"I created the sound of madness...wrote the book on pain...somehow I'm still here to explain,"Annabelle sang to herself, moving to push the print button on her computer screen. She winced as she stretched her arm a little too far again, her wound being tugged on. She slowly drew her arm back to her chest. Annabelle took a deep breath before continuing into her song she'd been singing. "That the darkest hour never comes in the night...you can sleep with a gun...But when are you gonna wake up and fight...for yourself?" She pushed print with her other finger and then moved, logging her computer off with a sigh. She stood up and picked her purse up, pulling on her coat. She closed her eyes and fluffed her blonde hair out from her jacket. Annabelle moved, grabbing the papers from the printer and quickly stapling them. She turned, walking towards her bosses office. Rina knocked on the door and poked her head in. Her boss looked up from his desk. "I have that copy you wanted...the one of the Dodson case?" He waved her in with two of his fingers, moving some papers around on his desk. She moved and held them out to him with her left hand. He stared, his orange eyes blinking at her in slight surprise.
Her left hand instead of her right...he thought. He frowned.
"Is your arm alright?"He asked. Annabelle gave him a confused look. He gestured to her right arm with his hand and took the papers from her left hand. She gave him a nervous smile.
"Um...yeah...yeah, it's alright,"Annabelle lied. She closed her eyes with a smile. "I kind of tripped down the stairs at my apartment. It wasn't very fun, but.... I'll be alright." Her boss, James, gave her a narrow-eyed look. Annabelle stiffened and held her hands up in a defensive gesture. "I'm telling the truth!" He frowned hard. James sighed and moved, gesturing to his chair in the room and standing up. Annabelle sighed and took her seat, looking down at her lap. He closed the door and dropped the blinds.
"Tell me."
At those two simple words, Annabelle became a sobbing mess. She sniffled and covered her mouth, her eyes squeezing shut. James moved, handing her some tissues from the box on his desk.
"Justin...he's just...he's gotten worse with how he handles me,"Annabelle breathed. She swallowed and looked up. "This morning, I broke it off and he threw me at the wall." She sighed and swallowed, moving and running the tissue up under her eyes to dry her tears up. "Dislocated the shoulder, and he pulled be back up again by the arm." She swallowed and adjusted her seating. "I don't know what to do anymore, James...with Rina gone and Justin abusing me..."
"You could always return home, Annabelle,"James murmured. Annabelle looked up giving him a wide-eyed look. He sighed and leaned against his desk, looking down at her. Annabelle looked down and closed her eyes. "You know Archer will let you come back.... you're still our family, especially since you're his kid."
"I left the Mafia because I had to... but Father doesn't understand that,"Annabelle sighed. She leaned back in her chair.
"What I don't get is why you won't just tell him about it. If Archer knew..."
"If dad knew, Justin would be gone from this world." Annabelle closed her eyes. "I've taken on a new persona, you know that ever since I left. I'm not Annabelle Lee Meknikov anymore. I'm Annabelle, Annie, Lee Miller." James' brow furrowed. She looked up at him. "If you and dad understood that, you wouldn't have taken this job."
"Even if you translate your last name from the family one, that doesn't separate you from who you are. Annie..."
"I'm not going to have people on the inside taking care of my problems when I'm on the outside." Annabelle swallowed and stood up. "I need to go." James sighed and watched her walk past him to the door. Her blonde hair swayed with her as she walked. She moved, her left hand opening the door. "Tell father I wish him well."
****
As Annabelle unlocked her apartment door, her eyes swept across the area. Inside, a lot of Justin's thing were already gone. Annabelle looked down, moving and closing the door. She walked in and flicked the light on, removing her coat. She plopped down on the couch and moved, rubbing her face. It was about time I broke it off with him, she thought. She moved, resting her head back against the couch. She stared up at the ceiling, seeing the cracks in the ceiling. If he returns I'll call the cops. If it gets bad....I don't want to resort to that.
"So don't,"She heard a voice. Annabelle leapt up, her eyes wide. Behind her was a gray haired man in strange clothing. Annabelle stumbled backwards, tripping over the coffee table.
