Pristine's Problem | ONC 2024

13 | trapped

He's not a human....He's something else!

Her lips quivered incessantly as her mind sensed the arrival of possible seizures. Her pupils trembled on seeing Avril's towering body, that cast blazing roots of wrath.

Avril discerned his body being overtaken by the mighty force within him. He chortled as he felt himself fuse with his counter ego, joining to become one infernal power, capable of swallowing the entire goodness of the world.

"Do you know how much I struggled to land in this position?" Avril growled, "How many plans I had made to avoid the cops or the Etherials from targeting suspicion towards my home? And you invaded my house casually, thinking you can leave from here alive?"

"You – you killed Andrei," Pristine stuttered.

"Because he deserved it!" Avril bellowed, making Pristine's face ashen.

"And you deserve it too..." a sly smile escaped his firm face as Avril raised his fingers. His hands exuded dark flames; his fingernails grew longer and darker, making them look inhuman as he reached for Pristine's neck.

In no time, Pristine wailed in agony as Avril clasped her neck, tightening his grip. His fingernails strived not to tear the pale skin of her neck as he took delight in seeing his victim gasp for air.

She's weaker than you. Everyone is weaker than you, Avril. You are invincible.

"Avril!" Romine's warning echoed as he disregarded it with a sneer.

"Le – leave me!" Pristine managed the words of plea as his fingers suffocated her breathing. Her pale skin reddened as the raging heat penetrated her thoughts, preparing them to face the last phase of her life.

"Avril!" Romine spoke louder, compelling the fierce demon to pause its entertainment.

"What do you want?" Avril snarled, observing her fear.

"There's a kid in this room.... she's – she's invisible."

***

There was exactly one hour left for dinner, yet his stomach grumbled as he sat on the garden swing.

Darkness had gobbled up the sight of the silky sunset, making the sky devoid of its impeccable beauty. However, to compensate, the flickering stars had come in enormous numbers to aid, serving a pleasant view that calmed its viewers.

Alan had felt empty the whole day, despite overeating during his meals. An empty void had formed within his body, making him feel the dearth of energy. He knew it wasn't his stomach that grumbled; it was his heart. It ached the whole day, making him culpable of his behaviour.

She must have gone now...

He was aware that there was no way of stopping her decision. One thing he had learnt from her was that she was adamant and stubborn when it came to matters of guarding her pride.

As the empty void within him blamed his insensible actions, he barely noticed that someone had sat beside him.

"You seem so upset today," Arabella curled her arm around his neck, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Alan sighed.

"Hmm."

I had seen her. Arabella took photos with her and she had shown me.

Pristine's firm statement resonated through his mind. Her eyes had flared in certainty and took pride in solving the mystery. He realized that he had never seen her this optimistic for the past few weeks. The guilty force within him urged to break the truth.

"Ara," he tried to maintain his posture, "Do you have pictures from Pandora?"

Arabella raised her brow, silently demanding the reason for the sudden inquisitiveness.

"Please?" A simple word with glittering eyes was enough for Arabella to give in.

She took her phone, searched through her hidden albums and handed a few selected photos to Alan.

"This was at the entrance," she explained as Alan tried hard to look awed.

"It's grand and majestic; there's a whole banner explaining its legacy!"

"Cool!"

"And then, this is the inside look. It's more like a mall, right?"

"Yeah!" Alan chimed as he swiped to view the next photo, without realizing that his breath would stop soon.

Alan gaped at the picture of Arabella posing with a girl, who was very much similar to Avril's girlfriend. Arrows of guilt pierced his conscience, as he nervously asked, "Who's this?"

"Oh! She's my friend, Romine! She's a super sweet person and.... Alan! Where are you going?"