| meliorism |
chapter thirty-nine
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The longer she stared at the clock, the more she understood the illusion of time. It was slowly aging her, and getting her tired. It had been already three weeks since she had gone back home, and the time passed by flying, not slowing her to give it a second glance or even grasp it.
After very much thought, she had finally decided what she was going to do. She was going to chase the truth, not for anyone, but for herself. It was about time she did something for herself.
Rhena was staring at herself in the mirror, deep down, not wanting the time to pass. With each second, she grew increasingly more anxious and nervous about what was going to happen. She tried not to think about it, she really did, but her mind had other plans.
She looked at her bed, where she already had a bag full of clothes ready to take with her. She was not planing on staying for more than 2 weeks, but if something turn wrong, she could had to make a quick decision and leave. Anything could happen in the compound.
Slowly, she walked towards the bed and closed the bag, letting out an exhaled. She turned to the nightstand, where two necklaces were waiting for her touch. She eyed them before sighing and taking one at a time, adorning her neck with them. One was a necklace with a little star as it's pendant, she had discovered it in her box, and soon remembered Damon had given it to her as a gift in one of her birthdays. The other one was a longer, with a gray oval rock as it's pendant, one that had been given to her by her aunt.
Not wanting to think much of it, she simply let them set on her neck and took her bag, zipping it close. She made her way to the door with a slow pace, but just as she was about to leave, she looked back. The room felt empty, now that she was alone in there.
She tried to refrained herself from looking at her reflection, fearing that she would only find a foreign version. Nonetheless, she looked at the mirror, where red eyes and dark veins crawling all over her skin looked back at her. That was her, but why didn't she recognized herself? All she saw was a monster, someone who was capable of destruction with just one bad touch. Was she the monster of her own dreams?
Rhena shut the door, stopping herself from going into a spiral of emotions. She exhaled, looking at the door where her name and her sister's was printed. She touched the surface, and with grimness, she walked away from it.
When she was walking down the staircase, she felt the different emotions radiating from the people in the living room. She knew they were all opposed to her decision, and part of her agreed with them, but this was her only opportunity. If was going down, at least she would know the reason behind it.
Just as Rhena stepped down in their view, all conversation seized. She didn't say anything, or looked at anyone, there was no point on getting something that she knew it would never truly happen.
Her brothers were there, as well as her dad, Damon, Caroline and Tyler. Initially, they were there to stop her form committing a mistake, but seeing her determine and ready made them bite their tongues.
"I'm all set" she told them quietly as she set her bag down, clearing her throat. She smiled lightly at them, hoping they didn't hold any grudges against her.
Caroline was the first one to approach, of course. She wrapped her arms around the elemental tightly and let out a sigh "promise me you'll come back soon"
Rhena exhaled, squeezing her tight "I promise" she whispered before they separated. She held her pink finger up, and Caroline chuckled as she wrapped her own finger with hers.
The two best friends separated, and Tyler approached. He hugged her right and let out a sigh as well, how the tables had turn. He wondered if what he was feeling was how she felt when he left, not knowing if the two would ever see each other. But she didn't stop him, she had resorted his decision, and he was going to do the same.
"Be careful, Rhen" he whispered before stepping away, standing next to Caroline.
"I will" she nodded at them, and could help but smile a little wider, looking between the two as she sensed something happening.
"What?" the two asked at the same time, causing her to shrug.
"Nothing" she shook her head, still with the smug on her face.
Before any of them could protest, she turn to her brothers, hugging them both at the same time. It still felt strange not having her other younger siblings with her, but at least it comforted her that they were safe. When they separated, the gave her a smile, trying to tell her that it was okay
"Be careful, whatever you need, just call and we'll get you out of there" Cade put his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it.
Rhena nodded at his words and slowly turn to the other side, where her dad and Damon stood. She let out a small sigh "good bye" she simply said to them. She still didn't forgive them for what they had done.
Just as she was a kid to turn away towards the door, the voice of her father stopped her before she could move further.
"Rhena" he called, and she slowly looked back at him "I don't think is a good idea for you to go"
Damon took a step further "surprisingly, I second that" he pointed at Charles, which he only gave him a glare in response "it's not safe for you to go back, especially now that you are still adjusting"
Rhena looked between the two, shrugging "I already made up my mind" she smiled lightly "and honesty?" she furrowed her eyebrows, taking her bag and putting it in her shoulder "I'm tired of people making decisions for me, especially by the ones who lied constantly about it"
"you don't have anything there, it's not safe" Damon still tried, but there was no point.
