Chapter 16

             In an instant, Gella flipped over onto her feet. She seemed a bit dazed, staggering backwards. But soon, that thought disappeared, replaced with the agonizing realization that Angelo wasn’t acting normal.

            “No,” I whispered holding myself.  I struggled to keep my eyes on the siblings as they fought viciously back and forth; their eyes only on each other. Or that was what I thought. I sucked my breath as I realized Angelo had once again disappeared from my view. Gella’s punch went through air.  And then I felt colder than I had ever felt. And all I could hear was the hard breathing of him behind me. Almost too afraid to even move, I cautiously turned my head. With odd clarity, two pools of blood stared back at me.             

            “Angelo…” I mumbled. Angelo stood there, his hands in tight fists. He clenched his jaw, his smile in a tight line. What I was most terrified of was his eyes. I couldn’t see past them.

            “Hope,” he said. It wasn’t sweet. It was cold and fierce.

            “You’re fighting me!” Gella exclaimed, appearing beside me. I felt like a child hiding behind her legs.  Angelo looked down at me as I crouched. Then without a trace he disappeared. Gella followed suit. I crawled to the ledge; they resumed where they left off.  For one brief second, Gella glanced up to me. But in that second, Angelo made his move. Grabbing her by the throat, he pushed her to the ground. And then with all my might, I screamed. I screamed over the roaring waterfall.

            “Angelo, no!” I heaved heavily, tears streaming down my face. His piercing red eyes stared down upon Gella who struggled relentlessly under his weight. With his hands tightly clasped around her neck, there was no way for her to escape. “Please Angelo! She’s your sister! Stop this!”

            And for the first time since his disappearance, he spoke up. “I’m going to kill her! And then once I’ve done that, you’ll look upon these bloody hands and you’ll be too afraid. Too afraid I’ll kill you!”

            “No!”

            “Look at me, Hope. I’m a monster! Is that what you want?!”

            “This doesn’t change who you are! Whatever is controlling you, you have to fight it!” Blood trickled down his cheek as Gella began to swipe at him with her hand. And no matter how hard her hand swept across his face, he would not budge. I looked around frantically. There had to be a way off this cliff. Finally, I spotted a boulder to the right of the path. It was slightly blocking another winding road.   Jumping down off the ledge, I landed heavily on the path and ran as fast as I could to the wall. Squeezing through the crevice, I skidded suddenly down hill until I came upon the opening where Angelo and Gella lay. 

            “Run!” I shouted jumping onto Angelo’s back. I dug my nails into his neck, refusing to let go. He let go of Gella and began to thrash me about. From the corner of my eye, Gella sat there stunned.  

            “Go, I said!” I ordered, my back being pushed into a wall. Letting out a gasp of air, I found myself helpless like a rag doll. He was too strong for me and sooner or later I was going to have to let go. Gella scrambled to her feet and ran to the side. “Angelo, please stop this!”

            “Let go of me!” he roared, swinging me around. I wrapped my legs around him, holding him tightly to me.

            “Don’t let this ‘thing’ control you!” I pleaded, squeezing my eyes shut. “Don’t give in to whatever is making you do this!”

            “Nothing is making me do anything!”

            “You’re wrong! I know you would never try to hurt anything!”

            “I said get off of me!” With one hard swing I let go, landing on the ground. With a firm face, he stood over me. I shivered. And the more I gazed into his eyes the harder it became for me to breathe. But I just couldn’t look away. I was trapped.       

            “Pleas—I choked.

            “Some people are destined to die,” he stated coldly. I tried to shake my head. How could he say such a thing? Wasn’t he the one who had thought tress were beautiful? Where was the Angelo I had known?  He wouldn’t have said these cruel things unless he was being manipulated…That was it! Something or someone was controlling him; someone who had power. Power for greater than Gella and Angelo combined—the council.

            “The council—

            “They’re right. Humans have no concept on what it means to live,” he continued, leaning over me.

            “No—

            “Angelo, stop this!” Gella appeared behind him. “She’s right. The council is controlling you.” Air rushed into my lungs as he turned to her. I hurried to my knees.

