NOCTURNAL

v | revelations

Fairytales are meant to start from here, the moment when reality cracks open just enough for something else to slip through.

"Once upon a time" wasn't just a phrase; it was a warning, a whisper of the unknown.

And for me it did not start with "Once upon a time", for me it started with "And that's just the beginning". The words whispered from lips of a stranger who appeared out of the shadows, carried the weight of secrets and the promise of chaos.

In that instant, the familiar world of classrooms and routines shattered leaving me on the precipice of an unfamiliar and unnerving adventure. The ordinary had slipped away and the extraordinary was rushing in, wild and unbidden.

"Not a human?" I know that deep down I believed Mohan's words but I did not wanted to accept it. Not when it defied whatever logic we human cling to like a lifeline, the fragile thread that keeps our world from spiraling into chaos.

The notion that I was something other than human felt like a cruel twist in a story I never asked to be part of. My mind raced trying to grasp at the remnants of the life I thought I knew but they were slipping through my fingers like sand. 

"Nice joke." I laughed but the sound was hollow and lacking the confidence I wanted it to carry. It was more a desperate attempt to cling to the last shreds of normalcy, to pretend that the ground beneath my feet wasn't crumbling away.

But Mohan's eyes didn't waver. There was no humor in them, no indication that this was all some elaborate prank. Instead there was a gravity that made my pulse quicken, a seriousness that was impossible to ignore.

"This is not a fucking jock Darcelle?" He asked. His eyes soft, his voice soft yet his face rough enough.

"Well, Guess what I fucking think-" Alexander, who sat in silence all this time, narrowed his eyes at me. "This is some kind of fucking prank. Where the hell are cameras hidden?"

I was getting hysterical. Feeling stinging situation on my wrist made me look down and realize I was digging my own nails in my skin. The sharp pain from my nails digging into my skin grounded me, momentarily cutting through the whirlwind of confusion and fear. I stared at the crescent-shaped marks on my hands, my breath coming in shallow gasps.

Alexander was in an instant beside me. His speed, oh my god, his speed was not normal. One moment, he was across the room; the next, he was close enough for me to feel the heat radiating off his body.

One moment ago, he felt human, different from everyone, but a human nonetheless.

Now-

"You're hurting yourself." His touch was soft on my skin yet it burned like inferno.

"Get the hell away from me." I hissed yanking my hand back as if his touch had left a scorch mark on my skin. The fear that had been simmering just below the surface surged up, overwhelming any sense of reason. My pulse pounded in my ears and all I wanted was to escape - escape this room, escape them, escape whatever twisted reality I'd been thrust into.

Escape.

Escape.

Escape.

"Darcelle." Now it was Mohan standing in front of me, holding my shoulders, shaking me back to reality. "Fuck Darcelle, get a hold of yourself. You will destroy everything."

This is insanity.

"Darcelle."

Madness.

"Darcelle." The voice was softer this time, more soothing, as if trying to reach the part of me that was slipping away. And then I felt it - someone pulling me into their chest, their arms wrapping around me and holding me in place. The warmth of the embrace should have been comforting but all it did was remind me of how cold I felt inside, how distant reality seemed.