Midnight Mates

Under

I was laying down, bundled under two blankets, after Gabriel and Verity had found me a sobbing mess on the floor. They encouraged me to get some sleep, but at this point it was impossible. I stared at the white wall until it would go black. Then I would blink a few times and stare at again until it turned black again.

I'm not sure how much time passed, but suddenly there was an added weight to the bed, and my body tensed up, hairs on the back of my head standing up.

And then, elbow propped up and white hair all messed up was none other than my sister, Tranquility.

"T, what are you doing here?" I asked. Her cold eyes narrowed, and she smiled sweetly.

"Darling Serenity, I'm just here to make your decision easier."

"What decision?" I asked, eyes following Tranquility's hand to where she played with a bleeding wound in her shirt.

"You're hurt."

"Yes, you did this to me. Don't you remember?"

I did.

"But you were bad. I had to kill you."

"Was I?" She asked. Her bloody hand reached out and stroked my face.

"Your memory is selective as always, Serenity."

I got sudden flashes of Tranquility and I playing as children, an unseen third sister watching from the shadows. We would laugh, and when I fell in the grass, Tranquility was always the one who pulled me back up, while a shadowed sneer looked on.

"No..." I groaned.

"Yes. It seems you drove a sword right through your favorite sister."

"Shut up, you're lying!" I screamed.

Tranquility's face blurred like watercolors and in her stead, was my own face, twisted and bruised and broken. The sclera of my eyes were full black, and the pupils gold. Black veins wriggled under the surface of my skin, and my teeth were sharp, venomous, and bloodstained.

"Am I?"

"Stop it! You're not me!" I yelled, reaching out to claw at the apparation. It caught my hand and dispelled it like it was made of smoke.

"You're the ghost, here, Serenity," it said.

"I'm not you, and you aren't me!" I leaned closer and grinned.

"How much longer do you intend to hide behind that grin, Serenity?" I asked.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up! SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

I reached out and pushed myself off the bed just as the door flew open. Like a fog was being lifted, slowly my head cleared and I looked down at myself. My nails were bloody, and it looked like I was trying to tear a hole in my chest.

People were stepping closer, but I was more concerned about why I wasn't healing.

I looked up, into the eyes of Verity. Her crystal clear gaze gave me comfort.

"What did I do?" I asked, tears spilling out of my eyes before I could stop them.

"More importantly, why aren't you healing?" Gabriel asked.

A sudden jolt of pain echoed in my throat. It felt like I had been drinking sulfuric acid nonstop for days.

"Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop," I wailed.

"Can we move her like this?" David asked. Gabriel shook his head.

"I'll call the guys and see if they found Dr. Kat yet," Gabriel said, leaving as Verity helped me back into bed.