Tell No One

Chapter 7

"Did you see that?" Darren did not see that. All he saw was Shelia's face, the music drowning out as he focused solely on her.

"Darren?" Darren snapped out of it, flushing at being caught staring.

Shelia eyed him suspiciously, but quickly shook it off. "That guy."
"What guy?"

"The guy Darren! The guy Kiera was dancing with!" Darren couldn't care less about what Kiera was doing. Shelia however.... he wished he was dancing with her right now.

"What does it matter? We're all just here to have a good time."
Shelia pushed down the urge to tell him he was wrong. Something was going on. She saw as Kiera's dance partner, -as obscured by the crowd as he was- she knew Kiera had done something to him. Guys like that weren't put off easily by a girl like her.

"Shelia, how about we just dance? You haven't left this table all night." Shelia looked at Darren, his eyes hopeful. She couldn't dance. She wasn't an Alana. She wasn't tall and sexy- Shelia prided herself on being smart. Her dancing wouldn't be smart.
"No. I don't dance." Darren's face fell, souring, a little crushed.

"Well- alright. I'm going to join Alana, feel free to join me." Darren got up and left, little deflated. She didn't know if Shelia was just oblivious or simply had no interest, but either way, it hurt.

Kiera was wasted. After Mera's sudden departure, and his warning message, Kiera ordered drink after drink until she could no longer stand straight. Who saw? Who knew? Mera wouldn't have said it if it wasn't important. There was something she was missing. The guy surely wouldn't say anything. Would he? What would he say anyway? Who saw? Don't think about it. Who knew? Don't think about it. Kiera repeated her mantra in her head, as she swayed to the beat next to Alana. Honestly, it was time to go home.
"Alana..." Alana turned away from the dark haired stranger she'd been dancing with.

"Yeah sweeety?" Alana's words were a little slurred, obviously having a bit too much to drink too.
"Can we go?" Kiera suddenly felt like crying. Alana saw the tears welling up in her eyes, and her face instantly looked worried.
"Why? Whats wrong? What's happened?" Kiera just shook her head. Tapping Darren on the shoulder beside her, She gestured they should go.

Shelia willingly gave both Alana and Kiera a lift home, having not drunk that night (Or ever, really.) Kiera's mind was fuzzed, everything diluted from the alcohol in her system, but still noticed the slight difference in how Shelia treated her. It was ever so slight, but Kiera felt the shift in their relationship, a cold shoulder turned her way. When she was dropped off outside her complex, Kiera sang a cheerful goodbye, which was only met by Shelia driving off without acknowledgement. Weird. 
Kiera stumbled up the stairs, and made it to her flat. After a few tries, she fell into her apartment, wobbling out of her shoes before basically collapsing on her bed.

Kiera's numb feeling was extended to the morning. Peeling herself off her bed, which she hadn't even managed to get into, she realised she hadn't even taken her dress off. Shimmying out off it, Kiera ran her tongue through her mouth; she tasted like a minibar. Brushing her teeth and staring at her reflection, Kiera realised something; she didn't have a hangover. Kiera sighed at this; no more hangovers. She could get used to that.

Getting herself something for breakfast, the numbness returned. Halfway through her cereal, she stopped, no longer finding the appeal of eating. Pushing the bowl away, Kiera got up, restless, and started pacing. What was with this? Her emotions were all over the place. Kiera carried on pacing. She needed a walk. Yes, a nice walk to clear her head. She grabbed her keys and raced out of the apartment.

***
Kiera opened the door quietly at the back of the room, a faint echo following her as she took a seat at the back. She hadn't known why she had come here, only that her feet pulled her to this building. But why here? The wooden pew was hard against her back, too vertical to be comfortable. The Vicar's voice sounded over the handful of people scattered over the pews. For a Sunday, not many people had turned up.
"When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived..." Kiera tuned out the Vicar's droning voice as he read from the Bible. Turning into herself, she thought about her own mortality and what would come after their death. The people here don't know it, but they are right. There is a God, and truly, by being good, they will join him in heaven- or Elysium as Mera said. But for her, for her is was too late. At this point, she can only be called an extension of Ramatee's hand. Her soul already belonged to the Abyss, to him. What she did was not directly a decision of her own consciousness- Kiera had already abandoned her morality, and her mortality was much less at risk with her gifts. So- Kiera surmised- her limited time left here should be spent doing what she wanted. She was untouchable until death. Kiera perked, realizing something. This, this was what she was missing. Standing up, she scurried to the back door, where she came in. No one as much as acknowledged her as she pulled it open, the slight squeak of the hinges ringing out. But then, the  Kiera started a fire. A small fire, by her feet, contained, unnoticeable unless you were paying attention. Closing the door behind her, Kiera stepped out onto the street, taking a good few paces back until she stood on the other side of the road. Concentrating, she grew the fire, fed the fire, until she could see it through one of the back windows. The fire alarm went off inside, and frightened yelling and screaming could be heard from within. Repulsively, Kiera started to smile, a big grin adorning her face. Yes, this was why she was alive right now. Kiera felt the fire boom, becoming an inferno, smoke billowing from the top in great big plumes as it continued to swell. The windows had burst from the heat, glass littering the pavement. The screaming from inside had stopped, but by now, a fair amount of bystanders were on the sidewalk, and she became lost in a crowd which was ever increasing, a constant chorus of worried murmuring, frantic calls and stunned silence as more people came to gawd at the obscene spectacle. Like a gruesome car crash, they were transfixed, not wanting to look but looking anyway, knowing they weren't supposed to look but seeing anyway. They ate it up, lapped it up. Kiera laughed at the irony. Humans, the only ones graced with a high enough perception to know right from wrong. Everyone here was in awe as she was, to some level, everyone enjoyed it. We don't look if we don't. We pretend we're better, but truly we are the worst.

Sirens wailed in the distance, but of course, it would be too late.

Kiera started walking away.