Heaven on Earth: Terminus (Book 1)

Chapter 11: Lost Cause (Tom)

Impenetrable Cave, California

  

Right... Left... Ahead... To Nate... To me. Her piercing gaze drifts around like a lost puppy, vulnerable but there’s definitely a flicker of malice in her stare. This girls has the same hair, same soft jaw and same perfect eyebrows as Azalea but I know for a fact that this isn’t her. Someone decided to drag a long knife across their arm and it’s like their blood has completely diffused into her crystal pools of blue. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from fairytales, it’s that no one good ever has blood soaked eyes, I can’t stop looking at them and frankly, I don’t know what to do. A smile creeps along her familiar face and I immediately back away for some reason and so does Nate. “What do we do?” He asks me,

I contemplate all the possible options but I can only think of two; run or “We wait.” I tell Nate, “I’m not giving up on her.” He stares at me with unreadability but I think he looks confused. In the end, he just nods but we take a few steps back for safety. The girl’s smile doesn’t waver, nor does it disappear, it’s like she’s taunting us, she knows that we’re frightened so she’s taking her time. Suddenly without warning, she slams her palms against the mirror from the inside and the glass shatters weakly. Nate and I duck in time before any shards of glass embed themselves into our skin, when I look up again, the mirror is vacant because it’s inhabitant is slowly pacing herself towards us, barefoot. I rise to my feet and try to stand with a strong posture, the girl treads lightly towards us but stops a meter away,

“Boys.” She says, “Have you ever heard of metamorphosis?” But I don’t answer because she answers for herself, “The transformation of a being from one form to another.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nate asks unwaveringly as he stands up too,

“It means that your friend, what’s her name...” She closes her eyes and reopens them after a moment, “Ah yes. Azalea.”

“Where is she?” I ask,

She enunciates the words clear and loud, “She’s gone.”

“Then who are you?” I ask, opening up my sword and raising it with both hands, “And give me a reason why I shouldn’t kill you.”

She looks down but swiftly looks up again and this time with complete innocence in her eyes. Tears fill up her sockets and they ask the question of why? “Tom?”

“Azalea?” I whisper and lower my weapon, “Is that really you?”

She gives an insistent nod and I can see in her face that it’s her, even though her eyes are still red, I know she’s in there. I walk over to her and tell Nate to keep his distance, once I’m close enough to her, she collapses into my arms and I wrap them around her tight while sobs and weeps dance around the room and a lone tear manages to escape from my eye. Abruptly, her crying turns into lunatic laugh, her chest moving faster against mine at every chuckle, I let go of her immediately and move back to Nate. When I look back to Azalea, she’s looking blankly toward the ground laughing but suddenly, a ring of fire starts to encompass her and rise around her in a flare storm. The laughing gets louder and all at once the flames disappear at a crescendo of cackling. Azalea’s white clothes have transformed into tight fitting black ones; a corset cascaded with black feathers, leather tights and pumps. Her blonde hair has transformed into a burning red, flames still lick at the end of her locks but when they extinguish, the red from the main body of her hair transitions into complimenting blonde tips. Her eyes light up vivaciously and the crimson turns into a light scarlet, it looks almost dazzling. However, I can’t move now, all intentions, from my mind, of moving are apprehended and I’m useless, judging by the sound of Nate’s struggles, he can’t move as well. “Metamorphosis.” ‘Azalea’ whispers just loud enough for Nate and I to hear.