“Do you remember… that very night?” the darkness demanded. “That very night you bound yourself to me?”
“Yes… yes, I remember,” I said quietly.
“Do you remember what you saw?”
I thought for a moment, closing my eyes tightly as I dove deeper into the darkness of my mind. “What I saw…?”
“Yes, Angel. What did you see?”
I squeezed my eyes shut tighter. “I can’t… remember.”
I felt the cold inside this black void swarm higher. “Yes, you can. Just dive deeper and deeper into your mind. Tell me what you see.”
I pursed my lips. “Darkness… Darkness.”
“What kind of darkness?”
“The cold kind…” I said then, breathing shakily as something dark entered my skin. “The hurting kind. It hurts. The darkness hurts.”
“Angel, what do you see?”
I just shook my head, needles deepening further in my skin. “I can’t. I can’t!”
“Yes, you can,” he responded. “Be strong, Suki. Remember.”
I swallowed something hard. “There’s a pair of red eyes… It’s so dark in here, though… I can’t see.”
“Do you see me?” he asked me then.
“Yes…” I said then, “you’re… you’re in my head. I can feel it.”
“Good,” he said then, tone darkening. “Now tell me… tell me, do you remember that night? What happened?”
I breathed for a moment. “I don’t understand what you want from me. Why are you pressing me like this?”
“Because you’re blocking it out. I need you to remember, Angel.”
“I already told you,” I said then, shaking my head, “I was in feathers… and then you were there… and then I had the crescent moon burned into my side.”
“There’s more to the story,” he responded. “Think. What really happened? How did I bind myself to you?”
I just thinned my lips. “What is the point of this?”
“Angel, think. Remember. I need you to remember.” His tone somehow grew darker. “What was your wish of me?”
Something inside me snapped at his words.
My eyes shot open then, and I gasped when the cold deepened into my bloodstream. “I remember.”
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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Are you sure you want to do this, Suki?” William said then, lashes lowering. “Because once you say yes, there’s no turning back. Once you say yes, your life is mine. Do you understand that?”
I gazed up, eyes dulled with numbness. “I understand. I gave you my wish, Will. And I demand that you carry it out.”
He just closed his eyes and smiled. “As you wish, Miss Quinn.”
He then gazed up, red eyes flashed a bright red as his smile glowed through the room… and suddenly, everything went dark.
But I could still see his reddened eyes, watching me through the shadows of this hell.
A sudden wind burst through the dark void, swarming around me like a hurricane.
Feathers blew around me, covering the darkness with small glistens of light as they rounded my form in circles.
My hair flew over my shoulders, piercing into the darkness as I gazed up, numbly meeting the demonic red eyes in front of me.
“You are now mine,” Will said then, lashes lowering. “I will serve to grant your wish… and then your life belongs to me. There is no turning back, Suki Quinn. But it seems as if you’ve accepted that.”
I just watched his numbly.
“But one thing I must convey…” he said then, smiling, “is that in order to grant your wish, I must see your wounds, Miss Quinn.”
A sudden thud burst through my chest, and I gasped, arching my back as a sharp pain burst through me.
My heart slammed against my chest again, the sharp beat bursting through the room around me in a soft rhythm.
But all the sudden, my eyes flew open, and I felt myself swarm deep into my mind.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was too dark… I couldn’t see a thing.
When did it become nighttime? I wonder… what have I been doing all this time?
I dashed through the rainy streets, rushing through the night as I held the freshly bought produce I got for my parent’s dinner.
I left for about a month because my mom managed to scrape enough money to send me to college.
After all my father put us through, we managed as best as we could. We could keep the house; it was paid off, anyway. My mother stood by me with a computer and guided me through every scholarship possible, and I won enough to pay for a bachelors, at the very least.
I really wanted to go through college, and mom wanted that for me, too. So she stayed up every night researching into grants and scholarships to guide me through everything.
I wanted to work at an office building! I wanted to major in English and write reports and news articles endlessly.
But… I wasn’t doing this for myself, no… I was doing this for my sister.
My sister was such a precious thing. She was a little ill because she was recently diagnosed with a small tissue disorder, but she was healing nicely. The doctors said she had to be careful, but she’d live a long life.
But I lived for my sister! I wanted to grant her most favorite wish… she wanted to go to Disneyland desperately, so I thought if I worked hard to get my degree, and then got a job. I could raise enough money to take her.
I had been gone a while, but I was back for the break. I was so excited!
After rushing forward toward my neighborhood, I suddenly slowed at my house.
I blinked hazily, stopping at the driveway as my brows drew together.
I suddenly took a step back, pressing my hand to my head.
No… no, something’s wrong.
Why did this feel familiar?
I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, feeling a sudden uneasiness cast over me.
No, this never happened. No, this wasn’t right.
No… I came home. I came home.
Did I come home?
I couldn’t… remember.
I pressed my hand to my forehead, breathing shakily when I gazed up.
No… no, I did come home. I did.
But… but nothing was right. No, this wasn’t right.
I remember. I don’t.
I CAN’T THINK.
A flash of my mother burned through my vision, and my eyes flew open in horror.
