Souls Through Time (EzioxOC/DesmondxOC)

Chapter 35 - Claire

September 12th 2012, 7:30 am

After Claire had her coffee she found an old punching bag suspended from a rusted chain in the warehouse, the fabric worn and split in places, like something that had taken its share of hits over the years. With each strike, Claire poured her frustration into it, fists landing blow after blow until her knuckles began to sting, the pain sharp and grounding. Each punch became a release, a way to beat back the fear and uncertainty that seemed to claw at her since leaving the Animus. She tried to focus on the rhythm, to lose herself in the raw physicality, but the nagging sense of helplessness only seemed to grow with each hit, gnawing at her resolve.

"Feeling better yet, tesoro?(darling)" The voice echoed softly through the empty space, slipping into her awareness like a whisper from a dream. It was familiar, achingly so. But it shouldn't have been there.

Claire froze mid-swing, her breath catching as she spun around, scanning the shadows for a figure that couldn't possibly be there. Her mind tried to dismiss it as a trick, another cruel remnant of the Bleeding Effect, yet the voice had felt so vivid, so... real. She took a halting step forward, heart pounding. "Amelia?" she whispered, barely daring to believe her own voice.

From the corner of her vision, she caught a glimpse—a figure leaning casually against one of the crates, arms crossed, a knowing smirk playing on her lips. Amelia. She looked as real as life, her silhouette sharp against the dim glow from a nearby light, her gaze cool and steady, just as Claire remembered from the Animus sessions.

Claire's voice trembled as she spoke. "How... How is this happening?" She took another hesitant step, her mind reeling with the impossibility of it, a part of her desperate for Amelia's presence to be more than a figment.

Amelia raised a brow, her smirk softening as she took in Claire's disbelief. "You tell me, Claire," she replied, voice rich with the same unshakable confidence. "Looks like the boundaries between our worlds aren't as solid as we thought."

A shiver traced down Claire's spine, her hand reaching up to press against her temple, as if trying to steady herself in the face of this impossible reality. "You shouldn't be here. This... this isn't real." Her voice wavered, betraying the uncertainty that seeped through every word.

Amelia's expression softened, a flicker of sympathy in her gaze as she watched Claire struggle. "Maybe not," she said quietly. "But it looks like you've been carrying a lot on your shoulders."

The tension in Claire's shoulders eased, if only a fraction, as she felt the weight of Amelia's presence, a calmness that seeped into her even as her rational mind screamed that this couldn't be happening. She backed up, leaning against the nearest crate, letting herself slide down until she sat on the cold concrete floor, her knees drawn to her chest as she let out a shaky breath. "You're right about that."

For a moment, they sat together in silence, the air thick with the surreal, pressing down on Claire like a weight. She half-expected Amelia to vanish like a wisp of smoke, to leave her alone in the shadows. But she didn't disappear; she remained, as steady as ever, an echo from the past that felt as solid as the ground beneath her.

Amelia watched her, her gaze intense but calm, the same steady presence Claire had come to rely on through the Animus sessions. The lines between memory and reality blurred, and Claire found herself clinging to this moment, even if it was just a mirage conjured by her own exhausted mind.

"It's been... harder than I thought it would be," Claire admitted, her voice barely above a whisper, her eyes fixed on the floor. "I thought I'd have a handle on things by now, that I'd know what to do. But everything keeps slipping through my fingers."