Heads Of Medusa

PROLOGUE {edited}

I tried suppressing my yawn, which I failed to do, pushing myself to an upright position on the bed. Gradually, my senses returned and I could hear my alarm clock blaring consistently by the bedside table.

I've never been a morning person and waking up early was my everyday nightmare, yet what choice did I have? I've got to. After what had happened, everyone was, unconsciously, counting on me.

I couldn't waste a single minute. There was so much to uncover which means that there was little or no time to roll into dejection of the wrongs I'd done. It was time to fix them.

With that in mind, I crawled out of my bed with my body feeling like I'd been slammed on all sides with plywoods.

For the past few days, I've been sleeping late trying to find anything to help solve everything at hand, to no avail. Most days, I found myself waking up on the couch.

The couch does wonders on me... if you count the ache all over my neck and arms, yeah, wonders.

I walked to the bathroom and checked myself through the mirror. Dark circles formed under my sleepy, golden-green eyes and my blond hair fell, messily, over my shoulders. Originally, its length was just a little below my bust but after the war zone under the pretence of sleep, it now barely touches my shoulders.

My pale skin could use some moisturising and tanning.

Just then Lisa hissed awake.

"Morning Lisa," I greeted.

Lisa hissed in reply then caress my cheeks by prodding her head on them. I'd almost forgotten to mention her. She was the only consolation, and my only friend, I'd had after everything that'd happened and at that time.

I chuckled at the ticklish feeling I got as she moved to caress my cheek, then stared at myself, once again, in the mirror.

"I'm a mess," I said, then on second thoughts, added, "What I mean is, my hair is a mess."

Lisa hissed loudly, in impatience.

I laughed.
"No time to waste sweetheart," I said, even if that was exactly what I was doing.

*****
After another traumatizing bath for Lisa and myself, I dried my hair with a hairdryer which left Lisa completely pissed off.

"Poor Lisa," I chuckled, cupping her chin with my thumb and index finger.

Lisa hissed loudly in interjection and pulled herself away. It made me laugh even more. She was the only joy I'd had in my life.

We soon descended downstairs for our unchanging breakfast preference; cereal and milk.

Done and dusted, some twenty minutes later, I settled down on the floor of my study which was filled with documents, books and some paperwork all around me that I didn't yet understand, but felt might've been clues.

I spent hours going through everything but found nothing of importance. Plus, it was difficult finding something one doesn't know but, once one saw it, one knew exactly what it was. It's a complicated feeling you might've had before.

Forever sadly after, I stopped and lay flat on my back.

"Lisa, I don't understand anything. What am I to do exactly?!" I groaned. But, of course, no reply came.

"I have to find something. At least anything! I've been on this case for a long time now, why can't I find anything?"

Still, Lisa was annoyingly silent.

"Lisa!" I shouted. "Everyone is counting on me!"

Lisa hissed in a low sad tone.

Of course, how could I have been so insensitive to my only friend? If everything gets better, then doesn't it mean she'll have to disappear too?

"I'm sorry, Lisa." I sat up and faced her. "I've been doing this every day and have got nothing. I need to do something different-" I bit my lower lip "-or get my mind off things. That should help."

I took out my phone and scrolled through my notifications, looking for nothing in particular. I clicked on a random one which was a news report about a bank robbery.

Scroll through.

After some minutes, as I wallowed in my boredom, something caught my eye. Some unknown cult had burnt down a hidden laboratory.

What trapped my attention, however, was the leaked image on the screen of one of the cultists. He had a mark that I could never forget.

*****
My bike screeched to a stop in the lone street.

"Yup. This is it." Lisa hissed in agreement as we disembarked.

Before me stood what must have been a great castle. Although it was burnt and had adapted a dark shade, one could still tell its original was dark green.

As I advanced towards it, I took notes of my surroundings which had overgrown trees and grass carpeting its exteriority. The walkway was not spared. Little weeds sprouted here and there.

Although it looked like a typical castle on the outside, it was the site for the lab I'd seen online.

I walked in, cautiously. The door led to a large hallway, with many doors on each side and chandeliers hanging overhead.
Large working tables were all over the place, as though it had been a site for a dozen scientists. Most of the lab pieces of equipment had been incinerated by the fire. Why this place was burnt down, I could tell.

Suddenly, I heard voices.

That shouldn't be right, right?

Although I had unanswered questions, I wouldn't want to be discovered by anyone interested in this place, in the middle of the forest, now, would I?

This has been my only lead to finding anything for the past weeks now. I couldn't run away now, though I could hide. And that's what I did. I stealthily dashed into one of the rooms nearest to me, bating my breath and hoping I wasn't discovered as quickly as I ducked.

The moment I entered the room and shut the door, it was as though I had shut myself from the outside world, as every single sound died away.

I turned around to observe the room I'd sheltered in, only to get the biggest shock in my life.

Before me sat the head of a woman on a plate covered by see-through glass on the only table in the room. Goosebumps immediately rushed across my arms. That was the least to be worried about; the woman's head was filled with, instead of curls, huge snakes staring at me and hissing.

They tried breaking out, at the sight of me but were restrained by the see-through glass.

The movement of the snakes immediately raised an automatic alarm.

Seconds later, I heard the door behind open and a few people rushing in.

"Eve?" someone said before their eyes settled on me.

<Guys please rate this editing, nice right?>