Wattys Shortlist 2022! | Kyla Shepard, a sixteen-year-old orphan who conjures massive ink-like creatures with her thoughts, must learn to tame the monsters before they consume everything in their path, including her.
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Lilac stared from over my shoulder at the mangled and scattered bones inside the elevator. "I have never seen anything like this before. So bizarre."
"It's much more than bizarre." I shook my head, refusing to see the shock in his eyes. "It's my fault."
Lilac took a step back, cocking his head as he always did, causing the long parts of his hair to dangle over one eye. Curiosity was written all over his face and he didn't have to open his mouth to ask for me to continue.
"Remember how you wondered about experiments at Knoques?" I gulped, staring at the somber scene in the elevator. "There was no experimentation that caused this to happen. It was me." I watched him pace the vine cluttered room out of my periphery.
He nodded. "The creatures."
"The Scorchers." I sighed. "The doctors and nurses were only trying to stop them. To prevent me from willing them into existence. All it takes is a thought, a belief." Desperately trying to hold back my tears, I blinked and sniffed.
The scent of burnt molasses filled my nostrils.
My heartbeat sped up and a shot of adrenaline pumped through my veins. In a panic, I covered my ears with my hands and dropped to my knees, squeezing my eyes closed on the way down. "Go away. Just go away. You're not real. You're not real." I envisioned the television set, the static, the dark, immersive surroundings. The only words filling my head, over and over was a chant.
Leave me alone. Stay away. No more.
I faded into a fog, diving deep into the meditation. Only moments after the calm washed over me did I dare open my eyes. Stillness. Although it felt like hours had past, the sun still shone through the broken windows and the overgrown vines that covered them.
I stood, turning to set my sights on Lilac but he was nowhere to be found. Had he gone on without me? I craned my neck to peer up the dilapidated stairs next to the elevator.
"Lilac?" I called. "Are you there?"
Without a wasted breath, his head popped out from behind the corner of the main entrance. "I thought I should give you some space." He stepped out from behind the wall. His grimy white hair set him apart from everything else in our surroundings.
"Yeah. Thanks." I dropped my stare in embarrassment. "I just needed a moment." I briefly tuned into my steady heartrate, satisfied.
The half-smile on his face signaled how unsure he was about the moment and if it was appropriate to smile or not. "Maybe we shouldn't talk about some things."
I nodded before clearing my throat. "For a moment, I thought you left me." I wouldn't blame him if he did. Who would want to be around someone who spontaneously conjured Hell's spawn?
"As long as you will have me, I'm not going anywhere." This time his smile was genuine. "I am glad we found each other. See, I've gotten a bit used to you."
