The Deep

Chapter 30: Chloe

"We have reports of a monster in a country town in the river Murray. It's the Timor. We need to move, now!" Alaska orders. I enjoy having Alaska in charge much more than Izzy. Izzy wasn't very nice to me, or anyone. We teleport to the river and the first thing I notice is that the houses are not like those in the city we used to live in. They are made out of mud and sticks instead of rocks and bottles. There aren't that many houses either. Maybe 100 at most.

"The tracker says it's in this group of houses" Starla whispers. It's night here in Australia, about 3:00am Adelaide time. I miss Australia, and sometimes I worry that my family misses me but I can't think about that now. I just have to focus on the mission. That is what I always have to do. After we have started this war I find it difficult to think about anything else. So I have to focus solely on the mission, and block everything else out. That works, during the day at least.

We split off and each take a house in the group. I am glad no one else took the house I took. I swam up to the house and knocked quietly on the door.

A man with squinted eyes opened the "you'd better have a bloody good reason for wakin' me up at 3 in the morning"

"Actually I do. My name is Chloe, I'm from Shadow and there is a possibility a monster is in your house." The man stares at me for a second. "Okay, you can come in, but my husband and daughters are asleep, so be quiet" he says as he further opens the door to let me in "and I'm comin' with you."

I shrug and walk into the dining room. The first door is what must have been the man's bedroom. There is someone sleeping in the bed too, but I am careful not to wake him. Their room is clear. The second door is a young girl's room, about eight and that is clear too. I feel uneasy though. It must be the gut feelings that Harper has.

I take a deep breath and open the eldest girl's room. The first thing I see is the girl pushed up against her bed head. The second thing I see is the monster and how close it's teeth are to her. I find myself unable to move, or scream, or do anything. Then something in my brain snapped, and all the horrible memories came flooding back. The memory of a conflict we had when my aim with knives was too good that was the first time I killed someone, but not the first person I saw die. The memory of seeing people who I didn't even know fighting alongside me and losing their lives. I am responsible for their deaths, and Phoebes, and Kai's and zoeys and Zatanna's and the hundreds of unknown people i've killed. I cannot let someone else die because of me. And that is how I broke the insanity the monster was keeping me in.

I screamed an ear splitting scream and the monster turned from the girl and looked at me. It was the same size as me, and the same basic build. It made me feel like I was looking into a possessed mirror which is what made it so terrifying, it reminds us that the monster is not so different to those it eats, which is scarier than any teeth or claws. It reached out its long pale hand and put it on my chest. Then it's hand morphed into a sword and stabbed me in the chest. But I didn't feel it, and I didn't bleed. It took its blade hand out and the wound closed over, leaving only a small scar.

What the fuck?

I did not want to let it get another shot, so I focussed all my power and raised my hand in front of me. "This is for all the people I couldn't save" I whispered as I felt the release of death I was keeping inside of me. The dark mist surrounded the monster and it died. I finally saved someone. I usually hated using my powers because everytime I did someone died but today I was glad to use them, which is kind of fucked up but whatever. The girl screamed, and her fathers came rushing in. The one who had answered the door swore loudly when he saw the dead monster on the floor. I stood there and stared at the monster. And that is when it all hit me. Every single death I had witnessed or caused. And I broke. I sat on the floor, sobbing. I could hear shadow trying to communicate telepathically with me but my brain was shutting them out. I heard the loud banging on the door, and someone went to answer it. I feel Harper's arm around me and we stay like that for awhile. After 5 minutes I manage to compose myself and stand up. "I think you should go get Cadence, I think she needs to see this." Harper nods and disappears. Harper told the other Shadow to go back to the base once we knew the Timor was dead. I hear the quiet opening of a door in the room next door and I turn to the adults.