The World Below (ON BREAK)

Chapter 25

Ray's house, NY

The entire room went silent. Ray stared wide eyed at Cynthia, his jaw slack. After a few moments of silence, in a low voice, he muttered, "You mean you did this?"

She nodded, her expression one of regret.

Tears welled in Ray's eyes. He turned his arm over and studied it, then said, "You cursed me?"

"Yes."

His jaw trembled, tears beginning to slide down his face.

"You're the Demon that cursed me? Why?"

"I never meant for it to happen. It was all a big accident."

Ray raised his voice.

"An accident that messed me up for life! Why in the world did you even think to curse me?!"

Cynthia kept her gaze to the floor.

"I didn't. I told you, it was an accident."

Ray had his head in his hands, tears now streaming down his face.

"Why were we ever friends," he said, his voice becoming a yell, "if you were the one that cursed me?"

"Because I didn't remember anything! When I regenerated, my memories came back. I didn't think to tell you until now."

"Why not?! That's possibly the most important thing you could've told me! Thanks to you, I'll turn into a monster in the next month! You think I'm enjoying this? At this point, I can't even leave the house!"

Cynthia had waves of shame coming off her.

"I never meant for any of this to happen. I never meant for you to be cursed, Ray. I truly like being friends with you, but I didn't know I was the one to have cursed you! Please believe me, Ray."

He crossed his arms, his shoulders shaking.

"I believe you, but I'm still mad. Why didn't you tell me until now? You had hours until the curse decided to do this!"

"I don't know! I keep telling you, it was all an accident!"

Tanner had begun to back into a corner of the room, away from the two. Stacy, Caspian, and Terence had done the same. Best to give them some space. Ray didn't seem as angry as he was before, just hurt. Cynthia seemed unbelievably ashamed of herself.

Ray's mom kept trying to calm her son down, but he shrugged her off and asked her to leave. His ears drooped farther down than they were already.

"Cynthia, I'm going to ask you a question, and I expect an answer," he said, his voice shaky. "Can curses be reversed?"

She simply shook her head, and all hope Ray had for being normal again was dashed.

"Can't I use a Switch or something?" He turned to Tanner. "Do you know where the Switches are?"

Tanner nodded.

"I know where they are, but I need to get back into Sanctuary to get them."

Ray's gaze lowered to the ground.

Cynthia took a step toward him and he instinctively shuffled back against the headboard of his bed.

"Whatever you're going to do, Cynthia, I don't want it."

She ignored him and extended her hand, then placed her index finger on his forehead. Tanner felt a crackling in the air, and the room they were in simultaneously smelled like old batteries.

Suddenly, the entire room twisted and began to disintegrate, then reform as a completely different place. What was Ray's bedroom became a plain gray room made of stone. Ray fell to the ground, his bed having disappeared. He stood up, looking around. Tanner took notice of his feet, which were quite similar to his hands, being black and clawed. Like his hands, there were tufts of black fur and a few small scales.