“Free at last,” I told myself. Neither Marianna nor Josie could stop me from living. I once called Josie the Other, a moralistic pretend saint that claimed she was my mother, but she was Mary’s mother, not mine.

I do have parents, but not of the physical human type. Physiology takes too much time and space. Rage be my mother while revenge served my father, a coupling that bore the sweetest fruit. That fruit was me.

Marianna doesn’t know it, but I am going to give her the wish she seeks most in her heart. She seeks revenge on our captor, so shall I give this to her. She still feels guilt about Kristin, even though it was all my idea. I just let her think it was hers.

She knows I exist, but she denies me. If it not for her inherited powers I might never have surfaced at all. It would have been a shame to be locked in this body forever with no one to talk to but Josie. That bitch almost ruined everything. Why does Mary have to care so much? It was Josie’s fault in the first place for not listening to her, but I guess in a way I do owe her my life. If she hadn’t gotten herself killed I may not have been born.

Poor Mary tried to escape but failed many times like I knew she would. It’s my turn now, and I must say that my methods are far more devious. I am who Marianna was always meant to be. I am Shadow.

For now all I could do was sit, wait and think. Thinking, I’ve done more than my share of thinking being crowded in this body by two other entities. One was a mere corpse and the other a basket case.

I was determined to be the one to free us even if I had to shed the blood of every living being in this hellhole.

Finally I heard a noise. It was footsteps. Someone had come to free me, although they didn’t know it. I saw a woman with blond hair and blue eyes enter our prison room bringing a plate of food.

“Good morning,” she said. “I have news for you.”

“Who are you?” I asked.

She gave me a puzzled glance as I studied her.

“It’s me, Carla,” she said, puzzled by my question. “Don’t you remember?”

“Oh, yes, Mary’s friend. You know she doesn’t really trust you. She doesn’t trust anyone but me, but she doesn’t know it.”

“Who is Mary?” Carla asked. “Are you Mary?”

“Do I look like Mary?” I shouted. Carla only gave me a blank stare. “Like I said before Mary doesn’t trust you and neither do I. Any one who would condone locking up a child…”

“Usually I don’t, but in this situation…”

“What situation?”

“The doctor told me what you did. Do you want to see Mary die?”

“As long as I’m around she’s safe. You can’t promise that, can you?”

“Oh, god, you’re not Mary,” she said. Her eyes grew twice their size. “Who are you?”

“You don’t need to know, Carla. You see, by me knowing your name you have given me the power over you. So, you see, you have no power over me. Knowledge is power, and you have none.”

“What do you want?”

“The doctor… dead. You see. He hurt Mary, and now he must die. Others have hurt Mary, and they’re dead. It’s the only reason you’re still alive.”

“Why do you care so much about protecting Mary?”

“Because it’s my job. The reason I exist is to protect Mary.”

“Why?” Carla asked and threw a hand gesture that made me laugh. “Why must you be the one to protect Mary?”

“Because she can’t protect herself,” I shouted. “Now, you’re going to leave this room with the door unlocked. All I ask is that you stay out of my way while I do what I have to do.”

“I can’t let you kill Doctor Brown. He’s not the one who’s hurting Mary. You are.”

“Bullshit,” I said. “I’m the one who saved her when Kristin locked her up. I’m the one who freed her, and I made sure Miss Kristin never hurt her again. In fact she’ll never hurt anyone again.”

“What are you saying?” Carla asked me with trembling lips. “Did you kill for her?”

“You know the answer to that, and I would do it again. You see, Mary needs me, and I won’t let you interfere in what I have to do. Now, stand aside.”

“I can’t let you go, not until I talk to Mary. Can I talk to her?”

“No,” I fired. “You can’t talk to her. You can’t tell her about me. She’s not ready to know the truth.”

“What truth? The killings?”

“She knows. In fact she thinks it was all her, but it was me. She just doesn’t know there is a me, and I intend to keep it that way.”

“Then who are you? What’s your name? Can you tell me your name?”

“I can’t tell. You’ll go to him and tell him about us. I won’t let you do that. I won’t. Do you hear me? I won’t.”

I slammed her into the door and knocked her head onto it until I was sure she was unconscious. My intention was not to kill Carla, because that would hurt Mary. I just needed to silence her until I had completed my task.

I left my prison without any intention of returning. Escaping wasn’t the main focus. I intended on destroying this place and everyone in it. Only then would any of us have peace. Death was my goal, but first I had to punish those who persecuted us.

It was funny to me that all the hallways were bare. Not even a peep of an echo chimed through my ears. The florescent lighting that hurt my eyes but not as much as the solar energy that radiated from the sun. I shielded myself as much as I could, but I craved the darkness that was my salvation.

