Afterlife: Oblivion #Wattys2024

18. The Queen of the Damned

POV Lily.

I push myself up from the obsidian chair, my legs wobbling like the Jell-O cups we used to have at school lunch. The chair feels icy-cold against my skin, like when I touched my brother's cheek after... well, after.

The big room around me is super dark, with corners so black they look like they could eat you up. It smells funny too, like the time I found a dead bird in the backyard and poked it with a stick.

Madam Eterna's eyes are shiny like the marbles I used to collect. But these aren't fun to play with - they're scary, like they want to gobble me up. My throat feels all scratchy, like I swallowed a bunch of sand from the playground. It hurts to talk, but that's okay. Pain can be fun sometimes.

"I'm Lily," I squeak out, my voice sounding tiny, like a mouse hiding from a cat. I've practiced my lies so much, they mix up with the true stuff in my head. It's like making mud pies - a little dirt, a little water, and voila! Something yucky that looks almost good enough to eat.

I can feel Orpheus near me, even though I can't see him. It's like being hugged by a ghost, but not the friendly Casper kind. More like the scary ones from the movies Daddy said I wasn't supposed to watch.

His whispers in my head sound like hissing snakes: Good girl, Lily. Make them believe. Make them hurt.

I start to talk again, but then I remember my stupid baby brother. His dumb little hands reaching for me, his annoying cry that never shut up. Until it did. For a second, I can smell his baby smell mixed with something else - something metallic and warm and exciting. I blink really fast, pushing the memory away like broccoli on my dinner plate.

Focus, Lily. It's showtime, just like when you played Annie in the school musical. But this time, the prize is way better than a stupid plastic trophy.

"I... I killed myself," I stutter, the words feeling big and clumpy in my mouth, like when I tried to eat a whole peanut butter sandwich in one bite. "My dad, he..." I stop talking, but not 'cause it's hard. I'm trying not to giggle. If they knew what really happened, they'd probably pee their pants! I imagine their faces getting all twisty and scared, and it feels better than that time I ate a whole bag of Halloween candy.

"Show them your sadness, little monster," the voices in my head whisper. "Let them drown in your fake tears."

I make my eyes get all watery, just like I did when I played the orphan in the school play. It's funny how I'm playing an orphan again, but this time it's for real. The tears sting my eyes like the time I rubbed them after cutting jalapeños. I blink and let them fall down my face.

They look like tiny snail trails, all shiny and wet.

The room is so quiet now, quieter than the time I snuck into the school at night. Everyone's looking at me like I'm the last cookie in the jar. I can almost taste how sorry they feel for me. It's yummy, like licking the spoon after Mommy made cookie dough. I want to roll around in their pity like a pig in mud.

"That's it, Lily. Reel them in. Make them love you. Then we'll tear them apart."

I look over at Jane, and I have to bite my cheek really hard so I don't laugh. Oh, Jane. Silly, stupid Jane. She looks at me like I'm a lost puppy she wants to take home. If only she knew I'm really a wolf in sheep's clothing.

That's what Daddy used to say about people who pretend to be nice but aren't. I guess that makes me a wolf now.

I remember how easy it was to trick her at the ball. I told her my sad little story about my mean daddy, and she ate it up faster than I ate my brother's birthday cake after... well, after he didn't need it anymore. All I had to do was make my lip shake a little and look scared, and boom! Jane became my own personal bodyguard.

Now she's making fists with her hands like she wants to punch anyone who looks at me funny. It makes me feel all tingly inside, like the time I stuck a fork in an electrical socket. If she could see inside my brain, hear all the giggly, scary voices, would she still want to protect me?

Or would she run away screaming? That might be fun to watch.

"She's our toy now," the voices say happily. "Our perfect little puppet to play with."

"Lily?" Madam Eterna's voice cuts through my thoughts like the knife I used to... well, you know. "We're waiting."

I blink and try to look confused, like when the teacher called on me and I wasn't paying attention. Time for the big finish. "I couldn't take it anymore," I whimper, letting another tear fall down my cheek. "The things he did... it was too much."

The lie floats in the air like a bubble, pretty and fragile and full of poison. I watch as it pops in their minds, their eyes getting all big and sad. It feels better than any game I've ever played. I want to jump up and down and clap my hands at how well I fooled them all.

"Well done, our little nightmare," the voices purr in my head. "Now, let's play for real."

I let out a tiny giggle, and Jane's eyes dart to me. She looks worried, like she thinks I'm going to break. But she doesn't know the truth - I'm already broken, and I love it. I'm a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces, and I'm having so much fun watching them try to put me back together.

"They'll never figure it out," the voices whisper. "They'll never see the real you."

I smile at Jane, a sweet, innocent smile. But inside, I'm laughing. Laughing at her, at them, at the whole messed-up world. I'm Lily, the little girl with a secret. And I'm going to make sure they never find out.

"Never," the voices echo in my head. "Never, ever, ever."

I take a deep breath, letting the darkness inside me swell up like a balloon. It's time to play the game. Their game, my game, the only game that matters. And I'm going to win.

"We're going to win," the voices correct me. "Together, we're unstoppable."

I nod, a silent promise to the voices that have become my friends, my family. Together, we're going to tear this place apart. And when it's all over, I'll be the one standing tall. The queen of the broken, the ruler of the ruins.

"The queen of the damned," the voices whisper, and I can't help but smile.

Yes, that's it. The queen of the damned. And they'll all bow down before me, whether they want to or not.