"I have a gun!"
The shaky warning echoed in the darkness, but no one answered back. The young woman was slowly working her way through the hallway of her apartment. Her messy brown locks dangled against her wet forehead. Large beads of sweat and fear raced down her thin face.
Heart pounding, she swallowed the lump in her throat and quickly jumped into the living room with a "HA!" but again, was met with nothing but silence. Switching on the light that was right beside her, she winced from the sudden brightness. There was nothing missing or out of the ordinary in her apartment. The TV was switched off, and as she looked at her front door, the dead bolt remained in place. She pinched the bridge of her nose, shutting the light off angrily before plopping back onto her cooling bed.
"Damn, just when my dream was getting good..." she mumbled before falling back asleep.
For a short moment, the voices in her head had rested. Gentle snores could soon be heard from the woman asleep on the bed, perfectly at ease bathed in the blue light from her alarm clock. But when the time on her clock suddenly fizzled out, a strange silence filled the room. For some reason, it caused Lucine to wake up. Sitting up, she glanced groggily around the room. She tried her best to figure out what was going on while rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first, until she spotted light shining from under her closet door. Groaning in frustration, she pulled the warm covers off herself and stepped barefoot onto her soft blue carpet. Her dark hair was messy from moving about the bed, part of which hung in front of her face. Yawning, she crossed the room lazily, shuffling along the floor. She turned the light off, ready to go back to bed, only to hear whispering.
"Hurry back"
Hearing the voice again, Lucine would put her hands on her head. She closed her eyes tightly as tears built up. "Just stop! I don't want to hear it anymore! " Lucine shouted into the darkness.
"You need to return," a voice echoed in her mind once again.
"Shut up! Shut up! " Lucine repeated it over and over. "I am not crazy! I don't want to be crazy! Just go away! " Lucine cried. Her sobbing started to finally drown out the voice. She had to cry herself to sleep once more.
It was only a few hours later that Lucine would wake up. Her wet pillow didn't make for a comfortable resting place. It seemed as if those whispers had started up again. Unable to fall back asleep, she'd made herself useful and did some research. Lucine got on her laptop and shakily looked up if the building was haunted. There was nothing on the building or any information she could find on a search engine. From there, she got lost on the internet looking up different ways to banish spirits, protect herself from evil, and what hearing voices meant until an hour had already flown by. "There has to be an explanation for this..." She closed the lid of her laptop and let out a sigh. The young woman figured that if she kept busy and focused, nothing could bother her. But just in case, she quickly grabbed her wireless headphones and blasted music. She couldn't hear voices, supernatural or otherwise, that way. It seemed to work for a few hours until she could pick up something strange over the sound of her music.
"They are lost without you."
Ripping her headphones off with a startled gasp, Lucine's lips trembled. 'Am I crazy?' She thought to herself, desperate for some answers that only a 'doctor search engine' could give. Which, of course, resulted in no real response or concrete answers but only hours of frustration. Before long, the young woman was heading back to work, exhausted. Throughout the afternoon rush, all she could think of was the vivid dreams she had had. A white outline of a large city surrounded by snow-capped mountains. It was all she could see in her mind.
"Umm... Can I have my coffee?" a man asked, timorously, on the other side of the counter.
"Oh yes! Sorry!" Lucine shouted back. Suddenly, she realized that she had completely dazed out right there in the middle of service! She quickly handed the man his coffee as she tried to ignore all the eyes on her. She used the moment to get down from the stepping stool she used when providing service. Lucine was shorter than most people and couldn't see over the counter without assistance. Thankfully, the local cafe, where Lucine worked part time, was accommodating. They even allowed the employees to make caffeinated drinks for themselves. Lucine's best friend, Alice, joined her for lunch. While sitting down at the cafe, Alice listened to everything that happened to her.
"What do you think, Alice? Should I just commit myself now to the looney bin? " Lucine asked her. She drank deeply from their largest cup, filled to the brim with espresso.
The blonde diva took a moment while she tapped her finger against her lips. "Well, no," she said slowly, "I don't think you're crazy. Girlfriend, I think you need sleep," she pointed out.
"I have been sleeping!" Lucine protested, as she set her cup down. Noticing it had splashed on the counter, she sighed heavily and took a clean rag to mop up her mess.
"Obviously not," Alice would say as she moved some stray hairs away from Lucine's face, revealing those tired brown almond-shaped eyes. "You said it yourself; you've been hearing voices and having strange dreams. I wouldn't be sleeping well either. Besides, those heavy bags under your eyes say a lot."
Lucine's brows knitted together as she looked up at her friend. "... You're right. I need a shower and just a day. I wish I could stop the voices. The only place I haven't heard voices is here! " But that could have been because she was too distracted to listen.
