3 Thousand Years Good Night

chapter 43: worth dying for

"Axeeeel!" Shouted Arlene, pounding at the door. "Open the bloody door, jerk!"

Theon furrowed his brows, waiting for any signs of Axel. He heard no footsteps, and strangely, no breathing sounds inside the house, no signs of human life. He did heard one thing though; hawking sounds. It wasn't outside, but inside the house.

"Axeeel!!!" Shouted Arlene again.

"Arlene," said Theon coldly. "I can hear it."

Arlene paused for a moment, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Suddenly, when she saw Theon's face, she knew what it meant, she just couldn't think of it nor accept it.

"NO, NO , NO!!" Arlene shook her head violently, rejecting the fact that no one was inside the house and that someone or something came in before them. Her rage went full blast as she pounded at the door so hard she almost managed to crack it. Just as she did, Theon's ears heard nothing from the inside, absolutely nothing. The hawking sounds ceased, not even a heart beat could be heard.

"How can someone come in if the door's still locked?!" Arlene pounded at the door again and as she did, she knew the answer to her own question; magic. "Theon, we have to check on Axel!! He's just a victim in all of this." Arlene pointed at the door, tears of anger flowed violently across her cheeks. She made a promise afterall, no, not just a promise but a debt to Axel.

Theon nodded. "If the witch has laid a hand on sir Axel, it is very logical to think that she would have left a trap for those who dares save her hostage." Theon stared at Arlene in the eyes, comprehending the endurance of her bond with her friend. "If i break this wooden barrier, there is no guarantees that she would be unprepared for our resolve. You can end up dead, and I, captured. Shall I still commence?"

"Axel." Arlene started to declamed. "Is a friend worth dying for. You only know him for a day, i know him my whole life and he is the best person i have ever seen."

Theon nodded. It was Arlene who would lose the most in this irrational decision. If things were indeed, against their favour, Theon will lose his freedom but Arlene will lose her life yet this light brown headed girl chose to give up her life for her friend, this act of morality warmed Theon's immortal heart for a while, at least.

Theon jammed his fist at the doorknob, breaking through the other side. Arlene shoved the door open but failed part way as there was still a chainlock on which Theon torn apart with one hand. He accidently pushed the door open with so much force that the whole wooden work fell apart.

The barrier being gone, Arlene barged right in, shouting for Axel and getting no replies. It wasn't because she was not cauteous, but it was because she was brave.

"Axel!!" She shouted.

Theon shushed Arlene by raising his index finger right at her. "What is it?" Asked Arlene. Finally, she noticed what she initially missed the first time she enterred; a faint, familiar hymn was echoing in the house.

"It's from where i tried to escape." Wisphered Theon.

Escape. It took only a second for Arlene to register what Theon meant. The place where he escaped was the same place he tried to flee from life; the kitchen.

This time, Arlene allowed Theon to lead the way. If there was danger ahead, you better hide behind someone who is completely deathless, right? and only one of them is completely invulnerable. So, that's exactly what she did, she walked behind Theon.

When they finally reached the place where Theon should have breathed his last breath, they were horrified as they were welcomed with a bright red pool of blood and for good measure, the same knife that Theon stabbed himself with, was also lying next to the red liquid. What was odd was the fact that it was the same position as when Theon committed suicide (twice). What was even more peculiar was that the blood was currently moving to form a pattern of words.

Suddenly, as they watched the blood being manipulated by an invisible force, they heard another hawking sound coming from the far corner of the room. As if it magically appeared out of no where, the black bird stood at the top of the backrest of the kitchen chair, staring at them with its cold jet black eyes then as if on cue, started its hymn again.

Arlene stared at the bird with an amalagamation of fear and anger. She wanted to crush the canary with her own fist, on that desire, her hands reflexively clenched into fists. Theon, however, was more bite than bark, there was this murderous countenance in his face as he briefly watched the crow hymn its last hymn.

What came next happened in a millisecond, literally. Theon speed blitzed towards the singing canary and grabbed it in its body. The bird gave a strangled hawking sound which depleted over seconds.

"I have enough of your distractions." Wisphered Theon directly at the crow in his grasp.

Before the crow even started to attempt on pecking Theon's hand, the immortal prince crushed its body with the full force of his vampiric strength. Theon smiled darkly as he stared at his grisly work. Looking at it, you wouldn't even recognize it to be a bird due to its deformed structure and bloody feathers which was caused by Theon's bone breaking iron grip. He dropped the mutilated dead bird on the floor. For good measure, he stomped at its corpse, causing the floor to break underneath it which buried the canary with shattered cements.

"I despise cowards." Said Theon calmly, disdainly addressing Vienna's passion for manipulating other creatures for her own benefits.

Arlene was astounded by Theon's display of power. For the first time, she knew what she was up against and what her life really means. This is what she would face everyday of her non-mundane existence.
Brutality should and would become a second nature for her, and she has to learn quick for next week, a blood bath is coming. She has to win the war for her family, for her grandmother and for both of her friends,. For Theon. For.. Axel, whom she still owes a huge debt. It was clear than Vienna was here before they were and she had abducted Axel to torment Theon and herself. What hurts the most is the thought of the torments she is currently inflicting on Axel. Torturing him? Punishing him? Is he even alive?! All these assumptions pained Arlene to the point of paranoia and intense depression. The agony didn't show in her face because she was too overwhelmed to match her emotion with her countenance.

Together, she and Theon waited for the cursed blood to form the words:

"One, two... she has come for you."