Abyssal Reverie

Chapter 13: Alkaline

"Sugar, I've developed a taste for you now."

"Show it to me, Selah." Vessel's hands were pulling at mine, begging me to open my fingers. I could see how hard he was trying not to rip my hands open, the patience he had left waning.

"Vessel. Tell me what is going on." I pushed myself back from him, long strides backward putting distance between us. I watched as his shoulders tensed, and the breaths leaving him were ragged, like he had just run here.
"Are you going to blackmail me, Selah?" He crossed his arms over his chest, the energy radiating off of him stinking of desperation.
"If that is what it takes for you to tell me what the fuck is going on, yes." I could feel the panic rising in my throat. I believed that I could go toe to toe with him. No matter what I said to him, at this moment, we were nothing more than predator and prey. If he wanted what I had, he would have to slow his chase and stop circling me as though I was a snack. He would have to wave the white flag first.

This leverage wasn't something I ever expected to have. I knew that I was important to whatever this journey was, that whatever I was bringing to the table was of the utmost importance to him. I felt the strain on our bond; he was trying to calm me. To tell me I wasn't in danger. Calm Selah... I am not going to hurt you. It was a soft caress against my mind, almost like he had placed his hands on either side of my head and stroked my hair.

"That won't work, Vessel." I shook my head, attempting to fling him from the front of my mind. "Tell me. Tell me what is going on."
"What if I promise to tell you what you need to know... right now? And the things that I keep from you will be just morsels of the bigger picture." He Puts his hands up as though he is surrendering like this was the best deal he can give me.
"You are going to answer every question I have, and you are going to do so before I even begin to tell you what Sleep showed me."

"Vessel, I wouldn't push your luck." III's mask crinkled under the pressure of his smile. "You and I know she will take what she wants, No matter what it takes. She isn't like us... She isn't like any of us. If this will work with her- I would give in now."

I watched as Vessel dropped his shoulders, his hands lowering to his sides. His body paint had been reapplied, and the robe missing the last time I saw him replaced again. "I guess we have some talking to do, come. Let's settle into the navigation room. I have a feeling it is going to be a long night." And just like that, Vessel was gone.

"You sure you know what you're doing, Selah?" III was in front of me, offering an elbow to steady myself. I could feel the throbbing of my body return, the adrenaline that kept me up right now seeping from my veins. I reached out and stumbled my way to III, The relief of having someone here this time to catch me plastered on my face. "Are you sure you're ready for what will happen?" He walked with me, keeping pace as I stumbled my way through the underbelly of the ship.

"I need to know, III. If this damn necklace is the only way I am going to get answers, then so be it. You can't keep me a secret from myself any longer." My steps sped up as I was renewed by the idea that I no longer had to be afraid of knowing who I was; the relief from the anticipation of this conversation pulled me towards the navigation room with a newfound excitement I didn't know I could have.

"This conversation isn't be as easy as you think it will be, Selah. Be prepared to learn things about who you were that may not be who you pictured yourself to be." He placed a hand over the one wrapped around his arm. "We never are who we hoped we were at the end of the day. We are always the villain in someone's story, but usually... We are the villain in our own first."

I could feel the weight of his words sinking into my soul, the echoing they left in my mind now beckoning me to be careful... whatever I do next... I needed to remember that there were always things about this story that didn't make sense... I never knew the woman who made a deal with the masked vigilante.