Fear

Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

  I didn’t remember falling asleep but I was soon standing in the middle of a damp and freezing empty hall way. There were no door and no windows and I couldn’t see an end or a beginning. I stayed still for a couple minutes, until I felt it again. The grip on my heart shattered my sanity. I started to scream when I hit the cement ground. I couldn’t breathe or see anything. The world began to spin endlessly until my organs shut down and I peacefully faded into blackness.

 When I woke up I was still in the hallway. The hold hadn’t lifted and there was no relief of the pain but I found myself handling it better than before. “Welcome back.” I jerked my head up to see a boy in his twenty’s like the rest of Pain. I didn’t know how I knew his was part of Pain; it had just been a feeling. His twisted hair was as black as asphalt and his eye color blended into the color of his deep blue t-shirt. Unlike the rest of Pain he looked rather normal and wasn’t wearing any leather.

“I’ve never been here before.” I answered him and brushed my hair out of my face.

“You know I love how clueless you act every time I bring you back.” The corners of his month curved into a half smile.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I snapped but fell into a coughing fit after the amount of effort I had to use. Unlike the rest of his groupies he didn’t laugh at my weakness he just stood his ground as if I was going to get up and push him over.

“I feel bad for you, you know always in the dark.” He sighed and held out his arm to help me to my feet. “Always so clueless that’s why I called you back here, the rest of my friends as you like to call them don’t know I’m talking to you so don’t tell.” I gripped onto his arm, but almost let go when I felt how his skin was as cold as dry ice. When I made it to my feet again my knees buckled and I fell against the wall for support.

“But why would you help me, who are you anyway?” I asked but just began to hack up frozen air again.

“I’m Loss, but they call me Zero.” He hung his head a like ashamed for some unknown reason. “And I’m not helping you; I’m just done hurting people.” He growled.

“But your Pain don’t you enjoy breaking humans apart.” I whispered saving myself from more coughing.

“We haven’t always been like this.” Zero hissed. “We had normal lives, but when our leader came for me he took my soul and replaced it with one of the seven other Pains.”

“You mean you’re all just people?” I asked in shock. I already knew then answer and I think he knew I did to.

“You got that right.” He answered anyway. “And the worst part is I remember the time I had with my other soul.”  I couldn’t say anything. Partly because I couldn’t breathe and partly because of what he had just told me. It made me wonder how the rest of them felt about their world domination plan and if there was some way to make them stop it themselves. But after meeting the others I soon realised it was too late for the rest of them.

“You have been here before I just erase your memory every time.” He stated bringing the conversation back to the original topic. “But not this time.”

“So you are helping me.” I proudly said proving my point.

“I telling you that you’re only helping pet because I made it so.” He yelled and the sound carried along the corridors walls. “I sent Richard to you so you could meet Coal and Hayden, I enforced you find the cases on the vampires and the ghosts because I wanted to show you what losing someone looks like, I was the one who whispered in the Alfa vampires ear to push Hayden off the cliff to by us some time, I’m the reason you love Aiden White. Now tell me still think I’ve been helping you.”

  I froze, my breathe stopped completely and all the color faded out my skin. I could tell him I didn’t love Aiden because it wouldn’t have been true. “How can you influence how I feel about someone?” I asked softly and sucking in as much air as possible so I didn’t suffocate.

“I have a grip on your heart, that you’ll felt ever since you became a part of this hell.” He said. “I’ll prove it.” Before I had time to protest he squeezed his fist together and the heart in my chest tightened along with it. I dug my finger nails into the dry wall to keep myself from sliding to the floor.

“Stop please!” I screamed and he let his fingers dangle beside him. When he let go the whole weight disappeared. I took in a deep breath like I hadn’t been able to do in months. But my feeling for Aiden hadn’t changed like they should have.

“I no longer hold your heart and don’t expect me to ever take over again.” He began to run down the hallway until he had disappeared from view. He was only gone for a few seconds before the dull light follow him and vanished. In misty light left in the hallway I could see smoke coming out of my fingers. I began to engulf me until the grand finally.  I explode into a white light and when it was over I didn’t know where I was. A small bright light floated above me on the wall in front of me. It dimmed and soon vanished.

When it did I could suddenly feel the change in my feelings at that point. I tried to reach out for the comforting thought of Aiden I had, had for months but it was gone and that spot in my brain was empty.

“It freaked me out the first time, It happened to me too.” A girl looking to be almost sixteen stood beside me. She wore a pretty strapless dove white dress that fell only to the top of her knees. Her wavy brown hair glimmered as it softy lined her shoulders.

“What first time who are you, where am I?” I asked completely confused.

“It’s ok Jenna, all you need to do is calm down and take a few deep breathes, it helps.’ She answered and I followed her orders. When I finished I could feel sanity slip back into its place in my brain. Looking closer at my accomplice I notice who she was. She had the same tattoo on her wrist of the sun like I did.

 “You’re the little girl.” I said answering my own question. “But like an older prettier version. I thought you died when you were ten?”

“I never died.” She said calmly. “They just like to make it sound like I did.”

“So you feel asleep into this place like I did?”

“Yep, I’m in the back of my boyfriend’s car we just left his mother wedding.” She said explaining the dress.

“It’s over.” I said remembering the empty space that made me feel broken. “I can’t help him if I can’t even go back there to the room.”

“I felt the same way when Zero let go of my heart.” She said. “But I forgave myself for giving up and found my way back.”

“But it was your sister, you knew her before you knew about any of this crap.” I said.

“We weren’t sisters.” She said and I was too shocked to say anything. “I never even knew her until the night she ripped my arm open. But you can’t even step foot in the room if you don’t love the one that’s trapped inside.”

“But, what if I don’t love him without the hold.” I said worriedly.

“You didn’t get it.” She said and crossed her arms. “You have to love them yourself, the spells to strong it can see through lies better than an x-ray.” She stopped pacing and stood right in front of me her silver heels glowing against my ripping converses. “I was too late to realise that and my sister was gone before I could have done anything.”

“How do I fill the space I my head?” I asked.

“With your heart.” She answered. “You need to go back to the room.”

“Who are you?” I asked wondering if she’d even answer. “You seem to have a normal life outside of here, how do you even know all about this?”

“My name is Nickel and I’ve been visiting the rooms of Pain in my dreams since my friend Lily was killed by the one Fearful Pain controls.” She said. “We’re all cursed by Pain, if you get Aiden out you free me from this world and you will free yourself from the sun as well.”

“Well you all just stop telling me what will happen.” I yelled. “Why don’t you people help me?” Her dress wrapped around her like a cape and she was gone before she could respond. The stress broke me down and panting I started to cry out into the empty lonely world around me.