Morph [EDITING] || Wattys 2017 Winner

~FORTY TWO~

~amelie~

Someone comes at me but I don't even register their face, and I dodge their first punch, returning the blow right into their temple, and they sway and fall, the tiny blue sparks of energy surrounding their body fizzling out. I crane my neck to try and see my sister, but I can't find her, and then I'm turning in circles, frantically screaming her name.

"Amelie!" someone shouts, right in my ear, and a hand clamps on my shoulder and I twist around, pushing the hand off me and pinning the person to the ground. There's a cry of "Stop, it's me!", and I focus, startled, on their face, and I recognise Matthew staring up at me.
"Oh!" I say, and I immediately release him and step back slightly, offering him a hand to get up. To my surprise, he doesn't take it, but makes a fist and jumps to his feet, punching at someone over my shoulder. I look round, surprised, and catch a glimpse of another rebel fighting the person he hit.

Matthew draws my attention back to him. "What happened? Why were you calling for Sophia?" he asks, looking worried.
I explain about her and Ryan, and my uncle's face goes slack. "We need to find her," I tell him, and he nods quickly.

"Sophia!" I yell, and Matthew starts shouting, and we're both fending off attackers and pushing them back into the crowd around us as we holler her name repeatedly. But suddenly Matthew cuts off, and I see someone darting towards me out of the corner of my eye, but when I stop shouting and whip my head around to rebuff them they're gone.

"Who was that?" I ask, confused.
Matthew's brows are lowered as he says, "I don't know. I can't see them, but they keep coming at me. Get ready," he adds, balling his fists.

I search the area around me, but I can't see anything. For a moment I think I imagined the whole thing, and I'm about to tell him when someone speaks.

"Hoped I would see you again," comes a voice, from right behind me, and I jump, startled, twisting around to find whoever's talking. It's somehow familiar, but I can't place it. "I bet you felt so proud after you escaped from your big bad kidnappers."
My face blanches with shock, and I realise who's talking. The girl who kidnapped me and helped interrogate me. I spin around, trying to find her, but I can't see her near me. She must be darting in and out of the throng of fighters surrounding us. My fists clench as I say, "Are you looking for a rematch?" If I can see her, I can hit her, and I can beat her.
"I'd love to, but let's be honest. You'd beat me in a straight fight." The girl pauses. "No, I'll beat you a different way."
"What are you talking about?" I ask, still searching, fully aware I'm stalling for time. I feel Matthew tense beside me, preparing for a fight just like me.
"You'll see." Her voice floats across to me from nowhere, and suddenly I see her, standing a few feet away, a smirk plastered on her features.

"There, look, she's there!" I say, elbowing Matthew and running towards her. I only get a few feet before my foot catches on something and I go sprawling, scrambling up to find someone standing in between me and her.

My uncle stands there, totally still, and I stare at him, confused. I catch a glimpse of the girl behind him, totally relaxed, and I suddenly notice her eyes are completely black. The last time I saw that, she took control of me. So that must mean that now, she's controlling... someone... else. My gaze travels slowly, disbelievingly, from her to my uncle. The sun is bright, blocking out his features, but when I move back slightly I can see his face, and I stare in abject horror at his pitch-black eyes.

"No," I whisper, and the girl lets out a giggle and Matthew moves.

I've never seen him move so fast as his fist flies out and I jerk to block it, barely managing to hold him off as he throws another punch towards me. It hits my raised forearm with force and I grunt, and then pain erupts in my leg as his foot smashes into it and my knee buckles, and I barely have time to block his next blow, my arms flying up in a cross to protect my face. But he keeps going, shooting punch after punch at me, and each time I struggle to defend myself. I miss a few and they connect, his fist smashing into my side, my jaw, my stomach. I'm unable to fight back, because even though he's attacking me, he's still my uncle, and I can't block his blows with more aggressive methods. I'm panting heavily, trying to withstand the barrage of fists, when another gets past my defences and collides with my mouth, and I reel, falling to the ground, tasting blood as I struggle to recover. I throw my arms up, for another attempt at defence, but suddenly there's nobody hitting me, and I look up.

Matthew is standing stock still again, and now the girl is right next to me, standing over me. "Oh, look at your pretty little face," she says mockingly, and I raise my fingers to my badly split lip. "How does it feel to be on the losing side?"
My eyes narrow to slits as I hiss, "Stop it. You've made your point."
A perplexed look comes over her face, before being replaced by amusement again. "My point? Oh, I'm not trying to prove anything here. I just love drama." She leans closer. "You know, stories of betrayal, struggle, torment... and what's better than being betrayed by your own family?" Suddenly she breathes in sharply, looking straight up, exclaiming "Oh!", and smirks. "I know. Two family betrayals." She giggles. "He's getting boring to control. I think you'd be much more fun."
"Don't. Don't do this," I say through clenched teeth, balling my fists, getting ready to attack her and stop her using me as a weapon.
She looks at me, cocking her head. "You humiliated me when you escaped. I can do whatever I want."

I roar and launch myself to my feet, swinging my fists directly at her face, but she just steps back and dodges and then my fists are flailing at empty space, and I turn around as she raises her hand towards Matthew, and the darkness drains from his eyes and he gasps, freed, and stares at me in shock, looking totally confused. I'm about to run over to him when she suddenly moves her outstretched arm to point to me, that terrifying blackness filling her eyes, as a burning feeling envelops me, quickly escalating to agony. I can't let her take control, I can't, and I struggle to move but I'm locked in place. I open my mouth to scream, but then her eyes meet mine and darkness takes over and the world goes away.

~~~

~?~

Where am I? What's... how did I get here?

It doesn't matter. You don't care. All you care about is doing what I say. Okay?

... Okay.

You don't want to fight me anymore. Your enemy is standing next to you.

But he's my friend.

He's not your friend. He's your enemy. Attack him.

But-

Attack him.

Good girl. See, he's unconscious now. It's easier to get rid of him.

What... what's happening?

It doesn't matter. Now, pick that gun up.

I... I don't like guns...

I don't care. Pick it up.

I don't want to.

I don't care.

Please-

PICK IT UP!

Well done. Now point it at him... and pull the trigger...

No.

What?

I won't. He's my friend.

He's your enemy. Shoot him now.

What are you doing?

Shooting... my enemy...

No! Stop! Kill him! You want to kill him, you want to-

Don't-

Shoot him!

No!

*crack*