Midnight

36°C

MIDNIGHT
| CHAPTER EIGHTEEN |

It started off with just a small flicker.

I thought it was just a figment of my imagination at first, because of the dim lighting and the drowsiness I had begun to feel. But then it started glowing brighter, and brighter, until I had to strain my eyes to see Winter—the boy who had the birthmark of a full moon imprinted on his ankle. I looked to him for answers, but he looked as confused and shocked as I was.

The light was so bright, it lit up the whole room. I could see a mattress sitting against a wall, a bucket in the corner, and thick, red blood that had been spilt on the tiles. I saw a chart against the wall, with tallies drawn all over it, marking the days he had spent in this cruel, isolated prison. I saw Winter and how he had magnificent light blue eyes and a mop of curly brown hair.

But then all of a sudden, I saw myself in the light.

At first I was in a white gown that floated around me, giving me a regal and airy look. I looked pretty, with a flower crown seated on my head, and I looked innocent, like I hadn't been tainted by the sorrows and pains that lurks in the corners of the world. My eyes were a shade lighter than my normal color, and I wore a white ring on my pinkie.

But then I started morphing into something different. The light gentleness in my eyes turned into a glinting madness, and I saw myself with purple eyes, grinning maliciously. My breath hitched in my throat and I tried to tear my eyes away from the girl who stood before me that reflected me just like a mirror, except she wasn't me. I wasn't this monster.

I'm not.

The violet in my glowing eyes changed into a burning red and splotches of blood painted itself over the white dress, as if mocking me. This time, I wore a glowing black stone on my finger.

"Oh, Midnight," the voice that echoed out had a resemblance to mine, but wasn't entirely so. "Options, options. Would you go for the light, or will you choose to go to the dark?" A laugh rang out and I let out a strangled cry as I felt a force against my throat.

"Honey, there is only two people in this world—the powerful and the powerless, who are bitter and cold about their weakness. Make your choices wisely, darling, or there will be consequences you need to pay—with your power, with your time, and maybe even with your life." Another laughter. "Oh, daughter of the moon, you are as blessed as you are cursed."

There was a crackling and all of a sudden, I was sucked into a deep abyss and my head kept spinning round and round. Everything didn't make sense and I felt like my body was torn into little pieces and I was thrown into a deep pit of chaos.

So I did the only thing I could—I screamed.

---

When I woke up my body was aching and my head was spinning. I was in a different room. This room had windows, which meant I could see people on the outside.

And outside the window, a man and a lady stood, with white coats and bizarre eyes that stared right through me. My hands were chained again, I noticed. The woman and the man pressed on some buttons on a panel and a voice spoke through the speaker at the corner of the room.

"Stage 2 is ready to be activated in approximately 2 minutes when patient is in stable conditions."

That was when I stood up. The metal chains that bounded me broke off easily and my bare feet strode down the cold marble, my eyes never leaving theirs. Their eyes widened as I pressed my hand against the windows. With a single push, it cracked.

I saw the man saying something urgently into his walkie-talkie while the woman pressed on more buttons.

I didn't know what had gotten into me, and when I had gotten this strong, but right then it didn't matter because I knew I had to break free from this place, find Winter, find Ed, and run to somewhere safe from these people. Safe from all these harm.

Safe from the monster in myself and the stinging fear in my head.

I'm really not her.

But my actions proved otherwise.

I was going to push on the window harder, when an all-too familiar voice sounded.

"Midnight."

I turned my head and saw him strutting towards me, with cautious eyes that held gentleness and assurance. I blinked at him, thinking he was only a hallucination, but he was still there, walking towards me.

When he was close enough he pressed his hand against my arm, and warmth and security filled my body.

"Trust me."

And so I did. I always had. I let him bring me to the bed and sit me down. He pressed his warm hand on my head and I smiled, thinking he had come to rescue me and everything is okay now.

Then he pulled out a needle and my smile dropped.

"J-Jev, what are you doing" I breathed out as he pressed the needle against my neck. "Jev!"

There was undoubted guilt shining in the pits of his eyes, and I realized nothing was okay, and he had not come to rescue me.

In fact, he was there to destroy me.

"I would say I'm sorry," He closed his eyes and when he opened them, his once beautiful eyes had turned cold, and all I could see was the beast that lied inside. He had become a different person, a person that existed within him, for in every man lied his demons. His lips twitched up into a smirk. "But I'd be lying."

And while he plunged the needle into my neck, so did I into a pit of darkness.

----

Things get better in the dark, because darkness blinds your eyes, and you are hidden by the shadows of the earth, and you become a part of the shadow. You fear nothing because you see no evil, because you are in the realms of evil itself.

I liked the dark and I did not fear the dark.

Because you are the dark yourself.

"I"m not," I breathed out. Suddenly I could see again. I saw my siblings, how they had laughed and snickered at me that cold Alaskan night when my own brother had pushed me down from a treehouse. Then I saw Jev, who had made me trust him, only to break it; who had given my heart healing, only to hurt it again.

And then I saw myself. I was wearing a maroon dress. But then I merged into two, and there was the regal princess and the evil queen.

"Your time is running up. The genes in your body are overpowering your system," A voice echoed out. "You better choose, and fast, before you lose it all--your friends, your sanity and yourself."

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A/N: Don't know how to feel about this chapter :/ Well, give it a vote and a comment to let me know what you feel!

Ah Jev is the bad guy!

What will happen next? O.o

Anyway, remember to leave feedback, and also tell me what you feel about Winter.

Also, Midnight reached #107 on Fantasy. Yay guys! By the way, do you think fantasy is the right category for Midnight?

Love,
kky_claud