Twisted Memories

Chapter 24.

I heard leaves rustling under someones feet as they walked through the dense forest that was located 10 minutes away from Zoe's place. The snow had mostly melted and the air was slightly warm. I tried to focus on the noise, tracked it as best as I could.
"Anything yet?" Fae asked telekinetically.
"No but I will keep looking okay?" She stopped talking after that, probably searching for Casper's whereabouts herself. The moon was full and it loomed over me like a great Christmas ornament that was on Zoe's tree. I walked the path through the forest slowly just in case I startled someone who wasn't Casper. I came to a empty area of land where all of the trees had been cut down, only stumps left. Sitting on the stump was Casper, his hands clutching his black hair in between his knees as he rocked himself back and forth. He looked up, startled he backed away.
"Its not you! Its not you!" He roared at me closing his eyes and silently whispering it to himself over and over again.
"Casper, it is me, Its Dawn." I explained as I walked closer towards him but he refused to acknowledge my presence.
"NO! You said that before and it wasn't, its all just a mind game." He mumbled over and over again. I grabbed hold of his freezing hand and clenched it in between mine. He opened his eyes and looked at me, then at his hands, which he pulled away from me. He wiped the tears from his eyes and stood up. He brushed his pale hand against my soft skin.
"Your real. Your actually here." He chanted over and over again like he had lost his mind so I sat him down.
"What the hell is happening to me Dawn?" He asked as his whole body shook.
"Your going to be okay Casper, I am here for you." I reassured as I tried to calm him down.
"Am I? Are you?" He said as he looked at me, "Dawn, i am straight up loosing my mind." He said as dug his nails into the face on his skin as if he was trying to release something from under the skin.
"I am not sure if this is even real. I don't know if your even real. I could be trapped in the back of his, well really my head watching this all happen through his eyes." I could not stand to see the man that Casper was becoming, even his good self was being slowly driven to madness. I couldn't stand seeing his dark eyes filled with a wicked smirk. A smile appeared on his face as he looked at me but slowly disappeared as he was overcome with anxiety.
"Wake up!" He screamed at himself as he clawed at his soft skin, creating scratches all down his face.
"Its me Casper!" I tried to show him that it was actually me, in physical form right in front of him by attempting to grab hold of him.
"Get off of me!" He roared as he pushed me over the stump, causing me to cut my arm, the blood trickled out in little thin streams. He was no longer himself but possessed by a dark spirit, his humanity was slowly fading away and was soon to be gone. This was most likely to be my last moment with the boy I fell in love with.
He ran over to me and knelled down inspecting my arm, "What have I done?" he said as he held my blood in his hands the red contrasting his white pale skin.
"If it is you Dawn, there is no point in trying to save me. I am a time bomb waiting to go off, the shrapnel is going to obliterate everyone in my way. There is no turning back."
"I know Casper and I am sorry that there is no way to reverse this but no matter what you are the boy I fell in love with and still my boyfriend so I am going to keep standing by you."
"I don't want you to stand by me. I want you to leave me and never come back. Never regret what you did as you didn't mean to do it and if I can accept that then so should you." He said as he stood up straight towering over me. I grabbed a bulk of his t-shirt fabric and pulled him closer to me.
"Is this really what you want?" I whispered as he grabbed hold of me. He bent down and whispered a yes into my ear, hugged me goodbye and then ran off into the distance leaving me there lonely and afraid of what was to become and what was to take over the shell of Casper.