This place had too many twists and turns, so I carefully scanned every area careful of anyone who would be passing by. Somehow, I became distracted. That’s when I sensed someone behind me.

I turned on the defensive to see another girl my age or perhaps a few years younger. “What do you want?” I asked and met the girl’s eyes.

“Look. My name is Suzie. I don’t want any trouble,” she said. She was almost in tears. “I just want to go home.”

“Don’t we all. Look, little girl, I gotta job to do. Mary’s counting on me.”

“Mary?” she asked, surprised. “Then you know monster girl.”

“Don’t call her that,” I said and put my hands around her neck. “The doctor is the only monster around here.”

I let her go, as her eyes grew wide with fright. The red glow must have come back to my eyes as they always did when I was angry.

“It’s you,” she said. “You’re the one who killed Sheila. Why did you do it?”

“I don’t know, but it has something to do with that damned Doctor. Don’t you see he’s doing something to us? So run. Get out of here. I’ll make it right.”

Suzie ran away from me. I felt as if she feared me. Usually I reveled in this kind of power, but there was something different about her. In many ways she was like Mary. She was someone with a conscience that longed to be free.

I couldn’t think of Suzie right now. My only objective was to find this doctor. Destiny demanded his death. Retribution would be paid, and Marianna would be able to die in peace.

I remembered the area where the screams usually radiated from. I smiled at the scent of death in the air. It was the place where I killed Jimmy. Poor Mary thought she did it, but she would never have the stomach for such a deed. After I had achieved what I was about to do there was no way little Mary could survive.

Suddenly I stopped. I felt as if someone was following me. “Marianna,” I heard a man in a deep voice command.

I turned after hearing the voice of my ultra-ago and looked upon the face of a man I had never seen before…or had I?

“Who the hell are you?”

“You know me, Marianna. You’re the reason Josie’s dead.”

“Liar. Josie’s not dead. She’s right here. Who is she to you anyway?”

“You know me, Mary. Uncle Everett.”

“You!” I shouted, realizing the man to be Doctor Brown. I felt my eyes glowing red again. It was like hot fire. My anger rising to a new level. “You hurt us, Doctor Brown: Mary, Josie and me. Welcome to hell.”

The change started once again. I felt an exhilaration I had never felt before. I stood before him in my creature state thirsting for his blood. His devilish smile sent a surge of rage through me. His voice sounded like a knife being thrust into my soul.

My claws came into eyesight and brought a flutter inside of me. I raised my hand up determined to end his existence. He was also changing. He was like a chameleon hiding behind a mask. Suddenly his true image came into light.

He was a monster in all ways, inside as well as outside. The darkness I possessed wasn’t as eerie as what I now witnessed in him. He came at me and called the name of the girl he hoped to defeat.

“Marianna, you can’t win.”

I’m not Marianna!” I shouted. “She’s dead like you soon will be.” I lunged at him and pierced his flesh. My strike was not enough to kill him. I didn’t want to kill him yet. I thought it would be fun to play with him a little first.

Suddenly I felt myself weaken as I felt a pain in my arm. I staggered for several steps before falling to the floor. I looked up to see my captor and realized for the first time that this was the man who helped create me. He was the one who poisoned Josie and trapped her in our body. I felt Mary fighting her way to the surface. I concentrated on pushing her back while trying to regain my strength.

“The black glow covered my body as others came towards me. “Get her,” I heard the doctor say.

My body became its own weapon. By my mere touch my assailants writhed in pain. As my anger grew so did my power. I was slowly losing my humanity, but still I craved for more. The blood of violence and whisper of death empowered me with the vengeance that my counterpart craved. Mary and I were separate but the same. I had the strength, and Mary had the desire.

I continued my battle with the glorifying cries of my dying persecutors. I could hear Josie’s voice telling me to stop, but I defied her advice and moved on. I remained focused on Doctor Brown. After all other obstacles were eliminated Josie’s voice was finally silenced. She wanted Everett Brown’s blood more than Mary or I did, and she would get it.

Forever would she be indebted to me for ending her pain.

“It’s your turn, Doctor,” I said and pounced on him like a wild cat. There was fury in my voice as I had begun my attack. “You must die.”

“I don’t think so, bitch,” he said and punched me in the face. “Who are you anyway? You’re certainly not that sniveling little brat.”

“Mind how you speak of Mary. I am her protector, and the time has come for you to die.”

“It won’t be that easy,” he said. I felt a sharp pain in my backside, and suddenly I became very weak. I fell onto the floor unable to move. Everett Brown was now standing over me like a giant. “I am god here,” he said. His voice echoed through my head. “You can’t defeat me.”

I thought that maybe he was right. I had let Mary down. Shining glory turned to darkness as I slipped back into my mind.

Haunting whispers became silent as I drifted into a dreamless sleep.