"That is because there are cute men and plenty of coffee here! Even the most insane woman would be distracted here. "
"Geeze Alice!" That statement brought a giggle from Lucine at just how ridiculous that had been. "There are a lot of cute guys here, but they're not interested in me." Lucine brushed it off only because she thought she was average at best. The truth was that she looked like a young foreign exchange student from Asia. She turned to look at the large mirror behind her and could see her own reflection staring back at her. "Look at me!" Lucine gestured towards the mirror. "I have darker circles under my eyes than a raccoon. I stink. My hair's split. I have no chest and no butt. I can barely get people to recognize that I'm an adult! I am the least attractive female here in the cafe, let alone the whole city. "
Alice rolled her eyes as she let Lucine nitpick at her own appearance. "Honey, listen. You've had a rough week. It happens to the best of us. I'll tell you what, sugar, I'll cover the rest of your shift, but you go home and sleep-"
She was cut off mid-sentence when Lucine quickly squeaked out "No! I'm sorry, I just felt a lot better here around you."
Not wanting to argue, as Lucine clearly seemed to need the time, Alice nodded. "All right, all right," she said, raising her hands. "Just don't say I didn't try!" which drew a chuckle from Lucine. "So did you apply for next semester?" Alice asked.
Lucine looked away. "No, I just don't know if I want to go back," she admitted. "Chemistry was too hard and I don't know if I really want to be a pharmacist anymore."
Alice sighed. "I thought you said you wanted something more for yourself."
Lucine nodded, "I do, but I don't think being a pharmacist is it." she said softly. "I want to have a more exciting life. Do something important and meaningful. You know, besides making food and drinks for people with real jobs."
"Oh sweetheart, you need to relax. You will find your calling in life. " Alice said before taking a sip of her drink. That was when something came to her mind. "What about that Russel guy? He seemed really into you. The girls love him. I heard he is the top performer around here. He lives on the first floor of your building, right?"
Lucine grunted, "Yeah, and our date was nice. He was kind to me, but he was probably just being nice because we're neighbors. I mean, what kind of guy goes for a girl like me?"
"Ugh... you're hopeless." Alice exclaimed. "Take what you can get, girl!" Alice slumped back into the booth. That was when her phone went off. It seemed something was going on with her family. "Sorry hun, I've got to go. There's an emergency at home."
"Are you sure you can't stay?" Lucine asked as Alice was quickly grabbing her purse.
"I'm sorry, hun. I will check on you after work," she told Lucine as she headed out the door. "You can do this!" Alice shouted.
Lucine hurried back to the counter and clocked back in from her lunch. She scrambled with the rest of the staff to prepare for the dinner rush. Lucine was starting to feel drained from the stress, the lack of sleep, and being on her feet all day. "I can do this. I can do this," Lucine whispered to herself.
"Don't go home, they are coming for you!" a voice screamed inside her mind.
Lucine was so taken aback by the voice that she dropped the tray of food and drinks she was carrying. Stepping wrong, Lucine slipped on the spilled drinks and was sent crashing to the floor. Seeing her fall, Lucine's manager rushed over to help her. That was when all the voices in Lucine's mind came rushing in at once.
"Help us please!" "Come to us!" "We need you!" "Please... please..." "Just come home to your father." It sounded like people of all ages and genders. Before, it was just one voice. This time there was a flood of hundreds and hundreds of people. Lucine began to hyperventilate as the anxiety kicked in, not aware at first that her manager was kneeling before her. Looking up, she couldn't even hear the words coming out of his mouth. Only the voices of all those people bombarded her. It didn't take long before the world began to spin. Lucine quickly turned on her hands and knees and threw up all over the floor. Gasps and shock filled the cafe.
"Lucine! Lucine! Are you okay? Someone call an ambulance! " The manager shouted. Her mind finally let the sounds of the real world in once again.
"No! I am fine! I don't hear anything!" Lucine shouted, vomit dribbling down her chin as she grabbed onto her manager's shirt.
"Lucine, you need to relax." "You need medical attention," her manager told her calmly.
"NO!!!" Lucine screamed. The small woman's body began to glow slightly. A silver aura appeared around the contours of her body. She wasn't going to let them take her to the psych ward. In her panic, she pushed back against her manager; the force sent him flying across the cafe! The man slammed up against several chairs and tables before crashing into the wall and landing in a heap. Naturally, such a force knocked him out cold. The shock of seeing such a small girl easily toss a man twice her size sent the customers into a frenzy. People began to scream and run away, knocking over tables and chairs while tripping over themselves.
