Strange Things

Chapter 10: Birth Of A Manipulator

I move my body around. I move my hands around and start to feel something soft under me.

A bed.

I slowly open my eyes and look around. I'm in my room. I slowly start to get up. I feel a sharp pain in my belly. "Ow.." I place my hand under my shirt and feel a strange substance.

Bandages.

"What the.." I later feel a sharp pain in my head. My mind starts flooding with recent memories. "I went insane..." I remember everything clearly. I remember the blowtorch, the chainsaw, the bloody people scattered around the streets...even Siva and Jinx with his arm cut off. It all feels like a bad dream.

I wish.

It all really happened, all because of me.

Elizabeth.

I whirl my head around looking for my cape.

In here.

I see a faint glow coming from my bag and walk towards it. I grab my cape out of my bag and look at it intently.

What happened?

I stare at my cape for a second more. I put it down on my desk. "It worked. I went insane." I say quietly.

I figured as much. I couldn't speak to you. Something was blocking your mind from me. I couldn't even sense you. You were really powerful at the moment.

My cape says and flies towards me. I'm sitting next to my window, watching bystanders walk by. "I heard of voice. I knew it wasn't you. I negotiated with it. It took complete control over me." I say and continue to stare into the window, as if entranced. "For some reason..I agreed with everything it told me." I watch my cape fly in front of me as I speak.

What?

I turn my head to face my cape. "It told me all my faults, all my fears, all my doubts. I didn't like it. It hurt..but it was the truth." I lower my head as I recall the scene.

But why did you do all those horrible things?

I take a moment to ponder this. "Because. Sure, the voice was telling me exactly what I needed to know, but that didn't mean I had control. It was my first time; practice makes perfect." I say and my cape flies back inside my bag.

After what happened yesterday, taking the potion again will become more difficult.

It says before laying back down on the desk. Then I hear the doorknob turn.

It's Jinx.

He stands in front of the door, motionless. I rest my left elbow on the windowsill and hold my head with the same hand. "I see your arm healed nicely." I say a little sluggishly. Jinx must have grabbed his arm and stitched it back together using magic.

It looked like it never happened. Jinx slowly walks over to me, very cautiously.

"Calm down. I'm fine now. The voices finally went away, heh." I chuckle to myself as I see his worried expression. "You were never one for a joke." I say and he lets out a sigh. "Pull up your shirt. I need to see your injury." He says and I follow his orders.

He looks at the bandages around my body and winces. "It's going to leave a scar." He says and I mockingly laugh to myself.

"Not if you use a potion." I say and he raises his head to look at me. "I'm not letting you near any of my potions ever again." He says and I smirk, accepting the challenge.

"We'll see." I say and hear footsteps approaching. Siva and Elliot are at the door. I raise my head and smile at Elliot.

"Where were you? You missed all the fun!" I say and Elliot's eyes widen. He stares at me in shock and gives the impression that I must look horrible.