twenty-five → the stars... i can see them again

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PURE AND TAINTED
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
( the stars... i can see them again )


SHE COULD SPOT HER reflection on the floor, and each time she took a step, it rippled like she was walking on water. As far as she could see, she saw darkness 一 complete and utter darkness. It was impossible to tell how far the walls stretched on. When she called out, her voice bounced throughout the darkness.

When she blinked, her surroundings were completely different. No longer was she standing in the darkness, but in a forest, her bare toes wriggling in the dirt and grass. Trees encircled her, growing so tall they might as well have touched the sky. Wait, she thought, dark eyes flicking from tree to tree. I know this place. This is... this is my home. Her clothing had changed as well; now she was in a simple dress in a bland green, reaching past her feet. What the hell was going on? She shouldn't be here, her home had been long gone.

A girl's giggle snapped her out of her thoughts, and she whirled around. Standing before her were two young girls, one with golden blonde hair and green eyes and the other had dark hair and eyes. She knew these girls. They both let out more giggles as they suddenly turned tail and ran.

"You'll never catch us, Alina!" the blonde girl called, looking over her shoulder. Aline started to chase after her, a light chuckle elicited from her lips. "You're too slow!"

The brown haired girl laughed loudly as she reached to pick up her skirts. She ran much faster now, and shouted, "Come and get me, little sister!"

Once Aline had started to catch up to them, she stretched out her arms. "I've got you two now!" She reached out to touch them on the shoulders, but instead of tapping them, her hands fell through thin air.

The little girls were gone, and Aline was once again alone in the forest. "Andromeda?" Aline called. "Magda, where are you? Rome! Maggie!" Her voice started to come out in begging screams, calling out for the missing girls. "Please come back, I'm sorry, don't let me here! Please! Come back!" She started to hyperventilate, and Aline tightly clutched at her chest. Brown hair flew wildly when she shook her head. "No, no, please! I need you!" She fell to her knees, clutching her aching head. "What have I done?" she whispered. "Rome... Maggie... please, come back to me..."

Aline shut her eyes as tightly as she could. This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening! But it was. It had happened so long ago 一 first it was Maggie, who had screamed and cried and blamed Aline for so many atrocities over time. Next had been Rome, who she scared away. It was all my fault. They blame me, they hate me. It's all my fault! I'm a monster!

The ground melted away, no longer dirt and grass, but instead cold cement. Aline opened her eyes, seeing that she wasn't in the endless forest anymore but kneeling outside the doors of an old warehouse. The metal walls were rusted beyond belief, and looked abandoned, as if no one had cared for it for years. "No," she whispered, tears pouring down her cheeks. "Not here, not this, please."

A scream echoed loudly, as if the person was before her. The tribrid ran forward, pushing open the doors with a loud slam. Faceless figures, ones that often haunted her dreams, surrounded a dying girl, who lay on the floor and panting heavily. She rushed forward, sliding to her knees and cupping the girl's face. "No, please, not again!" she screeched. Her fingers shook with fright, her dark hair falling in front of her face.

Before the hex, Madelaine had been the ideal image of youth. Her skin was beautifully tanned, her eyes alight with joy, and her hair bouncing with curls. Now she was deathly pale, with bags under her blue eyes, and sweat covering her body. Every time she would cough, she'd cover her hand and pull back only to find blood. She appeared skinnier as well, for her clothes didn't seem to fit her perfectly anymore. The Red Witches did this to her; they cursed her with death because she was in the way.

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