Prisoners of Prophecy

Chapter 4

Xantara - July 10th, 2019; 3:30pm

Something in Melany's faintly familiar features suddenly shifted, her large blue eyes darkening with some unknown intent that made me shiver. It was the same look on her face I had seen that day in the woods, before I had turned away. That darkness in her intense gaze seemed to also be gathering around her. It was not hard to see the monster in her that must have consumed her entirely that day. Her gaze glinted with hatred and reflected the frequent purple lightning that scattered across the stormy sky, an absentminded but wicked grin playing at the corners of her lips. She held herself much straighter than she had a moment before, and she scanned me slowly with that terrible, somehow vacant and similarly all-knowing smile. Wherever her gaze landed, my skin turned to ice.
Calypso, and even Cato, had suggested that Melany, my old friend - the one I could hardly even remember outside of the broken dreams that I had been having - was the last one the voices in the basement were talking about. I thought it sounded insane, something straight out of a movie. Even when I had seen Melany dragging her friend playfully into the woods one moment and the next she was only scattered remains around her, the idea seemed impossible to believe. But, now, under the force of her deep blue eyes, it made perfect sense. That realization hit me forcefully, hard enough to cause my knees to almost buckle beneath my weight. There was an aura about her that hinted at some sort of strength that I had failed to notice until now - an otherworldly strength that was oddly similar to some of the people in the group I had found myself in. It felt as if she had the potential for either great things or whatever terribly evil things that were shining in her eyes.
     "Alright, I'll leave you alone," I said gently, taking off my jacket and holding it out to her. I moved slowly, as if under the focus of some predator. "But, if you would, maybe reconsider talking to me. I'm not who you think I am."
     It was impossible to take my eyes off of her's, even though what swam in that somehow infinite  combination of hues of blues made me want to turn tail and run. It was like a magnetic pull that was keeping me there, or maybe I was enraptured in the power in her very presence. I wondered, not for the first time in the few minutes that I had met her again, if she recognized me. If she did, she showed no sign. Had I really gone crazy?
     In an instant, that malicious glint in her gaze disappeared as if it had never been there at all. Melany was looking at me, her lips slightly parted and her forehead wrinkled in confusion. Her mouth opened and closed, opened and closed, fishing for words she could not get a hold of. There was no inkling of that unpredictable creature I had seen behind her facade now, only bewilderment.
     She finally spoke, but so quietly that I had to come forward a couple of doubtful steps. I half - expected her to wrap her hands around my throat with the abhorrence I had seen in her only a moment before, but she didn't. "What did you say?" I ask her.
     She took my jacket and slipped it over her shoulders, pulling the hood over her head. Her clothes were already soaked through, but it gave her a little protection from the downpour. The sky lit up with vibrant shades of blue and purple. Thunder boomed loudly all around us, like the world would soon fall apart. The wind got stronger each time I had to close my eyes against the rain. Melany seemed unaffected by it, and my thoughts went back to a few minutes ago, when the sky was merely only cloudy and she insisted a storm was coming.
      She leaned closer to be heard above the thunder and relentless rain. The familiarity of her voice brought a warm embrace of comfort which immediately caused my mind to reel with confusion and memories I failed to remember. Her words, though, sent a chill through my body that that warmth couldn't touch. "I said, I feel like I've met you before."
     A wave of fear ran through me. With only small glimpses of her in my past, I had almost been able to convince myself that those memories weren't really there at all. But, with that faint recognition in her expression, I couldn't doubt that we had spent a part of our childhood together. That only brought more confusion upon the already confusing turn my life had taken since coming to ShadowWood Reform School. It seemed as if I was on the verge of going mad.
     I felt as if I was drowning; in the onslaught of the storm, and in my mind. "Go ahead to your room before you catch a cold," I said, backing away.
     "Are you really not a killer?"
     Sadness pierced my heart. If only I knew, I thought painfully. My life before this place feels like a dream. But I couldn't tell her that, so I only shook my head. I was afraid that if I said anything more, I would say it all.
      She searched my face. When she appeared satisfied with what she found, she dipped her head in acceptance. "I'll see you around." With that, she turned and walked away. The storm swallowed her.
     I spun around and ran the opposite way, back to the dilapidated house. The wind was so strong I almost expected it to topple me over. My wet clothes clung to my skin. I shut my eyes tight against the torrent.
