Shelby
After what I just did... Did do! I'm racing along the corridor of my mansion to the dining hall. It was past the start of dinner and no doubt, Carter, Nari and & Josh would start looking for me if I don't show up. Libby and Dan? Well, I'll just need to come up with a convincing lie for them. I also need to bury them later when I get the chance.
Oh, core! I Can't believe what I've just done right now. I wonder if my old friends were here now and they knew what I was doing... What would they say? No doubt they would be shocked and disappointed in me. We're not the best people, judge of character, but is anyone truly innocent? No, of course not! They may be horrible towards others, but me? I've killed 3 people.
As I'm thinking and pushing my legs as fast as I can run, I hear something that makes me stop.
"Ah! That was awful!"
"Yeah, it was. But were back somehow..."
Those voices! I stop running and grasp the wall to steady myself seeing a pink and blue, blurry outline of two friends, but they're transparent. I take a deep breath in and manage to speak. "Dan, Libby...?"
"Shelby!" I hear Libby cry.
"It's okay, were here. We're not abandoning you." Dan tells me.
"Where are you, how did you come back here?" I ask. I'm waiting for an answer and then someone I least wanted to come out decides to play.
"Agh! How did you two come back? I thought you were DEAD!"
"No, stay away!" I cry, dropping to my knees at hearing and feeling his presence.
"Dan!" I hear Libby scream inside my head.
"No freaking way! She wasn't joking, she really is-" Dan says before being cut off.
"She is mine, my puppet and I tell her what to do! I suggest you insolent souls get out of here before I do worse to you! Just hurry up and move onto what's next." He threatens.
"Hey, that's not fair! She's a kind person with a good heart. You're making her do horrible things!"
"You should be the one to leave. I and Dan are better people than you any day of the week!" I hear Libby challenge him at the top of her voice.
"You both are so tenacious! I'll hand it to you both, coming back after your deaths. You could have just followed your friend, Brax into the light, but no!"
"No! She really did kill-?" I hear Libby start.
"Libby, no. That was not Shelby's fault. It's this mad man here, who's inhabiting her body!" Dan yells.
"Glad to see you figured it out. And for the record, my name is James. You can call me an Angel of Darkness."
I clutch my head inside from the intensity of all 3 of them talking, arguing.
"Just stop, please!" I cry out.
"Dan, we're hurting her!" Libby exclaims.
"Then perhaps you should both just leave! There is nothing for you to achieve here in this world and on the side, you're dead and she's my host body!"
"No! We're not just going to leave her here to suffer at your hands! Take that!" I hear Dan shout. For the first minute things are actually quiet. He is gone, subdued. Dan....?" I whisper.
"It's okay, he's gone for the moment, Shelby." Dan tells me. I look up seeing he and Libby have come into focus and are wearing clothes that are shining, resembling those of mages and they're is floating softly in a breeze that doesn't exist. In Dan's hands is that sphere from earlier and it's shining with two names floating just above it on gold. They're names.
"So you're not crazy like we believed." I hear Libby say.
"I don't know... I don't know! I might just be crazy!" I speak.
"Crazy or not, you need help, but you're also... Possessed by whoever James is. You've been alone for long enough. Libby and I are you friends and were going to help you." Dan says.
"I promise we'll never abandon you, Shelby. When you deal with our bodies later, take my nail polishes. They are yours now." Libby smiles.
"Thanks." I smile back.
"So.... Should she maybe at-least share what she did to Brax? Carter will get her help. Now I don't know how we're going to deal with this James person, but... Shelby, we can't stay here long. There's this woman, she's asking us to let go and come to her, but we resisted and we opened our eyes from darkness to being here with you with Solayo's artifact in our hands. I used it... Dan speaks."
"What about you guys? I killed you!" I cry.
"Doesn't matter about us. You are what matters, honey!" Libby responds.
I nod my head. "Okay." I answer her.
"Good!" Libby responds.
"Catch you soon! We're just goanna sort of wander around for the moment. We promise we'll never abandon you unless..." But then Dan stops speaking mid-sentence and I see him and Libby no longer with me. They're gone and everything is quiet for the time in years, I'm in control and I don't have to listen or take orders. I push my legs and run into the dining hall.