"Who are you?!"She demanded. He smiled at her gently.
"My name is Nightmare,"He told her. He dipped his head in what seemed like a form of respect to her. "Pleased to meet you, Annabelle Lee Meknikov." Annabelle moved, scrambling for her gun in the entertainment cabinet. She found it and turned, clicking it. She blinked suddenly, her eyes scanning the room. He wasn't there anymore, having just vanished into thin air. "Drawing a gun on someone you just met is rude." Annabelle squealed in surprise, turning around and finding herself face to face with "Nightmare". She stumbled away from him and shook as she pointed her gun at him again.
"Who the hell are you?! How did you get in here?!"
"Let me start again, my name is Nightmare,"He answered. He held his hands up in defense. "I meant no offense in calling you by your real last name." Annabelle glared at him. He sighed and scratched the back of his head nervously. "Uh, where do I go from here? Oh, let's see. Rina Layton." Annabelle froze. She kept her gun pointed at him.
"What?"
"Rina Layton. Your best friend? I know where she is, so if you just--" Annabelle pointed the gun at him stronger, clicking it again, her finger touching the trigger.
"You have Rina?! Where is she?!"Annabelle demanded. Nightmare shook his head.
"No, no, you've got it all wrong. I don't have her, I said I know where she is,"Nightmare replied. Annabelle narrowed her eyes at him. "If you'll just listen to me, give me a minute." Annabelle lowered her gun.
"One minute,"She muttered. Nightmare nodded once.
"Good, good, listen, I have an offer. I can take you to my world...where Rina is,"Nightmare told her. Annabelle blinked. His world? What is he, an alien? Nightmare gave her an annoyed look. "I'm not an alien, I'm a dream demon." Annabelle's eyes went wide.
"A demon?"She repeated.
"Yes, a demon, but listen. I can take you there...you can play the game and be safe,"Nightmare murmured. Annabelle rose her gun back up, pointing it at him again. "No, no, no, no, wait, wait, wait-!"
"If you're a demon, you're lying!"
"I'm not! I'm not!"
"You read my mind!"
"Because I have that ability! Listen, you have an ability too, right?"Nightmare replied. Annabelle stiffened. She frowned at him. He nodded as she slowly lowered the gun. "Alright..."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Because I can offer you the one thing you want." Annabelle rose an eyebrow at him. "Freedom and a chance at real love. No abuse, no strings, just a new chance." Annabelle stood still. She felt her gun warm in her hand. Annabelle's thumb stroked over it, her eyes casting downward. Freedom, huh? A new chance? Annabelle swallowed. "I can take you to Rina...and, in the end, if you don't like my world you get the decision to leave." Annabelle took a deep breath and looked up.
"What are the conditions?"Annabelle asked him. Nightmare held up a bottle. Annabelle stared at it. He moved and offered it to her. She took it in her hand and turned it over, seeing there was a chain attached to it like she would wear it as a necklace. "Poison?" Annabelle opened it. She pulled it up, sniffing at it. Roses? She wondered.
"No...it's not any poison,"Nightmare replied. He crossed his arms. "It's the ticket to my world. You drink that, and your game begins."
"Game?"
"Think of it as playing a game. The object is to see which of us wins. If I win, you remain in the world with your new lover,"Nightmare explained.
"And if I win?" Nightmare gazed down at her. Annabelle looked up at him, holding the bottle gently between her fingers. "What if I win?"
"That's up to you. Will you leave or stay in my world? The object is just to see what happens." Annabelle returned her gaze to the water. She slowly moved and tipped it into her mouth, downing the contents. Nightmare's face went alive with a wide grin. "Perfect." Annabelle wiped her face off and looked at him. "You can go change first." Annabelle huffed and quickly did so. When she came out of her room, she had a bag with her. He rose an eyebrow. She waved at him.
"Let's go."
"Ever jumped off a high place?"
"What?"
Nightmare snapped his fingers. They were standing over a cliff. Annabelle's eyes went wide. She looked around, recognizing the place. She tightened her grip on her backpack. Nightmare stood still beside her.
