Touch of Darkness

Chapter 12: Nightmare or Premonition

We were all sitting at the clearing, none of us particularly excited to be here this late at night but we had to. Alice sat with her arms wrapped around her, trying to stay warm as the harsh wind blew her blonde hair all over her face. Her pink sweater seemed to only be warm for a little bit and her jeans weren't preserving body heat. Next to her, Chris had his arm around her as he sat in his giant letterman jacket with a blue shirt and jeans. He was relaxed against the tree with a faint smile on his face. Elijah seemed intrigued as his eyes kept darting between Zedd and I, wondering what we could possibly be up to. His letterman jacket no doubt kept him warm. Cain seemed as if he would rather be anywhere but here, his eyes were dark and ominous as he stared down Zedd. He was upright, leaning against the tree, arms crossed, showing his muscles through his black long sleeve shirt; his eyes never leaving Zedd, once. Meanwhile Zedd seemed to not notice, or care. His blue eyes would dart from member to member and eventually back to the middle. He was in a short sleeve dark red shirt, loose fitting jeans, and Vans. I don't know how he wasn't cold but he seemed to not mind.

I cleared my throat and smiled, "Okay so I know we aren't entirely ecstatic to be here this late at night." I hear a couple grumblings. "But this is important. You guys might not like this idea but I think it is our best shot. For the past week, Zedd and I have been training and practicing magic. He's been giving me tips and tricks on how to master my magic. I think we need to all get together and train."

I see the expressions change one by one. Alice's eyes go wide, Chris' jaw drops, Elijah just looks confused, and Cain, well he actually looks the same. Alice is the one who breaks the silence, "Victoria, I know you and Zedd are..."friends", but I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"That is a terrible idea," Cain speaks, angrily, "We don't even know him. How can we trust him?"

Zedd keeps his cool, "If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already."

I step between the two, "Enough! Guys, seriously! Someone is out to kill us. We need all the help we can get."

"Not his," Cain says, through gritted teeth.

I feel Zedd try to move towards Cain, but my hand remains firmly on his chest, keeping the two of them apart. The last thing I need is them to get into it now, "Both of you, stop." I close my eyes. "Whether we like each other or not, we have to work together. Our lives are threatened, and I for one do not plan on letting someone killing me without putting up a damn good fight." I push the two boys away, "Whether that's as a team or alone, I've made my choice."

There was a sense of finality in my voice. I didn't need them to argue with me. I didn't need them to explain the reasons why. I knew why I was trusting Zedd, it was for a very selfish reason; self-preservation. With that said, I pushed past Cain and headed through the woods home. I was done dealing with them for the night; I was exhausted, cold, and fearful. I wasn't fearful of the hooded figure -I think I'd stand somewhat of a chance with them this time around. What I was fearful of was that darkness. I don't have an explanation for it, and the scary part is, it feels normal. Like it's a part of me; as if it has always been there.

I shake that thought, unlocking my door, ensuring it's locked behind me, and heading upstairs. Out of exhaustion, I don't even change into my pjs. I kick my black combat boots off and fall onto my bed. Sleep takes me almost instantly, and that's when I have the dream.

I see the pale blue eyes that have become all too clear. Those are the only features I'm able to view; the rest of him is dark, no light anywhere near him. A small part of me feels as if I should run away, nothing good comes from him, and being with him will destroy me. The rest of me wants him. I feel myself moving closer, as I always do, being drawn to him with some magnetic force. I can't explain why, it just is. Whenever I reach him, I know I will wake up, I always wake up. As I take my last couple steps, I reach him. I'm standing a few inches from him, our eyes meet, a sense of familiarity runs through me. I don't understand why I thought this figure was Zedd. Zedd's eyes have more light, more hope in them. His eyes are not this pale, dull blue. His are this light, lively blue that makes you feel at peace.

He reaches out to caress my cheek as he always does, but this time, he doesn't. Instead, I see the pale blue eyes begin to fade, the darkness surrounding his face begin to take over until the last bit of those dull eyes are gone. Even without the face, I can see the darkness wringing, as if in pain; the darkness begins to swirl and swirl. I want to run, I urge myself to run, but it's no use. I am frozen in my spot and all I can do is watch. And then it happens, a new face greets me, and I stare in shock.

The face staring back at me is mine, except my eyes are darker, my face is gloomy, and an evil grin is plastered on my face, sending shudders down my body. In every dream, there is no conversation. Mouths always move but no words come out; but not this time. This time I hear the words loud and clear.

"Take a good look, Victoria, this is your future," the, my, voice speaks with no emotion to them. It's almost as if I my soul is gone and I have no heart. But the words hit me like knives, it cannot be a coincidence that what happened at training is not related to this dream. Is this a warning or a vision?

I move closer to myself, who is still frozen in place. I watch with wide eyes as I twist my head to the side, blinking slowly, "You can try to fight it Victoria, but you won't be able to. Eventually, no matter what you do, you'll end up like me. Powerful, invincible, and a force to be reckoned with. It'll be hard to deal with at first, but the rewards are immeasurable."

I shake my head, I can't speak, only listen. I try not to stare at her, I look behind her where I finally see the gruesome scene. Loitered all over are the others; dead. I see Alice with her eyes open, dull and dead. Blood lines her light hair, making it almost seem dyed. Chris lies next to her, his eyes are closed but his face is frozen in agony. Elijah lies ahead of them, face down but I can see the pool of blood making a puddle at his head. Lastly, I see Cain, dead but his eyes staring directly at me, as if saying it's my fault.

I feel my heart begin to beat fast and loud that I don't think I could hear anything else. I see evil me smiling, as if she's enjoying how much pain this causes me, "I know it hurts now, but don't worry Victoria, soon they won't mean anything to you and you'll do this without batting an eye."

I can't focus on her, instead I focus on Cain and the others. I feel a new feeling rush through me, anger. No one hurts my friends. I felt a light begin to shine, it was the same light during training, and when this light shone during training, it destroyed the darkness. I look at evil me one last time and mentally shout, NO. I feel the light take over, evil me's face goes wide before it completely gets destroyed by the light. The light encases everything, until all I see is white.

That's when I sit up in bed, panting hard and feel sweat dripping down my head. I just realized that I was gripping my hands so tight that I left little crescent shaped indentations in my palms. I feel a dull pain in my head, and roll over to see the time, 3 am. I groan, falling back into bed, and rolling my pillow over my ears. No sleep for the wicked.

My eyes go wide with that thought, and I jump out of bed. I rush over to my window seat, moving the curtains out the way, and looking through the window. I see Cain's bedroom from here but the lights are off, not letting me see inside. I know I shouldn't but I have to.

Cain.

Nothing.

Cain.

No answer. He's probably asleep but I have to be sure.

Cain!

What? I hear a groggy groan.

I close my eyes, my heart stops beating so fast, I can relax a little, Wanted to make sure you were okay.

Could you have not done this in the morning?

I chuckle to myself, I'm sorry, get some sleep. Good night.

Good night, Vic.

I smile softly at that message. I walk back to my bed, realizing sleep is a luxury I do not get, and just stare at the ceiling. This dream was different. I didn't feel like it was mine, it was as if someone else was trying to keep me in a nightmare, or try to scare me. Regardless, it worked. I can't tell the others about what happened in training, and I can't tell anyone about this dream. I have to figure out what it means, and if it does result in that, then I know what I have to do.

I'll have to take care of this issue before it happens. I'll have to destroy myself.