Sad Magic

Chapter 5

WARNING: there are some gory things that happened in this chapter. Please be advised.

Another two days passed, Leia and I seemed to get close in the short amount of time. She was sweet, funny, and laid back. I'll admit I was starting to form a small crush on her, but it was soon to tell.

Conrad also visited me and I told him about her. The more he and I spoke, the less uneasy I felt about him. It was strange how fast he grew to care about me. But maybe that was a normal thing for normal people.

The time I spent alone enough to give me room to think about my next move. I decided that whatever was going to happen wasn't going down with a fight. I also decided that if it came down to it I would go on my terms.

I was hanging out with Leia in my room before lights out. She wore baggy pajamas and fuzzy light purple slippers.

"That's when I told her that it was either me or them. And she chose them," she told me.

"I'm sorry that must've been rough. But sometimes people drift apart you know. I don't think you should take it to heart," I reasoned.

"Meh, I'm better off honestly. Girl was toxic," she shrugged.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Got for it."

"Since tomorrow's my last day in the hospital, maybe when you get we could hang out more," I spoke nervously.

I didn't want her to think I was coming onto her. I just thought it would be nice to have someone like her around.

She looked at little sad and she took a minute before she spoke. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Won't your boyfriend get jealous?"

"Boyfriend?"

"The guy that comes over here and visits you. I've seen him around the halls. He mainly takes photos from time to time down at the morgue."

"Conrad, oh no. He's not my boyfriend we just met," I laughed at the thought.

"Oh," she blushed. "I'm so sorry I thought. I'm so sorry. Yeah, I'd love to hangout with you. I look forward to it."

She went back to her laid back demeanor. Eventually after a while she had to leave. The morge, what an odd place to volunteer to take photos in.

In mid thought, I got a text from him. Turn on the news. I asked him why but all I got in response was just did it.

I turned on the TV and flipped it over to the news.

It was horrific.

Apparently they found Father Goldworth, however the state he was in when they found him was gruesome. They found his body strung up down in an alley in a crucified position. His head missing from his body and was replaced with the head of a taxidermy goat. He was necked with strange symbols and markings craved into him, some that matched my birthmarks. Below his dangling body was a circle of candles and rose petals covered in blood. There was something painted behind him. It read 'this is a warning.'

They suspected he had been dead already before hand. That he was probably murdered on the same day of my attack. That whoever did this was not alone.

I simply froze. Yes, he did try to kill me but he was always a good person. He did spend a portion of his life trying to help me. Who ever did this, they must've known what he did, or what he was trying to do? But how? They never released my identity, nor my mother's.

The reporters, of course, weren't able to get close enough to show the full extent of his body. They mainly filmed the police trying to contain the situation. It seemed like the police tried to get the body down but in doing so the body burst into flames.

Who or what could've done this. I looked back at my phone and texted Conrad about how horrific it was. He simply texted back 'Yeah, but at least we know where he is.'

What? I took it as a sorry attempt to make me feel better about this situation. No more, I had to turn it off. I felt tears swell up in my eyes and roll down my cheek. Although I was distraught, something inside me felt a horrible deep satisfaction. Why? What purpose of watching those events unfold could make me feel any level of comfort.

Texted him telling him that I was going to bed. No response. Maybe he felt bad about what he said. It didn't matter. The image of his corpse haunted me. How could this have happened. I tried to watch something else to distract me. Only able to fall asleep to the sounds of cartoons playing in the background.

That night I dreamt of Father Goldworth. He was in a dark old rusted room tied to a chair. There were candles burning all around him, along with shredded pieces of parchment paper scattered all over the place.

He looked scared and confused. He seemed to be mumbling a prayer to himself. Then he was no longer alone as a shadowy menacing figure looked onto him. It was holding something. It looked like a bowl and a wooden carving knife.

"He hurt you. He hurt my own. He tried to get in the way of fate and that must not go unpunished," it said in low deep bone shaking voice.

"I was only trying to save her from you," Father spat.

It was talking to me. Father only prayed harder. The shadow took his the knife and began carving out chunks of his skin, collecting the blood that fell in the bowl. Father's screams were just as ghastly as they were loud. He prayed that God would save him. That he would protect him from evil. The shadow unphased and simply continued. Once he collected enough he forcefully fed the flesh and blood to Father Goldworth. It was making him eat himself. I looked away, no please wake up. Just wake up.

"You must watch child. This world is my domain. These people are merely pawns of fate. Eating one another in the name of the enemy. In the name of me," it boasted.

It wasn't done. It didn't stop with just there. There were others now covered in robes. They gathered around and all partook of the flesh and blood in the bowl. They ripped one of his eyes and forced it into his mouth. They each carved the same symbols and marking on to his body. Father's unearthly sounds of agony only filled the room.

I can't I have to leave. I can't watch this. I turned away and ran. It was pitch black, I don't know where I was going but I couldn't stay there. I ran faster. The feeling as if I was being followed only grew. No, no, wake up. Just wake the fuck up.

I ran until I fell through the floor. The feeling of falling made me uneasy. I landed in the middle of some grassy plane. There was nothing but tall green emerald grass and a clear bright sky above me. I was alone. My clothes were different. I was in a white off the shoulder flowing dress.

"What's the matter dear," a familiar voice asked me.

I turned to see Conrad. He was standing there dressed in black. He looked concerned.

He cocked his head to the side and asked me again,"What's the matter dear?"

I wanted to run and hug him, but I didn't get near him. Instead I slowly back away from him. I kept backing up, keeping my eye on him, till I hit something. I turned around to face it.

It was him. Conrad. His eyes still held that concerned look but the rest of his face was all wrong. His lips once again curled up in a crocked elongated smile.

He spoke again this time his voice now distorted,"what's the matter?"

His mouth overflowed with black gunk as he spoke. It continued to spew out of him as he once again smiled. I looked at the the ground beneath us. It was staining the green grass an oily black. I looked back up at him. It was the shadow.

I woke up that morning still screaming. It must've alerted a guard near by because soon a few nurses rushed in. I was thrown into a panic fighting off anyone who touched me. They had to sedate me, jabbing me with a syringe. They reassured me that I was simply having a nightmare.

I laid there in a drugged state. I had to get away. It was warning me, you can't escape me. I wasn't gonna let get me with out a fight.