⚜Guardian⚜

Chapter Eight

"Lacey, have you thought about my offer?" It was Theo, his silhouette forming before his face was finally visible. The swirling pieces of black dust converged together to form the planes of his face. In truth, she had been prepared to answer, but now, as she stared into his cold, dark, frighteningly dead eyes, she knew her answer was no.

"Why do you care? What do you benefit from this?" She asked frightfully, trying to stall him for as long as possible. She wasn't ready to die.

"Don't you see?" He asked, taking her wrists. She felt like she wanted to throw up, leaning away from his grip, unable to escape his wrists. A curl of nausea crept into her stomach at his touch.

"With you, I could be unstoppable! My human vessels are weak and disposable. I could teach you every trick I know! I can make you the strongest vessel ever. With you, my powers wouldn't be bridled, I could walk the earth in my full form!" He languished darkly, his eyes glinting. A dark blackness had amassed behind him, almost like a black cloud. It emanated from the center of his being and spun outward, like a black tornado. Little wisps of black smoke reached out and caressed her skin. It felt as if they were yanking at her soul, trying to tug it out of her body.

"NO!" She screamed, trying to rip herself away. Her voice was high and frantic, and fear gripped her heart.

"What do you mean NO? I'M TRYING TO MAKE YOU IMMORTAL! I'M TRYING TO MAKE YOU UNSTOPPABLE!" Theo thundered, shaking her violently. She somehow maintained her dignity, holding her tears back.

"I won't let you!" She snapped, her voice rising and falling abnormally. Suddenly she was flying, her body crashing against the wall behind her. She felt her body shudder and crumple to the ground, falling against the floor. Every single bone in her body ached, and she found she couldn't move anything. She watched in panic as Theo walked over to her, looking serious. Every muscle in her body seemed as if it were disconnected, as if she couldn't reach them.

She watched as Theo began walking over to her, and she screamed mentally. She screamed and yelled but the muscles around her mouth didn't so much as move. Theo was taking his time, making his way over to her, his black cloud stretching violently. It was as if it wanted to separate from his body, to move forward and into hers...

He made it over to her, leaning down so his breath washed over her face.

"Have you changed your mind? Im offering you the world! It would be idiotic to refuse this!" Theo roared indignantly.

"You're offering me the death of my free will," Lacey breathed in a hoarse voice. Theo let out a cry of frustration and he slammed his foot onto her leg, crushing it under his sneakers. The impact was devastating- she could feel her bone protesting beneath the weight. She let out a guttural scream. The scream burned her throat, but she couldn't help but cry out. The pain was overwhelming.

"Give me PERMISSION!" Theo screamed. He yelled loudly enough that Lacey thought her eardrums would burst.

"No!" Lacey wailed. She braced herself as he raised his leg and kicked her into the wall. Theo paused for a moment, looking at her oddly.

“You’re supposed to want this! WHY DON’T YOU WANT THIS!?“ He screamed. She felt her throat burn as she let out a high pitched sob. A loud tapping noise sounded, but Theo didn‘t look over. He was busy staring intently at Lacey, as if solving a puzzle inside of his head. There were another tap on the glass door, but she couldn't move her head to see what was making the noise. It all happened so quickly that Theo didn't even have time to look over. The glass shattered violently, and something white and blinding enveloped Theo, taking him over. The light was gray, like an oncoming storm cloud. The two clouds seemed to mix and mesh for a long moment. Lacey heard Theo wail in agony, his voice like a prick to her ears.