Open Minds || Book 1 || Golix [OLD]

Chapter 22: Body Room

3rd POV

The boys skid to a stop when they get close enough to Phoenix and Cici, but Ben runs over and crouches next to them.

"What happened?! Are you okay?!" He asks, taking in the amount of injuries that both Phoenix and Cici have. Cici answers.

"For the most part, yeah, we're fine."

"But what happened?"

"There was a fight."

As soon as Cici tells them that there was a fight, Gavin's eyes start glowing and he growls. He walked forward and used his magic to push Phoenix away from Cici, which causes both girls to wince at the sudden movement.

"What the hell happened?!" he shouts, looking directly at Phoenix. She doesn't answer, but only holds one hand to her side, shielding her already cracked ribs in case he decides to kick her. And when she doesn't answer, he does.

He goes to do it again, but someone shouts, NO! and a barrier appears around Phoenix. Gavin looks back and sees Cici holding her uninjured arm out, and her eyes glowing. Freddy runs over and grabs Gavin's wrist, while Flynn runs over to Phoenix's side.

"Gavin, what the hell?!" Freddy shouts. While the twins start arguing back and forth, Flynn helps Phoenix sit up.

"Phoenix, are ye okay?" He asks, actually worried about her. She nods, though her eyes tell a different story.

"J-just a bit sore..."

Flynn sighs and puts his hand out for her to take, sand she grabs on. He pulls her up to her feet, and she gives him a grateful smile. Gavin walks over with an annoyed Freddy behind him and he sighs.

"I'm sorry. I jumped to conclusions, and acted on it," he said, looking at Phoenix. She shrugs.

"I understand. But I've dealt with much worse than your kick."

The give look at her, and at that second, her phone pings. She pulls it out and looks at the message. As she reads it, her eyes widen. She mutters something under her breath, her panic rising.

"Uh, Phoenix, are you okay?" Freddy asks. She looks up at them.

"I-I need to go, I'm sorry. I'm already late."

And with that, she turns and runs off, leaving the others confused.

Phoenix's POV

I feel my body being weighed down by the exhaustion and injuries from what happened, but the fear of my father makes me move. I expect a beating when I get home, even though I had enough of one today already.

I know that I've confused the new kids, but they don't need to know what goes on at my house. I've already told them all they need to know as of now, and I plan on keeping it that way. The only other person I can actually trust with the info I shared is Jeremy.

I quickly manage to reach my house, in exceptional time considering my state, and open the door.

"Sir? You ordered me to return, what is it that I am needed for?" I ask cautiously, addressing my father the way he ordered me to when we were alone. I shut the door slowly behind me. I slowly begin walking around, my shoes thudding softly on the wooden floors, my hearing heightened, my breathing and heartbeat both slowly growing quicker by the minute.

My father should have made his presence know by now. But he hasn't. This isn't like his usual strategy. But I may as well play the part. I walk upstairs and into my room, throwing my backpack onto my bed. The mattress creaks slightly, and I walk out.

Carefully padding back down the stairs, I walk to the living room to see if he was in there, waiting for me. After confirming that he wasn't, I decide that the only other place he could be was in the basement. Even though every muscle in my body was urging me to stay out of the basement, I need to check anyway.

The old hinges creak, and I carefully place my foot on the top step, looking down into the darkness. The light for the stairway had been broken for several years, so if I'd ever needed to head down into the basement, I'd have to rely on my night vision until I found the switch downstairs.

Knowing that there is no turning back at this point, I take a deep breath and begin to tread down the stairs. The air seems stale, undisturbed, and rank. There's a foul smell that's steadily growing stronger each step that I take down. Something tells me that I know full well what the scent is, but I really hope that I'm wrong. I don't want to know what's making the smell, but know I'm probably going to find out one way or another.

I get to the bottom of the stairs, and I nearly gag, the smell becoming revolting. I know the scent and I know it well, though I'm forcing my mind not to think of it. My breathes are becoming slightly shallower, and I can feel myself shivering. But it isn't from the cold air down here, it's from the memories.

Slowly turning around, I walk behind the stairs to get to the door, and I put my hand on the doorknob, and grip it tightly. Taking a deep breath to steel myself, I fling the door open. As soon as I do, I let out one of the highest pitched noises I have ever heard myself make.

The putrid smell of decaying bodies and flesh hits me head on, like running into a brick wall. On the ground, there are the corpses of men and women, some in such a state of decay that they were mostly skeletal remains. Others were just beginning to bloat, seeming to be somewhat freshly deceased.

After letting out that sound, I become aware of the presence of the spirits in the room. They're all staring at me, whispering things that I wish I couldn't hear. Then, I get shoved from behind, nearly stepping on one of the corpses. I whip around, my heart now beating much faster than it has been.

Standing there, with a huge ass knife and a shit eating grin, was my father. The spirits in the room are now hostile, but apparently my father is not able to connect to the spirit world. He can't seem to sense them.

I back up slowly, avoiding any of the bodies. He just smirks and starts walking toward me, his hand holding the knife tightly. Knowing that I can't get out of this unless I do something, I go to fight him. But then I remember the already weakened state that I'm in. I can't fight him. I...have to let him hurt me...

I stop moving back and stand still, staring at the ground. I can tell that this has made my father surprised, yet pleased, because his aura changes slightly. We stand there for several seconds before he lunges at me. The spirits start screaming at me, trying to tell me to move. I only reply in a whisper, in the language that only the dead should know.

No. I won't.

The knife slices through my shirt, and through the skin on my stomach, before embedding itself into my gut, hilt deep. I let out a scream of pain, though it doesn't last long before blood ends up coming up my throat and spilling from my mouth.

My father laughs as he yanks out the knife and he begins to walk away. The spirits then become anxious as I see the world in double vision. I only have one option at this moment, and it's extremely risky. But I'll take the risk.

I concentrate and feel myself land in a different room. My room.

I'm gasping for air, from both exhaustion and the relief to be breathing uncontaminated air. I force myself to my knees, and into my bathroom. I pull out my first aid kit and pull off my shirt, knowing I'm going to have to throw it out anyway.

I grab the disinfectant and carefully start cleaning the stab wound. I wince every now and then, the pain getting worse, but I should be fine. I then take out the gauze and medical tape, making its secured before I wrap my lower torso with some of the ace bandages or whatever they're called.

I stand up, feeling somewhat steadier, and walk back to my bed. Maybe I should text Jeremy and see what he's doing. Or how he's doing. Actually...maybe later. I just want to nap right now.

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Yay! A new chapter in less than 24 hours! I hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll see you next time! Ciao for now, Little Spirits!