arms spread wide and legs slightly apart. The growling sound of her stomach did not catch her attention. She had gotten so used to it that it sadly became the norm.

“I never thought that hell would be cold.” she lamented with a sniffle.

Ruth sneezed and weakly turned over. Her cold had gotten worse. She brought her blouse to her running nose. The only thing she was grateful for was that at least she couldn't smell the horrible scent in the room anymore.

The drowsy feeling of hunger kept her down. Oh, how she hoped that she could at least die that night. If there was a way, she would have committed suicide already.

The door slowly opened with an agonizing creak. Ruth faced up to a dim light at the doorway. Her hazy gaze set on a humanoid figure in a robe holding a candle. She watched in silence as another person appeared from behind. In his hands were a bowl and jug.

Ruth sprung up to a sitting position. She didn't even waste time wondering how she still had the energy to do so. In disbelief, she watched as the man carefully set the bowl and jug on the floor. He turned away and the next thing Ruth heard was the door closing shut.

Ruth hopefully crawled to the where she was sure the bowl was. Her hands carefully felt the dusty floor for it. She would have been damned to accidentally topple the bowl over or drop the jug.

Her hand touched the hot bowl and her heart leaped with joy. Ruth picked it up and sat with her legs crossed. She greedily ate the food like there was no tomorrow.

She didn't mind that her tongue was getting burnt. All she wanted was to fill her empty stomach. The food tasted like oat meal with a little sugar. Her sweet tooth didn't care about the disappointing flat taste.

To her, it was like a piece of heaven melting in her mouth. She ate until the knocking sound of metal on clay was all she could hear while her spoon searched for more.

Ruth remembered the water. She set the empty bowl aside and got on her knees. Just like before, she carefully searched for the jug. Because she didn't leave the spot where she found the bowl, it did not take long for her to find it.

Ruth picked it up with both hands, and let it pour into her mouth only to throw the jug far across the room. She heard it slam against the wall and bounce three times off the ground. While she listened to it roll to the side, she gasped for air as she frantically wiped her mouth.

A deep laughter echoed in the room. Ruth trembled in fear. Her whimpers filled the air. A light suddenly came on, and Ruth screamed at Asmodues in the corner of the room with a lamp.

He was still in the body of the Brazilian man. This time, however, he wore a dark neat suit. A brown trench coat draped on it. On his head was a black top hat, and in his hand was a fancy dark walking stick.

Ruth spat out the remaining blood in her mouth, and clenched her jaw so as not to vomit at the metallic scent of it. Her eyes shifted to the bloody wall then down to the trail leading up to the plastic green jug on the floor. Ruth wiped her face again in disgust. She turned her gaze back to Asmodues.

"Now that wasn't polite. I had to go through a lot of trouble to secure that blood for you." Asmodues said with his demented grin that sent nothing but chills down Ruth's spin. "You are a wasteful girl."

He took one step closer, but Ruth moved back on her bottom with her hand protectively held up. He drew even closer, and she retreated further away until she felt the cold wall on her back. Asmodues looked down at her with a smug look on his face.

He let go of the lamp and it remained floating in midair. Asmodues pinned his walking stick underneath Ruth's chin. She squeezed her eyes closed and held her breath.

"Look at me." he firmly said only for her to lower her head in fear.

Asmodues bent down and forcefully yanked her arm up to face him. Ruth screamed but was silenced with a tight slap across her already battered face. She winced at the stinging pain.

"When I tell you to do something, I expect you to do it!" Asmodues thundered, and grabbed a handful of her hair. "Is that clear?!"

"Yes," she whimpered and closed her eyes as her tears poured.

"Look at me!"

Ruth shot her eyes open. She tucked her trembling lips. Asmodues grinned and released her. He set his hand on the wall and looked deeply into her frightened eyes. Asmodues caressed the side of her face. Ruth held her breath at his touch. It was like ants crawling on her skin. Asmodues clutched her jaw. He brought his lips closer to hers. His lips parted to say something but paused suddenly. The look of surprise took over his face.

"My oh my, I guess lover boy did not heed to my warning." Asmodues walked away from Ruth, laughing his lungs out.

"Matt is still alive?" Ruth couldn't believe it.

Asmodues abruptly turned and hit Ruth so hard with his walking stick that she fell to the ground. He pulled his trench coat in place and got hold of the lamp once more. Ruth silently gnashed her teeth.

"Don't get too happy. You belong to me and only me. I do not tolerate rivals." and with that, Asmodues vanished before her eyes.

Ruth took in the darkness once more. She curled herself into a ball and smiled happily to herself. Matt was still alive and he was coming for her. She was going to see him again. It was at that moment that Ruth decided to live. Instead of waiting for death, she was going to wait for Matt.

"Perhaps, not all hope is lost." she whispered.