Revealed.

Chapter Thirty-Two: New Forms of Terror

The room sways as I rise to my feet. My stomach riots at the smallest movements. I push the feeling down, since I can feel every single pair of eyes in the room are trained on me. I run my fingers through my tangled hair and brush my clothes off. And I sprint from the room. I hear Bianca and Casper coming after me, asking me what's going on but I don't slow down. I run down the halls, past the room from my nightmare and past the dorm room Bianca and I share. I run until the signs run out, pointing to various locations. The hall ends abruptly, causing me to stop at a blank wall.

So I just had a mental breakdown.

I collapse against the wall, my eyes pressed closed as I work on easing my breathing back to normal. When I open my eyes, I notice someone sitting across from me, his blue eyes sparkling with curiosity. For a moment, I'm touched. Then it hits me.

Why would he follow me all the way down here?

I jerk away quickly, taking in his face and struggling to keep my panic to a minimum. I search his face for any trace of the monster that I now associate him with but its only Casper. His slightly pouty lips, slim nose, wide blue eyes and smooth skin. White blonde hair combed perfectly with that one, stubborn black streak. The same, beautiful person I'd come to know. But I'm still filled with apprehension, watching for any signs of attack. He's just sitting there, watching me, itching to ask me questions. I finally tear my eyes away, the hysteria that had been rising in my throat begins to diminish. It must show on my face, because he is visibly relieved. I feel a twinge of sadness that I'd made him worry. I look down, intertwining my hands. He slowly reaches out a hand, and I feel his eyes on my face, watching my reaction closely. Since I don't flinch away, he lays his hand against my cheek gently. His giant hand takes up half my face. He brushes his thumb over my cheek bone gently.

"Scarlet, baby, are you okay?" He murmurs, causing my heart to hammer against my rib cage. Refusing to me his eyes, I pick at a hang nail on my thumb. I can feel a deep blush rising up my neck. I groan inwardly, knowing in a few moments that my entire face will be a bright red, making my burgundy hair look strange.

"Please just look at me," he pleads, his voice breaking over the words. My heart pounds and I'm acutely aware of his palm still pressed gently against me cheek. I finally look up at him, and he smiles in relief. I try my best to give him a small smile but I'm sure it looks like a grimace.

And then he changes.

My eyes widen in horror as his mouth stretches wide, engulfing the lower half of his face. His teeth sharpen inexplicably. His eyes harden and blacken. His face narrows, becoming gaunt and sharp.

"What's the matter, Scarlet," it says.

Shh, it's only me.

It's shrieks fill the air, the static electricity surging through me shocking through his hand and burning up his arm. I waste no time. I bolt up from my position on the floor and run. As I run, I feel my body changing. I become heavier, crashing through the hall decked out in my silver body armor. My crazed hair whips against my face. I near a forked path, taking the right hall instead of the left. Classrooms fill this hall. Students mill about, hardly taking notice of the wild, silver mutant girl with crazed eyes. I hardly pay attention to who's around me. I obtain only glances, a cloud of blue smoke, a boy with dark hair and large gages running even faster than me. Apparently, it's a common occurrence here.

Eventually, the crowd peters out. I come across a door labelled Janitor. I whip my head around, looking to see if anyone was paying attention to me. Noting that no one was, I duck into the closet, locking the door behind me. The closet is dark. I trip over a bucket, get hit in the head with a brook handle, smack my nose into shelves and spill some old water. I don't care. I tuck myself into the farthest corner of the room, clutching my knees to my chest. I push against the wall of panic rising around me. At some point, though, I black out.

~~~~~~

I awake with a start. Im playing on a hospital bed, a couple machines hooked into me, one at the crook of my elbow and the other leads underneath my shirt. Every few seconds, the machines beep and I realize it's my heart beat. I sit up, groaning quietly. Bianca's sitting in the chair to my left, flipping through a magazine. The cover has One Direction on it.

"Bea, where the hell am I?" I ask, my voice sounding like I'm choking on gravel. "What the hell is going on?"

She looks up with a start, grinning wildly at me. She doesn't say anything, which I find a bit odd. She also looks a little different, her face thinner and her cheekbones stick out a little more. I try again.

"Bianca, I swear to God, what's going on," I say, whimpering.

An intensely strong headache crashes through me, causing me to cringe. Again, she doesn't say anything. She stands there smiling. Her smile slowly turns to a mocking smirk. She throws the magazine to the seat roughly. I look at her wrists, noticing her bracelets. Instead of their normal silver, they're glowing blue. I jolt back, which causes my head to pound even more. Her bracelets only glow like that when her powers are warming up... She gives me a cruel smile.

The machine next to me begins to beep faster, according to my heart rate. She steps closer to me. My fingers rush for the nurse 'call' button and I push it several times. She leans down, her face hovering over mine. Her breath is horrid. I try to back away, but I can't. My head is too foggy to make a coherent thought.

"Is poor Scarlet in pain." she says it like a statement. It's her voice, but it isn't. Bianca always feels too much. This voice is entirely devoid of emotion. Without warning, she leans down, wrapping me in an awkwardly tight embrace. Ouch. My entire body hurts. My head is throbbing. I didn't notice her squeezing tighter and tighter until I couldn't breath whatsoever.

"Don't worry. It'll be over soon. Not like you deserve a swift end," she sneers. Her grip on me is so tight and painful. A sudden blue heat flashes through me. Blue light fills the room, along with Bianca's harsh, humorless laugh. The last thing I see is Bianca's face and horrible black eyes.

~~~~~~

Once I finally come to, I'm laying snuggled and tucked neatly into my bed in the dorm. My long red hair is laying smoothly down over my chest. My clothes had been swapped for my newly washed 'Funky Pirate' sleep shirt and piglet pajama pants. I look down at my hands, sighing in relief at my pink tinged skin.

I jump at the sound of a door closing, a towel dropping. I sit up slightly and turn to see Bianca grabbing her brush off her bed. Before I lay down and fake sleep, she notices me and she smiles a huge smile at me.

"Hey, kitten. How are you feeling?" She says, coming over to sit on the side of my bed and brushing the hair out of my eyes. I turn my gaze to her hand resting in her lap. The bangle remains silver and I relax entirely. It's okay. This is Bianca.

"I'm okay," I say lamely, tucking my hair behind me ear. She smiles in response, hoping off the bed and going to the cabinet above her bed. I sit up, turn and lean against the wall next to the bed. I pull my blankie to my lap, twisting my fingers through the holes in it. She grabs a target bag and brings it back over to me.

She sets it down next to me and joins me on the bed once again. She pulls out disposable, plastic spoons and rips open the package they come in. I raise my eyebrows apprehensively and she giggles.

"Wait,wait. It's going to be great," she insists. With a flourish, she pulls two cans, with a red and white paper label and red lid, out of the bag.

"Buttercream Frosting!" I shriek, grabbing the can out of her hands and ripping the lid off. I grab my spoon and dig in. She laughs loudly and I join her. And in that moment, I know, no matter what's happening to me, that we're okay.