Unchained

Chapter Fourty Nine

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"Avaley, wake up. And stop that, it's not funny."

I opened my eyes, the numbers disappearing and the face of the beautiful woman replacing their spot. "Where am I?" I forced myself to ask. 

"You're dead, Avaley."

Oh.

"Or rather, you think you're dead. Where you are now is your choice and your choice alone."

Ah, I see. Not really.

I sat up, and to my surprise... I was back at the hospital. Where David touched me and I went flying down the stairs and the beautiful woman was there. Where that same lady was on every single floor, handing me key after key. I was at the bottom of the stairs. And it was just me and that beautiful lady.

"I don't get it," I said. I stood up and walked over to the lady, who was staring out a window. "I don't understand."

"You can't understand it, Avaley," she said to me in her soothing voice. "But know this: you're doing a good job so far."

Huh?

"So choose," she said, standing in front of me and crossing her arms. "Do you want to live or do you want to die?"

"But I'm dead right now," I blurted out. "Sean killed me."

"Avaley Camber," the woman said, and for the first time in how ever long I've known her, I felt scared. "I didn't bring you back to life to die again. I brought you back to life because you had potential. I didn't incarnate myself into you to see my love at the mall. I incarnated myself into you to give you the powers that were supposed to save yourself."

I just stared at her.

"Avaley Camber, you're supreme," she said. "You've done what no one can imagine, and if you give up and let yourself die now, you can't do that anymore."

"But... But... I don't know what I'm supposed to do," I said. "David is dead and Tamara is dead and my parents are probably dead and Kevin..." I trailed off. Kevin?

She nodded, a small smile appearing on her face. "Yes, Avaley. Kevin has always been there, hasn't he?"

"Well, not really," I said. "But how come he isn't dead yet? Or is dying? Or how come he hasn't really been a part of everything?"

The beautiful woman leaned into me and whispered into my ear: "Maybe because he's just being the guardian angel he's supposed to be."

Guardian angel? Kevin? My Kevin? All this time he was just watching out for me?

I shook my head. "But my powers. They were gone when Sean caught up to me - I... I... I couldn't even fight back!"

"Stop doubting yourself, Avaley," the woman said. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself and fight. I know there's anger and confusion inside of you. But if you can just ignore that and fight for what you really need - then that will all go away. Including Sean. And your powers will return. Unless you want yourself to be lost in the anger you're swimming in."

"But I don't know what I want to fight for," I admitted, looking down at my feet. "I've lost everything."

"That's what he wants you to believe, Avaley," the beautiful woman said, and held out her hands. And as I looked down into them, I realized it was that blade. That stupid blade. The one Sean tried to use on me. Or did use on me. And the one I used to kill David Pearson, the only person who ever truly understood me.

Dang, I missed him.

"What's this?" I asked.

"This," she said. "Is a lie." 

She placed the blade in my hand as she gestured around her, and instantly, images appeared. Clouds of David's face and Sean's face and Tamara's face and Ryker, my parents, everything - just started to appear in bubbly images around her. "These people mean so much to you, Avaley, but you don't know how to save them," she said. "I know that you've tried but you still fail. But that was before you died." she smiled, and the images disappeared.

I was so lost.

"But... Tamara and David and Ryker," I said. "They all left after I died. How does this make sense?"

"How do you know they're truly gone?" she asked quietly.

"But Sean..." I said. "He's too strong. I tried to fight him but - "

"Stop doubting yourself, Avaley," the beautiful woman said. "As much as I love you, I hate you for how you underestimate yourself. You can be more than what you think you are. Anyone can, but you are the one I am giving the powers to." she smiled, and I felt myself sinking down as she placed two fingers against my forehead. 

"I'm letting you free now, Avaley," she said. "The ropes are loosening. You've been Unchained - now you must go and fight for the ones you really love and save the things that you know you can. I won't let you get hurt anymore."

"Thank you..." I found myself saying, and I began to dissolve into nothingness.

"No, thank you, Avaley," she said. "Now go save them."