I was completely frozen where I lay in my metallic prison. I wasn't free before, but now I was even more caged, and a part of me wished for some partition from the monster that stood bearing down on me.

His humanoid frame was layered with so much muscle I was sure he could crush me in one fist. His eyes were empty soggy sockets, oozing some black liquid as he looked down on me. There was no nose either, making ninety-percent of his face all ‘mouth’. His mouth was his most terrifying feature.

About a dozen tentacle-like tongues slithered out of the great teeth-deficient gap, reaching far across the room. There were no sharp features about him, nothing damage-inducing except…

Two of his slimy tentacles reached out to frame my face, and my eyes widened. Instead of the gooey feeling I expected, it felt like swords were right next to my face.

The demon widened his blackened lips in his best impression of a grin. My heart caved in on itself at the sight. The blades that framed my face suddenly tightened around my tender skin, and I let loose a scream so agonizing it stripped me of my voice.

“See Rachel?" His voice was a thousand voices at once, searing into my soul. “I don't need a sword, a whip or claws to hurt you. These blades are far more fatal.” I felt warm liquid cascade across my face, mixing in with my unending tears.

As he spoke, his words pierced through me…literally. I could feel the slices across my skin, shedding even more blood.

In the terror of the moment, I suddenly understood, his words were literally as sharp as blades. That was why he had been able to hurt me so much without physically touching me. This voice alone had been enough to launch me into so much depression that I became suicidal. His voice was what made him so powerful.

“You understand now, don't you?" He snarled in that multiple-layered voice. “My words are blade enough."

He launched into manic laughter as I wheezed on the table, unable to scream, unable to do anything as even more cuts penetrated my already battered skin.

I wanted to yell for him to kill me already, for him to end it all, but my voice had been stolen. He stopped laughing all of a sudden, leaning towards me like a predator taunts its prey.

“Know my name now, Rachel. I am called ‘Whisperer’. The one whose blade is far more fatal than any human invention…”

***
“Rachel, wake up. Please…” I didn’t recognize the voice. Someone was shaking my shoulders.

“Leave me alone,” I pleaded, staring up at the monster that had me wrapped in the grip of his tentacles.

“Rachel!” The voice calling out to me was not from my tormentor. It sounded familiar…

Suddenly, I realized something. My voice was back!

“Help!” I screamed with all the energy I could summon. “Someone please help!”

Cruel laughter rang harshly in my ears. He was taunting me, enjoying my predicament.

“Rachel, I’m here. Just open your eyes, baby…”

I suddenly recognised the voice, parting my eyelids. I stared up into brown eyes swimming with tears.

“Dad,” I said, a little bit of relief flooding my veins. My eyes filled up with tears of mine. “Dad!” I wailed, trembling ominously. My father wrapped his arms around me. I was vaguely aware of the doctor and nurses standing in the room.

“It’s okay,” Dad whispered in his soothing voice. But it was not okay. The image of the ‘Whisperer’ was imprinted behind my eyelids. I still remembered the feel of his bladed tentacles around me, wrapping me, squeezing…I forgot how to breathe. Dad felt it. “Hey, hey. Rachel, breathe.”

But I couldn’t. I was back on that table, being stripped of oxygen. The tentacles were around my chest, my stomach, over my nose.

Dad pulled away from me when he saw I wasn’t responding, gripping my shoulders and staring into my terror-filled eyes.

“You can do this. Just take one breath at a time,” he said, his voice unstable.

For a moment, the entire room disappeared. The laughter returned, loud and harsh. I looked up at the tentacles slithering out of the demon's mouth…Then I was back in the room. The next moment, I was on the table again. Dad’s voice blended in with the laughter, his face fusing with that of the beast. I wasn’t sure which was real anymore. I was in both worlds at once, suffocating. I tugged at the roots of my hair, gripping my head so tight that it hurt.

“Rachel…?”

Laughter. Bladed tentacles. Dad’s concerned face. Soggy eye sockets. Dad’s voice. Laughter…I couldn’t take it anymore. Finally, I let it all out in one gut-wrenching scream. The laughter became even louder than my scream.

