Do As I Say

Chapter Thirteen

Cree's heart stopped. She blinked and the terror was no more.

You should really eat something, don't want no chicken legs. She smiled her laugh lines welcoming. The voice had warped, twisted into the vocal cords of someone Cree loved. Cree took a step back, slowly, like she wasn't sure if she indeed wanted to move away.

But she was there, just a foot away: Gran. Her eyes were lively, no longer faded, and her tongue was sluggish no more but razor sharp, just like it was when Cree was young. Make some use of yourself, eh? Gran motioned to the metal pot next to her. That was all that was around, a small rusted stove and atop it a meal being cooked, smelling of nostalgia. Cree hastily took the wooden spoon and began to stir the food, not wishing to give her Gran a reason to vanish at a moment's notice.

Tell me about school, she asked, her face sweet and aged. Cree wasn't sure what to say. Are you getting everything you want? Cree's stirring slowed. The words sounded off. Gran slowly lifted her hand to graze the black cloth wrapped around Cree's arm and lowered to rest on the crook of her elbow. Her hand was warm and reassuring. Is there anything your heart drains itself for late at night? Anything...

What about death?

You know you wish for it.

"N-no...not anymore," Cree whispered, pleading more to herself than to Gran.

There are some things even the sun can't show you. Gran's grip tightened. Her hand didn't feel warm, it felt hot, burning.

"Mommy?"

Cree whipped around, eyes watering at the glaring white expanse of nothingness. Out of the void emerged a little girl, her hair long and wavy, but still black as night. Her face was innocent, pure. She hadn't made anyone cry. She hadn't made herself wish for death yet.

"Mommy?" She repeated and a woman appeared. Cree sucked in a breath. The woman got to her knees and her lips folded into a small smile. But behind her came a man, good at heart but with a short timeline.

"We have to go. We have to go now." He cried; his strong eyes wet for once with tears.

"Mommy...Dadd -" And the little girl vanished, replaced the catastrophic boom of an explosion. Cree watched as her parents crumpled to the floor over and over, their lungs broken and guts destroyed.

"Why are you showing this to me?" Cree choked on her heart, bloody tears streaming down her bony cheeks.

It doesn't have to end like this.

You can see them again.

They can hold you again.

A fever swept through Cree and she turned back to Gran. Gran didn't look as animated as before, her face was blurred and her hand felt too agitated.

"How?" She pleaded.

Gran smiled kindly and took Cree into her arms, squeezing her tight. The heat ate its way through Cree, killing the numbness and making her feel more alive than she'd felt in years. And yet...there was this feeling deep inside her that was being removed. She could scarcely remember it anymore, couldn't see beyond the tremendous fire filling her. Except she could remember a bit, just enough really. She could remember how it took over her when she was roaming the halls of Ghoul School without a place but still happy. And how it had made her feel when she got to see Gran smiling for once at the end of a trying day. She didn't understand. These were some of the things that had kept her alive, so why did she feel more alive now more that ever?

"Balance," She whispered to herself.

The hotness sped up, curling her toes as it travelled through her body faster, nearly enrapturing her soul itself.