The Young and Gifted

30. alone and broken

Kaura wanted to laugh. It couldn't get any worse. Not only was her father dangerous, but he also killed his own sister. She didn't know how to feel. She couldn't hate someone she didn't know. Her whole entire life she had this image that he was perfect, that he would have been at her side if he ever got to live. Now that image was starting to blur, to break. Is he why I'm so screwed up? But somehow, she still had this growing ache to talk to him, to speak to him.

It didn't take long for the teachers to get notified. All of them, minus Clarke, and the gang gathered in the library. Ric had returned and Dorian seemed to be trying to inspect what type of monster it was since it wasn't physically visible. Caroline kept looking at Josie but not once did she look back.

"Do you guys remember what I said at the beginning of the year?" Emma questioned the girls, arms crossed as they paced around in the room. "About morality switches?"

Penelope swallowed. "You don't think that Lizzie—"

"I think she did," Emma said sternly.

"That would explain the way she was acting...off." Josie rubbed her arms, tucking a shy hair behind her ear.

Dorian emerged in the library with a book in hand. "I think I know what monster this is. It's called the Baku, a Japanese folklore that haunts nightmares and memories. It essentially goes through its victims' memories to find the most horrifying one. Then it makes a deal with the victim to try and relieve the pain that was brought up. And once it fulfilled its part of the bargain, the Baku will have complete control over the victim."

"So you're saying that it went through Lizzie's memories and found a painful one that Kaura caused? " Hope's eyes were scrunched, trying to piece together the puzzle.

"Lizzie said that... Kai Parker killed our mother," Josie said in a quiet voice. "The memory must have been painful enough that it made Lizzie agree to the bargain. As long as she could get angry, she didn't care for anything else." Josie would have done the same.

Kaura flinched and managed to say to Caroline, "You told us that she accidentally got between a witch crossfire."

"I wouldn't believe a word she says anymore," Josie scoffed. "She's nothing but a liar."

"Josie," Ric warned. "Don't speak to your mother like that."

Josie rolled her eyes. She is not my mother. My real mother is dead.

"Okay, can we get back on topic? The Baku snapped or switched whatever morality magic is inside of Lizzie and now it's trying to kill Kaura. If it kills Kaura, the Baku will have full control of her, right?" Landon asked, placing the room back on track.

"Yes," Dorian confirmed.

"And since it's a Legendarium monster, it will control Lizzie to come after Landon or I,"  Hope said as her gaze rose to Landon.

"We can't let that happened," Raf scoffed, interlacing his fingers together with his elbow on his knees.

"Well Kaura just won't die, point blank period. We don't need to worry about what happens after," Mason stated.

Caroline turned to Dorian. "Does that book tell us how to defeat this monster?"

"It's not specified. There are plenty of different solutions but none are definite."

"Wait a minute," MG said and everyone turned to him. "The Baku, you said right? I read a comic book a long time ago and its monsters were inspired by the Japanese."

"Tell us what we need to know," Kaleb pressed.

"If I'm right, there's only one way to defeat it."

"And what way is that?" Caroline crossed her arms, worried for her daughter.

"We need to create a new painful memory, one that overpowers the one the Baku used to trigger her."

*

By the time they reached the front of Kaura's room, it was silent. No banging, no thrashing, no screaming. Utter silence.

Earlier, they decided that they would try and verbally hurt her because physically would be dangerous and scarring. Penelope took up the offer quickly. The teachers were trying to ensure the safety of the waking students. Kaura went to go heal herself from the wounds Lizzie inflicted and Hope and Landon went to the darkest points of the school.

Penelope knocked on the door. "Anyone home?" Nothing. She turned to Josie and nodded.

"Aperire cincinno," the Gemini whispered and the door clicked open. MG, Raf, Mason and Kaleb all held their ground, preparing for the worst.

"Come out, you little viper," Penelope said and Josie flinched at the direct blow. "Aw, come on, don't tell me you're crying. Did you finally figure out that nobody wants you? Josie left, your other friends left. You're all alone, Lizzie. Cowering in the dark like the little rat you are. You could never accept being alone, could you? It's why you came between Josie and I. It's why you're alone now. It's why you'll always be alone—"

A figure pounced from the darkroom and they all jumped back for caution as Lizzie emerged. Except it didn't hurt Penelope. Thanks to Kaura, they had a spell that momentarily prevented harm. But only for a short period of time so they had to hurry up. Lizzie pulled back, eyes glowing green. "I deserve to kill her."

Penelope held her ground and continued. "Would you look at that, you came crawling out. Looking for your next victim? Or have you finally realized that nobody wants you here?" She chuckled and slowly approached her. "Remember what you told me? To leave? Ironic because I am telling you right now. Leave. Pack your belongings, book a flight and leave like I did. Go to France or Tokyo. Just leave and never look back because this school is better off without you."

Josie swallowed and turned to the guys. "It's not working, we need to think of something else before the spell wears off."

Mason cleared his throat and said loud enough for her to hear, "I only used you for sex."

No reaction. She only continued to try and attack Penelope. When that didn't work, she dove for Josie. But the same outcome, nothing was caused.

"I really don't like you, you're nothing but a stuck-up witch that uses my guy MG for his brain," Kaleb spat.

"I deserve to kill her," Lizzie shouted and the walls began to shake.

"I am not saying anything mean to her," MG shook his head frantically, holding his hands up in surrender. "I can't."

Lizzie realized that the whole situation was futile so she turned to the right hallway. The direction Kaura was in.

"You're broken," Raf began and that froze her. "You try to hide it with all the makeup and the popularity and the attitude but I can see it clear as day. You hate being that way because you can't change it. You'll always be like this. You know that nobody is ever going to truly love you because of it. It's why you're scared about Josie leaving you for Penelope. It's why you constantly hurt people so that you are at least relevant for that. Because at the end of the day, you're nothing but a witch bitch that needs therapy."

In seconds, the hall flashed green and Raf tried to brace himself from the painful blow. The light faded away and his vision cleared to see Lizzie crouched on the floor, panting heavily. 

~

"In order to conquer, we had to divide."

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