Dead.
Father.
DeAd.
My sister…
DEAD.
No.
I darted up the front porch steps, rushing into the house at light speed.
I threw open the front doors, gasping in elation. “Mom! I’m home! I brought the GrOcErIeS.”
I suddenly gazed up, eyes softening when I found my mom stepping toward me from the living room.
“Honey! How was college?” mom said then, laughing kindly as she swept the floors. “Did everything go well?”
“Yes!” I said then, stepping over to her. “I got an A on my final exams! All of them!”
“Oh, that’s so good!” she said, rushing over to me.
She threw her arms around me, making me smile as I held her back.
I felt her warmth consume me, and I closed my eyes tightly, holding her back. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
I let her warmth consume me for a moment longer… but then suddenly the world grew cold.
“Suki,” a voice echoed through the house, making my eyes shoot open.
I gazed up, finding my mom standing in front of me with a small smile. “Who’s that? Is it dad?”
She remained silent, just closed her eyes tightly.
“You’re lying to yourself,” the voice echoed.
I just gazed up, feeling something cold enter my bloodstream, but I ignored it. “Mom, what’s for dinner? I brought the groceries!”
I leaned down to pick up the bags.
But something red dropped onto my shoe.
I blinked, staring down at the substance. “Where did that come from?”
When I looked up, my eyes rounded when a body hung from the ceiling.
I felt my face pale, every part of me growing cold.
“Suki!” mom said, making me blink when I gazed down, finding her standing in the living room. “Aren’t you going to hit the piñata?”
I blinked, gazing back up at the dead body to find a horse-like piñata hanging in its place.
I breathed shakily, the cold inside me remaining. “Oh… yes. Yes.”
“You’re lying to yourself,” he said again. “This isn’t how it happened, was it?”
I blinked again, gazing back up at the pinata.
To find my mother’s body hanging in its place.
Every part of me shattered, and I felt my entire being freeze in place.
My vision went white, bones chilling to ice.
“Suki?” mom said then. “Look at your sister! She’s all better now!”
I blinked, once more, finding myself in my sister’s room now.
Cameron was laughing and playing with her toys, running around with her paper airplane. “Look mom! Look! It’s flying, see? I’m flying a plane!”
“Oh, that’s so beautiful, honey!” mom said, clapping her hands. “Did you draw on it yourself?”
“Yes, Suki helped me!” Cameron said then, gazing up. “Right, Suki?”
I forced a smile despite the uneasiness coiling through me. “Yes… r… right.”
“Are alright, Suki?” Cameron said then, brows drawing together. “You look pale.”
“I’m alright,” I assured her, stepping over to her form. “Just a hard day, is all.”
“Oh… I see,” his voice came again, “she was your little sister. No wonder you were so attached to her.”
The room suddenly changed, malforming into some demonic presence, and my eyes widened when I found Cameron on the ground, her lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling in horror as blood slipped from her mouth.
“This was how it happened, wasn’t it? You came home from college… and they all were dead.”
Something inside me snapped, my heart and soul shattering into pieces.
“SHUT UP!” I screamed then, covering my ears. “SHUT UP!”
But when I gazed up… everything remained the same. She was still dead. There was blood… her blood… everywhere.
“Bring it back…” I said then. “BRING IT BACK!”
“That wasn’t real, Suki.”
“I DON’T CARE!” I screamed then, tears slipping from my eyes. “THIS WASN’T HOW IT HAPPENED! SHE DIED WEEKS LATER! MY MOM DIED AFTER! MY DAD, TOO! THIS WASN’T HOW IT HAPPENED! I NEVER SAW THEIR BODIES!”
“Suki, you’ve been lying to yourself.”
“SHUT UP!” I screamed then. “GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”
I collapsed to my knees, breathing shakily as tears warmed my eyes. “YOU DON’T KNOW ME! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”
“Suki…” he whispered.
I suddenly felt hands on my shoulders, and I gazed up in shock.
“You don’t need to feel the pain anymore,” he from behind me. “You have no need to be afraid.”
A tall, lean figure stepped around me, lashes lowering when he found me staring up at him in horror.
He knelt down to my level, red eyes glowing softly as my eyes blurred with tears, and they slipped further down my cheeks.
“Look at you…” he said then, lips thinned as he ran his thumb under my eye to dry a tear. “So broken. The pain… it lies to you. Life lies to you, you lie to you. When will you let it end?”
“You… lie to me,” I said quietly.
He gazed up. “No. I will never lie to you. I swore my loyalty to you in return for your life. That is the least I can do.”
Despite the confusion and uncertainty of this moment, I felt my entire body shaking. “Make it stop.”
He just tipped my chin up, making me lock gazes with him. “I will. I will, I swear on it. You wished to find the person who hurt your family. You wished to seek answers of why they did it. I will guide you.”
He brushed his thumb under my eye again, drying a tear that dare escape. “There’s no need to be afraid, Angel. As of now… I am your guide. Just take my hand, and I will guide you into the light.”
He held out his hand, lashes lowering. “There’s no need to fear anything now. Nothing can hurt you ever again.”
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