Dragonfly

Chapter Seven

Without thinking, I ran home, not caring that my shoes felt as though they were going to fall off of my feet with every step I took. I rushed through the door, threw my coat to one side and kicked my shoes off so that they hit the small, dark leather sofa before I snuck upstairs and returned to bed. As I entered the warmth of the covers and became engulfed in the comforting, safe bubble, Lewis turned over and began to cuddle me from behind.

    “You’re as cold as death,” he muttered as he entwined his fingers in mine. I didn’t respond, instead I laid there with my eyes wide open until eventually, they closed from exhaustion and I managed to fall to sleep, only for my dreams to be plagued with nightmares.

    I opened my eyes to find myself in my bed, alone though I knew this wasn’t the case when I had gone to sleep. The world around me appeared so real and yet so dream-like at the same time, it was difficult to tell whether I was awake or not. My body seemed to enter autopilot as I pulled my body out of bed, and for some reason, I felt lighter than usual.

    As I moved, I felt a physical pain in my chest though I wasn’t sure as to why the pain didn’t seem to bother me as I moved to change out of my nightgown and into a simple, black lace dress. I seemed to forget all about my legs as I didn’t bother putting on any socks or tights. On the window, ice crawled along it as it slowly formed around my house, almost as though it were cocooning it.

    Without doing much else, other than my usual morning routine, I put on my shoes and left my house. As my foot touched the cold, wet ground outside my door, I watched as a circle of ice formed around the simple black dolly shoe. With every step after that, circles of ice formed, joining together as they began to spread like long, skeletal fingers.

    What the hell is going on? Am I turning into some sort of ice Queen or something? My mind screamed whilst my body continued to walk calmly. It seemed almost as though my mind had noticed the strange events occurring but my body was refusing to react as my mind was. It felt as though something had taken control over my body entirely; which caused me to feel as though I were losing my marbles.

    Once I reached the bus stop, I paused and stood there waiting, as I would have done any other day. However, as I waited, the ice continued to spread as it licked the bitter metal; engulfing it in a frozen blanket.

    Within seconds, the bus seemed to arrive and as I stepped upon it, the ice seemed to stop. My body continued to move as though it were a normal, regular day though by what I could see it was far from that. I paid the bus driver the money for a ticket and sat down, with my headphones, I stared out of the window as the ice followed the bus. I watched as the world froze in what seemed like an instant.

    People in the street turned into icicles in a matter a seconds, not even enough time for any of them to react.

    I wanted to scream, to tell everyone to get inside where they would be safe. Whilst trapped in my own my body, I wanted to shriek for everyone to stay away from me because it seemed as though the ice was coming from me and I wanted it to stop.

    But it didn’t.

    Time seemed to blitz passed me in the blink of an eye and I was arriving outside of the University. I stepped onto the path, leaving the bus behind me and as I did, it became encased in crystal, everyone within it had frozen in seconds just as they had on the street. For a brief moment, I glanced back before I continued onward with my journey.

    Stop! Whatever you’re doing! Just stop and go home! I can find a way to stop this! My mind screamed but my body continued to move regardless of what I wanted it to do as I walked into the centre of the university path. Finally, my body came to a halt as I stared at the college that was stood in front of me, before I turned my head slightly to the left and looked to the university.

    Through the windows, I could see the posters that covered the white walls of the halls.

    “No Fae allowed!” Read one.

    “If you suspect a fellow student to be a Fae, please inform a member of staff immediately,” read another.

    Behind me, I heard the abuse being shouted at a former student for being exactly that, a Fae. Inside of my body, I could feel the anger and the pain boil until it began to overflow. Without a thought, my head snapped to look upwards and I lifted my arms slightly. In that moment, I could feel the ice leave my body, covering the world around me and destroying it all.

    Stop this! There has to be another way! My mind continued to scream and for a moment, it seemed as though I had gained some form of control over my body as I stepped forward and turned around. Only to realise that instead of gaining control over my body, it appeared as though I had stepped out of it.

    Well this is good isn’t it? Nice going Riley! You’re supposed to be helping people not having an out of body experience! I thought as my body moved once again so that it was looking directly at me. There I saw something that caused me to shudder in absolute terror.

    Eyes as black as darkness stared back at me, piercing my very soul. Within them, I could see fear, hate and pain. So much pain I could barely stand up as my knees trembled and grew weak.

    From the back of my body, I saw something move. My gaze flickered from the eyes and fell upon a pair of beautiful dragonfly wings as they stretched from my body until they were clear for all to see.

    “No longer,” said my body and I was certain that it was talking to me as my gaze met that of my body, “no longer shall I suffer in silence,”

    “But I’m not suffering in silence,” I blurted.

    “The internal pain is more than any of you will ever imagine. I asked you to listen but you left me to suffer. You creatures have hearts as cold as the ice you are becoming,” my body continued.

    “The internal pain,” I muttered as I felt a sharp stab rush through my chest, forcing me to my knees but before the memories could arise in my mind, I forced them aside, not wanting to remember, never wanting to remember.

    A single tear fell down my cheek as I sat there, on my knees, gazing upon my body before it knelt in front of me. The eyes of darkness staring at me, looking at every scar that my soul held from the pain of my past,

    “To avoid destruction, one must witness and accept their own true nature,” though it was the lips of my body moving, it was not my voice that spoke. In replacement of it was a much wiser, much older female voice, unlike anything I had ever heard before.

    I awoke in a sweat, my heart hammering in my chest. My lungs felt as though they could no longer hold a breath as I sat up, panting. Tears stained my cheeks as I remembered the dream all too clearly. Those final words, haunting my mind. With the sudden need to move, I climbed out of bed and began to walk towards the wooden door before pausing for a moment.

    “What the hell is happening to me?” I muttered as I glanced at my own reflection. “Why am I changing?”

    Immediately, I walked into my study and spent the rest of my evening in there; lost in thought as I paced. My shoulders ached constantly but I knew there was nothing I could do to ease it. I needed answers and not some a cryptic-work-it-all-out-yourself crap answer either.