Renaissance of Chaos

XVII

There's always that little place where you're not supposed to go, the dark alley where monsters wearing human-faces lurked, waiting for prey, the shop where there are more things to sell than what's on display, or rules would be bent should conditions be met. But sometimes, the temptation of the forbidden is too strong to resist, the rush of the adrenaline is too delicious to resist.

"Would that be all?" the clerk asked, casting one more look around him.

Fortunately, the parking lot was still empty, cars passing over, people rushing to work in the early hours of the day. He looked at them for a few seconds before he returned his attention back to the trunk filled with tanks of gasoline.

"So, this must be one hell of huge barbeque, huh?" he asked, a smug smile gracing his lips.

Kristina didn't answer him, staring at the red canisters, the stench filling her nostrils and making her nauseous. Doubts were trying to eat away at her resolve, but she pushed them away. She would not let anything stand in her way, not even herself.

She closed the trunk and pushed a stack of notes in the clerks hands. She got in her car, her eyes passing over the picture hanging from the rearview mirror. Two girls, same dark hair, same face, same freckled smiles, and dreamy eyes. Two peas in a pod, two birds of a feather. She looked away, vision getting blurrier the longer her gaze lingered. She closed the door with a little too much force, put on the seatbelt and started the engine. Mechanical motions which required attention, but her mind could not focus, too many thoughts swirling in her head like a hurricane.

She went over the plan she made last night over and over, reevaluating every detail, examining every fault that could be used to trace the event back to her. Thanks to her mother's new HOA rules, she could use it to create an alibi, but even if that wouldn't work, she didn't doubt her parents would help her one way or another. Her only fear was the weather. Despite the more than generous amount of gasoline, she wasn't sure if the fire would last should a storm hit. This was summer after all, and a light rain could turn violent in the blink of an eye.

A sudden honk pulled her from her thoughts, and she quickly pressed the brake, narrowly avoiding an accident. She pulled over and let herself fall back into the chair to calm herself down and clear her mind. She could not afford to get into an accident now, minor, or not. She had no license, and this was her mother's car. She didn't afford to get in trouble now. Her gaze traveled back to the picture, tears she tried to fight back trailing down her cheeks.

Adelia. Her dear sister. How much she missed her.

That forest stole her, as it did with so many others. And now it brought a friend, that monster from last night, who killed her friends. Who was it going to be next? Her teachers? Her family? She was not going to allow it!

She grabbed the steering will, and started the engine again, her determination made anew. She will not let anyone fall prey to it. Not anymore!

Tonight... tonight she'll set it all ablaze!

℘◆℘

Tonight, you will tell them everything.

Or so was your plan. As soon as the sky was graced by the morning light and the rosters in the village sang to signal the start of a new day, doubts began to eat away at your mind.

Locked in the kitchen, peeling potatoes, and adding condiments to the chicken breast your friends were preparing, your mind wondered in the darkest corners it could weave from worries and fears. Would your friends be alright with what you were going to show them? The Dreamlands were endlessly beautiful, gorgeous even, but they were also dangerous. After all, they hosted all of humanity's dreams and nightmares, the strongest ideas shaping and modifying it to fit themselves. How would they react knowing that every fairy tale was true? That there may actually have been a monster under their bed, a fae who took their teeth and left money in return? Worse, how would they continue living knowing the shadows festered with beings from beyond the fragile veil humans call reality?