Doomed

chapter 10

This time I was awoken by overlapping whispers, some in foreign languages and some laughing. I sat up, fear and confusion stabbing a hole through my chest. Pain racked through my head from the way the whispers over lapped. I pressed a palm to my forehead and glanced over at Cassius, who laid fast asleep beside me. I pressed a hand to his back then slid out of bed, a strange urge overcoming me. I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing and why, I just knew that there was a burning desire deep in my soul to do so.

A cold sweat and shiver claimed me as if against my own control, I reached out for the Ouija board we'd left in the living room, then knelt on the ground. The only lighting in the room was that of the moon's and the small lamp on the table beside the couch; the combination of the two sources of light caused a hazy glow to encompass the room and made it easier for the shadows to dance in the corner of the room. I tried to ignore them, but the lingering fear they gave me made it hard.

There was screaming in the back of my head, as if trying to break through and stop me, as I reached out for the heart shaped piece. My body shook so hard that when my fingers made contact with the plastic piece, it began to move slightly. My body felt like it was burning and freezing all at once; I wanted to stop but the strange urge that was forcing me wouldn't allow it. It consumed me and tortured me, body, soul, mind; completely and totally.

Words forced themselves up through my throat and out my mouth, "Tell me who I am."

Commanding, forceful, full of power. The words left a lingering sense of dread. 

Laughter drifted to my ears again and I flinched, gripping the piece tighter to prevent myself from covering my ears. It felt important to listen to the whispers, as if they might have answers just as much as the Ouija board did. Yet, the heart piece stayed in place, refusing to move. Panic erupted like flames, catching at my lungs and searing them.

"What's wrong with me?" I cried at the board, resenting how I sounded so pathetic when moments before I had resonated with power. I dug my nails into the wood of the board, as if it was possible to evoke pain it. "Who am I? What is happening to me? Give me answers! You did it once! Do it again! Answer me, god damn it!"

The moment the words left my mouth, the lights flickered off in the room and I jolted to my feet, realizing that I had made a very grave mistake. A cold feeling crept up my spine, alerting me to the fact that not only was something wrong, but I was in danger. I took a step backwards, towards the hall, prepared to bolt back to Cassius' room and wake him and explain the situation.

A shadow darted past me and something crashed into me hard, sending my body into the wall. My head made contact with the wall and I let out a loud gasp, black dots swarming my vision.

"Foolish girl," a voice whispered in my ear before the black dots claimed me completely.

***

My head felt like there was a spike driven through the back of it. 

I groaned, reaching up to run my fingers over the source of the pain. I winced, realizing that it was the same place I had been injured when my family was killed. I, reluctantly, cracked my eyes open, deciding it was best to get an understanding of my surroundings. I stopped breathing briefly at the sight of trees surrounding me. There were no trees whatsoever in the living room, which was where I had lost consciousness. 

I sat up fast, a grave mistake when having a head wound. Dizziness claimed me, momentarily blurring my vision, preventing me from getting a good baring of my surroundings. I reached up to rub my eyes in an attempt to clear my vision but froze, noticing something on my hands.

Blood.

My hands were coated in blood and as I inspected myself further, so was the shirt I had borrowed from Cassius. It might have been dark, the sun just barely beginning to peak over the horizon, but I was all too familiar with blood. I stood up, nearly slipping in the leaves that had fallen as an announcement of autumn. Tears filled my eyes and my breath was coming out in pants.