            “I have no use for you, sister.” With a sudden crack, his hand shot up and punched her in the face, making her sprawl out onto the floor.

            “No!” I screamed. I tried to run to her but he caught me by the leg.

            “Why would you try to protect someone who threatened to kill you?”

            “I won’t see her die by the hands of her brother!” With one hard kick, he let go. “Gella, wake up!” I shouted at her, as I held her head in my hands. “Come on! Now’s not the time to sleep, damn it!” Shaking her violently, she began to mumble. And then her eyes shot open.

            “Huh?!”

            “Come on! Run!” Pulling her by the hand, I began to drag her up the path with me. As fast as I could, I ran. If I stopped now, we both would die.

            “Thanks!” she called out from behind me.

            “Face me, Hope!” Angelo yelled at us. I refused to turn around, afraid I would drown in his eyes. And so finding the nearest cave, we hid. With one extreme push, Gella and I managed to hide the entrance with a boulder. Sweating, I slid down onto the ground and placed my head on my knees.

            “We’re not going to survive, are we?” I panted.

            “No, he’s woken up. We won’t live,” Gella stated, peering ahead of her.

            “Was that what you were commenting on, ‘about the smell’?”

            “Something wasn’t right.”

            “Something isn’t right. And what do you mean ‘woken up’?”

            “Angelo never told you?” she asked puzzled.

            “Told me what?” Gella gazed down. “Told me what?” I asked again. Finally, she looked up at me. Hesitantly, she said:

            “Why do I have to be the one to break it to her?” she asked herself, rolling her eyes. “There’s this ‘thing’ inside Angelo; something that shouldn’t be inside him, but is.” She took a deep breath. “Mother entrusted the job of protecting your planet to him when he was small; she thought by doing this that the evil inside him would vanquish.”

            “What evil?” I asked confused.

            “Every millennium or so, the spirit of the black hole arises. Having no shape or body of its own, it fuses with other living things. They say the spirit is from Hell and that because it has no body or shape, it feels the need to desecrate those it’s envious of.”

            I shifted uncomfortably. “Is there, you know, a way to get rid of it?”

            “There is no way to get rid of it. Until Angelo dies, the ‘thing’ will continue to live inside of him. And if we try to remove it…he’ll die.”

            “Isn’t that what you want?!”

            “I refuse to kill him in this state. It’s not fair.”

            “Oh, how kind of you…” I mumbled.

            “But there is a way to make it dormant.” I peered up at her, my eyes wide. “The first time I ever saw him like this was when he was to be examined by the council. He walked in normal and when he came out, his eyes were blood red. I have a feeling the council is controlling it.”

            But how?! It’s in his body; how can they just play with him like that?!”  

            “The council is way beyond us. They have no feelings for their own people. Their purpose is to give us a purpose.”

            “Why do they need him thought?”

            “To get rid of people like us...”

            “Hope!” Angelo yelled from outside. I huddled back, too afraid to even breathe.

            “We have to get out of here and find the council…” I whispered, staring into Gella’s hazel eyes.

            “He’s in front of the boulder. If we try to escape, he’ll smash us to bits.”

            “Why can’t you use your telepathy to talk to him?” I asked.

            “He’s not in control. If I were to try, I’d only be speaking to nothing.”

            “Well, there has to be some way!” I covered my mouth, realizing how loud I had just spoken.

            “Hope, I told you you never would be able to return. I wasn’t lying.”

            “Did you also know that Angelo would turn into this—this thing?!”

            “She glanced down, her hands folded. “No, I didn’t. I never asked for this.”

            “Oh, you didn’t?” I sarcastically asked, standing up. I walked over to her as she looked up at me. Grabbing her by her collar, I yanked her up and against the wall. “This only happened because you wouldn’t leave him the hell alone!”

            “Rules are rules—

            “Yet after what they’ve done to your brother you still side with them! How predictable…I bet you’re glad they did this to him! You’ll get the job and have full control over Earth…” I seethed through my teeth. “Well, you know what? If I die, I’m taking you with me.”

