Fate

Possessed

Nothing eventful happened in the next week or so. I got up, took a shower, dressed, and was taken out for my training. Most of the time I just sat there with a blank expression on my face. I thought that maybe if I was stubborn, they would eventually give up on my and let me go. All it seemed to earn me was a purple bruise on my cheek. I gave up on that theory quickly.

I didn't see my mother at all, though I heard people whispering about her when I passed them in that hall. As it turns out, Fate Tempters don't blow up when they come near you. We were told that to make sure we didn't talk to one another. They kind of gave up after a while. We were so desperate for interaction with friendly people. Not that Dr. Kooz wasn't friendly, but he worked for Brice. I didn't aim to be friends with anyone who works for him.

Apparently this gang was called the Fate Holders. I heard this when walking by some of the popular tempters in the hallway. I find it really sad that even in this time of crisis, we still have to divide ourselves into cliques. Well, everyone but me. I have no temper friends.

The only person I ever talk to during the day is Dr. Kooz and occasionally that girl I had seen in the courtyard. I conversations were usually very short, however. So short in fact, that I hadn't even picked up her name. I made a mental note to make sure to ask her next time I saw her. She seemed like such a fragile thing though. I didn't want to scare her off. I wonder what kind of training they were putting her through.

I had been in this place for almost two months now. I had made a habit to make little tick marks on the walls before going to bed each night. It helped me keep track of the days since they wouldn't give me a calendar.

I heard a knock on the door. I pulled myself off the bed and opened the door. To my surprise, Brice was standing there. He looked as handsome as ever, without his usual evil smirk. He was almost the way I remember him, aside from his fancy suit and the dirt smug on his right cheek.

"What do you want?" I snapped.

"I wanted to talk to you," he answered simply. I scowled and stepped aside, letting him into my jail cell of a room. I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter.

He sat down in my desk chair and I flung myself onto my bed so my feet hung off the edge. I stared up at my white ceiling, waiting for him to speak. Instead, he just started at my fidgeting hands. His gaze was almost laced with a sort of regret. It was like his was mad at the choice he made to bring me here.

I flopped over, so I was laying on my stomach. I placed my chin on my hands and raised an eyebrow. He jumped up like he had just been taken out of a trance. He paced across the room, ran a hand through his hair, but still remained silent.

"Well if your just gonna sit here and sulk, you might as well just leave. I'm not going to comfort you because one of you minions quit or had a baby or something. This isn't like the old days. You can't just-"

He cut me off mid-sentence and screamed, "SHUT UP!"

I was slightly taken aback, but snapped out of it instantly. This isn't the Brice I new. This was a new, evil, controlling Brice. This was not the Brice I loved.

I got off the bed and stalked toward my ex. I took his shoulders, turned him around, and pushed him towards the door. He stopped and looked back at me, with big sad eyes. fury boiled behind mine and I knew, if he didn't leave, I was going to turn into that burning rage-monster again. I could feel the flames singe my finger tips, but felt no pain.

"Get out." I muttered, voice dripping with acid.

"Guess you don't want to hear what I was going to say then," he retorted, placing his hand on the door nob.

"Oh, you mean nothing?" I threw back sarcastically.

"How dare you!" he bellowed, stepping away from the door. He took two long strides, and suddenly he was in my face. Anger overtook me then, and so did the flames.

I snarled, then slapped his face. The impact stung, but it hurt him more. The force of my hand sent him flying towards a wall, which he smashed into leaving a trail of blood down his face.

There was a spark in his eyes. The coldness left him, and he looked like Brice again. He was the person I had met so long ago on Cottonwood. I knew something was wrong with him, the man torturing these people was not Brice. He could never be so cruel.

"Jace?" he looked up at me with fear in his eyes. I couldn't respond or move. I was to shocked. How could this be happening? What that hell was going on?

"Jace are you okay?" he scrambled off the floor and stepped toward me. I took a step back, and it nearly killed me. "Jace whats the matter are you o-" he started screaming. A bloodcurdling scream like those in the horror movies. I stood where I was, unable to move. Every bone in my body was begging me to go help him, but my brain knew what was going to happen.

Brice stopped screaming. He lifted his gaze to meet my eyes. The coldness was back. This was a stranger, no longer Brice. "You might want to think before you hit me again," not-Brice snarled. He turned on his heel and left the room, leaving me alone with an overwhelming sense of dread.

As I made my way toward the bed, I realized something. Brice, when he first walked in, had warmth in his eyes. He wanted to tell me something, my Brice. When I pushed him away, the coldness returned and he was not-Brice. Then, after I slapped him, I guess I shocked him back to himself.

I can't believe I hadn't noticed this sooner. It was so obvious.

Brice was possessed. And honestly, it didn't surprise me, not after all that as happened.

Now I just need to figure out how to get the evil spirit out of him. Looks like my life just got a lot more complicated.