"Fae?"
"I'm here? Anything yet? She asked sounding kind of pissed off probably at the fact that there were no traces of him where she was because he had been with me.
"I am tracking him right now, meet me at the suburb of the town okay? To the west near the train station."
"On my way right now! I will be there in approximately 10 minutes." She stated as she traveled to the train station. The leather coat and jeans I was wearing had become uncomfortable to wear after sitting on the bench so I ended up making it to the train station after Fae who was pissed off with me.
"I thought you were already here!" She yelled, "I ran here for 3 minutes straight just so you wouldn't be alone for long."
"I was watching him from a distance, didn't want him to know we had found him Fae jeez." Fae understood and so decided to shut up. We stood at the train station which across from it stood a tall, magnificent, derelict hotel which looked like a foot hadn't stepped a foot in it for at least twenty years if not more. It was about the same height as the court back home. Me and Fae lurked in the bushes which were at the side of the hotel as we searched for a way in as the front door was way to risky, especially if Fae's presumption was to be true, you know about the army and everything. I spotted a open window on the third floor of the building which had a fire escape ladder which we could climb up on.
"Reminds me of the hospital." I said to Fae as we climbed the rusty metal ladder a boy walked past with pale skin and his skin covered, I could smell the scent of burnt flesh. I looked at Fae who saw the guy and we instantly knew that Casper was conducting a army for himself.
"About that, I don't remember much of it.", Fae started "All I know is I went cray cray for a moment."
"True that." I stated as we climbed to the top of the ladder, I carefully opened the window wide enough so that me and Fae could both fit through. We clambered in through the window swiftly and as quietly as we possible could. Fae dusted her clothes after coming in through the window and coughed as the dust filled her lungs.
"Shhh Fae." I said covering her mouth over only to have her bite it in fury.
"Number one, I am not a child and number two, I can't help but cough." She said sarcastically as she barged past me and into the huge room we had climbed into. It was a huge ballroom with a crystal chandelier and a red carpeted floor- just like the one I had dreamed off. I stood there in awe as Fae explored the place with fascination.
"Why aren't you exploring with me? You love to do that stuff usually!" Fae asked whilst inspecting a old punch bowl which had a green fungi growing out of it.
"I don't need to..." Fae stared at me in confusing, "I have been here before, well sorta." Fae dropped the ladle back into the.
"What do you mean?" She asked peculiarly.
"That night I dreamed that I was standing right here, in this room while wearing a long red dress and Casper stood over there. He asked me to dance and I did." I explained showing her exactly where I stood in the dream. I told her everything about the dream, every detail I could remember and Fae was flabbergasted.
"Maybe your physic." She mocked as she made silly hand gestures in the air like she was a chimpanzee.
"I am being serious, its not funny Fae." She continued to giggle and handed me her phone.
"What do you want me to do with this?" I asked as i shook the phone in my hand.
"Phone Zoe obviously moron." I put my eyes up to heaven and went to the corner of the room and dialed Zoe's number which answered almost instantly. There was a lot of static in the background and I could hear other voices in the background.
Hello?" "Hey, it's Dawn, we have a problem." I stated as confidently as I could.
"What is it? Is Fae alright?"
"We are okay, it's just..."
"Just what!? What's happening?"
"We found Casper's hideout,"
"And?"
"And the problem is that Casper has created a line of vampires and many of them are being sent after you. Right now we're focused on Casper, so we need you to kill them. Is that okay?"
"No!"
"Why?"
"I don't know how to kill them!"
"Okay, go into my room, open my bag and I have weapons, text me and I'll send directions on how to kill them." "Okay, okay. I have Damien, he's been bitten."
"Kill him." I ordered. Damien was one of Zoe's friends who I had met a couple of times but I felt that he was untrustworthy with his newly pro founded power.
"No! Dawn, I can't."
"You have to Zoe."
"No, I can use him as lure."
"Good plan actually." I said as he would probably get killed in the process anyways. Zoe hung up and I headed back over to Fae who was staring at a painting on the wall which was of a man riding a horse whilst yielding a sword. Fae tilted her head left to right as she tried to make sense of something on the painting.
"What is it?" I asked after giving up on searching what she was staring at.
"Its just this looks familiar to me, I don't know why..." She began deciding not to finish as she didn't exactly know where she was going. I grabbed her wrist and dragged her up to the door which led out onto a corridor, if my memory served me correct. I listened carefully for footsteps and heard a pair of boots thump against the floor.

^#}