     The porch steps creaked loudly under my feet, bending dangerously beneath my weight. I ran into the house and down the hallway, almost entirely draped in darkness, now that the clouds were hiding the Sun. Water leaked through the holes in the roof. The storm roared ominously outside, eerily muffled by the thin walls. The hall seemed endless, and the shadows felt as if they had physical weight - that they were crawling around me, trying to suffocate me. I gathered myself at the doorway at the top of the stairs, preparing for the conflicting emotions and distant, foreign thoughts that came with crossing that barrier leading to the basement. Then, I started down the steps, shutting the creaking door behind me and sealing myself in the cold blackness.
     Instantly, I was enveloped in a feeling that I could not decipher. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and sent a shiver through me. My heartbeat slowed until it was hardly noticeable at all. At the same time, energy coursed through my body. I felt as though I could run forever. Faint whispers echoed around me, too faint to comprehend.
     They stood in the center of the room where I had left them, forming a tight circle. One candle, which had almost burned itself into nonexistence, was lit on the floor in the center of them, throwing odd shadows on the stone walls. Its faint light stopped abruptly at the foot of the staircase. Everyone was looking at Cato, whose eyes were closed. Calypso was the only one to acknowledge my entrance, with a brief glance that demanded silence. I was unable to rebel against that look, so I obliged, even though I was itching to speak what was on my mind.
     Cato opened his eyes. The way he looked around the room, seemingly taking in every part of it, made it hard to believe he was half-blind. "I'm not hearing anything from them," he muttered dejectedly.
     "How are we supposed to know that everyone's here? How she's the one?" Calypso questioned.
     "They'll tell us."
     "How do you know?" Kai snapped.
     Cato shot him an impatient glance. "They're still here, aren't they? Even you can't be that ignorant. The air in this cellar is heavy. Full of whispers, too, if you'd listen hard enough."
     Kai glared at him angrily. The candles' flame flickered wildly, grew a couple inches, and died down again.
     "You're back sooner than I thought," Calypso stated, finally bringing everyone's attention to me. "That was her, wasn't it? The woman in the woods."
"The one who supposedly ripped her friends to shreds?" Kai scoffed. "Even if that had actually happened, there's no way that was her. She could hardly stand being down here with us."
Calypso quieted him with just a look, her nostrils flared and her gray eyes narrowed to slits. I could practically smell the fear coming off of him. I'd hate to be under the force of that stare. "I'm getting real tired of you doubting this when nothing about our predicament makes any sense."
He spoke softly then , visibly wincing under her unwavering attention. "There's got to be a line somewhere. A shy woman with nothing but innocence on her face cannot also be some brutal murderer!"
I nodded in agreement to both of their statements. "As ridiculous as it sounds, that's her. I know that without a doubt. And maybe she didn't even kill that other girl," I added, maybe trying to convince Kai, maybe trying to convince myself. That darkness I had seen in her before she left hinted that she could be capable of such a thing. Weren't we all? "Maybe she was just there when something else did."
Calypso had the hint of a smile on her beautiful face. "Either way - do you know what that could mean?"
"She's the last one?"
"I think you're right," Cato exclaimed. "It would make sense. There's no way her being here is a coincidence."
Illisha, who had been silent the whole time, spoke. "Wouldn't the voices have said something like they did with the rest of us?"
Cato hung his head for a moment, as if he was ashamed. "I thought maybe that they had, when she was down here. It happened so fast, I wasn't sure what had happened at first." He put a hand to his forehead, as if trying to stop an oncoming migraine. "But that voice that I heard was not them. It was something else. Something powerful."
"What voice?" Calypso questioned.
"I tried to read her thoughts while I assumed she was distracted by you. But..." he sighed. "It's like she noticed. I don't know how to explain it. It felt like she... Like she shoved me out of her mind. That's why I had stumbled back, not because I was feeling faint. And then that voice..."
He inhaled deeply. Despite his usual calm demeanor, I could hear the rapid and rattling breaths he took, and could see the terror in his one clear eye.
"It said something like, 'No, you don't,'. Like it was taunting me. There was nothing in her head to read, nothing but anger. And that horrible voice."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Kai asked.
"At first I thought I might have heard it wrong. Plus, I was kind of afraid." He glanced around, as if expecting something to jump out from the limit of the candles' light. From that dark that seemed much too tangible. "I've been practicing reading everyone here. That's never happened."
"That means she knew you were trying to read her mind." I interjected.
He had a thoughtful look on his face. "Maybe. But that voice wasn't her, exactly. It was more like something in her."
"We've got to get her back down here. Willingly." Calypso glanced at Kai for an instant, daring him to say anything. "Then, maybe we'll know what to do next."
"How will we do that?" Illisha questioned shyly. "Looks like she hates our guts already."
"I might be able to get through to her," I answered hesitantly, wondering if that would be for the best. "Maybe she's just scared. "
Calypso nodded. "Then everyone else should stay away from her until then. This may be our only chance."
And what after that? I asked myself, fear settling in my stomach like a heavy stone.