The Sunflower Keeper

The Truth

          “His name is Julian. He was her body guard and a real pain in the ass.” Demetri groans as he tightens the ropes around my wrists. “I killed him, when he was lip-locked with Scarlett. Why do you care?” He steps back and raises a brow.

          “I’m just curious about my sister.” My voice sounds shaky. He seems to buy my answer. He yanks a black case out of the darkened corner. He opens is and places it on the table.

          “These are my tools. I’m sure you guys will become great friends.” He says sarcastically.

          My heart becomes stricken with fear. “This is your brilliant plan? You’re going to torture me in order to make me tap into my powers?”

          “You apparently tap into them, when you’re near death. Don’t worry there is a doctor waiting for my call. You won’t die… At least not yet.” A wicked chuckle echoes through the room.

He arranges his tools on the metal table. They clack against the surface. He handles them with care. The fear overflows into my veins and pulses through my body. My heartbeat quickens.

“Shall we get started?” He enthusiastically asks. His fingers brush over the sharpened knives and tools.

          “Please! There has to be another way! Please…” I drop my head as tears fill my eyes.

          “I thought you wanted to be closer to your sister. I did this to her as she died. Though I wasn’t able to enjoy it. I promise you. I will this time. Every second.”

His twisted smile scolds my tear-burdened eyes. His steps cause my heart to crawl into a hole. His hand grips my jugular. I struggle for air. He drags the knife through my skin. I cringe as pain shoots into my shoulder.

          “Sir…” The knife lifts from my torn skin.  

          “Brody! I thought I told you that I didn’t want to be disturbed!” Demetri releases my throat and whips around.

He is outraged.  I gasp for air but my lungs reject it.  Blood drips down my arm onto the floor. A puddle forms at my feet.

          “There’s been a major development.” Brody almost seems scared of Demetri.

          “Can’t this wait?” He aggregately asks.

          “No sir. It’s important.” Brody opens the door more and backs away.

          Demetri turns back to me and slightly smiles, “We will continue this later.”

He steps forwards but jerks to a stop. He whips around and jabs the sharp object into my shoulder. A scream escapes me. I holler until my voice can no longer sustain. He removes it after a few seconds.

 “Now we will see if anything happens.” He pats me on my unwounded shoulder and exits the room of torture.

          The sides of my vision become blurry. My shoulder that once burned now only feels numb. My head droops over because I can no longer hold my chin up. A bright light shoots out of the hole in my shoulder. It aluminates the colorless room. I slam my eyes shut.

***

          “It’s nice to meet you. I found out that you existed when I crossed over.” A tall, muscular man stands before me. His bright, green eyes are accompanied by auburn hair.

          “Julian?” I glance around. I stand in a white room. A crystal chandelier dangles over my head. “Did I die? Did that ass of a vampire kill me too?” Anger bubbles inside me. “Can I see her?”

          “Scarlett?” He holds a questionable look. I nod. “She’s not here.” He quickly adds.

          “What do you mean? He told me that he killed her. She should be here.” My voice raises a tad.

          “She’s not here because she’s not dead. Serenity brought her back. You’re also not dead.” He crosses his arms and smiles. “You two look a little alike.”

          “Maybe… Are you sure she’s alive? Are you positive that my little sister is alive?”

          “Positive.” Relief sparks as my insides ignite. I’ve never been so happy in my life.

          “If I’m not dead, how I am talking to you?”

          “It’s just a product of your powers. Demetri is a complete ass, but he is not completely stupid. You do tap into your powers when you need them. It’s the same with Scarlett. When you healed yourself your physical body needed to heal completely. So your soul is exiled out until the major damage is repaired. That’s why you're here.”

          “How long will it last?” Curiosity gets the best of me.

          “Depends on the injury. Though it shouldn’t be long now.” He pretends to look at the nonexistent watch on his wrist. “Tell her I love her, when you see her. Tell her that it is okay.”

          “Okay for what?” I ask.

          “For her to move on. I don’t want her to be alone forever. For your problem. Just follow your heart. It will lead you in the right direction if it’s anything like Scarlett’s.”

          “Thank you.” I smile but the white room quickly disappears.