I see Carter sitting down at the top end of the table waiting, reminding me of... Nevermind. He's looking bored. Nari is talking to Josh and they're laughing. I notice Josh has in his arms... Declan! How, why? Did he go into my room and get him? I walk slowly into the room with a shocked expression on my face. Declan perks up slightly from having his petted and I sware he's smiling at me, but then he relaxes back into Josh's arms. Carter notices me and jumps up from his seat. "Hey, Shelby! You're just in time! We prepared dinner. You seen Brax even though it's unlike and I speak the idiot ditched us, but whatever and/or Libby and Dan?" Carter questions me. I shake my head 'no'
"They'll come if they're hungry. Honestly, I suspect they're making out somewhere. Nari says to him, stifling a laugh and for just a second, I hear their voices before it all fades away again. What's going on? "That food smells good!" Dan comments.
"Shelby, please eat that food for us!" Libby laughs. Tears well up in my eyes.
"Are you okay? You're looking not so crash hot all of a sudden...." Josh worries, placing Declan on the floor. My knees buckle beneath me and I collapse to the floor.
"Shelby!" They panic and I feel Carter run over to me leaning me against his shoulder as he's unable to get me to stand.
"It's okay, I've got you friend!" He tells me. I nod weakly. I see Nari crouch down in front of us and place her hand against my forehead "She's burning up! We should get her into bed!" Nari tells them. Josh has stayed standing, but near his chair, not daring to come over with Declan siting beside him.
"Now's your chance, Sherbet! Hurry, we're going to lose our fight any-" I hear Libby say, but again, she's cut off. "I murdered Brax." My voice barely above a whisper.
"What?" Carter murmurs, looking shocked rather than horrified. After that, I feel myself black out.
---
Cater
The craziest thing has just happened. Shelby came into the dining hall. She looked very off colour and I wondered if she was ill. She uttered that she murdered Brax. It can't be possibly true! Can it...? None the less, she collapsed in front of us and her forehead was extremely hot. Nari announced that the girl had a fever so she may just be delirious...?
Whatever the situation may be, she is going to need help and we're the only ones here so it's our duty to help her recover. I carried her to her room while Nari went to fill a bowl with water and find us a tea rag we could use to cool Shelby's temperature. In the mean tine, Josh went off to look for Dan and Libby and... Brax? Just so we can have some more hands on deck.
Since Shelby passed out, she's been asleep on her bed. She's really thin and covered in various injuries once you take a closer look. Perhaps not a big eater, maybe? As for the injuries, I don't want to ask... Nari walks inside and I turn to face her. "Do you think she actually did what she confessed?" She asks.
"No." I respond. "She is suffering from a temperature. People say all kinds of things when they're under the weather and off colour."
"Well... If, you're sure."
"I am sure." I tell her.
"We should get her to a hospital when we can. We don't know if this is an infection she has from being bitten by Declan or something. There are 50 reasons that could explain why she fainted and her delirium!"
"Yeah, we should." I agree, rubbing the back of my neck. "But it's still dark outside and I checked my phone, no signal."
"Okay..." She responds, clearly worried. "Hey, uh. While we're here... I can't imagine going back home alone... Do you all want to come back to my place? You're welcome to stay... We could be room-mates if ya'll want..."
"Uh, maybe. We'll discuss it later because returning to we came from isn't possible at this time and hey, if you want us to stay, then we have a friend here." Nari smiles before focusing on Shelby's unconscious body. "And her?" She asks.
"Bring her with us? Or take her wherever she wants to go. She must have family or friends..." I whisper.
"Yeah, you're right." Nari answers.
"Meh, Mum, Mmm..." I hear Shelby's unconscious body mumble. Nari jumps a back a bit. I take the tea rag in the bowl of water and place it on her forehead.
"You go find Josh and round up the rest. I checked my bag and I have some supplies so I should be able to make some glasses that we can wear so we don't burn out retina's out because of the solar eclipse. We can't stay here, we need to go my home to the Hospital." I tell her.