"To get to my world it's necessary to fall. The portal won't open if you don't."
And with his simple explanation, Annabelle stuck her foot out over the cliff and fell.
****
If you asked Annabelle why she willingly fell, she wouldn't be able to tell you. In all honesty, she hadn't believed most of what Nightmare said. The contents of the bottle tasted like perfume...and then there was the fact that he told her she had to jump off a cliff. She didn't believe any of it, really. The only reason she did it? If this was the guy who was kidnapping girls, like the news reported, then she would see Rina when she died. Nightmare had to have been killing the girls if he was the culprit. And personally? Annabelle wanted to die. Everything was just so hard on her at that moment. She didn't have her best friend to talk to...her Mafia family was attempting to convince her to rejoin...and her boyfriend--ex boyfriend had broken up with her after months and months of abuse. None of it was really a desirable life. She just wanted relief, and if that meant death even though she'd only lived for a short 25 years....she would do it.
So when she opened her eyes, she couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment. Above her was a blue sky, with beautiful clouds. Is this what death is? Annabelle wondered. She stayed still in her spot on the ground. Beneath her, she could feel soft grass. Annabelle's eyes softened as she stared up at the sky. She was dead. Or so she hoped.
"Oi! You can't just lay there like a bump on a log! It's dangerous!"A voice shouted. Annabelle jolted, blinking in surprise. She wasn't dead. She sat up quickly, looking around her. Annabelle's breathing was hard. She swallowed, seeing that she was in some sort of forest, under a tree. Annabelle turned, spotting someone standing there. She blinked at their appearance. Standing there was a guy with short hair. He wore a black suit with a red tie. After spotting that she had a face, he blinked in surprise. "Woah, an Outsider!" Annabelle blinked and pushed herself up, sighing hard. She dusted herself off. Nightmare...was he actually telling the truth? "Brother! Brother!" The guy seemed to wave someone over. Annabelle blinked as she spotted a guy coming over. She blinked. He looked nearly identical to his "brother" who had red eyes. This one had longer hair and blue eyes.
"What?"He asked. He paused, spotting the girl in front of him. "Woahhhh! You found an Outsider!" Annabelle glanced between the two. She sighed and turned.
"Well, this was interesting,"Annabelle murmured.
"You two idiots, you're supposed to be working! Do you know how long I've been searching for the two of you?! I'm gonna tell Blood!"A familiar voice shouted. Annabelle paused. "Who's that?" Annabelle didn't turn. Rina? She wondered. Rina, is it you? She tightened her grip on her backpack. She slowly turned. Her breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening. Rina froze in place, staring at the girl there. Annabelle looked Rina up and down. It's her. "Annie!" Rina threw herself at Annabelle. Annabelle hugged her back, feeling tears drip from her eyes. She burst into tears, sobbing against Rina. Rina grinned to herself, holding Annabelle tightly. "I've missed you too." The two twins blinked, exchanging glances as they looked at the two girls. When Rina finally released Annabelle, she smiled. "It's been a while."
"You disappeared, and, and..."Annabelle cried, breathing. She rubbed at her face. She sobbed and cried, sniffling. Rina shook her head, smiling at her best friend. She put her hand on the top of her friends hair.
"Come on, you're supposed to be a Meknikov...don't cry like this. And you're the older one here, making yourself look bad, you know?"Rina teased. Annabelle nodded and tried to dry her tears up.
"Sorry...I just..."Annabelle breathed. She sighed and wiped her face off with her sleeves. "You've changed..." Rina blinked at her friend.
"I mean...yeah I've been through some shit,"Rina told her. She laughed and slung her arm around Annabelle's shoulders. "Wait till I tell you about everything. Dee. Dum. This is my best friend, Annie." Annabelle looked up, her eyes blinking at the two twins. Dee and Dum? What is this, Wonderland? She wondered. Rina chuckled and moved, waving in front of her. "Welcome to Wonderland, Annie." Well, hell. I guess it is Wonderland.