Change || The Promised Neverland

➴ Chapter Forty-One: Bind ➴

"You brought all of this on yourself," Marin muttered, his strained voice raspy. "If you hadn't followed me... You'd have died a happy death."

He chuckled darkly, an angry smile on his young face. "...You made me die for nothing."

[Name]'s hands trembled, grasping at his throat yet terrified of what she might do. Her breathing turned heavy, fear and grief rushing through her system as she stared her best friend in the face. She knew he wasn't real, he couldn't be, yet the face she could never forget had been the last straw.

And her mask broke, twisting into the face of a frightened child.

"No..." she mustered out, almost a whimper. "That's not... I didn't..."

Suddnely, a familiar but certainly unwelcome pain shocked itself through her. [Name] chocked, nearly screaming when she spotted the same shock bracelet clasped onto her wrist like a prison cuff once again. Marin had disappeared, fading away as if he had never been there in the first place.

Heels clicked loudly on the floor. She squinted through the pain, already dreading what was to come. She knew those sounds, and she wasn't happy hearing them again.

Jumping up, [Name] scrambled to grab her fallen pistol, only for it to be snatched from her fingers. Sidra knelt in front of her struggling self, twirling the gun in her black-painted fingers. She smiled pleasantly down at the twitching girl, who watched her with wide eyes.

"I-" [Name] coughed, wincing as she spat out blood that dragged against her throat. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello, hamster," Sidra cooed, pinching her cheek. "Nice to see you again. Especially after you killed me."

[Name] didn't move to bat away the hand, instead retching out even more blood. Lightning still coursed through her veins, rendering her unable to move. Sidra hummed in mocking pity.

"Poor thing," she crooned. "Still so helpless, even in a dream. Do you really think you're free?"

The muzzle of Sidra's pistol rested on her forehead. Now on the other side of the gun, [Name]'s veins turned to ice. Her eyes trained on the barrel... only to drop to the ground, defeated and ready for her fate. 

Sidra smile sympathetically.

BANG!

[Name] shot up in her bed, sweat beading on the back of her neck. The second gunshot still resonated in her head, repeating again and again like a broken record. She clutched at her chest, panting as if she had just run a marathon.

What was that?

She squinted at the clock in her room. It was an antique model, with only analog numbers rather than electrical. Still, it didn't hinder her from being able to read the time. [Name] exhaled, leaning back against the headboard of her bed.

It wasn't part of her ability. She knew that, at least. Susie was a person that only [Name] knew, and Henry didn't know about Sidra's tendencies. She leaned forward into her palm, her hair falling.

What's happening to me?

[Name] pushed off the covers and stumbled over to her desk. She reached into her drawers, searching for her music box. Collapsing onto the bed, her eyes focused and unfocused on the device as its chain tickled her cheek.

She let her hand fall to her chest, twisting the key. Earlier before, she had changed out the key, having missed her friend's song. Now, that melody tinkled out into the empty room.

"Flaheta vola stilai, sharobela gruam ma tisihré..."

Clasping the music box as if it were her lifeline, [Name] curled into herself, hugging it close. Unlike in her dream, no tears escaped her this time. Instead, she merely whispered his empty tune, alone in the sheets of her bed.