Death to Bumble Bees

11: bee vs realms

Listen to Wonderland by Natalia Kills

Chapter Eleven: Bee VS. the Realms

Bee opened her eyes with a trembling inhale.

The first thing she saw was darkness--as if she hadn't opened her eyes at all. But then she saw the shimmering light around her. She sat up, feeling coldness under her.

Glass.

She reached out and felt the glass surrounding her. Where was she? Had she fallen into another reality? Was there not just one other? How many were there? Her head ached as she rubbed her face. Her body still pained, and she could see the blood staining her skin... so, whatever it was that was happening now, wasn't a completely separate reality from the Shadow Domain (as she decided to call it, since Shadow Realm seemed to be taken).

Her surroundings seemed to move with her; the glass growing tall as she stood up. Testing it out, she took a step where the glass was, watching with intrigue as her foot passed through all obstacles, allowing her to walk on without hitting glass as it stretched out in front of her. At the same time, if she reached out with her hand, she could touch the cold glass under her fingertips.

Maybe her hands were the keys--similar to how she fell through the mirror hands first before. Although the glass panels around her weren't exactly mirrors. They didn't reflect her, they just shimmered like a million crystals lined their edges where the glass panels met.

Bee brushed back her unruly hair, pushing the dirty strands behind her ear before straining to see what the dark glass was showing in the shimmers. She carefully touched the glass, feeling a warmth spread through her. Her stomach twisted in excitement as well as nerves, her eyes widening. It felt like life.

Did she just have to envision a doorway again to get out? But how did she create a specific doorway that sent her back to her reality? What if she fell back into the Shadow Domain? Or somewhere else? Would she be able to escape again?

Breathing deeply, she wrung her hands together. She had to get out of here; she had to know what was happening to her real body (assuming it was a separate thing from her now, like when she was dreaming). What if she was in the forest stabbed and bleeding to death or something? She touched her shoulder, still not seeing where the blood was coming from. It just kept leaking out of her flesh... and it hurt.

Shaking her head, she reached out to the glass. "Please open a door to my home. To my reality. Where Jason and the festival currently is." She pleaded, pressing her hand harder to the warm vibrating glass as she willed it with her whole being. "I want to be with Jason."

Just as before, the glass broke into shards--her body sucked into the portal as she freely fell. And with another painful gasp, she opened her eyes, bracing herself for a hell fire or some other terrible sounding reality.

Festival lights met her eyes as she sat up quickly--her head spinning from the sudden movement. Checking her body, she frowned--the blood still stained her skin. Did that mean she was back or not? She looked around for the shadow figures and as she moved, white blurs seemed to filter her vision. As far as she could remember, it was blackness that shrouded her vision in the Shadow Domain. Was she truly home? Cautiously standing up from the ground next to the carousel, she shakily walked towards the noise of the crowd.

Since everyone was dressed in costumes, no one seemed to spare her a second glance as she carefully avoided bumping into anyone. Her bloodied shoes dragged tiredly with each step as heaviness once again seemed to weigh her down. She still didn't know where she was bleeding from, but she knew the amount that had spilled from her wasn't healthy.

She pulled out her phone, remembering how she shoved it in her bra before leaving for the party. It was slick with blood as she scrolled through to her contacts, calling Jason's phone as she kept moving in search for him.

How long had she been gone? Did it feel as long to her as it did to him?

The phone wouldn't ring--too out of service as she swore, putting it back in her bra uselessly. She was so thirsty, she had to stop herself from grabbing a drink from the booze fountains. With dried lips and paling skin, she finally saw a familiar face, searching frantically now for Jason's.

She was a mere stall away when she saw him; relief filling her entire being like a wash of security after a night of horror. And then his eyes widened and face paled. She didn't know what he saw when he looked back at her, but she shivered in a frigid fear from how absolutely dreadful he suddenly looked. He slipped out of the group, practically shoving people away from his shaking body as he aimed straight for her. For a moment his eyes swept the festival, seeming to search for something--his lips moving in a string of what looked like curses.

Finally reaching her, he paused in front of her--looking so unsure as his eyes revealed a panic Bee didn't even know he could feel. "Bee..." He whispered, shaking his head, "Are you...?"

