My Name Is Alice

Chapter 9

Samuel's POV

   I watch as this peculiar man forces my younger, alive sister to inhale chloroform gas. It makes my heart ache to watch this, in the knowledge that I am of no use. Alice's limp body falls forward into the arms of the man they call David. His muscles tense as he drapes her like a newborn in his embrace. With only one arm, I might say, which is odd for a normal human to be able to do. 

   The ebony door that is on the farther side of the room shifts open. A woman with line skin and greyish, long hair comes forth. She's wearing a maiden's attire but with charcoal colored, fuzzy slipper boots. "Yes, grandson?" Her elder voice is roughly displayed, as her shadowed eyes flick my way. "What is it that you require?" Her tone is bored as if she is disapproving of the scene before her. 

   "Athena. We shall put her in the experiment room. She's hiding something and we must find out what it is. Soon." David's voice sounds desperate but fascinated. 

   "Why should we? She's a girl that was found off of an island, yes? People who've been lost are usually discovered somewhere no one goes. Hence, why they were lost." Again, this Athena woman glances toward me. 

   Is it possible that she is able to sense my presence or perhaps see my figure? 

   David lulls his head back. "Will you just help me get her to the cages?"

  "Cages!" I state outrageously. Why would they do that? Alice is not some sort of animal or creature. She is simply a girl! Though my soul is silent to their ears, I mutter under my breath. "How dare he. Why, if I weren't dead..." 

   Athena wanders toward me- her movements subtle as if she's just observing the room. And for a moment, I believe that's what she's doing. However, when David looks away to stare down at Alice's resting face, she comes right up to me. "Come with me as I leave, I do not want you to see the young being transported in such a way. It will destroy your heart." Though her tone is strict, it's also soft and maturnal. 

   I nod though not at all understanding how she's able to see me. Her eyes aren't at all violet like all psychics are, but a pitch black. "She will be safe, won't she?" I whisper, glaring at the way David is hoisting her up over a shoulder, her arms flailing limply around. 

   "Of course. Do you not think we haven't secured David with twelve guards, watching him to be sure that all whom are gifted are not harmed in anyway?" 

   She knows. I am taken aback, I must admit. How would she know that Alice is psychic, she hasn't even seen her eyes! 

   "There are more ways than one to find out." Athena whispers in answer to my thoughts. "Now, we must hurry, we've much to speak about." 

   I follow as she, David with Alice leave the room. David turns a corner before me and I stress to not follow. In an example, it's like letting her be tortured without stepping in. I could not help, but I could keep her sane whilst it's being done. I force myself to keep going after Athena, her short being bobbing down a curved, yet all the same straight, hallway. 

   Finally, we enter through an old wooden door. I'm met with stairs, twirling upward as a spiral. In seconds I'm at the top but I wait for Athena to get up as well. My eyes sullenly take in a small waiting area. There is one window which lets sunlight glide through, and painted over wood that's now chipping. 

   Athena strolls passed me, her fingers clinging to a single, silver key. She unlocks another door and steps into the darkness. I go in as well. At first there is no sound at all, but then scathing noise interrupts the silence and fire lights up the room. It's tiny, with no windows, and a single bed in the corner of the room. This room is made from pure elements. Wood with no paint, completely unshaved logs, hold together the room. A clay bathtub that reminds me more of a minimal pond sits in the middle of the room. You'd step down into it, even though it is shaped as a tub to be scrubbed in. Candles of different scents line the walls, flicking about, waiting to be blown into darkness once more. 

   The elder, Athena, moves forward and picks up a sage bundle. She holds it above a candle until smoke begins to stream up toward the ceiling. She ambles slowly passed I, who watch her with intense curiosity. The woman takes cautionary steps around the room, whispering a different language for blessings. When finished, she holds the bundle of four centimeter long strings of plant flesh to her heart, inhales deeply, and then tosses the bundle into the tub. Which now I realise is filled with deep green-colored water. Not murky or ill water, but something that feels it's made colored by herbs. 

   Athena drips both of the corners of her mouth upward in a smile, and when she does, her eyes dilute into a different color. At first it's a deep, dark blue, then it turns indigo, violet, and rests on an almost white, turquoise color. "Please, may you sit with me, young man." Her voice has taken on to someone wiser than beyond the years which have already gone. 

   Confused and besettled, I lower myself to the warm floor. It's been covered with some kind of woven, soft plant as a rug. "Your eyes..." I whisper. I look down upon myself, seeing nothing as most spirits don't. "How can you see me?" I ask, leaning toward the woman unconciously. 

   Her smile is brightening in the dim light. "My dear, I am an Atheon. Which deciphers that I am one ultimatum of a psychic. Of course I can see you, hear you, I could even taste your energy. Which is odd considering most spirits are numbly felt." She pauses. "My eyes, you say, what is so different of them?" 

   I shake my head, attempting to make sense of it, but fail. "They were so dark in the room with David, but now they're almost glowing with white. How can that be?" 

   "The age has differed from the eight-hundreds. There are ways to hide they eye color. I used to withhold the violet eyes, but a dreadful accident on my part left me too aware of the spiritual world, and thus, my irises changed. I shade the whites by simple ink." Another pause so she may breathe. "And no, I cannot help your sister with her irises since my grandson has already found her eyes most intriquing. If I help to change them, he will compare them to how mine appear. And that, that is an arguement no one will win." 

   "Why did they take her?" 

   A few moments pass in silence, and soon I feel like I will not be getting an answer. Athena's breathing begins to slow, but she replies. "At first, I believe that they thought she was just another lost woman, attempting back to civilization. But she slept so much, you see, even though not quite as long as normally done, they saw something very strange in that. It is odd, but five days isn't comparable to how long she'll sleep if she stays long enough to get exhausted." Athena sighs. "That's why, I'd like to help."