            “I know you’re in there!” He called once again. Quickly letting go, I walked to the edge of the rock, peeping through the slit.  Angelo huffed heavily, pacing back and forth. He was looking the other way and then his eyes landed on me. I let out a gasp and backed away. All of a sudden, the rock began to shake.

            “What’s going on?!” I yelled through the ruckus.

            “He’s using his powers. Watch out, Hope, he’s 10 times more powerful when he’s like this!” Gella replied.

            “No, duh,” I mumbled. And then an idea began to form. “Gella, I need your help!”

            “What is it?” she asked backing away.

            “Let’s fight fire with fir. Use your powers to keep the rock steady!” I said, running past her.

            “Are you crazy?! Did you not just hear what I said? Right now, my powers are nothing compared to his.”

            “Exactly.” Looking up, a small ray of light shined down from the roof; if I were to only be able to get up there. Gella steadied herself facing the boulder. With her shoulders hunched and her hands out in front of her the rock began to shake less.

            “When I say stop, let go!”

            “Okay,” she replied. Peering down on the ground, I spotted a rock the size of a baseball. Picking it up, I aimed for the opening, closing one eye. With all my might, I threw it. With a shatter, pieces of rock began to rain down, opening the roof a little bit more. Once again, I threw another rock, trying to throw a little bit harder. Every time I did this, more and more debris would fall, making the light brighter. Now I could almost see the black sky.

            “Hope, hurry up!” Gella ordered, twitching. “I can’t hold it much longer!”

            “Almost got it!” I bit my lip. When I reached down, there were no more rocks. “Damn!”

            “What?!”

            “Nothing!” Scuttling to the end of the cave, I felt with my hands. How could a cave have a limited number of rocks? And then my hands landed on something a little different than a rock. Lifting it to my face, I could see it was a skull.

            “Sorry, buddy. I’m going to have to borrow you for a minute.” One more throw; that was all it took. If I threw it just hard enough, it would create an opening big enough for the both of us. Using my strong arm, I backed up, bracing myself for a duck and cover.

            “Hope!” Gella whined. And that’s when I let it fly. Straight into the ceiling it went, right where I wanted it. All at once the cave roof shattered in. Running up to Gella, I pushed her down. I covered my head, feeling bits of rocks hitting me. Slowly, opening my eyes, I could now see the entire desolate sky. With no time to talk, I pulled Gella to her feet and ran toward the opening. All this happened in a matter of seconds.

            “I would have never thought of that,” Gella pointed out, lifting me to the opening. Lifting myself up, I flinched when the boulder blocking the cave fell over. Through the dust a figure emerged.

            “It’s getting worse,” I whispered. His eyes weren’t red; no, they were deathly black. With hissing noises coming from the back of his throat, he staggered forward. I reached down for Gella, offering her my hand. She looked up to me with the greenest eyes I had ever seen.

            “He’s right. Why would you risk your life for me?”

            “I don’t plan on dieing any time soon and neither are you!” I slid forward so that half of my body was hanging in the air. Gella held out her hand, standing on her toes. Angelo came close. “Reach for it!” I demanded.

            “Hope, find the council. Make them stop!” she replied. Her hand fell to her side.

            “What—what are you doing?! I asked.

            “I’ll hold him off…” and then the rocks that had splashed to the floor began to fly up at me. I fell back. The ceiling was closing up!

            “Gella! What the hell are you doing? No!”

            “Don’t worry,” I suddenly hear din my head.

            “Gella, is that you?” I asked surprised.

            “No, it’s the candy man; of course it’s me.”

            “What’s going on in there?”

            “Nothing much, just trying to dodge death,” she replied sarcastically. Standing up, I gazed around. It just seemed to get darker and darker.

            “Where to?”

            It took her a while to respond. “Go west. See that large tower; that’s it.” I looked to where she had told me, noticing, for the first time, a large building emerging from the clouds.

            “Woah,” I gasped. The tower crept up to the sky; its surface, designed with the stories of god’s and goddesses. Why hadn’t I seen it before?

