Chained By The Witch

Chapter Three: Welcome Home

I sit on the ground, the dew on the grass slowly seeping into my skin through my clothes. Ives sits in front of me, clasping my hands gently. Their eyes glow blue and they recite words in a language I don't yet understand. They release my hands and press their fingertips against my forehead, slowly applying more and more pressure. The area they're touching starts to burn, and searing pain shoots through me but I can't move! The pain subsides and my head goes blank, if my eyes weren't already closed they'd be drooping by now. I still feel Ives' touch, except now it resonates in my brain, like raindrops in calm waters. I'm so tired. I feel that floating sensation again and it's warm.

It feels like I'm floating on a liquid, it's so thick, and it clings to me like mud. What is this? It blocks all sound like a vacuum and everything is so calm. So safe, so nice. I lift my arm out and wave it around in the air, the liquid slowly oozes down my arm back into its original place. My arm does the same.

So thick, so... suffocating! I can't breathe! I start to thrash and try to swim to the surface but I only find myself sinking deeper, is this quicksand? In a desperate attempt to get out, I make the mistake of opening my eyes. Nothing but red surrounds me, it floods my eyes and I shut them quickly.

Blood. I'm stuck in endless amounts of blood!

I try to scream, only for the void around me to silence my cries. Suddenly someone grabs my hand and yanks me up. I cough up all the blood in my lungs and collapse, I feel so weak. I catch my breath and try to force myself to get up. I manage to get one eye open and clear the blood-clotted hair out of my face so I can see where I am. A white marble room and three doors lay in front of me, but there was no one there.

"He-hello?" My voice is hoarse and crackly. "Is anyone there?" The door on the far left opens and a man steps out. I've never seen anyone like him before.

He's tall, really tall, probably in his early twenties, very lean, has the most striking pale skin, and eccentric markings on his face, in the shape of a skull. His clothes are strange too. He has a shirt with striped sleeves that says "Necro-Manson" and has the number 19 on the front. His pants are like Mr. Levi's except they widen at the end and have a ton of chains and pockets. The word kitten is written across the two pockets on his thighs.

Did he put me in here? I scramble backward to get away from him as he approaches me. My hand slips back into the blood pool and my heart drops. The stranger catches me just before I fall in.

"Where am I? Who are you? Ives!" The stranger claps his hand over my mouth and shushes me.

"I'll answer your questions if you promise to be quiet." His voice is modulated, and not quite deep, but not feminine or childish either. As soon as his arm drops I immediately break my silence.

"What? No! What do you want?!"

"Shush! You are home... welcome. I am your... how do I say this... I'm technically your mentor, I guess? My name is Xander. Um, and I don't want anything, except for you to stop screaming, and take a bath too, I heard you were stuck in a room for three months. You sure smell like it." He pinches his nose to prove his point further. I can understand what he means, but that still stings.

"Hey! That's rude, and what do you mean 'home'!?" The strange man, whose name is Xander, doesn't answer me. Instead, he stands and turns away, striding back through the door he entered through. He returns shortly after clutching a towel and speaking to someone. Ives! They're walking with this strange man? They did tell me we were going home, but where is 'home'!?

"You can trust him, you know," Ives says knowingly.

"He won't let me talk."

"No, she's lying. I said you couldn't scream." Xander says, pointing at me frantically and looking at Ives.