Love Lines

38: Remain Nameless

Chapter Thirty-Eight

I already knew about the ritual. I already knew what they were going to do. I knew no one was going to get here in time to save me and I also knew someone besides me wouldn't survive this mess, in the long run of course. Tonight was pretty much my time to shine in the death department. Not that I wanted to. No one wants to die but the future was set in stone. I hadn't given up hope that maybe I was wrong and Cecil and Andrzej would get here in time but my surround-sound-3D-version of a vision told me otherwise. But that was the thing about hope, though. I never lost it. Ever. Even though I probably should.

What I didn't know, however, was where I was, location wise. That wasn't included in my vision. I could be in Argentina or Serbia without knowing it. In correlation to the old world, I knew exactly where I was but all I smelled was crisp cool air with a hint of heaviness. Like the humidity was just dying down as time approached midnight. Crickets were chirping off in the distance but other than that, I had no clue.

"Sit up. Slowly. It's going to be a bit of a head rush."

I did as I was told and very slowly lifted my frame until my feet were dangling off the side of my little platform. Only then did I get the bigger picture of where I was and the nauseous feeling that came with it. The vision hadn't included much detail of the surrounding area, just of the action that would be done. Most of it was filled in with a black backdrop.

But from what I could tell, this looked like a scene out of a M. Night Shymalan movie. I was an extra in Signs. The flattened area I found myself in was about the size of a classroom. Yeah, this was definitely surreal. Trying to get over the dizzy feeling, I focused on something other than the tall corn stalks that surrounded me. As it turned out I'd been laying on several bales of hay. Torches were strategically placed around the circle to give ample amount of light.

They just had this all planned out.

"Time to get dressed." Persephone held out a rather pretty white dress that I didn't even bother to look at. The trip through the portal had really messed with my equilibrium and too much movement would probably result in the loss of stomach contents. "Come on. It's not a potato sack. You should be grateful. I almost thought this dress was too gorgeous to ruin."

"Yes because becoming someone's sacrifice is something everyone strives to be and should be grateful for."

"Virgin sacrifice. Don't forget that part." She shook the dress at me like it was supposed to get my attention. "We're on a schedule here so you need to get changed. There's no reason you can't look good while you die."

Personally I was happy to die in what I was wearing. These were actually my favorite pair of jeans. Not to mention my socks had The Cat in The Hat on them. Dollar bin at Target was the perfect place to get cute socks.

"How very fashionista of you."

"I strive to please."

"That's a lie." I snagged the dress from her and held it out at arm's length. Maybe if I vomited on it, she'd leave me alone. "What will you do if I don't want to put this on?"

"I'll order you to."

"And if that doesn't work?"

"Then I'll have Chris strong arm you into it. He won't mind. After the way you treated him, I don't think he'd mind causing you a little harm. And even though he denies it, seeing you naked would be a thrill. He still has a little bit of a crush on you. He tried to hide it but it's true."

"I didn't do anything to him."

"You broke his heart. Well, that was before he knew you weren't me. It's very chilling how much we look alike, isn't it?"