0 comments
A sea of tombstones surrounded us, dead trees twisting around us. Grass grew tall over the decaying cemetery’s ground. Lottie ran in front of me, reading every single tombstone. Boran chased after her, Viktor standing by my side. Something felt off here, William was sulking behind us. Oakley flew back to me with an urgent look on her face, words failing to come out of her lips.
“What is wrong Oakley?” I asked, trying to get her to calm down. “What did you see or something like that?” Saying nothing, she pointed to the black mass chasing my pet phoenix that was flying in my direction. My skin grew clammy, cold sweat dripping down my forehead as a large black dog stopped in front of us. Red eyes glowed in my direction, a tall seven foot woman in a black crop duster coat put her scythe in my face. Her green eyes glittered excitedly, the giant hell hound’s red eyes creeping me out. A lump formed in my throat, my eyes scanning where her stone was. Air rushed by my face, the black blade cutting my face. A line of blood dripped down my cheek, Viktor tossing me my sword. Shock illuminated her eyes, her short white hair floating around her shoulders. A haughty grin curled on her lips, sparks raining down around me as our blades clashed. William popped up behind us, the stranger knocking him into a tree. His eyes rolled back into his head, his chest rising up and down as he slept off the pain. Boran tugged at the hem of my black and white Victorian skirt. He pointed to the black onyx stone in the woman’s undertaker hat that sat lopsided on her head. Red energy erupted around him, his little body growing into that of a seven foot man. My jaw dropped to the ground, Boran picking up the hell hound and tossing it into the distance. Nodding his head, he charged after it. Viktor was shooting bullets left and right at the reaperesque girl, my boots pounding against the ground. A hot breath bathed my neck, her presence behind me. Horror widened my eyes, Lottie running for cover as a black ball of energy erupted in front of me. Shards of stone slammed into my body, the rolling jamming them deeper inside of me. She raised her hand again, another ball of energy forming in her palm. Lifting up my palm, blue energy formed into a ball. A shrill whistle rang out, our beams meeting in the middle.
“I am Miss Midnight, the greatest reaper to ever live.” She introduced herself, dodging all of Viktor’s bullets as energy exploded around us. “ I am here to end you before you can stop Gizmo.” Rolling my eyes, blue marks lined my arms. Aiming my blade towards her hat, I thrust it towards her. She caught the sword, a wide grin exposing her sharp teeth. That was stupid I thought to myself, her black gloved hand snapping my sword in half.
“What the hell was that for?” I spat, trying to think of what to do next. “I just want to free you from your darkness. I get that a cemetery is an odd place of sanctuary, but even a place like this can be beautiful.” Confusion twisted her face, a blue light shined in my hand. Dual blades made of ice blue light glowed, Viktor watching in wonder. Shrugging, I raised the blades up in the offense position.
“What if I don’t want to be free!” She gloated proudly, waving her arms around. “Cool blades by the way.” My lips parted to speak, William knocking her to the ground out of nowhere. Her hat tumbled to my feet, everyone stopping and looking over at me. My fingers wrapped around the brim, dead trees crashing behind me. Boran’s eyes were wide with terror, his arms wrapped around the giant hell hound’s neck. Unfortunately, Miss Midnight snatched her hat back. A sly smile spread across her pale face, her face falling. Viktor held the black stone in his hand, Lottie tossing her knife square into the middle. A small crack turned into an explosion of stone, Miss Midnight falling to her knees. The hell hound shrank to a small terrier, running over to her. Warmth washed over me, the adrenaline wearing off. For the first time, I noticed that blood was soaking my white button up blouse, painting it red. My blades disappeared, my trembling body falling to the cold hard ground.
“Is that how my daughter is going to end it all?” Gizmo’s voice taunted, his gloved hand reaching for my body. “How pathetic?” Struggling to stand, my blades were in my hands again. My vision blurred, blood dripping from my eyes. Nausea rocked my body, his boot slamming me into Viktor’s body.
“Let her be, you parasite!” Miss Midnight ordered bravely, her dog growing in size again. “So many of these souls are here because of you. In fact why don’t you all rise and defend my new friend. It’ll be fun, ‘kay!” The ground quaked beneath us, various degrees of corpses rising from the ground. Dry dirt tumbled from their heads, strange groans tumbling from their rotting jaws. My phoenix wanted to cry over my wounds, but Miss Midnight pulled me to the side. She pointed to our wagon waiting at the door of an open mausoleum, anxious snorts telling us to hurry up.
“I can’t leave you here to defend yourself.” I pleaded, her determined green eyes flashing red for a moment. “I -” Her heart pounded away as she pulled me close to her ample bosom. A blush rose to my cheeks, her black gloved hand stroking my short hair.
“I can handle myself.” She promised warmly, winking. “Take this stone, it is your mother’s soul and magical energy. God you are just like her, and I can’t wait to sit beside her in Heaven. Keep the light in your soul and save the world for me. This will make it so you don’t have to die. Take my pup with you. I know I won’t make it this time, he will love you to the end of the Earth. Scully! Protect her for me. That is my final order. Go.” Placing her hat on my head, she shoved her dog into my arms, the glowing blue stone blinding me. Tears of shock and sadness welled up in my eyes, Viktor dragging me towards our way out. She waved goodbye, each blow she was taking was gathering up inside of her. Leaping into the back, Lottie held my shaking body. Shooting a weak smile, her scythe clattered to the ground, the corpses dropping in lifeless heaps of bones and rotting skin. Horror widened my eyes, green energy illuminating the night sky. Tears exploded from my eyes, sobs wracking my body. The door slammed behind us, lit torches flashing by us as our horses trotted down the twisted hallways. My vision blurred, the blood soaking the stone.
“Can someone help her?” Lottie yelled to the Phoenix who was lighting the way for us. “Cry so she can be by our sides.” Salty tears of panic flowed from her eyes, the heat of my phoenix warming my cooling body. Golden tears rained onto my body, my wounds sealing as the marble dissolved inside of me. Relief washed over my friends, but the mood to celebrate was not present in my mind. Her last smile flashed in my mind, my arms hugging her hat closely to my body.
Why did everyone have to die or get injured because of me? It was all my fault, if I didn’t exist then they would have better lives. Shoving the soul gem into a black leather bag, I leaned against the nearest edge. Clenching my fists, a deep frown darkened my face. She didn’t deserve that end, and I was the cause of it.
“She knew what was going to happen.” Oakley said warmly, sitting on my shoulder. “She has been around since the beginning of time. She knew when her clock was up.” My brow cocked with frustration, angry words floating on the tip of my tongue.
“I am sick of me being the cause of everyone getting hurt because of me!” I screamed, cupping the sides of my head. “I shouldn’t even exist.” Everyone turned to me, saying nothing. Viktor shot me a concerned look, the guilt eating me raw. Yawning, I curled up into a ball. Praying that this would all be over soon, sweet slumber wrapped me in her arms.
You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.
0 comments