Arden: The Gift Of Delirium

22. Madness Rewind

"I spit in his face. Burn in Hell, Hayden."

***

Arden

I was still hyperventilating. I was also looking around frantically and I wasn't the only one. "What the he-"

I was cut off by Armani. "How did we get to the underworld?" She asked wildly.

"Wait a minute," Zane mumbled close to me. "We're in Hades' lair." He pointed out. He's right. We were in Hades' lair. It wasn't our first time here....

This is where everything went down. As I looked around myself, I could see the same grand fountain in the middle of the room leading into a stream of water. The water was dark and I cringed as I looked at the stream. I looked up at the ceiling that was about fifty feet above our heads, lined with rubies, diamonds, and other gems and crystals that resembled stars.

"Is anyone else freaking out?" Nikki slowly put her hand to her head. Perri turned to Hayden.

"Did you do this?" Hayden glared at him slightly and shook his head.

"It wasn't me."

"Then how did we end up in the Underworld?" Ali asked as he looked up at the ceiling.

We continued looking around, as if we would find the answer to how we reached four hundred feet below the earth in a blink of an eye. "You guys." I heard Armani whispered.

We all turned to her and I can say our bewilderment exceeded. No way. My body froze in total disbelief and perplexity.

"I'm not the only one that sees them, right?" Ace asked beside me. At a time like this I would react but I'm sure everyone was too shocked to reply. Seated in the corner of the room sat Nate, Penny, and Malia. They looked the same as I last saw them and they were all concentrated on something very intently, wearing frightened expressions.

I thought...I thought I'd never cross paths with them ever again. Ever. "Oh my gods." Hayden mumbled.

I'm sure everyone in the room including myself were set into a frenzy of old emotions, memories, and feelings rising to the surface.

"What's going on-" Hayden was cut off guard when Someone else started talking. It was Hayden...but it wasn't Hayden.

Everyone's eyes widened- including me as more people appeared. Cages soon became visible- dark and rusted and they looked super familiar....

In one cage, stood Ali, Armani, Nikki, and Ace. They all looked upset and angry and...horrible. With blood staining their clothes and filth covering their bodies as well...from...from an explosion?

Oh my gods...this can't be-

My eyes soon landed on the four figures in the middle of the lair. My body became weak and I suddenly tasted bile.

Hold it together...

As we were positioned also in the middle of the lair, I was seeing everything happen up close and from a different angle. We all stood and stared in utter consternation.

There was Hayden, who was standing behind...myself. The both of us were were also stained with blood and I was hyperventilating for some reason...Hayden was wearing a murderous expression that made me want to cringe. His hair was different from what it was styled in now, like how he had a couple months ago...

I knew what was going on and I had a sense of what was happening, but I was too shocked to even confirm it myself.

I was- the other me...I was looking at Zane and Nia in front of me. I stared so hard- I wasn't even blinking. Zane was in the same condition as everyone else- the present Zane. Nia was dressed in a gray dress yet there was an aura around her that seemed...foggy, unreal.

They were staring at each other almost adoringly and I felt that bile come back up and I hardly swallowed it down. I looked at...myself and I silently gasped as I saw tears in my eyes. I was stepping back and call me dramatic, but my eyes became blurry as I watched myself and I could almost feel the pain that I was experiencing.

Maybe because I've already experienced it.

As I stepped back, I watched as the person behind me- Hayden, knocked me to the ground in pure anger. I felt my fist clench at my sides and my nails began digging into my skin. I could see how weak I felt, I felt defeated. As Hayden continued to hit and kick on me, I heard screams of Ace, Nikki, Armani and Ali in their cage. Zane looked flabbergasted as Nia held onto him...doing nothing.

I could do nothing but watch as Hayden dragged me towards the river. All the while, my face was contorted into one of pain, hurt, and defeat. I struggled against his hold but he was stronger. His face masked one of rage, and I there was no doubt that in that moment, he really wanted me dead. As we approached the river coursing through Hades' lair, Hayden threw me down roughly and asked if I had anything to say to him. I saw an ounce of defiance and strength in my eyes as I spit directly into his face.

And just as he was going to kill me, I blinked-

Everything was gone.

We were no longer in the underworld and we somehow appeared back into Amazon in the Underground Training Center. I had to steady my heart that that was beating hysterically in my chest.

I forced my gaze up and I looked to see my group of friends in the same state I was in. They were all breathing heavy, dazed, looking around like they didn't know what the hell happened.

"Um," Nikki started, still hyperventilating. "I'm not the only one that went through that, right?" She asked shakily.

"Definitely not." Perri answered and he seemed a little dazed.

I gulped and shifted on my feet trying to get those horrific memories out of my head. My gaze landed on Zane and I could see his hands clenched by his sides. His eyes told everything- he couldn't believe what he just witnessed, what he just re-lived.

By the looks of it, none of us could.

"What just happened?" Ace asked confused.

"I don't know." I could now feel eyes burning into me, like a certain someone was staring.

I briefly met Hayden's gaze and I felt anger running through my veins. I don't know...

Old feelings and emotions started to course through me and I was suddenly mad. Mad to the point where I just wanted to use my power to fling him out of existence.

Hayden was staring at me almost cautiously, apologetic, and curiously. I didn't care.

All I could feel through my body, was anger. 

*****

Sorry for the wait, guys. It's been an extremely busy week. Summer is finally here, though and I'm in Atlanta right now attending the most coolest conference ever. And I just reached an important age milestone- yay me. I'm getting old.

#keystoneatl18

Anyway, that just happened? But do we even know why? Perhaps this vision is linked with the previous ones?

Next chapter, the biggest and baddest god of a returns. But, until next time,

-brittany.