Hell Upside Down

Chapter 25

Chapter 25 - Haunted Past

Point of view Alena West

I decided to walk with Blaze to a part of campus that I'd never been to before. I wanted to go to Nallia's part of campus. Some of my peers talked about the animals that lived here. They were part of the curriculum. The students had to take care of them.

We walked through a large wooden arch which indicated that I no longer belong in this part of the school. The energy was much different than the one on the Shadow Cast which was a harsher environment. Here, everything was lush and living. The birds were chirping, the sun seemed to glow brighter on this west side of campus.

All of sudden, Blaze went rushing towards a field where a cow was peacefully grazing in the field. I started running after him, and jumped over the wooden gate. My heart started beating faster as I was afraid that I would get in trouble if Blaze ate one of their precious cows. The nature cast would never forgive the Shadow Cast for trespassing and killing one of their precious animals.

When I thought, Blaze would leap to bite the harmless animal, he rubbed his nose against the animal who did not fear him. They were actually starting to play with one another. My heart stopped beating so fast, and I slowly ended the panic. I reached the baby cow after a few seconds of running. It looked right at me with his big brown eyes and brought his snout to my head. I understood why animals brought so much comfort to people.

The baby cow continued grazing around me while Blaze continued wagging its tail and smiling. I was wrong to think he would be heartless and kill this cute animal. The rest of the herd was eating hay further away, and from time to time, cows turned their head towards us, as a warning that they were watching us.

The fresh air was the perfect place to gather my thoughts about what had happened the other day when Justice called. Since that day, he kept calling at the most random hours. It would hurt my heart to watch it ring. We had to move on.

Justice had dirty blond hair and light blue eyes that made any girl my age melt. He was athletic, smart, and outgoing. Anything I had wished for when I was living with Uncle Jay. We spent our days surfing and hanging out in his jeep. He would play the guitar and sing to me. We would watch the sky at night before Uncle Jay would call me to remind me that I needed be back home.

Justice would never understand the idea of a soulmate. He would marry a human and have a few kids. Justice is the kind of kid who's going to live in our little, small town. He'll probably pick up his dad's business on the beach.

It was a life that I once wanted even though Uncle Jay always knew that it was not idealistic.

I slowly started to think that my powers were limited. That I could only influence one's person's thoughts at a time. That my connection with Blaze was limited. That my powers weren't as strong as people would have thought.

My pondering was interrupted by a student who walked across the field toward the feeding situation. As soon as he appeared, the cows started getting excited and started moving toward him. I couldn't believe the difference that one person's presence could make towards these animals. As soon as that person saw me, he kept running towards me.

It was Nero. He had sensed that I did not belong here but as soon as he recognized me, his demeanor calmed down. He backed away a bit as soon as he saw Blaze and went to check on the calf who now peacefully napping at my feet.

"I thought you had killed baby Maya." He said while pointing at the baby calf who was peacefully napping at my feet.

He scratched the back of his head, and sat next to me, and kept a hand on the calf. Seeing Nero in this habitant was like meeting a new person. He was wearing rain boots, and his braided hair was grouped into a messy bun above his head. Nero was connected to his element, where he didn't seem to care that he got messy, or if there was mud on his face or hands.

He rubbed his hands and cleared his throat. "What I am about to say, isn't going to be easy."

I tried to give him his time, but I grew impatient. "What is it?" I asked to press the words out of his mouth.

"Willow and I are most likely going to complete our bond. The ceremony is going to be next week." He continued with sadness in his eyes. Once you completed the bond, you were glued together. There wasn't any going back.

In our world, divorces weren't a possibility. They didn't exist. The connection that you once created will always be there. It doesn't matter how much distance you create if you try to be with someone else. If that person lives, they will always be in the back of your head. You will always feel sick when they are under the weather. You'll always shed a tear when they cry.

Nero got closer to me. As if he wanted to hold me in case, I wasn't going to be able to bare the news. He held my hand for comfort.

"Somehow Lilith found out about your connection with you and Ash." He paused for a second. "I had suspected it for a while but I wasn't for sure."

As soon as the words left his mouth, my whole world collapsed. Hellia and the magical world only cared about the greater cause. People started getting sick, just as the prophecy had revealed. A few students died but that remained taboo. It was a matter of time until they forced out to complete our bond. Something that I wanted to do on my own terms.

My blood started boiling. "Who told Lilith?" I squall. Maya, the little calf woke up. She was no longer calm around me and ran away towards her family. Blaze seemed to be awake as well and started getting agitated.

I could tell that Nero knew. I was in rage for the pain he had caused my roommate but also for the future that he will be causing with the completion of the bond.

"Dysnomia. She did." He let out before standing up and raising his hands in the air. "You can't do anything stupid."

- "No, no. She can't take away my wedding without suffering the consequences." Nero shook his head. He didn't seem to agree with me.

- "So what? You're gonna let people die for your own stupid happiness?" He screamed back at me.

- "At least I don't lie to people to make them fall in love with me." I scream back while referring to Sierra. The words hit him as if a sword had gotten to his heart. Soulmates were tricky and sped up sometimes. However, I would never lie and abandon someone so quickly for someone the universe had weirdly selected for me.

Nero looked down at his feet. "The sickness has spread outside of Hellia. Sadly, you have no choice."

I looked at the sky which was no longer blue. The clouds had come in to cast away the sunshine. I could feel it deep inside my bones, the storm was coming. The flees were going to fall and the first one on my list, was Dysnomia.