I didn't know what woke me at 2 a.m. in the morning. There was no hushed whispering of voices, no noise, no approaching steps outside of the room. But my eyes tore open and I jumped awake, burning a hole with my gaze in the darkness.
Only sickening silence that I wasn't used to.
Silence declaring a storm.
Shuffled out of my sheets, legs carried me down the stairs.
Mind blank, not sleeping but also not fully aware. Body present and in control.
Kitchen.
Glass of cold water in my hand.
Dark, dead kitchen.
Sleepwalking?
I wouldn't remember the tricky details.
Glass in the sink, walking to the stairs.
Body independent, working on its own, leading me somewhere.
No emotions.
No fear.
Dense cloud all around my head, fogging my brain, overpowering the control part.
Nothing.
Nothing.
...
...
Muffled whispering.
Approaching the sound.
Indistinct words.
Letters.
Vague words.
Shadow on the ground.
Wall- dead end.
One look to the right.
Body halted.
Roles switched.
Body lost control, mind gained it all.
Cloud explosion. Pieces on the ground next to my bare feet, words reached unprotected mind.
Registering.
Throbbing heartbeat.
I was at the door.
The forbidden door.
The taboo door.
Steel chain and pieces of woods on the floor, lock loose.
Free entry.
Muffled words now clear as the sky of the night but their meaning as unclear as the stars it was dotted with.
You know what will happen if we don't tell her now, mother. We're running out of time, she's running out of time. We've waited for too long, we've let it come to this point. It is not fair. We should've listened to Elijah from the beginning on.
I know, I know, it's just... I wish we didn't have to do this.
Me too. Me too. But we don't have another choice.
Two voices.
Mother and sister.
Torn between fear and curiosity.
Go in.
Don't go in.
Cia will be broken at first but she will rise.
Screw fear. Screw uncertainty.
I went in.
Stairs.
Down the stairs.
A room.
Cold.
Flickering white and blue lights.
Hummed with heavy electricity.
Neirin turned.
Mother did too.
Saw me.
Stopped.
Froze.
Dread, horror.
Eyes widened, panicked gazes like bullets about to put holes through flesh.
Shell-shocked.
"How about you tell me your secret?"
No answer, two lifeless statues.
Eyes looked around.
Screens.
Two on the left, two on the right, one in the middle.
I approached the screens.
Slow, steady steps.
Uncontrollably fast heartbeat thrumming in my ears.
People on the screens.
Pictures.
My family.
Written in neon white block letters underneath:
NAME
DATE OF BIRTH
AGE
Below that things only got darker.
DATE OF DEATH
CAUSE OF DEATH
REMAINING TIME
A running countdown.
No.
No.
No- my screen.
My picture.
Birthday.
Age.
Not my name.
Not my name.
I am not Mercy Jalal.
Who is Mercy Jalal?
Not a familiar girl.
She will die in a year.
01 year(s)
00 month(s)
07 day(s)
28 minute(s)
03 second(s)
What was breathing?
Suffocating.
Eyes closed, praying to wake up from nightmare.
Prayed like never before.
Reality.
No torture from the darkness.
World stopped spinning.
Seconds fading after seconds. Minute by minute. Every heartbeat worth more than the last.
Life passed me.
Cries.
Silence.
Sister no longer sister.
Mother no longer mother.
Too betrayed to stay.
Ran.
Called out my name that was not my name.
Shook them off.
No destination.
Empty streets in deathly darkness.
Blind to dangers lurking in the gloom.
Onlythe countdown before my eyes.
⚝⚝⚝⚝⚝⚝⚝⚝⚝⚝⚝⚝
this is somewhat of a different chapter, there are only a few of those here and there before the story continues normally!
This is not the only bomb that will be dropped...
Big THANKS for reading:))
salam!ღღ