The One

The Sound and The Fury

Hi. Let the party begin.

For this chapter we again have two narrators. One is Wayne and the other is unknown.

Story Continues

Unknown POV

Wailing and screaming winds, whimpering animals, roaring trees - the whole forest is chaotic. The light is gone with the sun, the land is dark and ravenous. Unfamiliar shadows roam and mists get thicker. The fire is cold and water is boiling. This dreary weather continues, with no end in sight. Rotten stench rises out of ground as it groan under the wrath of undesirable creatures. Trees are bare and gnarly and the forest haunted, the greenery withered and decayed. Sobs and pleas of broken souls rang in ears. Bats and Ravens caws and croons, the Crows untangle and cleanse their wings, the Vultures roam the sky. The worshippers of death, they all await a feast.
Ah! What dreadful omens I see?

My dream is broken with the shattering of windows, the undying storm raves and rages outside and my walls defend me and mine. But as I hear my doors creaking, I fear for their safety.
The storm strikes against my doors and I feel them crumbling, crushed by the might of nature. The murderous intent of an unknown specter taint the winds, I could taste the bloodlust on my skin.
They await us. They taunt and tease and mock and sneer. They haunt our doors, cursing and swearing, willing us to move.
But we won't?
Not now.
It's not time.
We wait.
And then we move.

Wayne's POV

I felt tired. As if I walked for miles, while in reality I took my car and reached the school in twenty minutes. The weather remained normal, sunny and warm, but I felt cold. I didn't have a temperature,  I checked,  but my skin felt chilled and now my hands feel clammy. It never happened before, at least never before a game. I love my sport and I always felt excited and energized before every match. At the moment,  I felt listless. But the show must go on. So, I kept my grin on my face and cheered my team. Hopefully,  they felt my discomfort as they all nodded energetically though their faces seemed worried.  The coach called me out again and asked if I would like a break,  I told him not to worry.  No matter, how hopeless I look, I would win the game. He nodded, though he seemed doubtful.
I could care less. I know my troubles,  but I am not going to allow it to take my dreams away from me. Oddly enough, my fingers reached for the amulet on my wrist. In the morning, Gwen tied it there and repeatedly told me to not take it down. Thinking of her made me feel confused, it seemed as if she kept hiding something from me. Her almost pleading face came to my mind, and I shook off my mind. I need to focus. Her weirdness came later. But my fingers crossed around the amulet, it felt warm against my cold skin. It gave me confidence and comfort, no matter how absurd it might be. I  kept touching it and running my pores around its patterns,  it felt familiar,  like I have seen or felt it before, but I still couldn't place the memory.

I drew a deep breath and relaxed. The teams have arrived. The time to move on.

Well, let me give you the good news first.
We won the game.
The bad news, not because of me.
Well I did made the plan and managed team accordingly,  but I failed to threw the ball in the basket, at the last minute. Someone else did that for me. I didn't made me feel great, yes I did played masterfully, I did eight baskets out of the nine we did, but it still felt bad.

And it's not just that. Something else happened through out the game. My hands felt heavy and lethargic. My mind dull and my body restless,  I felt angry and ready to snap and I almost did so as a player of other team stole the ball in the middle of a pass from me.
What held me back from it ?

I am not sure how to say but the amulet did. I find it hard to believe but , for every moment I felt discouraged and miserable during the game, it sent a warm tingle in my skin.  It woke me up from my stupor in time. It gave me strength to fight and finish my game. It aided me in gaining my victory.
Ah! I am have gone mad. Listen to me.

And now as the game finished and I sat down listening to my team chatter like monkeys, I felt confused. Disturbed and  worried. And beneath it all I felt angry. My pulses swelled, my eyes diluted, my breathing stagnated and heavy, I felt drowning in a sea of rage. My emotions hayware, I itched for a fight, for blood and screaming. I wanted to rage, to pound someone to ground, to draw blood and taste it on my lips. I rushed out of the room, the shouts of my teammates followed me but I couldn't face any of them. Couldn't look them in eyes, my remaining sanity urging me to get out. My legs felt wooden and unmoving. I stumbled and dragged myself out. I reached the washroom and closed the doors,  unwilling to let anyone see me in my condition. I washed my face and looked at the mirror.
A mistake.

A glance at the mirror let me see my worst nightmare. My pupils enlarged, my lips purple, my cheeks sweaty and pale, my eyes red. And still I couldn't let go of my temper. Those eyes felt mocking to me and I drew my fist to let it ram against the mirror.
This time what stopped me ?
A hand holding my wrist and the sharp burst of heat against my skin where the amulet touched me. The moment break and my temper evaporated like steam. This lapse of mood made me aware of my phone's ringing. I ignored it in favor of looking at the person who held my wrist. And there he stood,  dressed in a brown shirt with blue jeans, looking at my wrist. A closer look made me realize that while he did looked at my wrist , his eyes seemed more interested in my amulet.
I didn't felt like acknowledging him, after all who would like to see their rival in their lowest moments, but he did saved me. So I said thank you, very lowly, mind you. But he ignored my words as well as my struggles to take my hand back. After a while, he let my wrist go. The amulet still felt warm, but not burning as it felt  a while ago. 
He looked at me now, I would have loved to ignore him, but all he said -
" Pick up your phone. Its rude to ignore. "
His words made me realize that while I kept my eyes on him, my phone continued to ring. I picked it up from the floor, as it fell during my episode, and checked the caller. Though it stopped ringing, messages kept coming. Apparently Gwen kept calling me and finally shifted to messaging as I didn't answered. She apologized for being late and told me that she did watched my match during the final half. She tried to call as the match ended but it never connected and when it did, I didn't answered. She reached my team and asked about me and they couldn't find me as well. She asked me about my health and if I felt fine. Did I need help?
I answered her that she didn't need to worry. I felt fine and just a bit tired. I didn't called her back. My breath seemed shaky and she might catch that.

After putting my phone down, I looked around only to notice that he didn't left the room yet. He stood near the door, watching my movements. I washed my face again, ignoring him as his stare burned my back. My temper came back,  but now it felt natural. Mine.
I would have ignored him to death, until I heard him say - " You should know better than to tempt fate."
Stunned, I turned so swiftly that I felt dizzy , I asked him - " What?"
"Don't pretend " came the dry answer " Allowing a spirit to take control of you, while you could have easily warded against it. You pushed everyone in danger along with you. Did you thought that nothing would happen? Why didn't you used the amulet the moment you felt possessed?"
His barrage of questions caught me off guard. I didn't know how to answer him. My thoughts felt shambled. Before I could assemble my thoughts, his phone rang and he left with the warning to be careful.
I watched my reflection, leaning against the basin. All that rang in my mind- " What?"