Shattering Reality - COLLAB WITH @AtomicDaDragon

Chapter 19

That girl is Sera (anime version) BTW

Serafina's Perspective

  I have been here so long, my hair, once hacked off, has grown past my shoulders.

  I lay on the block, too weak to move. They undid my restraints so I could eat, but I still lay there.

  Apollo is on the other side of the room. he brought me a change of clothes, a pale cream hoodie and jeans. And a hairbrush. I don't try to brush my hair, though. I stay in the old white gown Elyssia gave me.

  I sit up, slowly. Every part of my body aches. There are burn holes all over the gown. Slowly, I crawl over behind the stone, and slip on the clothes. They will just get ruined when the next torture comes.

  I sit up, and pick at the gritty bread on my plate. I wonder if Apollo was supposed to bring me these things. Of course he wasn't. Elyssia isn't this kind.

  I've lost count of my days here. I think it's been a month. I look at him.

  He sits there, in jeans and a black shirt. His hair is untidy and sticks out in the back. Elyssia must treat him badly. His wings droop, as do mine. His are bound, like mine. I hate not being able to fly.

  My blue-purple tail twitches. He has two stones, and rubbing them together, he tries to start a fire. He looks like a galaxy-ice hybrid. Wow. Strange combination.

  Eventually, the fire starts. I smile, and walk to the warmth. He looks at me. The fire is contained behind a wall of stones. He looks away quickly. My eyes are still black, I assume.

  ''Thanks,'' I say quietly. He may be the hand that tortured me, but he did start a fire. I don't sit too close.

  "Welcome," he mutters. His silver-blue tail lashes. He looks like he is fighting with himself.

  Finally, he says, "I'm sorry, Okay? I don't want to torture you, but she made me. That evil witch."

  I stare at him. I've never heard a British accent before, except when he talked a little before. I did spend seventeen years of my life in an isolated village.

  "Never heard a British guy talk before?'' he asks. I shake my head, still wary.

  "What if Elyssia comes in and sees me in these clothes," I ask quietly.

  "She knows I brought them," he says. "I asked."

  Why would he bring me clothes? It must've cost him, knowing Elyssia. The fire pops.

  I look down at my hand. A silver ring that Blossom gave me for my fourteenth birthday is still on my finger. I didn't notice before.

  "Why did you bring me the clothes," I ask.

  He sighs. "You looked sad." I did?

  "I know what she'll do next,'' he says. "What," I ask eagerly.

  "Simulation. Like the one you were in for months. Or, it felt like months. It was a few hours."

  "What?"

  "She put you in a simulation, a faint one, what feels like six months ago. The only fake thing was you thinking she lead the Riders. But the real sim happened when you saw the 'city'.''

  "You're telling me this because..."

  "She'll put you in a sin that alters time, tortures you emotionally and physically, and extracts information."

  "What does she want from us? She knows everything."

  "Why the prophecy spoke of you. She wants to use you as bait for the others. I only saw the one with acid green hair once. She was screaming for Elyssia to die. In the white prison, that is. It's remarkable."

  "What's remarkable?"

  "How loyal you are to each other."

  "Loyalty comes in more forms than insanity," I say. "But it goes to show that loyalty makes people do strange things. Even if it kills them."

  "Who are you," Apollo asks.

  "A prisoner."

  "No, more than that. Who are you? I don't even know your name."

  I smile. "My name is Serafina."

  "Last name?"

  "Why so curious?"

  "Why so rude?"

  "It's Bystrom,'' I admit. Judging by his face, he knows who I am.

  ''The Serafina,'' he asks, breathless. I nod. "Wow."

  "I only found out a few months ago," I say. "It's crazy. I went to the castle once and..." I can't continue without crying.

  "I'd go crazy," Apollo admits.

  "I already did," I joke. He laughs, then quits. "Can I laugh," he asks softly. "Yes, you can laugh."

  "I really am sorry, Serafina,'' he says again. "I saw how bad it hurt you. I am so, so sorry."

  I smile. "I like the way it sounds when you say sorry."

  "Weird, but okay."

 "Who are you, Apollo," I as, putting a comedic amount of emphasis on his name. I rest my finger on the ground, and a joint pops. "Ow," I exclaim. He looks at me worriedly. "Okay?" he asks. I nod.

  "Well, I am Apollo Tobiasson,'' he says. "Not the most noble name, but a good name to me."

  "Why are you so concerned with my well being,'' I ask, thinking about how he looked when I said ow.

  "Because I hurt you. The guilt kills me. She has me do the same to the other prisoners. I can hardly live with myself anymore."

  "I'm sorry," I say softly. He shrugs, eyes lighting up. "Elyssia won't come until two days from now," he says. "She's developing a strong sim, just for your DNA specifically. It's all she talks about."

  "Oh, no." "Don't be scared," he says. "I know a way to determine what is real from the fake."

  "You do?"

  "Yup," he says, popping the p. "What Elyssia is doing is brilliant, actually. Terrible, but brilliant."

  "Tell me!"

  "Later," he says.

  We sit silent for several minutes. I think about Atomic and Ella. How is Majirica? Are they coming for me? Do they even care? Do the think I'm dead? Are they dead?

  The last option is so terrible, I start to feel a burning behind my eyes. "Don't cry," I think. "Crying is bad." But still, the tears come. I lean against the white wall. My hood is pulled up.

  I wipe my tears off my cheek. I don't want them to be dead, I really don't.

  Apollo looks at me, eyes wide with shock.

  "I've seen you burned, whipped and beat. I've seen you tortured and almost killed, but never have I seen you cry."

  I let out a choked sob. "I don't want to die here," I say suddenly. I didn't realize it, but that's what was making me sad and afraid. "I don't want to die."

  Somehow, I end up with his arm around my shoulder, sobbing into my hands. Our tails touch slightly. And all the while, he just sits there, silent.