His footsteps were lonely as the rest of the world slept. He tried to be as quiet as falling snow, but something so soft didn't survive in this realm. As he crept into the living room, the smell of acrylics tapped in nose and a melodic voice cooed over to his ears.
"Couldn't sleep darling?" The witch called softly, her gentle smile smoothing her features as she set down a freshly-cleaned paint brush. Her hair moved like liquid fire as she swept it lightly behind her ear, before rising off her stool and gliding across the floor. The boy nodded, his fluff bristling as she got closer. This made her smile wilt.
"Before, did I frighten you? Does it scare you that I know about you from just a single look?"
"No" was the simple reply. She nodded, knowing, however, that the fact was the opposite. She extended a porcelain hand, pale skin peeking out from in between black tattoos, ginger freckles, and splashes of drying color. With hesitation, he granted her his soft paw, and allowed her to tug him.
"Accompany me, Jerome. I'd like to speak with you." She sighed, her voice light and quiet, as to not awaken her company down the hall. All Jerome did was nod.
They waltzed out of the living room, through the doors and out. They gave the large and lazy 'guard dog' a silencing pat, before Eliza revealed their course. Up, she pulled him up to the roof.
As expected, when her fragile hands opened the door to the outside world, the fuzzy male received a heated gush of stale, yet strangely refreshing air. It sent a chill that rippled through his skin, and his companion hummed at his reaction. Armoured only in plaid pajama pants and a random tee, the bacca let the witch guide him out into the garden on the roof.
It wasn't a garden, in fact it was a glamified farm. It stretched across the entire roof with irrigation canals and grape arches and crop. Flowers bloomed amongst the wheat, roses in the corn, and sunflowers accented the peas. Amid the world of plant life, a lone figure chopped away at golden waves, only pausing his chopping to give a brist wave at his new company.
Eliza led Jerome away from the working hybrid, towards the edge overlooking the two stone shells. Smoke curled out of the looming chimney in the forge, whist the mystery building sat desolate and alone, untouched and unrevealed. Tears of meager light shimmered against the dark cheeks of the night, and the moon-barren sky wept at the loss of the sun.
The girl, the porcelain doll with steely eyes, sat on the small lip of the roof, patting the ground besides her. The boy, the human with a furry outside, joined her on the ledge, anxiously awaiting for the other to begin.
At first, she said nothing, just gazed sadly at the barren building tucked away in shadows. The only noise that calmed the savage silence was the whistling of the gentle breeze, which caressed the two and touched the flowers, and the swirl merciful chopping of Keeler's tools. Then, as if escaping a trance, Eliza caught Jerome off guard with a soft statement.
"Something big, something bad, is going to happen soon." Jerome's ears twitched as the lightly spoken words stirred a loose memory.
Mitch, clad in wrinkled clothing and dark, sleep-deprived eyes, pulled the mug, steaming, away from his lips and hissed, letting out a puff of breath. He closed his mouth only to open it again.
"Jerome, I think something big...something bad....is going to happen soon.." The Canadian said, clenching his mug in his hands tightly.
Jerome swallowed the lump in his throat, but Eliza continued.
"Jerome, history is going to repeat itself. It always has, and it will forever. My suggestion to you," she said, ripping her sorrowful gaze from the building and stabbing Jerome with her fierce, fiery eyes, "is to brace yourself."
Jerome was shocked, and his thoughts accelerated into a crescendo of worry and fear. These thoughts formed a noose and tangled around his throat, choking him as he bid no response to Eliza's plea.
"What do you mean?" He let out, the words escaping from the muzzle in which his mind had placed on him. Again, the clear eyes of violent storm shifted, tightening the rope around his neck.
"Your friend, he is one of many, yet the only one. The only one with the power to destroy him." Her words pulled the world out from Jerome's feet and freed him from the pressure of his thoughts at the same time.
"..Who?" Jerome choked, feeling the ghost of the rope against his skin, because he was quite certain he knew.
"Him" was his answer, yet it was all he needed to hear for the doubt to bubble past his lips and clog his lungs.
"How would history repeat itself, if he is the only one?" Jerome asked, trying to stay afloat.
She peeked up at him through the wisps of fire flowing around her face. Her glass hand pointed towards the place to which her eyes claimed.
"Her name was Silena. She was thirteen. She was the daughter of the Mistress of the largest witch coven in the Nether. My sister." Eliza's voice, fragile as the rest of her, cracked. "She was the one, the only one who could banish him. At the time. She was sent here, and Kelly became her guardian. But, alas... Power of her magnitude can not stay hidden away, and he found her. He murdered her, in cold blood. Keeler tried to protect her, but he was weak compared to... the one who shall not be named."
"Since then, Keeler's body has recovered, but his mind? Not so much. He blames himself, and he banished himself to this ranch, working his body to it's limits. I live here to keep him company, and to live in the world of machines, art, and peace which my sister enjoyed. That house out there? That was my sister's lab. She did the most wonderful magic in there. In it lies a weapon, one only a soul of great magnitude can wield." She concluded, bright orbs peeling away at Jerome's.
"Mitch." Jerome said, dawning on the realization of reality. Was his Mitch, the boy who he cherished and adored, the only hope? Was there a burden on his shoulders that Jerome had somehow missed? Was it selfish of him to wish that Mitch's mission could be syphoned to someone else, because he didn't want Mitch to carry the world on his shoulders?
"Correct. He needs to use it. Not just because it will bring suffering to the man who makes suffering, but because it is a piece of her, and she shall be with him when he uses it." The witch stated, and Jerome nodded, hearing her voice through layers of thought which was slowly consuming him.
YOU ARE READING
Only Human (Sequal to Monster)
Fanfiction(This book takes place after the events of Monster.) Everything seems right with the world again. Mitch has been accepted back into the rank of TC, The Pack has settled down in northern Minecraftia, and Dark has been banished to the Medium. But it s...
