The Wizard's Queen

Chapter 16

Riley flinched as the girl's fist slammed into the wall, leaving a slight dent. She cackled as she examined the damage before turning back to face Riley who watched in shock, not sure how to answer her questions.

"Kenny isn't real, he never was," she spoke in a low whisper as she leant in next to Riley's ear.

Riley shuttered at the girl's breath, fearing this girl would attempt to kill her when she was trapped like this. She let a tear fall down her cheek as she waited for the girl's next moves. This girl was the insane one spouting lies into her head. This had to be some trick, it was just a repeat of the day before, again.

"Who are you?" Riley sniffled. "Why do you hate me so much?"

The girl grinned as she leant closer her lips brushing Riley's ear as she spoke, "Why I am you."

Riley shook her head. That was impossible. This girl looked nothing like her. Her eyes were a dull brown, her hair a tangled mess of sandy blonde. Her skin was paler, her eyes lifeless and dull. Everything about her was dull. 

"Look in the mirror," the girl grinned as she shoved a hand mirror into Riley's face. Riley let out a sob, as she saw the girl's reflection staring back at her.

"This is a trick, it has to be a trick!" She cried as she struggled against her restraints.

"Stop fighting, they will only come with more drugs," the girl snapped.

Riley ignored her as she began to scream and thrash about trying to free herself. Two heavy footsteps came running into the room.

"Oh look what you've done now," the girl snapped as Riley saw two nurses with cruel expressions on their faces coming in with long sharp needles to prick and prod her skin with.

"No, no! Please don't. Help me. I don't want to be in here!" She cried.

"Stop struggling. You are in the jacket for a reason, Mary," one of the nurses said in a cold lifeless tone.

"She's taunting me. She won't stop taunting me!" Riley cried.

"Mary, you are the only one in here besides us. No one is taunting you," the other nurse snapped.

Riley glanced over to where the girl had just been standing. No, it couldn't be. She wasn't there. She had disappeared out of thin air. More sobs filled her lungs as she shook her head. This was just some nightmare. She was in a nightmare. She just had to wakeup. Why couldn't she wakeup? Why must she keep living this dream on repeat every single day? How many days had it been now? She had lost count.

Her mind tried processing everything. She always screamed asking them for Kenny only to be repeatedly told he wasn't real. Maybe he really wasn't. She wasn't really sure though. Her mind was fuzzy trying to recall her memories, recall the faces of all her friends.

She slumped in a numb haze as the sedative entered her skin, staring blankly ahead. Another face flashed into her mind, one with a devilish smirk and twinkling blue eyes. She gasped as it warped into a man with the same smirk but cold, blue eyes with no twinkle of emotion behind them but rage.

Michael Noble.

Yes, that was his father. Was this some cruel joke he was trying to play on her? She wasn't really sure anymore. The nurses began to walk away, leaving her in isolation unable to even move once again. 

"Wait!" She cried.

One of them paused, looking back at her in irritation.

"How long have I been in here?" She questioned.