Skulls and Bones

Chapter eighteen

I was surrounded by darkness. The silence of the underground prison was deafening. My heart was beating fiercely in my chest and my palms were sweaty. The thought that I might never be able to leave this place was finally starting to settle in. When Zain opened the door covering the hole with whispered words, I wasn't thinking of my life. I was only thinking of Cornelius.

I was about to meet my father. In a way, both my parents became prisoners for their daughter. My mother was a prisoner in her own body and a prisoner to arrow man. My father was a prisoner to Rick and Marc and the rest of the Skull Society. They both risked their lives so I wouldn't come back here and they failed.

"Your father has been in there for seventeen years," Zain explained to me and grabbed my shoulders. "That isolation and torture changed him. You have to be on guard at all times."

"Do you think he'll attack me?" I had asked him. That was when I started to feel fear for myself.

"He will," Zain answered. "He might not make sense. He's going through what your mother has been going through but his has been longer. He might not be in the rational mind. Switch to your Skull form, his first attack might seriously harm you if you're not ready. Stay in that form no matter what. He might be unpredictable. I'll get you out when you're finished."

No matter how hard I tried, my mind wandered to Rick and tears welled up in my eyes. I didn't want to think that he would hurt me but the signs were there. He's hurt me before, physically and emotionally but I couldn't stop my feelings for him. I remembered when I first had a real conversation with him.

"You might be Queen but if you try anything to defy us, you'll have a fate worse than the torture we'll get from the Bones."

He told me right then and there the truth that Zain was talking about. From the start I was warned but I completely ignored it. If I defied them then they would drain me of my powers and discard me like they did Lori. They weren't the good guys yet I still couldn't stop my heart beating faster when I thought of Rick or when I thought of our kiss.

"They may be dead," Marc whispered and I looked at him. "But they're still people. They still have feelings, they're still trying to live life. They're still good people who were wrongly murdered."

"Why are you showing me this?" I couldn't see them as good people. I couldn't see anything but monsters who helped with my mother's kidnapping and attacked me.

"Because the reason why you're in pain when using your powers is because you haven't chosen a side," he said. "I'm hoping by seeing them not only as monsters but as human, you'll choose the right way."

Even Marc had told me. There was only one right way for him and that was his way. He probably knew that I was shifting toward darkness and he subliminally hinted what the right way was. I should have put the pieces together, I should have known. But I was so naive, I was so stupid. I thought I could trust them but I was wrong.

A tear rolled down my cheek and I brushed it away. I couldn't think about this now, I couldn't think about harming them. I knew that I didn't want to, every time I saw them hurt I knew I didn't want to be the cause but now I had to be. I had to stop them before they hurt me. I also had to stop arrow man too. It was all too much to process and my head was hurting just thinking about it. Stop it Amelia. You have other things to worry about.

I did have other things to worry about, like seeing my father. I pushed all the other thoughts out of my head as I focused on that one thing. I switched back to my human form. I didn't want to feel like I was threatening him, I wanted to show that I wasn't afraid.

"Cornelius Blake?" I called out. It didn't feel normal calling this man dad. I didn't even know him.

My head turned to the sound of feet pounding against pavement before it ceased. I could hear my own breathing as I waited impatiently. My feet were glued to the floor and I switched back to Skull form out of instinct. As soon as I did, I felt a hand press to my neck and lift me into the air. I didn't even have time to scream as Cornelius cut off my air supply. Knowing that I wouldn't die didn't stop me from fearing for my life as I clawed at his hand. Cornelius threw me to the ground and I gasped for air as I sat there.