“Get him out of my head!” I screamed, whimpering.

Hands grabbed me. Were they hands or tentacles? I couldn’t tell.

“No,” I sobbed. “Let me go!” I screamed myself hoarse as a particularly strong arm held my left hand down. In a brief flash of reality, I realized it was a doctor…or was it a nurse? I didn’t care.

“Calm down, Rachel. It’ll be over soon.” Dad’s voice was next to my ear. I could feel his rhythmic strokes on my hair even as I kicked against those who kept a firm hold on me. Their hands felt too much like the demon’s tentacles.

I screamed for freedom. I didn’t want to be held down, caged like some animal…Suddenly, I felt a painful prick in my forearm.

“Let me go,” I pleaded weakly as whatever I had been injected with took effect. My vision cleared, and I stared up at white ceiling. “Lemme go.” I murmured. I could feel the salty tears all over my face as the medics finally gave in to my plea, releasing me from their strong-hold.

I took in deep, labored breaths as the laughter died in my ears.

Dad’s hand still stroked my hair, pushing the silky strands out of my face. There was painful silence now, just as harsh as the laughter that had just dissipated.

“It’s fine. You’re fine now,” Dad said next to me.

Slowly, I turned to face him. I could see the relief sparkling in his eyes as he looked down on me. He held my hand in a reassuring grip.

Surprisingly, my head felt clearer than it had in a long time. I turned wearily to face the doctor who was just disposing of the syringe with which he had injected me. What exactly had been in that syringe?

The doctor was an intelligent looking male, with striking blue eyes and a kind smile. He said nothing as I turned away from him, back to dad. Dread was steadily growing in my heart.

“Dad…?”

“This is Dr.Benjamin. You’ll be seeing him very frequently,” Dad said. I shook my head slowly, terrified.

“What am I doing here?”

Dad shut his eyes, his jaw working.

“I’ll give you two a minute, but I need to do a reassessment with Rachel soon, so…” Dr.Benjamin started.

“I understand. Thank you for your help doc.” Dad sent the doctor a small smile.

Within the next thirty seconds, the room was empty of medics. I sat up in bed.

“Dad…” I immediately started.

“There’s no talking me out of this, Rachel,” he cut me off. “This is what you need. You saw how they were able to calm you down. Dr.Benjamin can help you.”

I bit my bottom lip in fear, shaking my head as my tears fell.

“No. They can’t. This…this was only a coincidence,” I told him. Dad sighed. “Dad, please listen to me. I need to talk to Mr.Frederick again. He understands what is wrong with me. He was right…”

“Wait a minute…Mr.Frederick? Xander told me…”

“I know. I yelled at him, but I was wrong. He was right. He said Jesus was reaching out, and I saw Him, but I didn’t take His hand. That demon, it’s not Andrew. He said I had lost my only chance at salvation, but if you can help me talk to Mr.Frederick…”

Even as I rambled frantically, I knew that dad wasn’t listening anymore. He had that look of pain and pity in his eyes. He thought I was crazy.

“Dad please. I know it doesn’t really make sense, but it's the truth. You might not understand, but…”

“Then make me understand,” Dad said. His eyes were sad, and I knew that no matter what I said, he wasn’t going to help me.

“Dad, I’m not crazy!” I wailed.

He squeezed my hands, staring intently into my eyes.

“I don’t think you’re crazy, Rachel. I just think you’re making conclusions from the wrong things,” he told me. I parted my lips to begin protesting again. “That teacher has caused enough trouble as it is. He can’t help you, Rachel. This is where you can find help.” He wiped my tears with his thumb even as I shook my head vigorously, my terror mounting.

The door opened behind him, admitting Dr.Benjamin.

“I’m sorry, Mr.Brown…”

Dad nodded to the doctor, then turned back to me, his expression steel.

“We’ll talk later, Rachel. Cooperate with him. He will help you get better, I promise,” he assured me, not responding to the fear in my eyes. He kissed my forehead, and I watched helplessly as he rose and walked out through the door.

