The sharp sting on the side of my head was the first thing I registered. Just a flicker of movement, a twitch of my head, and the pressure in my skull told me all I needed to know. My body was cold, and my mind was clouded with confusion as I blinked into the fog surrounding me. The shards of broken glass scattered across the pavement. A painful ache spread from my stomach, where the glass shards had cut across my skin, and the weight of every injury gnawed at my bones. The air around me felt thick, heavy, and strange, and I could barely focus on the storm still raging in the distance.
I reached up, fingers trembling, brushing the dampness from my temple, and came away with a streak of blood. The pain was terrible, but I struggled to push myself back to my feet, despite the dizziness threatening to pull me under. It was a reminder of how close I'd come to losing everything. The world around me felt distant, muffled. Was I alive? Was I even real? The threads, the same ones that had surrounded me in that final moment with Amelia, pulled at me, wrapping tighter with every breath. My vision swam, but I refused to let the darkness take over. I forced myself to inch forward, toward Amelia. Every step was slow, each one heavier than the last, as the weight of my injuries tried to stop me.
The feeling of death lingered in my mind, interwoven with memories I could barely hold on to. If I died right now, I knew I'd fought to get where I was, almost stopping Amelia from causing more pain. But now, I had to keep moving, no matter how slow I was.
A presence loomed behind me.
Audrey.
"You nearly died, Clara," she said, her voice full of disbelief.
"I need to finish this, Audrey," I managed, my words strained, no time to explain. I kept moving forward, ignoring the pain. Audrey gasped, hands covering her mouth.
Ryan appeared, stepping out of the bar, his eyes fixed on something ahead.
I kept moving, each step closer to Amelia, who was smirking. The threads that bound her to the storm tangled in the air, twisting with the chaos. She turned her gaze toward me.
"You didn't die. What a sad moment, right?" she mocked, a cruel smile curling on her lips, remembering our conversation in the coffee shop.
"No time for games anymore, Amelia," I said, voice hoarse, my finger pointing at my chest. "You tried to kill me."
"You should've stayed dead, just like your sister. She went peacefully, you know. I didn't have to lay a finger on her," she spat, the words sharp, full of certainty.
"You cause nothing but chaos. Look at this town, Amelia. Does this look peaceful to you?" I shot back.
Her laughter was cold, shaking her head as she tilted it toward me. "You try to save something under my care. I've been here longer. I didn't go through torment just to be belittled by someone like you."
"I'm going to do something you can't ever picture doing. Taking the mask off," I said, my voice growing steady, no matter the pain. "You hide behind it, your self-entitlement to destroy everything for control."
Audrey's sobs echoed in the background, and I momentarily thought of Emma, the way I had chased after her, unguarded."
The faster you die, the faster I can restore this place," Amelia sneered, arms crossed, arrogant.
The townspeople began to gather, drawn to the spectacle. It was as if they'd materialized just for her. They snapped pictures, capturing this moment for their own twisted version of reality.
"This won't affect me, Amelia. Surviving a bullet isn't something to scoff at," I said, trying to stand my ground.
She laughed, and the townspeople joined in. "Look at this mess, everyone. See it for yourselves. Do we really want someone like her here?"
Ryan stepped forward, his presence commanding. Audrey's eyes widened with fear.
"You do realize how messy this has gotten, Amelia?" Ryan said, defending me, something I hadn't expected."
You can't side with her, not after everything I've done for you. I've made you money. I gave you what you wanted." Amelia stepped up to him, fury in her eyes.
"You can give me everything," Ryan said, his voice laced with emotion, "but manipulation is something you can't control."
As they argued, I reached for the threads in the air, but they slipped through my fingers, just out of reach. I focused on the crowd, their emotions shifting with Amelia's every word. My gaze landed on Audrey. I stared at her for a long moment, a realization washing over me.
I knew what I had to do, even if it meant my own death. Breaking free from the threads before had been hard, but this time, I needed to save the town. To break the hold Amelia had over them. I looked at Audrey, my heart aching for her.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered.
Focusing on the energy around me, I stretched my hands toward the storm, feeling the electric sting of the threads. Every cut in my body worsened as I pushed through the pain. The storm raged around me, but I held on, shouting in agony as the threads around me froze in place.
I'd think about all of the loss I've been through, I'd think about Maeve's advice, all of the memories flashing before my eyes. I'd shout for each memory that came to mind. As if the storm was circling around my emotions, and in a flash, the energy got worse.
Audrey tried to run to me, but the energy surrounding me was too much for her to break through.
One by one, the threads holding the townspeople snapped. They regained control over their emotions, no longer puppets to Amelia's will. The storm began to ease. Amelia and Ryan stopped arguing, staring at me in disbelief. Amelia's face twisted in frustration as she tried to step closer, but Ryan stepped in, blocking her.
The storm began to die down. The sky cleared. The townspeople, once under Amelia's control, now stood silent, watching her. Some took pictures of her, the spotlight shifting onto her.
As the last of the threads shattered, I felt the pressure lift, but my body was too broken to hold on. Audrey was by my side as I collapsed, my vision fading to black. Everything around me became quiet, my injuries too much to bear.
As my body hit the cold ground, the weight of everything came crashing down. The storm, the threads, the endless struggle, it all faded to nothing. My mind went quiet, and for a moment, I could breathe without the pressure of it all. But it was fleeting. My vision blurred, and the pain from every injury seemed to rise all at once, making it hard to hold onto the fragile threads of consciousness.
Audrey's voice echoed in my ear, soft and panicked. But it felt distant, as if coming from the other side of a wall. "Clara, stay with me." But her words were nothing more than a whisper in the dark.
I wanted to answer, say something, but my body wouldn't cooperate. The world was slipping away. And as I felt myself drifting. I could feel the remnants of the storm fade away, the storm that had once ravaged Everbrook, now lying dormant in the air. The town had gained its freedom, its people were free again, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I felt... I felt relief.
But that relief was fleeting. The world spun around me as the pain surged through every inch of my body. I tried to focus on Audrey's voice, on the faces of the people who were beginning to piece themselves back together. But it was growing harder to hold onto consciousness.
"Clara, please," Audrey's voice broke through again.
And with that final cry, the world went black.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQz4r7jvIqm
