A Howl in the Night

~ To Rise Like A Phoenix

I feel nothing. I am nothing. 

The voices build up inside of me until they are overwhelming, beating like the ceaseless echo of a drum. There is no worth to my soul. I should just die now and let God condemn me forevermore. 

I can feel the heat rushing to my face as these words cross my mind, the redness swallowing my cheeks. There is no lucidity to these words, no reason whatsoever. I doubt that I could ever explain these logical fallacies. 

All I know is that these thoughts cannot be true. There is nothing that words can do to bring me down. The wickedness must end now. No weaknesses will be accepted.

A sound erupts to my right, and a battle immediately begins. 

My eyes flicker open, and the harsh sights berate me like the side of a sharp sword. Immediately I jump to my feet as focus returns, trying to survey my potential opponent. Surely it knows that it would not be able to catch me off guard. Though I suppose if it thought it could, this underestimation would serve as an advantage. 

I look at the unfamiliar creature before me, a small girl who looks barely over the age of five. My eyes narrow at this strange development. What wily tricks enemies try to play… donning disguises that would make me hesitant to strike. 

Quickly I reach to my belt, grasping for a sword or weapon of some kind. To my dismay, nothing is there besides air. Alarm only enters my mind for a second, and then I race towards a tall and intimidating tree to rip off a weighty branch. This will have to do.

The creature tries to say something, but I refuse to let any words slip out of its tiny mouth. I leap forward as it forms the words, covering her mouth with my hands. Terror dances across her eyes as she stills with my movement, seemingly stunned with shock.

What petty tricks. Does she really think that I will fall for a gimmick like that? Vulnerability is only a façade, manipulated by the strong and embraced by the weak. 

With lightning-quick movements, I raise my tree branch slightly above her and hit the top of her head lightly. With a body like this, only a tap should be enough to knock the creature out until I decide what to do with it. 

Of course I am right, as the eyes of the child slip to a close almost immediately. Only now do I allow myself a smile, pleased with the manner in which I handled this incident. 

The smile vanishes as a larger man appears from the cluster of trees a few feet away. He looks at me, and then the girl, his startling green eyes widening in shock.

“Mona, what have you done?”

What in the name of…

“Who are you?” I put my hands in the air, trying to gain some time. Slowly I stand up, stepping over the little girl. “How do you know my name?” I try not to let fright and confusion dictate my thoughts. Survival comes first.

He steps into the sunlight with one graceful, sweeping movement. The first thing I notice is his sparkling blue hair, almost blinding me in the sunlight. Strange recollections start to hit me like a ton of bricks.

“Do you not recognize me?” He asks, and I can sense hurt in his voice. Strangely, I do, no matter how much that surprises me. Memory after memory resurfaces with a speed that unnerves me. 

“Xavier.” The word leaves my mouth, leaving me surprised and confused. How did I know that? How did I know him?

The man tries to form his next words, and fails. After a few seconds, he tries again.

“Mona, why did you knock out Danae?”

I start backing away immediately. Now more memories are coming back, and I don’t like the things I remember. Danae. My only friend that is a woman, and she isn’t even human. What the crap have I become? Surely all of these bizarre memories are not real.