I remained staring at the door even as I felt the doctor moving in the room, my expression that of resignation.

“Hello, Rachel,” He greeted in a cool voice. I gave him no response, not even glancing in his direction. “You know,” he started as he took the seat dad had just vacated. “Not many of my patients have a loving parent like yours…”

“So?” I suddenly snapped, facing him. “That’s supposed to make me feel special?”

He paused, sending me a gentle smile.

“Well, it should,” he admitted. I glared at him, then chuckled humorlessly. He was just like Ms.Sarah, and she had allowed me to end up here despite her promise not to let that happen. I clenched my jaw in anger.

“Do you believe in God?” I asked him. He looked taken aback by the question.

He pondered my question.

“Do I believe He exists? I would say yes. Why the question though?” he asked.

“Demons?” I prodded further. He raised an eyebrow in what looked like concern. “You can’t do anything to help me if you don’t believe in them.”

He tilted his head, regarding me.

“Have you met a demon before, Rachel?” he questioned. I swallowed. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked such a question. “I do believe there could be an existence of things beyond what the eyes can see,” he spoke when I didn’t reply. “Will that be enough for me to be able to help you?”

I stared at him curiously. Okay, I'll take my words back. He was not like Ms.Sarah.

Dr.Benjamin smiled, knowing he had my attention now.

“I deal with lots of patients,Rachel. The mind…It’s a dangerous space sometimes, and when I come across some peculiar cases, I’m tempted to think there might be something spiritual to it.” He leaned in as if about to share a secret. “Do you think your case is spiritual, Rachel?”

My heart was pounding within me. Was this a trap? There was something about this man that made me uneasy. I swallowed, making up my mind.

“I’ve seen a demon,” I admitted.

He didn’t look at me like I was crazy. He looked…curious.

“What makes you think what you saw is a demon?” he asked.

His questions unnerved me. If it had been Ms.Sarah, her first question would have been where I saw this demon.

He acted like he knew me, like he wasn’t just meeting me for the first time. The only other person who had acted this way was Mr.Frederick, but this doctor didn’t give the same vibe my Physics teacher did.

“My…my mum said he’s one,” I answered.

“Your mum huh? You mean the one you attacked?”

I stiffened. His expression made me sick. What exactly was he playing at? Why did his eyes have that weird light that was…strangely familiar?

“I didn’t mean to hurt her,” I said defensively. “He made me do it.”

“The demon?” Dr.Benjamin asked. “What was his name again?” He mused. “Ah!” His eyes locked on mine. “The Whisperer.”

I went cold all over. I never told him the demon’s name, but then, Dr.Benjamin had mentioned it intentionally.

~~~
Wow! Can't believe I actually made it before the day ended😅🥹

So, y'all might remember I mentioned it before. Today is my birthday!🤭
So, I thought it would be bad if I didn't give something to you guys to celebrate today😁

So here it is!
I want to say a big thank you to all who wished me a Happy birthday! I can't even begin to say how much it meant to me.🥹🥹

Originally, I was so scared of today for some reason, and honestly, it didn't start out as well as I wanted it to, but as the bible says...'The end of a thing is better than the beginning thereof'...or something like that 😅

Anyway, I just want to thank God for making today special for me. He made me ask one thing this morning while I was praying, and my request was to be happy. I know it might sound weird, but that's really what I asked for...and I am happy, so yeah! I'm happy about how today turned out!🥰

I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it was a little rushed🥲

So...Andrew has finally been unveiled huh?🥹
Honestly, I'm so relieved it has finally happened.

What about you?
Tell me what you think in the comments section😘

And please vote!!!!🥹🙏
Then kindly share to your reader friends. I love you guys. Thank you so so much for sticking with me so far.😘

Recognizing a particular damsel, my own birthday mate Onome_queen . I love you baby. Cheers to a new year🥳

See y'all in the next chapter! Buh-bye👋...

VOTE!!!!😅😂