"I'm okay." She squeaked before he could finish, trying to reassure him with a tired small smile, "Just disoriented."

Jason looked at her strangely, "You're okay...?" He seemed completely doubtful as he looked around, "Where's your body?" He finally asked, looking at her impatiently.

Bee's eyebrows furrowed before her blood somehow went colder than before. This time she really looked at Jason; his jaw clenched, and his eyes were almost staring through her. It was like he couldn't look at her. Like he couldn't see her.

"Jase...?" Her voice was shaky with panicked tears. Her reality seemed to be crashing in on itself the longer she looked at him.

Jason reached out his hand--as if to touch her reassuringly--only to rub his face instead with a swear. As if he was truly unable to touch her. "We have to find your body, Bee." He mumbled, his voice thick with sorrow and urgency.

"B-But..." She grasped at her disintegrating reality desperately. "I... I'm back. I came back. This is my body."

Jason bit his bottom lip, shaking his head. "No, Beatrice. It's not. You..." Now a pain far greater than hers seemed to flash through his expression, "You must have died."

Like a woosh, her knees buckled under her--her head spinning. She wasn't back. She hadn't come back yet.

She had... died?

And then a pair of hands were suddenly holding her limp body up, a voice speaking quickly, "She's not dead." He said knowingly, making Bee whimper in half-relief, half-confusion as she clutched at the burning arms around her torso. "She's been crossing through the passages herself." He explained to Jason whose face filled with blood again; the relief palpable before turning to horror again.

"She's..." Jason tried to look at Bee who felt very distant from all the happenings at this point; her eyes barely opened as she began losing consciousness. "How is that possible for a human?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm not exactly sure." The faraway voice above her spoke with a chuckle, "I tried to tether her to the human realm tonight when I saw her heading towards a hot spot and..." He trailed off with a shrug. "Clearly, it didn't work. I think my presence made it worse and warped her reality even deeper."

Jason frowned at that, "Understatement. Look at her." He spat angrily at him before he started pacing. "Where's her body?"

"Easy little homun," The guy laughed, "You sound smitten."

Jason rolled his eyes irritably as Bee drifted in a far sea somewhere in her mind as her eyes rolled heavily back, "You created it to be so--of course this body loves her. She's the only thing it's living for."

Rath pulled Bee up into his arms, holding her blood-soaked body tightly to his chest. "She'll be fine. Her soul will heal eventually." He waved off his creation's worries, "Her body is on the carousel--a human girl found her passed out and is watching her. She'll probably find her phone and call you soon."

"Rathven, look after her." Jason growled, his teeth clenching, "You've already done enough damage. Don't do any more."

Rath seemed to think about it for a moment, "About that." He smiled at Jason's hard face, "I think you were right to call on me today." He looked down at Bee, her eyes shut as a peaceful expression finally washed over her face.

She was a strange human. Something he still didn't really understand. He could remember that thrill of unknown sensations that overcame him when he touched her all those years ago, and as he held her in his arms now, he could feel that electricity coursing through his body again. It was something he found himself thinking about often--yearning to both figure it out and feel it again. He had never imagined she'd try to find him after he left, but every night she was there--looking through the realms without even knowing it. And she almost always caught him, too. But by doing so, she had made herself a target for creatures that could sense whatever power she held.

It was no longer safe for her. And the homun wasn't helping either like he hoped it would.

"I think staying away is causing more damage." He hummed, aware of the fact that it was more of an excuse than a truth, but a truth nonetheless. "She's too powerful. If she searches for me again, I think she'll find me. Even if I wanted to hide from her, I don't think I have that option anymore."

"Does that mean you're coming back?" Jason asked, feeling a surge of worry and relief that showed through his stoic expression.

Rath looked up from Bee's face, capturing Jason's eye as he grinned mischievously; the blue of his eyes glowing eerily as he tilted his head in thought, "It means that it's time for you to die, homun."

End of Chapter Eleven

Yo, whatcha think? Isn't it cool? And did you see that coming with Jason?! Our boy ain't no boy after all! I knew he was too good to be true *cry* I still love him. Rathven, create me a boy too. And oh yah, please don't kill Jase. He's too cuteee.