"For you who was a stranger when we all first met... You're a good leader and great at caring about others" She tell me. "I know I'm kinda grumpy, sometimes so thank you for saving us and now looking out for Shelby."
"It's fine, friend." I respond. She nods and walks out of the room, but she turns around last minute.
"Till I can find everyone... Can you just... I don't know... Tie her up or something? Just till we know that she is just suffering from delirium."
"Okay, fine." I tell her and look at to Shelby. Nari leaves and I closer to Shelby's unconscious body and use one of the towels in her cupboard to attach her foot to the bed. The nearest one to me, her right foot. Then I learn over her and attach her left wrist to the bed head as well, but I leave the right arm undone much like her left foot.
"Sorry, love." I tell her, feeling blue. "We just want to confirm you didn't actually hurt someone." I drag a nearby chair over and sit down. She looks so peaceful right now while sleeping. That's good. I suspect she has been alone for too long here. Your not from here, are you? I ask her.
"Shelby. Some people came along looking for someone. Was that person you?" I ask. "Are you under any undue stress?" I know she can't answer me, but those questions will be answered in time. She stirs in sleep. "Too hot?" I ask.
I remove her shoes and place them next to the bed on the floor. I also remove her jacket too and reattach the bind to her arm. I feel bad about this, but I guess we just need to confirm something. Whatever the truth is or isn't... I pick up the wet tea rag and drench it again before placing it back on her forehead to bring down her temperature hopefully. Her body twitches a little. I feel bad for her, but hopefully we'll have the truth soon. She was kind enough to let us stay here because of this eclipse and we invaded her home. She let us stay and was kind enough to cook us breakfast.
"When we leave? I would like to get to know you better. I'll take you out to dinner!" I tell her. I lean over and give her lips a gentle kiss and sit back down in my seat. Her lips move and her body relaxes. A smile make's it way onto her face.
---
Shelby
I feel different, I can feel that I'm laying down. I open my eyes slowly to see I'm in my bedroom. What happened? My eyes move over to the clock on the wall. It shows it's 1 a.m. in the morning. I peel my eyes over to the window and see the night sky outside. The eclipse is over... Stars are shining bright through the blanket of darkness.
Where's Declan? I scan the room for him, but I don't seem him to I feel and see something that scares me. Carter is resting his face and hands on my stomach. Did he fall asleep here? Why? I would never let someone in my room...
I pull, but I'm held down by binds, but my left hand and right foot are free. A wet cloth is sitting on my forehead. A bowl of water is sitting on my nightstand. Oh, right.... I passed out in the dining hall... After I... confessed.... No!
Dan, Libby! I call out, inside my head, but they don't come. Maybe they're sleeping? Like I was? I don't know! I go to sit up, but I feel something yank my upper half back down. Of course, just forgot about them and I can't undo them myself. Well, this is just great! Just great! And I need to go to the toilet.
"Mmm." I hear Carter mumble. Should I try waking him? "Carter...?" I try. I feel him stir after I call him and he slowly sits up, his face leaving my stomach. "Sher- Shelby! How do you feel?" He asks me. "My head doesn't hurt anymore." I decide to tell him.
"That's good! You had a real fever." He places a hand on my forehead and removes the wet towelette. "It's gone down. That's good." I nod my head.
"Why did you tie me up?" I ask. He rubs the back of his neck.
"Sorry about that. You said something kinda scary and till we have confirmation of it... Well, Nari wanted me to uh-"
"Enough said, I understand. If I were in the same position, I would also do the same thing."
"I need you to be honest with me. Did you kill Brax? No one can find him."
I look up the ceiling. What do I tell him? If I say no, I won't be able to live with myself knowing I lied to someone who has done nothing wrong, but care about my feelings. And if I say yes, I could push him and the others away. They could leave me tethered to this bed and leave.
I'd die of starvation, but maybe I would deserve it after all I did.
"I need a answer, Shelby. I really do."
What to say? What to say? Argh! Why is this so hard?!
"Don't answer that question!" Dan yells out.
"Dan, Dan!" I cry in my head.
"It's not worth it now, Shelby!" Libby cries. They just keep coming back, don't they?
