The staircase creaked beneath my feet as I descended, my mind spinning with every step. I knew what I had to do, but that didn't make it any easier. Audrey's pleas echoed in my mind, but I had already made my decision. There was no turning back now.
I opened the door to a cold breeze rushing through my hair. I put my hand over my face to shield myself from the relentless wind. But it wasn't enough. The tension from nights past hung in the air, and now I could finally feel the weight of the responsibility, if this town can't be saved, if its pain can't be undone, then I won't survive it either. I need to save this town, and maybe even myself. If I can save any part of me.
I took a step, then another, each one feeling heavier than the last. Thoughts swirled in my mind, each outcome flashing by, none of them seeming reasonable, given who Amelia was and what she hid beneath her smile. Just like me, if I were as sadistic, as greedy, as intent on ruining lives and disrupting balance.
Shadows passed by, the quiet murmur of voices, no one there. The threads were thick tonight. Something was shifting. Someone was out there watching me, but it didn't feel like malice. Whoever it was, they seemed to be looking out for me.
I crossed paths, turned corners, and eventually made it to the bar. I pushed open the door, the hinges creaking, and a cold echo reverberated through the stillness inside. Everything was dark and ominous. The air felt thick, thicker than the storm outside. Ryan wasn't at his usual spot. Things felt wrong, like the bar itself was holding its breath.
I reached for the light switch, but the bulb flickered weakly and died. The storm had taken out the power. Anxiety gnawed at my insides. I stepped deeper into the bar, every sense heightened, waiting for anything, someone, to end me.
I climbed the stairs, each step dragging me closer to whatever waited upstairs. My heart pounded in my chest, fear coursing through me, and the presence up ahead felt... worse than before. I couldn't turn back now. I wouldn't.
The upstairs of the bar was dimly lit, the faint glow from the storm outside filtering through a grimy window. It was unnervingly quiet. Too quiet. Like the world had stopped moving. And then, I saw her. Amelia.
A glimmer of her eyes shimmered through the threads surrounding us. Her silhouette, framed by the faint light, cold and calculating, locked with mine. A knowing smirk curled on her lips. I should've sensed the trap then, but the air around us felt deceptively calm.
"You came," Amelia said, her voice smooth, almost mocking. "I knew you would. Just like the rest of them, willing to face death just for the truth."
I didn't answer, just took a few more steps forward, the tension in my chest pulling tighter, the very threads tightening around me.
And then, something shifted.
A flicker. A movement I couldn't place.
I blinked. Amelia's figure... warped. The illusion cracked, like glass shattering across a window.
She wasn't by the window anymore.
I glanced at the broken glass, trying to process what had just happened. I looked down, searching for her body, but saw nothing.
Then, I felt it. The cold metal barrel pressing against the back of my head. My breath caught. Every nerve in my body fired, and the threads... they were worse now. Swirling around us both, choking me, holding me still. I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
Her voice, now a chilling whisper, filled my ear. "You thought you could end this, all by yourself, didn't you, Clara? Thought you could take this town from me? But you've already lost before you even started."
The tone was sinister, mocking. "I thought you'd be smarter, with your quirky power, too bad you can't control it. You just sense it. I'll give you credit, you had a chance, a glimmer of hope. But like all of them, it's been crushed."
"You're standing here now, about to die, and you can't even say a word?" She hissed. "I wonder what your mother would've said right before she left you."
Shock stole my voice. No words came. Just the overwhelming rush of emotion, the tears. I could feel them falling, but I couldn't say anything.
"You had a sister," she continued, her voice dripping with contempt. "She wasn't as stupid as you. Maybe you'll join her. If you do, I hope she's just as disappointed in you as your mother was." She paused, her fingers twitching on the gun. "I'm sure you'll be reunited soon. But first..."The next thing I knew, I felt the cold steel graze the side of my head. The impact, sudden and violent, sent me hurtling through the window.
Time slowed, and for a moment, I was suspended in the air. My body twisted, the ground below too far to see. My eyes were wide open, full of disbelief, of defeat, of utter betrayal. Right before I hit the ground, everything froze.
I tried to open my eyes, but everything was a blur. My body felt heavy as I slowly pushed myself up, trying to make sense of where I was. I banged on the door, desperation taking over as I tried to break through. Rage surged through me, rage towards Amelia, towards everything that had led me here. But as I stumbled, I realized this wasn't the place I had just been a few minutes ago. I was back in my old room, surrounded by the familiar, unsettling silence.
Three random photos surrounded me, scattered on the floor. I hesitated, analyzing my surroundings, trying to ground myself in this new reality.
I picked up the first picture. It showed me and my mom together, right here in this same room. Fear gripped me as I studied it, like I could feel the very emotions that were locked in that moment. My mom had always made me carry her trauma like it was just another part of my life. The weight of it had never lifted.
I focused my energy on the photo, hoping it would give me clarity. And when I did, the wind rushed in again, the familiar electric current of energy pulsing around me, plunging me into darkness.
Suddenly, I was back in this room, but everything was as it once was, my belongings surrounding me.
The door slammed open. My heart froze. It was her.
My mom barged in, fury radiating off her. "You try to save people, but all you're doing is getting yourself killed," she spat, her voice laced with venom. "You can't save anyone, Clara. You couldn't even save yourself from failing at everything you do." Her words sliced through me, each one sharp and full of hatred. The threads, those invisible bindings, wrapped tighter around me, pulling me into her grip.
She moved toward me, and I backed up until my back hit the wall. She was close now, too close. "You think you can control this... this power you keep talking about?" she sneered, her eyes cold. "You can't. You're naïve."
I fought to hold back the tears, but the sting of her words and the flood of memories overwhelmed me. This was my source of trauma. My nightmare. And now, I was forced to relive it, helpless.
