Time Keeper

Chapter 5 Awakening

I sat in the large room that hevlaska was in. She spoke slowly and decisively, "Breathe, Child." Her voice echoed through the room. "Listen to the voices of the Innocence," she said leaning closer. He tentacle arms reached out for me. I squirmed under her touch. She lightly tapped the innocence on my shoulder. I could feel my shoulder become warm. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a glow of green. "Concentrate child," Hevlaska said closing my eyes, "you lost your concentration."

I tried to focused. 'Tried' being the keyword here. She told me to hear the voices, but what would the voices tell me? What if they told me I wasn't good enough to be an exorcist. I trembled. I just got here but I liked it here already. I wasn't the type to make friends easily but everyone was so kind, well Kanda, is Kanda. I felt tears threaten.

"Free your mind child," the voice in my ears was so soothing, "the innocence will not come with sad thoughts."

I stopped. I had to remember why I was doing this. I even cut my hair. I can't go on like this. Sad thoughts had to stop. "... hand ...." a small voice said. My eyes shot open and I looked around the room. Nobody I could see, but the room was dark anyway. I recognized this voice. I had heard it moments ago. "... Your .... hand ...." My right arm tingled. I lifted it up. my sleeve slipped down to reveal the markings the innocence had left.

The tattoos started to shift before my eyes. The inks formed a new pattern. A line slipped under my sleeve, leaving an unfilled circle on my hand connecting to a line that went up my sleeve, through my chest by my neck, and stopped right below the cross on my shoulder, leaving another small unfilled circle.

I was astonished, my mouth gaped open. I turned to Hevlaska. "It's okay child," she spoke softly, did she think she would scare me if she spoke louder? "The innocence is showing you," she chuckled, "and I'm sure you've heard the innocence's voice."

I closed my eyes again. So, I had heard the innocence. That was the voice that I heard outside the room. How long have I been hearing it?

"... bring ....... hand ..." The voice stopped. I listen harder. Why was it so cut up? ".. Shoulder ..... activate ..." What? My thoughts were everywhere. They searched for an answer so desperately that I might faint. My head was started to over heat. "Calm," The voice was so clear I thought it might have been Hevlaska.

I slowed my breathing. I brought my right hand to my shoulder. "Activate," was all I said, but something in me changed. My back rippled. I felt pain in my back. My spine shifted and wriggled. I started to scream it hurt so much. I curled over, hugging my stomach with my hands trying to touch my back. It hurt so much.

I could hear the elevator noise behind my screaming. The trample of feet on the metal floor. The presences making their way to me. I had gotten to know one of these, one was Allen, but I still screamed. My back convulsed. I started coughing, I could feel tears run down my face. Why did it hurt so much? "Almost done," The small voice wasn't drowned out by my screaming, it felt like it was right in my ear.

"Th-th-the innocence," I said between coughs and gags.

And it all stopped. I felt warmth run down my back. My shirt stuck to me like glue. I lifted myself up to my feet and turned my face to the ceiling that was so high I couldn't even see it. A hand pressed against my back. A voice came from behind me, "b-blood." Allen turned me to face him.

His face was full of concern. I felt so empty. My hand came up to my shoulder again. I felt like a puppet on strings. I didn't know what I was doing. "Activate," I heard myself say, it didn't sound like me though. It sounded like the small voice.

The skin under the cross felt weird, my head turned to see. The skin pressed up as if something was trying to get out. The skin broke. The cross floated there for a minute. A white thing came up from beneath the skin hitting the cross. My hand moved to grab it. My hand yanked on it. The white thing was bone. The bone on the top melded with the cross.