A Twisted Tale

15) Ripped Away *Red*

When I finally came to I was staring up at a blank sky, it wasn't even blue like normal just a blank white canvas that was telling me something was off. When I sat up it took a lot of effort because my limbs felt like they were weighed down by lead.

"Oh you're finally awake," a masculine voice pondered and as I look behind me a strange man walks up to my still form with one hand outstretched. Unfamiliar fingers wrap around mine and as I'm pulled into a warm embrace it seems as if all of the past conflicts in my life were suddenly lifted from my mind. I wanted to stay here, I wished I could stay here forever.

"I'm sorry," the same voice murmurs while a calming hand rubs the top of my hand, "but there are people who need you. It isn't your time to join me in this fight yet." Raising my head, gray locks frame a gentle face. Light gray, almost white eyes look down at me and never waver as our gazes lock.

"Who are you," I ask the man. I'm too tired to move so I stay in his grip. Even when the scenery around us began to warp and change into a... seemingly familiar scene. Screams and cries of horror were muted by the fuzzy dimension we were trapped in. Young people swarmed around a particular area of the compound. I couldn't lift my head far enough to see what everyone was looking at, but I felt something in me telling me that I wouldn't want to see it anyway.

I ignored the feeling in my gut and rose onto my toes, wincing at the pain bursting through my body. A girl with short hair lay in the middle of a group of three boys and a girl. All of them appear to be unconditionally sad, grasping at the body laying in the middle of the pack. I stretch that little bit that would allow me to see just who it -

Wait, that's me.

"I am Helix, the Yin to Twisted's Yang." His voice didn't change as I turned away, stumbling over nothing as I try to get away from him.

"Don't tell me you're here to do what Twisted did," I blurt out, unable to contain my thoughts. Faint fear pulsed through me and I stared with vulnerable eyes at the ground. "I won't let you! You have to let me get back to Annabeth!"

He says nothing but quiet footfalls stop next to me and gentle hands pry my own from my head. Without knowing it I had reverted back to my old habit, curling up on the floor with my head tucked between my knees with my hands squeezing it as hard as I can so that I don't fall apart.

"You've been strong so far, little one," he whispers to me," let me guide you from here on out." I keep my head down and just sit, not wanting to give up the control I spent so long gaining, unwilling to leave my hands in a beast so similar to Twisted, but so different.

"What will happen if I let you do this?" I ask. I wanted to be sure what would happen so history doesn't repeat itself. I never want to see the others look so somber. "How can you fix this mess I made?"

"The creator can always change what he has made," Helix declared. "Twisted was my mistake, so I must atone for what I have done. You may not fully accept that I can help end this, but with you containing my existence, we can end this once and for all. All your friends can be saved and things can be neutral again."

" The creator can always change what he has made? You created Twisted? But how, you said you were his opposite..." my voice trails off and I sit in astonishment.

He drops a book in front of me. The cover reads Twisted's Fate and the author is.... J.R. Helix.

" I had never intended for things to go this far. When I created his existence, when I wrote his actions page by page I thought he was just a work of fiction. But he came out, and he came out strong. The only way I could incapacitate him was to trap him in the nearest tale I had by. And Red, it was yours."

"What is this?" I question looking at the book with confusion.

"Red your whole life, the things that have happened to you, the people you have met, even you falling in love with Annabeth was all written done. Someone else has complete control of your life. All you are is a character in a twisted tale," he states.

I felt like my whole world just collapsed, everything I am and everything I do depends on someone else writing it.

" In fact none of this would have happened to you if Twisted wasn't put into your story..." he trails off with guilt in his eyes.

"You messed up my life?" I cry in disbelief.

""No," he said," I altered it. Unbeknownst to me Twisted could change the stories of those around him. You shouldn't have met these people, shouldn't have done the things you've done." His eyes trail down. "You shouldn't have fallen in love."

I could feel myself breaking down on the inside, I came this far to find out that my life was a lie "But," he finally says, "We can fix this, we can remove Twisted from this world and your life can go on, whether or not you keep what has already been changed is your decision."

"And what about Amber?" My voice cracks at her name, but I have to know. He sighs and averts his gaze from mine.

"I'm afraid she's too far gone," he says. His words open up new wounds, but I shouldn't have held onto the slim hope that he could work a miracle. "Red, you have to understand that Twisted takes people and never lets go, he uses them until there's nothing left. With your help... at least we may be able to take him out of the world."

He drops a book in front of me. The cover reads Twisted's Fate and the author is.... J.R. Helix.

"Things may change. Such as your appearance may alter, the people around you may not remember who you are and your power may increase drastically. I won't force you to do it, but if you don't, know that mankind is over because of you."

I can't say anything. Denying him will lead to the demise of the world as we know it, but accepting... can I really help him defeat Twisted? I shake my head, wondering when I turned into this sopping mess. Holding out my hand, I look up at him with a new fire in my eyes.

"I'll take down Twisted with you, no matter what it takes." Memories of past flash through my mind as my vision drifts away from the cornerstone between life and death.

Helix, we'll take down Twisted. My last thought dwindle away as fire races through my body, a new me forming to take down the one evil in this world..