Center of the Flames

Chapter 7: Possession at its Finest, The Possession of Hadeon

Chapter 7, Section Twenty-Two: Possession at its Finest, The Possession of Hadeon; Hadeon's Perspective

Orion. I have nothing to look at except them, it's completely empty except for us two. It shouldn't be here, I meant to escape it, leave everything behind. What is it planning?

I think about shouting out to it, but I shouldn't even need to, I know they're probably reading my thoughts now. "What the hell are you doing here?"'

"Happy to see me?" It speaks softly, but I can still hear it. I scowl, and turn away, starting to head back into the forest.

"Can't get any privacy around here..." I grumble, making my way through the leaves, back into the darkness of the forest. I wonder when it became day, the forest lets in no sunlight. But it must lead somewhere else, all I have to do is try my best to not go back the same way I came-

"You think I'm reading your thoughts right now," It stays far away from me, standing at the center of the meadow still. I keep walking, not looking back. I don't know where or which way I'm going, but definitely far away from Orion, and whatever they're doing there. While I trot one lonely flower sits in the grass, all on its own. A red rose, thorns encasing the stem. I saw it when I was just leaving, I think... But maybe my mind's playing tricks on me.

I'm trying my best to leave the forest, but It's like I'm in a maze. Trees forming walls, flowers and vines peppering them, bushes acting as decor. I can't get through this place, I'm walking and walking but to no avail. I look behind me, and Orion watches, amused. I have a strange feeling in my stomach, butterflies turning to hornets. I need to go back to Orion, I know they won't let me leave.

I start to turn back, and Orion still stands there, a smirk spreading across their face.

"Well I'm not," It says, continuing our conversation from before. "But I do have other ways to do what I need to." I reluctantly walk over to it, but before I can get too close I feel hands pushing me back. The same hands as-

"You did that?" I scream, my eyes finally meeting theirs. "You locked me out of that house, you kept answers from me, you ruined everything!" It smiles once again, a sinister smile. An aura of 'I'm gonna murder you' follows wherever it goes. Bad vibes, if you will.

"Finally gained a brain, I see." I breath in take a breath and try not to try and murder it, I know it won't work. But,

"Why the fuck would you do that? We took our separate paths years ago, why are you so obsessed with me now?"

"Separate paths..." It stares at the ground, its eyes moving from each blade of grass, each grain of dirt, then back up to me. "Remember that deal we made, Hadeon?"

My eyes widen and I start to back up, I haven't thought of that in I don't know how long, I just enjoyed the time I had... with her.

"That wasn't very separate, was it?"

I stare at my sibling, holding my breath. Nerves I haven't felt in a long time stare to kick in. Never thinking I would think this, but I'd give so much to be back with Astrid in the center of the flames, that night when we haven't a care in the world. I miss it more than I ever thought I would. I try to start to back up but I'm frozen in place. I try to speak, but all that comes out is a stutter. Feeling lower than I've ever felt I manage to get out a sentence.

"Yes," I say, lowering my head. "Has it come back to haunt me? ...Like you always said?" I fall to my knees, Orion looks away for a second before I feel my head lift up, and I stare them in the eyes now.

"I'm sorry," I hear it whisper under its breath, and I know I wasn't meant to hear that sentence in the following silence.

As I looked up at Orion, towering over me I think I might be hallucinating, I'm definitely hallucinating, I've never seen anything like this... Orion's body is morphing into something. They're just changing into a spirit form, I haven't seen this in a while, but even I know there's something else to it, something I haven't seen.

I shouldn't be nervous. I've seen this plenty of times. But there's something anomalous about this time, different from anything I've seen Orion change into, throughout all the times I've seen them change forms.

At last, once it stopped changing, everything from. It picked their form and they weren't changing anymore, they were ready to finish their task, assigned to by some unknown force... Assigned my Astrid. As this form that was creeping closer by the second makes their way towards me, I try to steady my breath and ask myself what is so different about this one, that sets it apart from all others?

This strange form that I believe to be Orion starts to come closer and closer, and even through the expression of the being without a face, I can tell it brings great sorrow to Orion, or whoever's doing this, to do whatever is coming next. I try to move but to no avail, and my eyes fill with fear, something even I can tell. My arms get stiffer with each movement I attempt to make, trying to leave as the dark, smokey being in the form of a human, or something of the sort edged closer. Orion, I know you're here, somewhere. Please just let me go. I made the choice, and I know I have to live with it but please, just-

My arms flail behind me and my head gets thrown back, my eyes opening wide, and my mouth following suit. Something speeds down my throat, and I can't breathe. I can't, I...

My heart beats faster and faster, my blood pumping faster than ever before, and I manage to move my head a small amount before being tilted back into position, and I catch a glimpse of my veins. Before red and blue, now pure white. A figure forms near me, is it Orion? It screams out, as I do, and it feels ghostly against my skin. I shiver as much as my body will let me with as it passes through me, and I scream out into the abyss. My eyes and mouth fill with white light, blinding me. Before I know anything my body is curled into a ball on the grass, and I'm separated from it, whatever's left of my body feeling ghostly. Before I can have a coherent thought, I see something that'll scar me forever. A white streak appears at the front of my dark brown hair, and I see my eyes open, and they're pure white, just as Orion's.