Secret Ssundee

Chapter 15

I woke up, aching all over, to the sound of terror. I didn't know that adjectives and feelings could have sounds, but I'm hearing it. There's really quite no other way to describe it. I was in pain and on the ground, coated head to toe with blood, but I didn't have a scratch. Wait, doesn't that mean... Oh god... Whose blood is this?! I opened my eyes. I was on my back, looking up. There was a weak purple protection spell flickering above me, and the living room ceiling could be seen through it. The last thing I remembered was being covered with my friends. So many people could have been hurt, but they're safe now that I'm back in control with my glasses on. I looked over to my left, where Ty had been standing, but now there was no one there. The protection spell must block out sound as well as threats, as it eventually flickers and dies, returning sound to my ears. I wish it had stayed up so I wouldn't have to hear the weeping.

I turned to face my right, where the crying was coming from, and I was shocked by the horrible thing I saw. All my friends were crowded together around a body, bawling. About a foot away from them lied Seto, still breathing, but out cold. He must have used a lot of magic energy. Gathering as much strength as I could muster from my rather drained body, I made may way towards the others to see who they were crying over, whose blood stained my clothes. Mitch and Jerome were holding each other, eyes spilling waterfalls onto their shoulder. With no memory of what I'd done, I began to walk faster, making the floor loudly creak beneath my feet. Every once and a while my foot would stick to a little puddle of blood on the ground, briefly slowing me down while making a sickening slushy sound. I must of been heard, as Adam stopped crying for a moment and looked over his bleeding shoulder towards me. His eyes were so full of hatred that it scared me enough to want to run and hide, causing me to take a step back. The floor creaked under the weight of the one foot that was now carrying me. It made enough noise to gain the attention of the injured men on the floor in front of me. They all just glared at me, silent. I looked them all in the eye, one by one. Adam, Ty, Sub, Jason, Mitch, Jerome, and Que- wait, his eyes weren't moving, he was just... laying there. Then it struck me.

Derp killed Quentin.

Tears brimmed my eyes, then spilled over. I collapsed onto the ground. What else had Derp done while I was out?! I wanted to ask what he'd done, tell them I was sorry a million times over. All the words got caught in my throat and turned into an indecipherable jumble of sounds, coated with tears. Then, as I layed there weeping, the voices of guilt and anger spoke to me.

You warned them, but they just ignored you. It's their fault, not yours.

You're a monster! A killer! Look at all you've done!

They will never, ever forgive you for what you did, even though it wasn't your fault. Just think...

Who is really at fault here.

"I-Ian?" A voice tore me away from my thoughts. "Are y-you okay?" It was Adam. I slowly opened my eyes and looked up at him. Lost for words, my attempt to respond was a failure and I just cried out more gibberish. Back in a ball on the floor, I swear Derp could be heard laughing in my head. Always mocking, his scratchy voice echoing throughout my caged mind, making it bleed even more than it already was. I could feel someone picking up my weakened form, and carry it into a different room on a limp, closing the door behind them. They gently set me down upon a bed, and left me to cry, alone with no one but myself to taunt me. I cried myself to sleep, the guilt making my thoughts blur as I fell into what seemed like a portal from one nightmare straight into another, and another, and another, all the while praying I would never wake up.

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My eyes opened unwillingly to meet a bright light shining through the window. "Augghhh..." I groaned, upset that I had to return to the world. The light made me cover my eyes and roll onto my back with a sigh. My hand felt weird so I removed it from my face to look at it, just to be reminded of what a horrid thing I'd done the day before by the dried blood coating me. I would have cried if there were any tears left in me. Instead I settled for rolling onto my stomach and ramming my aching head onto the pillow.

After laying there like that for a while, I heard a sound behind me. If I was my normal self right now, I would have noticed it way earlier, but my brain was an absolute mess. 

"You're up." The man behind me said. "Good. Now we can talk." I responded with a groan as I rolled onto my back and sat up to face him. Surprisingly, it wasn't Ty, but Adam who was speaking to me. "Since you don't seem to have the ability to English right now, I'll just speak first. K?" His voice was weak and scared, yet bold and strict. I just nodded in response.

"Okay, first off, I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at Ty for not listening, but you can't tell him I said that, because he has been blaming himself all night. He has been trying to blame you as well, but he just won't stop crying and blaming himself for not listening." He stopped, but just for a moment. I was slightly shocked, but I couldn't really feel to much emotion more than guilt right now. Adam continued. "Sub and I have been tending to wounds all night. Seto helped out too once he was healed up enough. He used almost all his Mana up on you, again." 

"He told you?" I breathed.

Adam just laughed. "Ian, he told us everything, but it just made the guys feel worse. Emotionally. I don't know how they could possibly feel worse physically."

I cringed, remembering once again what I'd done.

Adam continued. "Yah. Mitch and Jerome were the best fighters, Seto mostly shielded and healed. Ty and I tried, but Derp was a beast, and we chickened out. Oh yah, and Sub was really bad-ass, like WOW. If I had thought to film it, we would be even more famous than we already are. Derp mostly just attacked the people that were holding him down at first, so I was almost ignored. Jason got it worst, other than... Well..."

He didn't have to bring up Quentin, but he did, and the reminder brought me back to tears.

Seeing his fault, Adam tried to calm me down. "I don't think you're a freak at all. In fact, I went to Seto for help with my problem years ago. Magic and stuff is normal to me." Okay, now I'm confused. Relieved, and calmer, but confused.

"Your problem?"

"I got tired of wearing gloves." He stated as if it were the simplest thing in the world while grasping his shimmering amulet.

"I still have no idea what you're talking about." I responded honestly. Then, without a word, Adam removed his amulet, stood up, and walked towards my bed stand with a limp.

The limp... Adam was the one who carried me here...

I watched in awe as Adam poked the lamp next to my bed, making it slowly turn into pure, 24 carat gold. I looked up at him as he placed the amulet with a gorgeous violet jewel in the center, his source of protection, back around in neck. I couldn't speak, so I just admired my new golden lamp.

"Like I said," Adam voiced as he strut towards the door, facing it as he finished his sentence. "I got tired of wearing gloves." The door opened, the limping man exited, and I was alone with myself once again.