*It Wasn't Me, I Swear

I never meant to do it, okay? It was all just an accident, I had never thought about killing someone, least of all him. Though I can’t prove I am innocent I can tell you, I didn’t know what brought me to do it. 

Someone pounded on my door, making me jump. My mind instantly began to race, and I found myself looking for any escape routes.

“W-who is it?” I called, my voice shaking. Was it the cops? Did they finally figure out that it was me? I stared at the door, ready to bolt.

“It’s Darius.”

What does he want? I thought, surprised.

“Can you let me in?” Darius asked. 

“Why?” 

“Come on man. I want to give you some company. Ever since they found Carlos’ body, you’ve been hiding yourself away.”

The name sent chills up my spine. His face flashed through my mind, I fought back the memories, and was just barely able to stop them from flooding my mind.

“Roland?” He asked

“What?” 

“Are you alright in there?”

“Yeah, why?” I asked, confused.

“Seriously? You just screamed ‘it wasn’t me.’ What’s happening?”

“I’m sorry, I’ve been… hallucinating.”

“Please let me in. If you're hallucinating, you should probably go to the hospital.”

“No, I’m not going to the hospital!” 

“Roland, please. Your family is worried about you.”

I snorted, that was a lie. I’m single and my family has always thought of me as a waste and nothing else. 

“Okay, so maybe that’s not true. But I’m worried about you.”

I watched the door for a moment. Should I let someone into my house? Do I trust myself enough to?

“Please, I just want to talk. Nothing else. I will even promise not to take you to the hospital.”

“What do you want to talk about? Tell me the truth.” I call

“I want to talk about Carlos.”

I stared at the door. 

He knows, doesn’t he. He knows what I did. The memories flooded into my brain again, this time I couldn’t stop it.

…

Carlos stood a few feet in front of me. His black hair combed back neatly, like he was going somewhere nice. He had told his friends, me included, that he was going to a dance. But I was suspicious of him, so I did what I did best, watch from afar.

Carlos glanced around, before slipping into the shadows. He was definitely not going to the dance. I trailed after him from a distance, watching every move he made. He kept glancing back and forth, as if keeping an eye out for someone. Maybe a threat? A contact? I wasn't fully sure. But he was looking for something, or someone.

A man approached Carlos. A gray hood covered his face, making him impossible to identify. But I stepped closer to him and whoever he was meeting with until I was in earshot.

“Any news?” He whispered. 

“He hasn't been active. It's worrying me.” The man replied. “But we were able to take out a double agent.” 

Carlos looked at him, “Who was it?”

“Skyler Hawthorne.”  

“I knew something was off about him.” He uttered, “So who was he really?”

“Jasper Lennox.”

“Ah, now that makes sense. I can see why.” He uttered.

“Yeah, Andrew took care of him.” 

“I'm sorry, Dash.”

“We had to do it. If we didn't, he could've done more damage.” 

Dash glanced around and our eyes locked, but it was only for a second before he turned away.

“We're being watched. Meet me later, at the Fisher.” He whispered, before disappearing. Carlos scanned around, looking for whoever was watching them. So I backed off, keeping out of his line of sight.

The Fisher? What is that? Is that like a base or something? 

I didn't really care about what it was though. I just wanted to know who this Dash person was and what he wanted with Carlos. So, I continued to follow Carlos, hoping to figure it out.

Carlos was a lot more observant after Dash had pointed out that they were being watched, making it harder to follow him without being spotted. Though I was still able to do it, I had to become more observant myself, as I became aware of patient eyes following me as well. A spy, a killer, a foe, a worried bypasser? I was unsure, but I knew whatever I was going to do, I needed to do it soon.

Carlos turned into another alley, and I rushed in after him.

“This ain’t no dance.” I hissed, making him turn and look at me.

“Roland?” He asked, surprised.

“What the heck are you doing?” I snapped.

“I’d like to ask you the same thing.” 

“I was following you. You’ve been off the last few days, so I thought I’d find out what you were really up to.”

“Do you know what you dragged yourself into, just by following me?” He exclaimed, making me flinch.

“I don’t know! What the crap would you be doing that would put anyone in danger? Are you breaking the law?”

“Only if it were as simple as just breaking the law. Look, I’m working with a group of men, we are trying to stop an evil man from becoming any more powerful. I’m sorry I lied to you, but do me a favor and leave before he finds you.”

“Who is he? How dangerous is he really?”

He gave me a solemn look, “He drove a man to burn down a whole town, just by breaking into his mind. Please go home, you're vulnerable to his power.”

…

Darius’ voice snapped me back into reality. But something was wrong with how his voice sounded and what he whispered made my blood run ice cold. “Roland, w-why?”

My vision cleared and I was staring right into  Darius’ face, tears were streaming from his amber eyes.

“Why?” He asked again, his voice more distant. 

My gaze drifted from his eyes, and I realized what was happening.

No! 

Buried deep in his chest was a knife, and his blood covered me.

“No, no, Darius, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” I staggered away from my friend, tears streaming my face. 

“Then, why did you do it?” He whispered.

“I don’t know! How did you even get in here? What is happening to me?” There was a sound behind me and I turned to find nothing there. When I looked back Darius was no longer breathing. I collapsed to my knees and began to cry, uncontrollably. 

Why do I keep killing people? What’s happening to me? How am I killing people without knowing? This has to be a dream! I just need to wake up.

I stood up and staggered to my bathroom and turned on the sink. The cold water ran through my fingers as I cupped my hands. I splashed the water on my face multiple times. Shaking my head, trying to clear it, I looked back up. 

Through my mirror’s reflection I could see my face. Some of his blood was still there but most of it had been rinsed off. 

I splashed my face again and looked up again. This time I saw another man in the reflection, he stood on my left with a cruel smile on his face. I knew the man, his hollow gray eyes, the jet black hair, but the biggest give away was the scar across his cheek. 

This was the most powerful sorcerer and the most dangerous man in all of Lonior: Rafael Laurier.

“Nice to see you too, Roland.” He whispered, “May I just thank you for the help of killing my enemies.”