Lucine stood up, looking up towards her manager, who was laying on the floor unconscious. "Daniel! Oh my God, no! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Lucine screamed, looking for help, but her co-workers had also run out of the cafe along with the crowd. Lucine began to panic, worried that she would be going to jail for assault. She turned her head, looking in the mirror at herself, only to see an unknown woman staring back at her; a beautiful woman with long flowing hair like hers. The woman looked as if she was in distress as tears were flowing down her cheeks. Enchanted by the vision, Lucine got closer, noticing her reflection was trying to speak, mouthing the phrase "Help... Help me." "Help Me!" It was only a second later that Lucine realized that it was herself who was screaming those words out.
Closing her eyes tightly, she took a few deep breaths before opening them again as she looked at herself in the mirror. That beautiful woman was gone. What she could see was her own pitiful reflection, having a mental breakdown. Tears streamed down her cheeks. The sound of sirens could be heard roaring in the distance. That was when she ran, barely grabbing her purse and jacket before sprinting out the back door. She ran as fast as she could towards her apartment. She didn't know where else to go.
"How could this have happened!? I had good grades! I was a normal girl! I never hurt anyone! Now this! All this can't be real!" Lucine cried out as she ran through the streets. She thought back to the story her adoptive parents had told her; that she had been left at their front door with a letter written in a language no one could understand. Only her name had been written in English. That letter had been kept on her nightstand. Lucine was always drawn to the strange, undecodable words in her mother's letter. What if her biological parents might have been mentally ill? Perhaps by some schizophrenics who left her there because they were hearing the same voices.
"Help us!" "We need you here!" "Come back, Lucine!"
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!" Lucine screamed as she burst through the door of her apartment building.
That was when Russel burst out of his room. The young guitarist had heard Lucine screaming and rushed out to see if she was okay. Lucine ran right into him, though the tall redhead was easily able to catch her in his arms. "Hey, hey... Are you okay? Did someone hurt you? " Russel asked.
His words came across clearly to her. For a moment, it seemed all the voices went away and everything was still. "No... I think I hurt someone." Lucine was trying to catch her breath.
"What are you talking about?" he asked in concern. "Why don't you come inside?" Russel suggested as he held her in his arms.
"I can't..." she whispered. "I am sorry, Russel. Thank you... " it seemed the voices had finally gone away again.
"It's okay, we can stay here like this until you're ready to go back to your apartment," Russel told her, to which she nodded. Lucine just let Russel hold her as she caught her breath. She had always felt a strong pull towards him. As she rested there, the events came rushing back to her. How she had a breakdown and somehow threw her manager across the cafe.
"I need to go to my place." she said as she moved from his arms. "Maybe I'll take a nice long shower..."
Russel nodded, "Okay... I will come up and check on you in a bit. Make sure you're alright. "
"Thank you again. You have always been kind to me. " Lucine told him.
Russell leaned in and kissed her forehead before saying, "Don't worry about it." He paused before adding, "I wrote you a song. Perhaps I could sing it for you later."
Those words made Lucine blush. "Okay, but don't put too much faith in me... I think I'm going crazy. "
Russel chuckled at her response. "No, you're just having a rough day, trust me." Lucine felt comforted by his words, and she waved goodbye before heading up the stairs to her apartment. Once inside, she closed the door and locked it. She put her back to the door and slowly slid down to the ground. Lucine closed her eyes and took deep breaths, just trying to process everything that happened.
"What the hell is going on with me?" she questioned. "I need to see a doctor first thing tomorrow. I should also call Mom and Dad and get a lawyer." Lucine said to herself. Finally, having some sense of direction, she would stand up and walk into her bedroom. Lucine opened up her nightstand and pulled out the letter that was left by her biological parents. It was the first time she began to understand the strange letters. "It's Elvish... wait... how do I even know?" Lucine whispered to herself.
To our beautiful Silver Star. Know that we love you and always will. I am sorry we couldn't see you off, but you will be safe in this world. Far away from our enemies and those that would wish you harm. I hope you can enjoy a life of peace. The life your father and I could never give you. Stay safe and live happily.
Lucine, may the stars forever guide you.
Mom
As soon as she finished reading, all the lights in her apartment began to flicker. Suddenly, she heard the sound of rushing and swirling water behind her. Whipping around, Lucine saw what looked like blue energy swirling around in the middle of her room. "Oh my God!" she squeaked. "What the hell is going on!?" She shouted.
The vortex stopped as the energy stabilized into a glowing purple circle. A magnetic humming noise was emitting from within it. Two figures soon emerged from the circle. One of them raised a hand towards her. A blue circle of energy formed in front of the mysterious stranger's hand. Symbols and words in some foreign languages appeared on them. The energy quickly turned white. The symbol of a star appeared at the center of it. Looking at her, the man exclaimed, "She's the one! The Star Born! "
Lucine had been frozen in shock watching them come from nowhere, until she had heard what the man had called her, "Who the hell are you people?" Lucine's words were quickly cut off. The second stranger had extended their hand, blasting her with the same mysterious energy, and everything went dark.