Ruth slowly opened her eyes. Her hazy gaze set on a wall. The stench of the moisture and mound on the cement walls irritated her nostrils. Her sneeze echoed in response.
She whimpered at the sharp pain the sneeze caused in her dry throat only to be reminded of another agony when she heard a growl from her stomach.
Wincing at the pain of her sore body, she sat up. Her vision got better but her head throbbed. Ruth wiped the dirt off her hands. Unable to bear the direct sunlight coming from the tiny window of only bars, Ruth retreated to a corner. She folded her legs and hugged them—resting her chin on her knees. It was then when the memories began to pour.
"Let me go! Release me!" Ruth screamed.
A deep but soft chuckle followed after her rant. "Resistance is futile my beloved Ruth." Asmodues said to her with a sinister grin.
"You will not get away with this! Jesus Chri—" Ruth was punched hard to the ground.
She faced up at Asmodues and whimpered in fear. Even though he was in Muriel's body, the scowl he gave her sent chills down her spine. It was one that she never thought she would ever see on her mother. She hated that he chose to possess her of all people; making her do heinous things.
Muriel was a great mother. A beautiful woman with a heart of gold. Now, no matter how hard Ruth was going to try to only remember the good that Muriel did, she was going to have the horrid memory of watching her murder her whole family.
Everything was the fault of the diabolical and fiendish demon scowling at her with eyes as dark as a moonless night. A glare so lifeless but petrifying. One enough to force someone's soul out of their bodies.
"Don't you ever say that name!" Asmodues roared. "Do you understand?" he pulled Ruth up by the collar, she submissively nodded.
Shuffling in the woods were heard to which Asmodues grinned darkly. Leaves and twigs cracked underneath several feet. Ruth anxiously looked around.
"Help!" she shouted. "Somebody please help me!"
"Foolish mortal, do actually believe that anyone can save you from me especially now that you are mine?" Asmodues mocked.
"Somebody please, anybody!" Ruth cried.
Asmodues snatched her jaw and pulled her close to his face. "You are so insolent and stubborn. Your disobedience is a huge turn on for me. After all, those who are rebellious belong to the dark side."
Asmodues crushed his lips on Ruth's. Ruth shrieked at the taste of her mother's tongue in her mouth. She tried with all her might to push Asmodues away but it was useless. It was like trying to break free from ten men. She grew even weaker and helpless as the kiss deepened.
Asmodues finally pulled away and slapped her to the ground with the back of his hand. Ruth's head jerked forward and vomit splashed out of her mouth. Asmodues' sick laughter was rung in her ears. She cried as she crawled away; enduring the burning sensation her vomit left in her throat.
Ruth’s teary eyes spotted a pair of shoes only a few feet away from her. Her heart skipped a beat and she faced up. Relief took over her. She ran to the strange man in a neat suit. Ruth hugged him crying but Asmodues continued to laugh. More and more men in suits stepped out of the shadows and soon, Asmodues and Ruth were completely surrounded.
"Please, save me. I'm begging you." Ruth pleaded with the man.
"Save you from whom?" the man asked her.
Ruth pointed at Asmodues, "That monster over there." she croaked.
"Ruth?" Muriel's sudden soft voice astonished Ruth.
She shakily looked back and widened her eyes at Muriel looking at her afraid. Ruth lowered her chin inquisitively. "Mom?"
"What is going on? Who are these men?" Muriel asked, perplexed.
Ruth trembled as her heart raced. It bumped so hard that she could hear it. Her wide and teary eyes looked up at the man she was holding. His grin of fangs blackened her world. She backed away slowly with her jaw dropped.
"Do you still have any hope left in you?" Asmodues asked her through the body of the strange man.
Ruth turned back and saw one man approach Muriel from behind. She opened her mouth and bent her knees. "Mom, run!" she exclaimed with everything she had.
The knife slicing Muriel's neck deemed her warning pointless. Blood poured to Muriel's blouse. Ruth helplessly screamed with Asmodues holding her back. Muriel clutched her neck and dropped to her knees.
She stayed there gasping for air with her other hand reaching out to Ruth. Her weak eyes looked deep into Ruth's. Blood bubbled out of her mouth and Ruth cried at the gagging sound of it.
A round kick sent Muriel crushing to the ground. More of the strange men circulated around her with daggers. They blocked Ruth's view of her. Ruth cried bitterly at everything. The constant sound of the blades tearing her mother's flesh shattered her. It was all too much.
"What shall we do now, my lord?" one man bowed before Asmodues.
"We leave for the forest." Asmodues threw Ruth into the man's arms. "Put her to sleep, Hendricks. I want absolute silence on our way there."
"Yes, my lord."
