Natalie Yacobson - Mutilated. Crypt of the Seven Angels

Claire could not connect the fragments of the puzzle or find any logical connection in them. What did she see? A luxury ball or a witch ritual? Roses or graves under garden soil? A love caress or an inhuman torture?

In her mind, all the pictures mixed. Unlike fuzzy frames from the film, they were bright and colorful. They blinded her eyes, and Claire closed eyelids. When she dared to look into the darkness again, there was no longer anyone. Neither angel nor monster.

But where did he go? She felt him next to her. Wounds on her skin is not left only because he did not want to hurt her. But he could. Claire became scary from one thought. He could destroy her in one moment. So what prevented him? What game does he play with her?

If he exists, of course. Claire could think that this monster jumped straight from her work if something like that had ever drawn.

But it did not occur to her. Never!

Brad brought her flowers and candy. Normally! He visited her even when she did not want it. Usually he left gifts under the door and came himself, without calling, because he knew that if he would call, she could immediately refuse him to accept him. So today he brought orchids, perfume in beautiful gift wrapping and a box of coconut candies. According to the form they promised to be delicious.

Claire sighed, but picked up the gifts. Brad has always been surprisingly persistent. And annoying. Painted blond with radiant blue eyes in a leather jacket. He dwined around the city on a rather steep motorcycle. He looked cool himself. Got a strong impression on the girls. And it seems that his muscles were developed much more than brains.

He prudently left gifts under the door, and he left. Claire thought that today it would be nice to see him. After all, he did not differ from those guys whose type caused her pain. Will she be able to feel something similar and when looking at him. Or such pain is able to cause her exclusively strangers?

Claire wondered and revealed a box of candy. They really turned out to be delicious. Coconut filling was her beloved delicacy. That’s just Brad… Recently, he stopped seemingly attractive enough to go through the street or ride on his motorcycle. He was the most ordinary guy. And she wanted to see something completely unusual. Something capable of giving a reason for fantasy and creativity on her drawings. Something similar to the image from yesterday’s sleep. Was it only a dream?

Claire looked at the orchids lined on the balcony. Their white petals became golden in the sun. Her eyes also slid down on someone’s blond head at the bottom of the street. No, it was not Brad. She just seemed so at the beginning. Some kind of neighboring guy with the same hairstyle. For some reason, at the sight of it, her covered a light wave of pain.

Already familiar sensation similar to the sunshine was so unpleasant and shocking. Claire hastily turned away. It seems, before at the sight of the same guy, she did not feel anything like that. She knew him, even though she had never told him personally. He lived in a neighboring house and often helped the father to carry some kind of materials for the building of the garage. Occasionally he met with a girlfriend. In general, the most ordinary guy. So why at the sight of him suddenly it became so painful. What if it’s a bad sign again?

It would be better for her no longer see this guy at all. Again! When will these outbreaks of pain end? In a strange way, they arose at her form of completely unfamiliar people. And then these people died.

Claire suddenly has a panic attack. She had no longer been particularly believer for a long time, but today she wanted to find the Bible called somewhere on the shelves. She wanted to know what kind of fellow dreams and predictions above. What if above it and those whom she noticed, a certain biblical network spread. Some of the highest strength reported to her in advance about the death of people. These people were noted, doomed. Therefore, at the sight of them it became so painful. She felt what had to happen to them. But why are they doomed then? And why exactly should she suffer because of them? After all, she does not know them at all. And she is not at all the Heavenly Angel and not the Christian Holy so that all the skin feel sins and torture of other people. If, noticed by her, people are so cruelly dying, then what they are to blame. What was so bad they could do for their short life? What kind of heaven laid the guilt and retribution?

Is it from Heaven? Or is it from devil? Although if you count on the Bible, it was God who created a devil to punish sinners. And it became anyone who he tempts or pushes into the abyss, they are guilty and deserve punishment. The devil is not able to do anything without the permission of God. So is written in the Bible. God orders, and the devil performs. So conceived in religion. Whatever it is contradictory, and all conclusions can be reduced to one. And yet Claire pursued a vague feeling that the Devil, whom she saw in a dream was created regardless of God. He is created by people.

The Bible says that it was the devil that was the most beautiful angel of heaven. And he became the most ugly.

The phrases surfaced immediately:

«You can’t even imagine what value means beauty while you have it. If it had happened, you would understand me.»

Claire clearly introduced himself, as a disheveled creature brings the knife to her face, and shuddered. She pressed her forehead to the door, as if trying in advance to hide her clean skin from a merciless blade. In the mirror on the wall, it was now reflected only by the corner of her cheekbones in the frame of the curly strands.

From the streets came the voices. It seems that his girlfriend came to that guy and brought with her a radio with loud musical records. Claire was unpleasant when, under the windows of her quiet house at night, the music thundered and a drunk company of adolescents had fun, but today she did not come out to specify them. She simply did not want to see these doomed and experience the pain. They are doomed. She knew almost for sure. They are guilty or innocent, but they are doomed. Her pain at the sight of them is their sentence. It is experiencing a burning pain only at the sight of those who will die soon.

She knew it. She came to this by calculations and observations. It was not necessary to have a lot of mind to bring all parallels. Of course, no one would believe her if she began to tell about it. There are such things in which it is impossible to believe until you experienced them on yourself. Claire was bad.

She did not even know this guy, but he knew that he was already convicted of a rapid death. Creepy and strangely mounted paintings of the impending catastrophe for a moment climbed the mind. What happens to him? Same as a pair in the subway? She presented to herself, as this cute blonde knocks on a car, for example, a truck that was done by the highway, and she became bad. Is it really happening? When she paid such close attention to the perfectly unfamiliar people, accidents have certainly happened to them. But she could not stop looking around or not to get out of the house at all. Her attention still can attract someone. For example, someone who has shown on TV. And what happens then? She was not fond of these people herself, some force that accumulated from the outside moved her.

«Leon!»

«Morissa!»

How loud it turns out to be able to scream concerned teenagers. Or Claire is so adgitated that she hears all the sounds from the street. Even recognition.

«I love you, Morissa, love, love, love!»

He shouts loudly, as if trying to prove to himself, he says the truth. And that this Morissa is the only girl in his life. But Claire remembered perfectly that a blonde guy, hugging this very dark-haired girl named Morissa, carnatively looked around at the beauty passing by. Including Claire. She did not approve it. She did not like when already busy guys look at her, as the most tidy in the whole universe. That’s what she stopped to love guys! Probably nothing can be done about it. Do not wait for loyalty from them. Some girlfriend explained to her that all these are hormones and a call of nature. Leon and Morissa were still very fragile, slender teenagers, in something slightly and sometimes such passionate ones that it even caused a slight disgust. Claire has always been unpleasant to look at the joung couple kissing, and now it suddenly has become hard and hurt. As on the eve of execution. What are these two guilty? Can there have such young as they, to be so heavy sins to erase them into powder? Probably the degree of sin is not determined by age.