𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐥 (ON HOLD)

70

LORALY

Sat on the floor, was a woman.

Her hair was a snowy white, the only part of her that looked remotely innocent.

A woman dressed in black and wrapped in chains.

Her eyes were also a tainted black, staring off into the unknown.

Her lips were pale and parched, almost a sickly purple. She was mumbling words I could neither hear nor decipher, but her lips were moving.

Her skin was a sickly white, wrinkles flattered it more than anything else.

Her fingers sat on her thighs, tapping them and matching the faraway sound of dropping water.

Her mumbles began getting louder... I still couldn't understand a word.

Her slight tapping became painful smack that caused me to flinch back.

Suddenly, I wanted to leave.

It seemed to surreal and fascinating at first, but I suddenly felt scared.

She began to scream and pull her hair, vigorously shaking it side to side.

I wanted to help her. I wanted to calm her down, but I was scared to touch her or even be any closer to her.

Maybe she couldn't even see me and this was all a figment of my imagination.

Maybe she was a ghost, maybe one of my ancestors. She definitely looked the part.

Her screaming continued, piercing my ears and making me smack both hands against them.

She now began hitting her own head, seeming to be nothing short of insane.

"Athena!" Was the first thing I heard, not from her from the ceiling.

I recognized that name, but it felt like such a faraway thought.

Then it was calming humming. It filled it room and drowned out her screams. The feeling of safety enveloped me again.

I looked around above my head for the maker of this ethereal sound but found none.

Then my head began to pound, like it grew its own heart.

Be-bump, be-bump, be-bump, it went.

I dropped to my knees and I felt a scream flit past my mouth.

Be-bump, be-bump, be-bump, it went.

Make it stop. Make it stop.

Wake me up.

"Wake up!"

"Wake up!"

"Wake up!"

I jump out of bed, covering in sweat. My heart pounds in my chest and I struggle to find my own breath. My hands are a trembling mess and my eyes are so blurry that I can barely sense a thing.