The Struggle

Growing upset with herself, she turned off the TV. Just as the screen began to fade, four words flashed across the screen, growing larger until the screen went dark.  Blinking, something caught her eye. Bright blue orbs shining from the room across from her. Just like it had said; He can see you. Her eyes twitched and the boy was gone.

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Grinning, he stepped into the cool metal room. Clearing his throat he spoke up, “She saw me sir, I made sure.” 

The man belched loudly and replied, “Good, you know what to do now.” The man closed his eyes, dismissing him. The boy stepped through the wall, back into the girl’s apartment. He glided up the stairs and opened the door to her bedroom. Interesting… this one had not been hypnotized, for she had already crawled back to her bed. He walked into her closet, kneeling in the darkness, spreading his hands out, searching for the portal. A small raised circle sat in the corner, just beside the girl’s backpack. Leaning down over the portal, he blew hot air along the outer rim and pushed down on it. An icy gush of air came in through the closet door’s cracks. He grinned slyly and peeked through the cracks in the closet. Sure enough, just as the man had said, it was under the girl’s bed. The darkness swirled, black ink creeping out the sides of the bed frame. He slipped out of the closet and slid under the bed, hanging on to broken springs, not quite ready to be sucked into his own world. He had a message for her, directly disobeying his boss’s orders not to talk to the girl other than what was needed. Reaching out for her mind, he grasped it with his own, feeling a tiny explosion as her wall broke down. He snarled and whispered into her mind, “No matter what you do, you will always come back to me, remember that.” With that he slipped into the darkness.

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            She sat straight up, still shuddering from her dream, or what felt like a dream. His presence left a tingling sensation in her mind. Shivering, she wrapped herself with her covers and tiptoed down the stairs. Not looking where she was walking, she ended up right where HE had been. Slumping to the ground she held her head in her hands and sobbed quietly, why is he plaguing my thoughts? Her head ached, and her emotions weren’t helping. She dragged herself to the medicine cabinet and opened it quickly. Taking out a bottle of some painkiller she spilled a couple into her hands and downed them quickly with a drink her stepdad had made her last night. She collapsed onto the couch and immediately blacked out.

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            It had been about 24 hours in his world and he had already made it to his father’s underground castle. He snuck past the sleeping guards, chuckling evilly into their minds. He managed to get past a handful of more guards but alerted the ones leading to the throne when he slipped on a pile of sticky blood. He grunted and picked himself off the ground, not bothering to hurry, they had already spotted him. They did not recognize him because he had dyed his hair with the remains of the last half-blood he had killed and it was very different from his natural color. Plus, his ever changing eyes now were an icy blue instead of his signature green. The guards marched him to his father’s throne and dumped him on the ground directly in front of the stairs. His father dismissed the guards with a sideways glance.

“Hal,” his father began, “why must you always be sneaking around?” Ignoring his father’s question, he talked quickly, hoping his father would be willing to help him.

“I need the drink, the second one I mean. The first one worked, I can feel that she is in deep sleep. But let us not make haste; she is already in the hospital.”

His father nodded and called out to Hal’s younger brother, “Fetch me the vial on my bedside.” His father crossed his arms and stared at him. Finally noticing the change in appearance he snorted and said, “Hal, you are just like your mother…” but did not finish the sentence.

Hal cringed and rasped, “Stop making small talk Father.”

His father narrowed his eyes and inquired, “What happened to your voice?”

He glanced away and muttered, “Why should you care?” To his luck his little brother had returned. He clapped him on the shoulder and threw the sealed vial into his backpack. He glanced around the room for he had forgotten where his father’s private gateway was, not that his father ever used it. His dad chuckled and pulled at a level in the ground moving aside his throne to reveal a gaping black hole. Hal walked straight into it, having no more to say to his father.

                                                    *******

She woke up, startled by the sight of the bare bleached walls of the local hospital. Her step-father’s face moved into her vision and she inhaled, “What did you put in my drink last night Josh?”

He raised his hands in mock guilt and said “Nothing darling, why would you ever think that I would put something possibly fatal in your drink? Possibly fatal? Oh dear, this is just one more reason not to trust him.

She started to say, “Well why else would I, OH!” His ugly hazel eyes flashed into a bright, icy blue. “It’s…it’s you!” she stammered. She started to wave her hands around to get the nurse’s attention.

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He grabbed her flailing hands and pinned them down. Taking out the vial he sliced his sharp teeth across the seal and broke it. Still pinning her hands in his left one, he used his right hand to pry open her jaw and poured the small amount into her mouth, snapping it shut, forcing her to swallow. She slowly sank into his arms and he leered. Soon it would be over. He opened the portal in the hallway and strolled right through, landing with the girl onto the mossy forest surface. At his eye contact all life: wild, human and supernatural, cleared out of the way.

He found his way into the castle again, but snuck into the dungeon this time. He grabbed the weapon and laid the girl out on the long table already stained with human blood. This one wouldn’t fight though, he knew for sure. He flipped it to the silver-plated side and pushed it into her chest, passing through the ribs and digging it slowly through the heart cavity, penetrating each vein separately. He was somewhat frustrated his father had commanded him to drug her; he would have loved to hear her shriek. But, I made a connection, so instead of hearing her struggle, I will feel it just as she does. Her body tensed and her mind flashed a solitary intense light into his mind. Blood spilled out onto the table, turning a cloudy black when it made contact with the transparent steel. Only the superior ones had blood that turned such a hazy dark shade.

He drew the weapon out of her body and flung it on the ground. The procedure was nearly over. He reached out effortlessly for her thoughts with his, and entered, coaxing her spirit to leave her form. He elevated it up and out of her body, setting the almost imperceptible mass onto the table. Within seconds, it took the shape of a teenaged girl. He gulped, for she was like him, having a spirit with a body; a ghost. Hal straightened, unfazed and grabbed her hand, leading her to the gate. He pressed a few buttons and unbolted it. Turning toward the girl, he leaned in and whispered, “One day, you’ll find me,” and released her.