Out of nowhere, a shard of glass appeared in her hand. She walked up to me, the sharp edge gleaming under the dim light. Without a word, she pressed it across my arm, dragging it slowly. "If you could move right now, you'd run out of here," she said, her voice dripping with disdain. "You'd haunt the streets with your little gifts. But you can't. You're trapped here. Just like you always were."
I screamed, feeling the air around me draw its distance. Her presence began to fade with each scream, each shout from the soul. I couldn't bear the pain I was feeling in this moment, and the internal pain she caused. I broke free of the threads that had held me back before. I fell to the floor, and as soon as my hands hit the rugged surface, I felt myself back in my room again, this time with only two pictures left, the first crumbling in my hands.
Trembling, I reached for the second picture. This one showed me at a different point in time, standing in front of a girl, a desperate soul I had tried to save. My arms were raised in an effort to stop her, to be the savior she needed. Tears welled in my eyes as I recognized the intention behind it. I focused, breathed, and pushed through the pain.
Suddenly, I was there. In the heart of the town, I grew up in, Hearthwood.
I stepped forward, steeling myself against the fear creeping up my spine. "Hey, you!" I called out to the girl. "You're going to be fine. If anyone doesn't accept you, I do.
"She turned her gaze to me, a flicker of skepticism in her eyes. "The reason why I ran from home, made a commotion, wasn't to gain sympathy, not from you or anyone," she said bitterly. "You seem like most of them. You can't help me."
I stepped closer, urgency in my voice. "Is anyone going to help, or are you just going to watch?" I shouted, panic creeping in. "You can't let her do this."
The crowd watched from the shadows, snapping pictures but doing nothing.
Then, my mom's hand shot out, grabbing mine. "We need to help her, I know we can!" I pleaded, my voice breaking with the last bit of hope.
But my mom's cold words followed. "We can't help the broken. We only ignite the strong."
I screamed her name, trying to break free. "Emma! Emma, please!" I sobbed uncontrollably, feeling like I was losing a part of my soul as I saw her fade into the distance.
In that moment, I broke free of her grip and ran toward her. But when I reached the spot, there was nothing. Just smoke and mirrors. I fell to my knees, the darkness swallowing me whole.
"Emma..." I whispered, before everything faded to black.
Then I was back again, another photo crumbling in my hands. I'd quickly meet the third photo, the last one, sobbing uncontrollably from the emotional pain this brings back. The wind in the room gaining enough momentum to fill up a whole town.
This photo looked like a fountain right next to a nearby bench, with a person who looked very familiar to Maeve, wavy brown hair, black tank-top with ripped jeans. Sitting right on the bench.
I started to ponder why I'd be imagining her of all people, I barely knew her all too well. I only met her a few memories ago. My curiosity peaked as I went into this memory not remembering at all how I got here.
I was met with me and my family going to the nearby park, across the street from my house. Where this fountain seemed to be placed right beyond its pathway. Sun was shining from above, as the clouds were the perfect distance away from it. A person who I'd believe to be Maeve sitting on the bench just contemplating her surroundings, before staring directly at me. Going on the swings and enjoying myself. She'd shed a tear, before she wiped it and continued rocking her legs back and forth in a steady fashion.
I'd jump off of the swing to walk towards her. The more I walked beyond the memories limit, the more I felt limited by what I could do. I'd try and try to make it over to her. When I finally did, I'd ask her the question that haunted me this whole time. "How did you know who I was before?" I'd ask, as the sun swiftly drifted away. She'd stare up at it then at me.
"I wish I was in your life more, Clara. I'm so sorry I was separated from you." She'd say, with tears filling her eyes, trying not to break a frown. "We're related?" I'd say, in complete distraught. "How?" I'd ask."
Our parents hate us Clara, they hate you, they hated me more. Put me up for adoption when they couldn't stand me. But I moved to Everbrook. I know that's where you are now. Please be safe. You can't be a hero; you can only try and fix what can't be. Which is not possible sometimes." She'd say, giving advice staring at the clouds.
The sky would change its ways as the winds grew strong, the air heavy, things fading out one by one.
I couldn't help but sit next to her, something I could never seem to do. Wishing we had more time together. "I hope in another life, we can at-least, live more of this." I'd say, putting my head on her shoulder as she gazed more into the sky.
"You need to live in peace, you need to wake up, you can't let that bullet define who you are. Choose your destiny, what lies ahead of you is something you need strength for. Something I didn't have. Something I gave up." She'd say, with her final piece of advice, she'd hug me for what felt like the last time. This memory would cut through my soul like a knife through glass. I'd feel the pain as I attempted to stay in this memory, holding my hands out, feeling the electricity through my hands.
"I need more time!" I'd say as time seemed to not want me to gain more. I'd fall on my knees, struggling with the attempt to hold it together.
I'd fade back into reality, where I was sat there on my knees in my room, trying to hold up what seemed to be the vision of what could've been. I'd sob and sob, with all of the threads filling the room with dread. I'd begin punching the floor, hitting it with every force I could. "Maeve, Maeve I need you; I needed you." I'd say, as I'd lay my head forward, the tears filling the rugged floor. I'd then see a shadowed heart on the wall, the same shadow I saw back at the record store laying their hand on the glass. It made me feel even worse, anxiety filled my heart, I trembled. I fell. There was no telling what would come next for me. But I'd try to shake myself off and focus for a moment.
"I'll make it right," Clara whispered to the empty room, her voice steady now. "For both of us."
And in that moment, with tears still fresh on her cheeks, she knew that no matter what came next, she wouldn't let Maeve's memory fade into nothing. Not again.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMqo7B6Grv
