Chapter Three

Manipulation

I was cussing slightly under my breath as I walked back to my dorm.  If it wasn’t drizzling hard I might have actually ran back.  But the icy cold wind that brushed upon my face kept my frozen. So I had time to think.  The real reason I didn’t go see Merelda was because I knew that Carter was going to be here.  My ex-boyfriend with his new pretty girlfriend and her sister with his best friend.  I couldn’t take seeing him happy with someone other than me.  I stopped walking and looked around for a bit.  The clouds were rolling in, grey and angry.  The wind blew harder and I held my breath.  What was the best thing to do?  Run?  Walk?  Hide?  Hiding seemed better.  Always hide from your fears.  Wasn’t that the in the survival for life guide?  It should be.  Then it began to hale.  It felt like needles jabbing in my skin.  
“Oh goddess.”  I whispered.  “Goddess Harmony, here me now.”  I knelt down to the ground as blood dripped from my skin.  “Stop this storm!”  I screamed.
And then the clouds stopped moving.  The rain paused in place, the hale froze and everything was frozen.
“Thank you.”  I whispered.  And I began running.
I didn’t know why I was running anymore.  I didn’t know if I could make it anymore.  I tripped over a large object and slammed my face to the ground.  I didn’t want to move; I knew the white chips that were floating in a sea of blood in my mouth were my teeth.  I closed my eyes and the rain began to pour again.
“What the hell!”  I cried.
“Sorry about that.”  A soft voice whispered. “You were coming so fast- I didn’t know if I could move in time.”
“My teeth.”  I rolled over, and by the looks of the boys expression- I face didn’t look good. 

“Who are you?”  I whispered.  The rain was irritating my newly exposed gum. 

“Its me.  Carter.”

“Go away.”  I moaned. 

“No.”  He knelt down next to me and touched my face.  “We missed you today at the party.”

Lighting struck. 

“I didn’t miss you.”

“Well I missed you.”

He cuffed his hands around my mouth and just stared at me. 
Everything in my mouth shifted back to normal.  The blood drained.  I felt my nose straighten.  My busted lip puckered again.  I felt perfect- but I knew I was far from it.
“You took a hard fall.”  He took his hands away.  What the hell was he? 
“I only fell on concrete.”  
“I have something to tell you.”  He whispered.  “I heard you were good at talking to others.”  He nodded.

I have no idea who told him back. 
“Is it something I would know about?”  

Then I heard some screams.  I quickly sat up and looked behind me.  Ashton was running from a dark figure again. 

“Don’t fight!”  I screamed.  The more you chase dark figures (Shades) the more they want to chase you.  I would know. 
But Ashton had already grabbed his wand and aimed it at the shade.  Thus this fight began.  Yellow beams of light shot from the wand and I only had 6 seconds to move before me and Carter would blow up.  I jumped I the air but my powers didn’t activate.  So I jumped again and again until... bam.  The dark figure opened its mouth and fire roared out.  Ashton fell back in pain.  This was not going to end well.  Ashton’s wand flew in the air and landed in front of Carter.  It hit the floor and spun around.   Then the wand blew up into dust.  Blinding dust.  I jumped in the air, grabbed Carter and flew- as a shade- just flew.  But I was sure I died.  I didn’t now where I going but I knew that it was safer than where I just was.  A white light came towards them- yep, I’m dead.  And I didn’t blame myself for wanted to leave my world.  6 months in hell and you would want ice water.  6 months in Casper and you might consider hell a nice getaway.  3 things I was sure about, one being at Casper, your not supposed to make friends and ten hang with them like you do at normal schools.  Your supposed to learn and know your weaknesses, then test them.  2 this dark thing- was never going to top until its either defeated or satisfied.  And 3, I needed a bath, food and classical music to calm myself.  Well that’s technically you could count that as 5 but who’s counting besides the dark prophets.

I landed on the basketball court, far away from Ashton.  It wasn’t the best landing.  In fact, we slid across the wet courts. 

“Should we go back?”  Carter gasped. 

And then I remembered why I loved him.  He was depressing just like me.

“I can’t find a reason too.”

“Let’s not.”  He nodded.

“What did you have to tell me?”  I looked up then straight back at him. 

He was gone. 

I took a deep breath and wiped my hair back, and then I walked to my dorm again. 

I felt like I had just been here an hour ago or something. 

“Hello?”  I asked.  Although I knew no one would respond.  “Ugh.”

I threw my body on my bed, but I couldn’t go to sleep.  I want to die but I can’t find the will to kill myself.  As if I really have a reason to be here on this Earth.  I closed my eyes finally and let my body sleep.  A little boy ran through the bushes, disappointed that he had failed in the rescue mission of his brother. A shinning light came from the sky, a little girl appeared. The little girl took his hand and the floated back to the sky. The little boy say two other kids, one tall and one chubby one a girl the other a boy. A tall lady with blue hair appeared in front of him and placed an amulet on his chest.  Then the little boy looked up.

 

Then I woke up.  I knew the faces immediately.  Kaurta was the tall lady with blue hair.  The little boy I have seen many times before.

I sat up and brushed my hair back.  All I could think of was Carter talking to me and Ashton running.  Then Heather, Cleah and Lisa talking about the Rhylon.  I bit my lip.  I actually touched them this time.  They felt chapped and scared.  My eyes were open but I was seeing something other than reality.  I grasped my throat.  It still burned so slowly walked into my bathroom and cut on the light.  But when I looked in the mirror, I wasn’t looking back.  A red evil face with piercing eyes stared at me.  I gasped.  Then I raised an eyebrow and touched the mirror.

“And who may you be?”  I whispered.  Like he was seriously going to tell me. 

My hands began to burn and I quickly pulled them away from the mirror.  Then, just like that the man was gone.  I spun around quickly.  He was in flesh. 

“Oh gosh.”  I whispered.  Then I shot out of my dorm as a shade.  He was pretty fast and was catching up with me.  I flew down to the courtyard.  The only place where powers are actually allowed.  The place where the goddesses planted their seeds for Casper.  The place where this demon was going to kill me.  I slammed into the ground and began running.  He grabbed my foot dragging me towards him. I punched him in the face as he wrapped his arms around my neck. I jammed my elbow in his stomach causing him to fall back. I ran towards the courtyard once more and filled my hands with water from the small puddles that lead there, dripping, I threw the little water at the vampire.   I fell to the floor and crawled into a puddle. 

I backed up as he ran towards me.

The vampire bit my arm. Pain rushed through me, but I wasn't going to give up. Daisy. Where would that be?  Wait- can’t I just escape- but the vampire knocked my to the ground. 

This time the vampire bit my leg, and continued drinking from my body. I banged his head, but that only drove him deeper and deeper into my skin. I froze for a second, thinking this was the end for my too. You were almost there kiddo. And then I realized I was the infamous Aubrey Lauter and I held my hands out, placed them on his head, and watched his whole head catch into flames.  I pushed him off me and rolled over. 

 “That was interesting.” I spoke quietly while I rubbed my head.

Then I realized, I was in pain, my leg hurt, my arm hurt, and I hurt. I screamed and grabbed my leg.  The rain wasn’t washing away the venom this time.

Then I realized that I was only dreaming.  Day dreaming.  I looked around me.  I was still staring into space on my bed. 

“Don’t believe in the legends do you?”  A voice whispered in my head.  “I’ll show you.”

“Bring it.”  I whispered back.