All Chapters of The Pretend Darkness: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

I snagged some fine hemp rope. That night, we tied Zane while he was out like a light. I even pulled the knots a bit tighter, just in case Mom got soft.There he was, my bulky brother, bound tight to his bed, trussed up like a roast for the oven.Looking at him there, snoring away without a clue, I felt a rush of payback. In my previous life, when I was the one tied up and getting whipped, he just stood at the side and laughed at me. My clothes were in tatters, barely clinging to my bruised body. The only thing shielding me was a thin blanket, but he ripped it away without a shred of mercy.He snapped pictures of my exposed shame, trading them online for virtual game gear and skins.A seething rage nearly drove me to end his life as he slept.However, I kept telling myself that he had not paid for all his wrongs yet, and I would not let him destroy my bright future."What the—who the heck tied me up? Let me out now!" Zane, finally awake, was like a wild animal in a rage, howlin

After each day's 'exorcism,' I would make sure to feed Zane. He needed strength to endure.At first, he would spit the food at me while cursing up a storm. However, hunger got the best of him, and tied up as he was, he would nuzzle into the plate to eat.Watching him eat like an animal at a trough, I figured it was about time.A few days of beatings, and even my hefty brother was wearing thin. He was like a spooked bird, flinching at the slightest noise.When he saw us, his curses turned to begging. "Madam Witch, Mom, Sis, I admit it, I'm okay now, I'm totally fine! Please, just let me go!"The witch watched Zane's desperate plea with a smug grin, pulling a chipped bowl from her bag. "Looks like the nasty spirit is shaking in its boots. A little bloodletting and we'll kick it out for good."She whipped out some needles that looked more like mini javelins and plunged them into my brother's fingertips. Everyone knew how much finger pricks could hurt. Even Zane, toughened up from da

"Doctor, I've been faking it! I'm not sick, you can see that, can't you? Tell them I'm all better, that I'm not sick!"Zane was not slow on the uptake; he knew convincing the doctor was his ticket out of the witch's clutches.Oh, dear brother, you have not lived through all the trials I have faced in my previous life—how could you possibly think this was over?"Okay, okay, calm down. Trust me, go take a break, and I'll talk to your mom."Once Zane was out of earshot, the doctor let out a weary sigh. "This kid of yours, he's in a bad way! I've seen it before—a kid kept saying he was just putting on an act, and his family bought it. Then, a few days later, he tried to end it all!"The doctor's story turned my mom's face ghostly pale.I had only given the doctor a heads-up a few days earlier that my brother kept insisting he was fine. However, deep down, I was scared for him, scared he had to do something drastic.The clinic's doctor was not about to take any chances, so he played

"Hehe—"The room was silent for what seemed like forever until my little brother's throat suddenly let out a wheezing sound, like a broken accordion gasping for air.Mom frantically dabbed at his forehead when, out of nowhere, he coughed up blood.A spray of dark red, mixed with the gray of shredded paper and the vivid scarlet of fresh blood, splattered everywhere.His face turned a sickly pale in a heartbeat."Ambulance! Brianna, call an ambulance, now!"See, she knew exactly what could save a life. At the life-or-death moment for her baby boy, she did not hesitate to choose what would really work.So why, in my previous life, when I was the one spitting up blood from that vile water, did she just unemotionally question the witch?"The evil has been driven out, right? My son's going to be okay now, isn't he?"The ambulance came anyway, not because I had any soft spot for Zane, my brother. It was because the last piece of Mom's punishment needed to come from him.I watched as

The evidence I gave to the police was solid, so after they checked it out, they cuffed the so-called spiritual healer.The cop who took my statement said the witch was in deep trouble for abusing kids and had a rap sheet that included someone dying. She was looking at 10 years or more behind bars.Zane took his last breath one night in the hospital, just a few weeks after he was admitted. The beeping machines flatlined, and that was it for him.Mom threw a fit in the hospital, but this time, she walked away with nothing but her son's body.She tracked me down just as I was wrapping up a big project at work, getting ready to hit a celebration dinner with my team."I'm telling you, you little brat, as long as I have your papers, you'll never shake me off! Your address will snap back here once you're done with school, and you better believe you'll be handing over every paycheck!" she snarled, clutching my ID.I just gave her a half-smile. "I never switched my address to the school,