Toys of a Dangerous Mind-{Winner of Undiscovered, Watty Awards 2011} Under Edit

Chapter 13

Walking down long, twisting corridors in a daze. Noticing people smile and laugh- will I be able to laugh that simple, joyous laugh or smile with happiness after this? I was in a dream-like state, my brain switched off. A sharp emotion sliced through the mist of my mind- dread, as I perceived the spotless, white door of the infirmary.

Without bothering to knock, I drifted in, leaving the door open in my wake. My heart beat faster and faster as the fear attacked me viciously causing my legs to feel like jelly and for my head to heat up in panic. I faltered as I turned the fatal corner, facing the bed, but with my head down. I was too scared to look: to reveal a deep and constant fear which plagued me always. I shoved those thoughts aside: Raxis had to have healed him. He had promised.... 

I tried to believe that, to stubbornly place my faith in that thought. Those thoughts shattered as I slowly looked up, images flashing in my mind like a silent movie.

The nurse, a worried and sad look upon her face, standing, shoulders slumped.

A container filled with bloody bandages, large amounts of pus covering them.

And the body on the table.

Pale, eyes shut.

The image triggered my mind and I rushed to Liam's side. I frantically scanned for signs of breathing.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

None. 

As I fell to the floor in a faint, my heart broke into a million pieces.

All of those pieces were Liam's and now he was gone..... 

My heart was gone too. As the darkness swallowed me up, I prayed I would never wake up and face my reality.

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"Danielle!" A voice penetrated my mind, bringing me back to the surface. I wondered idly, why I was lying on the cold, grey floor. The nurse was leaning over me, a harried expression on her face. As my sight lazily focused properly and I properly saw her face, everything slotted back into place. Liam was gone. Dead. Taken away from me. A fiery red- hot anger seared through, taunting me to act. My breathing became harsh and fast, the anger rising like a tempestuous volcano.  

"Get away from me," I told her quietly. But the anger was rising as she persisted in stay near. "Get away from me!" I screamed at her, sliding backwards away from the nurse. 

"You killed him!" I yelled. She was a monster, an abomination. Of course, she worked for Raxis, the demon and bringer of pain. She probably planned this, Liam's life hanging weakly from her fingers by a thread. Snapping that thread, she had killed him.

"No, you don't-" The nurse tried to reason with me, but I wasn't going to be fed with her hateful lies.  

"I hate you!" I screamed. "All your fault- you killed him!" Before she could respond, I ran out of the room, ignoring her cries to stop. Running down the long, twisting corridors, pushing people aside impatiently and not waiting to hear their angry retorts.

Before when I walked these corridors, I had been filled with a small amount of hope. Now as I returned to my room, that hope had been extinguished, never to be seen again. I finally made it to my room and I ran inside, slamming the door and locking it securely. The force of my slam echoed throughout the corridor. I sank down onto the thinly carpeted floor and tucked into a ball, rocking back and forth. Tears coursed down my cheeks, what seemed like an eternity of tears.  

Liam had been everything to me in this place. He was the one who made me smile, made me laugh. He had filled me with passion and love, two things I had never felt before with someone like that. 

What was the point, now?

I spent days in my room grieving, tears always present on my face. Knocks sounded on my door frequently but I always ignored them. Ryan's servant also came to my room but I always pretended I wasn't there despite the persistent knocking.

As the days slowly passed, a ravenous hunger settled on my stomach as well as an aching thirst. I had not eaten and drunk for days, never even leaving my bed. The nightmares that I had prior to the second Stage came back in full force. Every night, I had the same dream: seeing Liam dead under the shadow of a terrifying monster.

Except, this time, pain and sadness were interweaved even more deeply into the dream, because I knew that Liam was gone. And every time that I woke up, instead of screaming, I would cry for hours on end, my pillow being thoroughly wettened by the nights end.

Without Liam in my life, it was like there was nothing to look forward to, nothing to smile or laugh about. It was like I had been in a room blazing with light, Liam's light, and now he was gone- I was left in the darkness, alone and afraid. I couldn't smile anymore, I couldn't laugh. Each day was a dreary struggle, though all I did was lay in bed, eat, drink and cry.

Crying was what seemed to fill each day. They say that crying makes you feel slightly better but I definitely wasn't comforted. Nothing could make me feel better now.  

Nothing.

On the fifth day of my grieving, a knock sounded at my door. I shrugged and ignored it; this was fairly normal. A crisp, sharp voice cleared their throat and said, 

"Miss Danielle, Raxis commands you to see him." My eyes narrowed in anger- he "commands" me, does he? I stayed silent, hoping the messenger would just go away and leave me in peace. 

"Miss Danielle, I do know you're in here," the messenger continued. My anger rose: I didn't care about Raxis- he had broken his promise.

"Leave," I commanded him now, putting as much steeliness into my tone as possible. 

"My master commands-" The messenger didn't get to the end of his sentence as I went to the door and thrust it open. I would enjoy hurting him. At one look at my angry face, he sprinted down the hall and back to Raxis. I sighed, shut the door and resumed thinking about Liam.

The next day, I felt even more sad, and tears fell softly down my cheeks regularly. Liam had never done anything bad. But in the end, he died by the hands of a monster. And it was all Raxis's fault. I had played the Mercy Games with him, wasting seven days of my life and Raxis had broken the deal. Now he was going to pay for it.  

A knock sounded on my door. 

"Raxis commands you to see him."

Instead of anger, I felt anticipation.

Perfect, I thought as I slipped a dagger into my boot. Time to see whether Raxis bleeds like the rest of us... when I thrust my dagger into his black heart.