Dollhouse

eight

My father is the first to notice my presence. "Time to go, sweetheart."

I nod. "I'd like to say goodbye to Alba first, please."

"De acuerdo," my father agrees. Cain nods his head. He unlocks the cell, allowing me to step in.

I embrace her when I reach her. She wraps her arms around me tightly.

"Did you know?" She asks me in the ear. I get the inkling she's referring to Cain. Did I know he was alive?

Yes.

"I'm sorry," I whisper back.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it was my story to tell," I reply. "Pride and Prejudice, Alba. Remember."

I pull away from her. She gives me a confused look. She'll figure it out, eventually. I only hope that it will be soon. I walk out of the cell, out of the room, leaving my best friend captive. Trading one prison for another. I wasn't just leaving one best friend; I was leaving three: Alba, Cain, and Katherine.

Tears threaten to spill as I step outside of the building. Katherine had been my childhood friend. One that I'd admired. She was beautiful and danced beautifully. A ballerina. I blink away the tears as I look at the trees surrounding us. Chills travel down my spine.

The trees have eyes.

We can never escape.

***

The Warehouse sits in all its dark glory behind me. The full moon shines above it. Rain trickles down from the clouds above. Looking back at the trees, I sit in the car quietly.

"You did something bad," a voice says from the passenger's seat.

I look at her with a you're-one-to-talk look.

"Who are you trying to lure?" I ask.

She smiles and nods. "Point taken."

"Get out of my car," I say.

I notice the children from the sacrifices hanging off of them by the neck. Their eyes are closed. All the trees around me have become the infamous "hanging tree" on Turnbull Canyon. The longer I look, the eerier it becomes. Suddenly, the children open their eyes. Pain shines within them. They stare back at me with an accusatory look. As if I were the one who caused them great pain. Tears spill from my eyes, blending into the rain. I close my eyes tightly.

Opening my eyes again, I realize I'm no longer in the trees; I was never in the trees. I'm home. It was all a dream. I stare at the ceiling above me and frown. This isn't my bedroom. I sit and see what's in front of me. Oh, my God. When I bring my hands to my face in a gasp. A stickiness from some sort of liquid. Looking down at my hand, I see the blood that covers them. I look back at the figure before me. Propped on the chair is a girl, no younger than me. There's a gaping hole in her chest... where her heart had once been... I found the heart lying beside me in a small pool of blood while struggling to stand.

What have I done?

I don't remember this. Walking backward, racking my brain for information, I bump into the door. I open it and force myself from the room. Feeling tears spill from my eyes, I know I've been crying in my scary dream. In reality, I was crying in my scary reality, too. I finally understood it. I had blacked out, but it didn't explain what had happened. The person I can go to is the only place I know I can run to. I find my father in the study. He looks up, startled. Looking at my state, he stands from his chair behind his desk. I walk around the desk towards him, sobbing. He looks down at my hands and then back at my face.