The metal door slammed open and startled Ruth out of her thoughts. A Brazilian man stumbled to the opposite wall. He went back to the door but it was banged shut in his face. The man beat on it with his hands, hurling things in Portuguese. After a while, he turned his back to the door and slowly slid down on it in despair.
Ruth shifted a little. The man shot his gaze at her and gasped. In seconds, he crawled to her and grabbed her shoulders. The scent of sweat and alcohol hit Ruth’s nose like a hammer. He sprayed in her face as his Portuguese filled the cell.
"I can't understand what you are saying!" Ruth pushed him away and he landed on his bottom.
The man stared at her confused. His breathing was fast. He swallowed hard to at least calm himself down a little. "Who are you?" he asked in a thick accent.
"I am a prisoner just like you." Ruth blankly told him with indifference.
"What we doing here?" he asked, clearly English wasn't his first language.
"I don't know." Ruth moved away from him.
The man rumbled again in Portuguese and Ruth looked at him in silence. She understood his fear and restlessness. After all, she spent her whole life feeling hopelessly afraid of the unknown. The man pulled out his catholic rosary and started to mumble a prayer.
"At least one of us should. God forsook me the day he allowed this demon to claim rights over me." She whispered to herself, folded her legs and hugged them.
"I deserve this." the man suddenly said. "This is punishment for what I did." he sadly muffled and leaned against the wall.
Ruth lifted her head and put her legs to the side. "What did you do?" she asked him, not sure whether she should have.
"I kill girlfriend," he croaked, "Pregnant girlfriend. I choke her because she no love me anymore." his tears of regret poured.
Ruth took in what he said in silence. "I am sorry." she sympathized.
"What you do?" he wiped his face with his dirty brown shirt.
"I was born." Ruth told him. She studied his dropped brows and tucked her lips with a slight nod. "Some people are born with curses on their heads because of the choices of their ancestors."
"So, we here to die." the man sank and dropped his gaze.
"With what I have been through, death would be a blessing." Ruth thoughtfully replied and leaned against the wall; allowing silence to occupy the room that held them prisoner.
****
The sound of teeth cluttering was all Ruth heard. Her skin sprouted goose bumps due to the freezing cold. She curled her body into a fetal position and wiped the mucus threatening to escape her nostrils. After spending nights on a cold floor, it was inevitable that she would get sick.
Even though she couldn't see the other man, she knew that the cold got the best of him too. Their stomachs took turns in growling at different intervals as though they agreed to do so. Once again, a day went by without anyone bringing any food down there. Ruth desired water more than anything. Her throat was so sore that it hurt to even swallow her own saliva.
"God, why are you still keeping me alive?" she silently prayed; surprised that she was still able to.
The door banged open and shot both Ruth and the man in sitting positions. Two men in maroon robes dashed in and grabbed the man. He tried to resist but it was useless. They pulled him out and slammed the door shut. Ruth's breathing increased. She clutched her dress in fear; wondering what was going to happen next.
She heard the howls of the man and covered her mouth afraid with her eyes wide. The screams got louder and Ruth crawled to a corner. She covered her ears and closed her eyes tight. Ruth rocked herself back and forth; muffling to herself like her 8-year-old self would do in times of distress.
"Everything is going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay." she chanted.
The door slowly opened with a creak. Ruth held her breath. She spread her arms apart in fear. To her surprise, she saw the man. His head was hanging low and he stood lifelessly still. Ruth couldn't help but fear the uncanny aura around him. The man slowly waved his head until it was up.
"Did you miss me, my love?" he asked with a grin.
"Not you again." Ruth spat.
"Oh, but it is I." Asmodues stepped into the cell.
Ruth moved back but the cold wall behind her brought her to the realization that she was trapped. She watched in horror as Asmodues unbuckled his belt. Ruth's breathing increased, she slowly got up to her feet.
"Wh-at are you doing?" she stammered.
Asmodues tossed the belt aside and unzipped his pants. With his hands spread across, he asked; "What do you think?" he took a step closer.
"Stay away from me." she shivered in terror.
Asmodues pounced on her and threw her to the ground. She kicked and screamed underneath him. "Don't fight your fate, my love! You should even be happy, bearing me a new body is an honor." he forced her legs apart and leaned closer. "Don't fight it." he whispered.
Ruth's screams scared an owl out of a tree, but they barely drowned Asmodues' laughter. All her efforts to break free went down the drain. It was all for nothing—a bitter reminder that she was weak.
When Asmodues was done with her, he laughed hard at her pathetic state on the floor. She was silent with her eyes slightly opened. Blood trailed its way down her lip. A maroon bruise tainted her once beautiful snow-white cheek. She just laid there still like a lifeless doll. All her energy was spent.
"Will death ever come?" She wondered as a new tear escaped her eye.