World Fail

Chapter 6: Snakebite

I did wake up. I did come back. The pain was worse each time, a sharp burning in my blood. When I managed to open my eyes, the world was hazy. The harp was silent, but the melody still haunted me. When I tried to speak, the only reply was my own rough echo and the clammy silence of the dark room. I hadn't seen or heard the others for what felt like days, and I was beginning to think it had all been a dream. That I was still with Connor in his house, that he was just out in the village while I rested. Something deep in me knew though. My soul, my tainted soul, could feel the energy from the witch. Could feel the snuffed spirits of the friends we had lost, those who had left the mortal coil. Even the vampires, although they were already undead. It knew something was wrong; something had changed. Whenever I woke, there was a new bandage around my throat, but I never saw anyone.
  I finally managed to stay awake for more than a few minutes, and tried to get up. As soon as my feet touched the ground though, I was overcome with a dizzy spell and slumped back onto the bed. Sitting on the cool grass mat that had served as a bed, I let my gaze wander around the room. A crystal harp stood as the centerpiece of the room, red gel streaked into the delicate horse hair strings, to appear as though the instrument was bleeding. Sage bundles burned in various docks around the room, wreaths of flowers hung from the walls. The only light came from faintly glowing moss that coated the floor and walls, and tiny green crystals in the ceiling. There was a small, clear pool of water near my bed, with an iron cup next to it. There was no food that I could see, save for a few edible plants that grew from the moss. The exit was quite obvious - a thick oaken door on the far side of the room. Once I managed to stand without blacking out, I crossed over to the water. Unwrapping the bandage from around my throat, I could see two tiny red holes in my reflection. Bitemarks - Perri must have bitten me... That would explain why I had been laid low for so long. Even to were-kind, vampire bites are toxic and sometimes fatal. I cupped a handful of the cold water in my palms, splashing it over the dried blood caked around the wounds. Little russet rivulets trailed down my neck, staining my collar. Once those were clean, I quietly opened the door, leaning into the hall. It looked like the hallway that I stayed in....but this door didn't exist in my hall. Stepping fully into the corridor, I let the door close behind me. Turning back to check that it was fully shut, I jumped a little bit. The door- it's just...gone?? I ran a hand over the spot it had been in, but I couldn't feel any markings or indents or anything. For a while, I wandered the halls of the first ring, humming the quiet melody that so often taunted me. Even when I wasn't singing, it tickled at the edge of my hearing, accompanied by those bittersweet words. Love ones lost, left in the endless sea. Take my hand little one, and come dance with me. The words sounded so familiar, but try as I might, I couldn't place their origin. Finally, I reached a hall that I recognized. The corridor that led to Ellis' and Connor's rooms. Everything was silent, save for my own soft footsteps echoing against the walls. I was terrified to knock on the witch's door, scared that she would be gone too. That I would be the last one left in this cold, cavernous prison. That's right, prison. This was never a home, it was a trap. Living isolated for so long turned us mad, to the point that we had become as bad as the humans. Killing each other, fighting and arguing all the time. Tainted. We had become what mankind saw us as - untamed monsters. Feral, wild beasts. Bloodthirsty freaks. I hated myself for it, for all of this. For not being able to protect my family. We had lost so much... Frida lost their lover, the vampires had gone to their grave together. All that was left was a heartbroken fae, a bitter wolf, and a broken witch. I knew what I had to do, to protect the other two. I would confess to Ellis, then end this once and for all. I would set us free.