Shadow Princess

Chapter Five: Here We Go

Callista sits on a hospital bed, the nurses coming and giving her smiles. Her mother and father are around her somewhere, but all she could focus on is that her best friend is lying here. Her eyes close as a wave of dizziness approaches. Her hands fly to her stomach as it swirls around and makes her nauseous. The de ja vu hit her. She was just sitting on a cot not that long ago at school. The white walls hold posters on health and a television sat on the wall, high up. She cranes her neck, her eyes seeing color but nothing else. It is going by like a blur, as she distinctively heard a nurse call for her parents, but it passes.

Callista moves to position herself and hears a crinkle of paper. She reaches back and pulls the folded paper out of her pocket. Her name is in big, bold letters, like it wasn't going to explain why she wants to take her life. She opens it slowly, her heart beating in her chest.

She drags her eyes down the page, capturing the words. As she watches, the words start to merge and float around. The letters are moving on their own. Crying out in terror, she hauls the paper away. She sShawcrossbles back on the bed, her hand reaching for her chest. Her heart hammers, the fright sending lightning shocks down her arms. Trembling, she scoots back to the end and picks it up again. Panting, her breaths are visible as she grew cold.

The words are large, covering most of the paper in simple words. Her chest began to tighten as her fear grew. Sasha's bloodied body came to mind, her wrist slit open. Her Shepherd's neck cut open. The words felt like a blow to the heart as she stares. Feeling the need to vomit, Callista scurries out of bed, to the bathroom that is attached to her room. Gagging above the toilet, a wave of intense heat shoots through her. She cries out, the pain of it overbearing. As it passes, she leans her head against the cool tiled walls.

"What the -" her voice is cut off by a few gasps. She whirls around, her face sweaty and her body still trembling. Her mother and father stood in the door way, their eyes wide. Her mother has a hand to her mouth and her eyes brimming with tears.

"Callista?" her mother's voice came out a little breathless. Her father's brown eyes dark with concern.

"Mom," she whispers, her voice cracking, "How is Sasha?"

Her dark blue eyes are sick with worry and sympathy. Callista watches the body language of her parents; the normal bad news vibe came off in waves. Tears spill down her cheeks and her mother launches herself forward to wrap her arms around her daughter.

"Oh, honey. She isn't gone. Just in a coma." Her mother coos softly, her voice shaking. Her father joins them, his own sadness wrapping around them. Callista continues to sob, her tears soaking her mother's scrub and her father's arms tighten around her.

"Do you want to go home and wait for visiting hours?" Her father asks, his voice deep with sorrow.

Callista shuddered violently, the horrors that lay within that house. She backs away from their clutches, her eyes wide. "No. Fiona-"

"is dead." A masculine voice came from behind her parents. A police officer stands there, his uniform wrinkled. A handgun slung at his waist, along with a walkie talkie. Her parents' frown at the man, but his hazel eyes find her. She is shaking, the terror of the day getting to her.

"What are you doing?" her mother snaps, her body sliding in front of her daughter. Her father crosses his arms in front his chest and stares the cop down.

The man merely smiles, and offers her a gentle one. "I am Officer Patrick. I'm here to get a statement from Callista Malik."

Her mother turns to look over her shoulder at Callista, her eyes questioning if she is up to it. The news of their dead dog is devastating for her parents to hear. The pain and anguish radiate from them, hitting into her heart. She shakes her head frantically and the officer peers around her mother to catch it.