            “No human normally would be able to see it. But since I’m in your head, you have my eyes.”

            “Who would have thought I’d be thankful for your nosiness?”

            “Why are you just standing there?! You’re wasting time!”

            “Oh, sorry…” I apologized, sliding down the side. As soon as my feet had touched the worn path, I began to run. The more I ran, the bigger the tower became. Yet, I felt myself getting no where. How surreal.

            “It’s real alright.”

            “What’s going on?” I asked, panting.

            “Uh, Hope, you better hurry up…”

            “I am!” I huffed annoyed.

            “No, I mean you better get there NOW! Run! Angelo’s after you!”

            “What?!”

            “He’s gone! He disappeared! He’s after you! So run as fast as you can and I’ll catch up to you!”  With that said, I began to push myself even further. Finally, I came face to face with the tower that could decide my fate. Taking a deep breathe, I hurried to the front door. It was so tall! I gulped. Carved with the description of some foreign language, it seemed to come straight out of heaven. I laid my hand on the wood, it suddenly feeling warm. And then without the slightest push, it creaked open. Startled, I flinched. A gust of cool air sprang out and then all was silent.

            “Hello?” I called out nervously.

            No answer. So, I cautiously walked on in. And there it was again: that smell. What was it about this smell? I inhaled deeply, smiling. I wasn’t getting the side effects of dizziness which seemed strange since this was the same smell Angelo and Gella carried around. Looking up, I stood there stunned. A long marble floor lay ahead of me, surrounded by statues that seemed strange to me. They were of people; beautiful people.

            Angelo belongs here, I thought. I walked up to one, feeling over the smooth surface. It was of a woman whose eyes spoke of sadness and despair. Her gown fluttered beneath her and it looked that if she even took on step, she would have tripped. Her hair gently cascaded down her back; its olive tone reflecting against her pale skin. It was awing. Did anything like this even exist? Next to her stood a child weeping into its hands. The child looked like a little boy.  I would have stayed and stared at them forever hadn’t been for the ear piercing scream of my name. I knew who it was and I particularly didn’t want to be confronted by him. So, I continued to run straight ahead of me, noticing that a door was at the end of it.

            This must be I told myself. I ran even faster, only hearing the sound of my footsteps echoing in the corridor. Nothing could stop me now. Going full speed, I held out my hands preparing to barge right on in—except it didn’t budge and I got knocked right on my butt.

            “Owww…” I complained, sitting up. “What the hell?” I glanced up, finally noticing the inscribed letters. “Just great, Hope. You made it this far yet you can’t even open a door…”  I got up and began pacing back and forth. This was so strange. It had been so easy getting in—

            “You’re human, remember?” Gella spoke up.

            “Ya, I know. And your point is?”

            “You need me to open the door,” she stated.

            “Well, hurry up!”

            “Okay, okay!” Hold your horses. Face the door.”

            I faced the door.

            “Now hold your hands out.”

            “I already tried that.”

            “Where was I?” she rhetorically asked, annoyed.           So, I held out my hand.

            “Good, now gently place it on the word ‘sun’.”

            “I’m sorry to break it to you… but I don’t speak freak.”

            “Fine, whatever; it’s the third from the right.”

            I did as she told.

            Give it time…” I heard my name in the distance.

            “He’s getting closer,” I whispered, anxious. She didn’t reply. “Gella…?”

            “Do you feel it?” she suddenly asked.

            “Feel what?”

            “That surge of energy. It means the door is responding to us.”

            And then I felt it. At first, it was a mere tingle but then as it spread, I felt even giddier. “What is this?!” I laughed, waving my other hand around.

            “Stand still, stupid!” she barked. I stifled my laughter. Then, the door cracked open.

            “What—

            “You should listen to me more,” she bragged, appearing next to me.

            “How’d you?”

            “Angelo might be more powerful than me at this moment, but there are still tricks m little brother hasn’t learned yet.” And the smirk returned.

 

 

           

           

 

 

Author's Note

Rough draft.
I was up into the early hours of the morning jacked up on 7up and Bananas :P
Now my fingers are shaking.
Enjoy!