"Just say you hear someone, it's not a complete lie!" Dan begs. I look from the ceiling to Carter. He's leaning in waiting for an answer from me.
"I can hear someone." I tell him.
"Uh, I... That doesn't answer the question, but that'll do for the moment. We'll bring you with us to the nearest Hospital. Do you have any family? Friends? Anyone we or you can contact? He asks me. I shake my head.
"No one." I respond.
"Shelby, no! That's not true!" I hear Libby yells at me. "When you we're out cold, we saw your memories! James is involved in this, he sent you up to-" And she's gone again.
"Alright. We'll take you to the nearest hospital." Carter responds. I nod my head.
"You know I had thought that Brax just ran off... Nari is stock piling what supplies we can find. Josh is still trying to find Dan and Libby. Just, I'm curious about something... This artifact our friends have with them. Where is it? Dan and Libby had it last I checked and they're missing now...
Did you take it? Do something to them?"
I look to the roof. "Try looking around, they might be nearby doing something. I get the feeling they liked eachother." I use as my excuse. I see Carter's face blush. "As for the artifact, I don't know."
"Oh, good point! You're right! They could be somewhere doing stuff, ha!" Carter laughs. "And I'll help Nari and Josh search for the artifact. They don't want to leave without it."
I raise my untethered hand to point to the ensuite of my room. "You need the bathroom?" He asks. "Yeah." I respond.
"Okay, I trust you. Just please don't run off on me. If you do, we can't help you out..." He moves to untie me and carries me to the bathroom in his arms, bridal style. He's clearly blushing. When we're inside, he places me down on the rug and walks out, closing the door behind him.
"I'll be waiting." Is the last thing I hear him say outside the door. I stand up kinda dizzily and walk over to the sink to splash water on my face. This all so...
"You did just fine, Sherbet!" I hear Libby comment. "You'll be okay, Shelby." Dan butts in.
"Can't you two insolent souls just go away?!" I hear him yell out. I clutch my head as the intensity of them all being present hurts. He's back... "You're a horrible person!" I hear Libby yell out.
"We're staying here regardless of if you like it or not." Dan says. I can hear how angry he is.
"You both could have just gone on to what was next as I told you, but you haven't so I will make you both suffer!" He yells at them.
"Oh, yeah? How will you do that!" I hear Dan say, getting clearly cocky. I feel my left hand lifting up to grasp my wide tooth comb off the sink and he forces me to hold it above my right arm.
"No, no! Don't do that, please!" I cry out.
I hear Dan and Libby scream.
"Shelby, what's-?" I hear Carter call, walking in to check on me. After that, everything goes black.
---
I wake up, hanging over the corner of the bath tub. My arm's covered in blood, but bandaged. My comb I have is laying nearby, covered in my blood. I think? I sit up carefully and I am met with a horrible sight. Carter.... He's lying on the floor, covered in blood. I see the shovel is laying near him, drenched in blood.
"Oh god, no! Core, why don't you help me?! Save my soul!" I scream, heaving myself back to the tub to be sick. When I'm done, I turn back around and grab my shovel to clean it in the sink. When I'm done, I pick up my bloody comb and throw it into the bin. I clean the tub to get read of my sick afterwards and then force myself to look at Carter. "I'm so sorry, I'll make it up to you someday! I promise!" I manage between tears. I take more cleaning supplies from under the sink and start cleaning up the blood. Now I have to dispose of his body plus Dan and Libby's.
"I hope you've learnt your lesson, Shelby." I hear him spit at me.
"Where's Dan and Libby?" I ask him.
"Where they deserve to be. I've sent them on their way."
"No!" I cry.
"Do what I want you too or I will really hurt you next time, Shelby and you'll feel the pain! Do we understand eachother?" He asks me.
"Yes." I answer, numbly.
"Good!" Is all he says.
"I'm sorry I failed you, James."
"That's quite alright because I know you won't do that again!" He responds. I feel my right arm lift up and slap me in the side of the face which hits the side of my glasses. Well, that will leave a bruise!
"Let all this serve as a warning!" Is the last thing I hear before he stops talking to be me and let's go.
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