Rhena looked back at him "I'll see that for myself" she held her bad tightly as she looked at her brothers and friends "I just need to see them, that's it"
Damon walked closer to her, but the glares shot at him made him stop. He let out a frustrated growl "that's it? You don't any plan? A revenge—"
"no" she lied, making sure of controlling her heart beats to not give anything away"I'll be back before you know it"
Seconds later, the doorbell rang. She knew that it was Nicolette, ready for take her to the place she despised. Rhena turned to see her brothers and friends, giving them one last look before walking to the door.
"No huh for me?" Damon's voice echoed in her mind,causing her stop to.
Slowly, she turned her head, making eye contact with him "no" she simply said, causing him to narrow his eyes at her.
Rhena turned back around and went towards the door. Her hand was in the doorknob, and for a moment, she hesitated. Was this the right decision?
She let out a deep breath. There was only one way to find out.
The moment Rhena opened the door, a cold breeze embraced her. When she looked up, Nicolette was standing in the street, waiting patiently for her. She mentally prepared herself for what was to come, to go back to the place where she suffered the most, but she had her main objective in mind.
The plan was simple. Get in, get as much information as she could, and get out right away. But the outcome was not going to be as simple, and neither was going to be the last hit if the plan.
Despite that, Rhena stepped outside and gripped her bag tightly, not looking back.
The ride was silent, unlike the past ones. Before, their conversations and interactions were fun, but now, Rhena could barely look at her.
The compound was in the outskirts of New Orleans, the part where no one dared to set foot in. It was known not only to be dangerous and haunted, but it had a reputation of making people disappear. No one dared to walk in that path, not even the locals.
Rhena and Nicolette began to walk in the woods, and she immediately recognized them. She had walked there her whole life, especially near a cliff that was east of the compound, overlooking the city. She knew the paths like the back of her hand, and as soon as memories began to pour in, she looked away.
The entrance of the compound was hidden, and it changed every time. It was easy to get lost if you didn't know what was around; one wrong step and you could end up being the victim of an "animal attack" or worse.
Each step Rhena took, there was a thought that tried to back her down, no matter how much she tries to shoved them away. But the moment she saw one specific path, memories invaded so sudden and ranging that she had to stop. She tried to control her breathing and pacify her mind, bit the pain spreading was increasing the more she approached the doomed place.
"Rhena?" Nicolette called once she noticed she wasn't following. She was going to approach but Rhena raised her hand, motioning her to stay there.
Rhena let out a soft growl and began walking again. She needed to do this, otherwise, she would never rest in peace.
The two walked for little while, until they stopped. When she looked up, she saw a large house, it was falling down, empty and decayed. The fence around it was gray and could barely hold anymore, everything was in its last leg. She took a deep breath, knowing what that meant.
Nicolette turned to her, smirking. She kneeled in the ground, placing her hand against the soil. With concentration, she closed her eye and began to chant in a foreign language. Immediately, a bright light began to emerge from the windows of the old house, so bright, she had to squint her eyes.
The light approached and covered the front of the house, as if there was an invisible wall around it. Slowly, the middle of the wall began to pull apart, like an ancient door giving a welcome to the poor souls that were about to get into their last adventure. When the line of light reached the top, two drops began to open and the image of the abandoned house was replaced by a military like compound with reinforcements guarding the structure.
The walls were concrete and held no color, just like she remembered. A warm breeze of air embraced her, and the light made its last appearance, shinning in her eyes pike two suns. She couldn't keep up though, and had to close her eyes for a few seconds.
When she opened them again, she was able to see the patio, full of plants that always made her happy, the fountains, and the blue bright sky, one of the most beautiful nature views someone could ever see. It looked nicer than she remembered.
As she took in the scenery, she felt felt gazes, so naturally, she looked for the source. Then there, in the middle of the entrance of the compound, passing the gates, was a group of people, all waiting patiently for her arrival. Standing in the middle of the group was Morgana, smiling at her with her hands interlaced in front of her.
Nicolette turned to see her, smiling "welcome home, engel"
The witch began to walk into the compound, passing the force shield and the gates. When her dark eyes connected with Morgan's eyes, the two nodded at each other and Nicolette went to stand in her spot with the group.
Rhena let out a breath and bit the inside of her cheek as she literally demanding her feet to move against their will. She slowly began to walk towards them, feeling their eyes on her very move.
It was painful looking at them, because all she could do was remember the past and all that transpired to where they were at currently. The past was the past, and there was no way to change that, but the past was also their present now, and deep down in her gut she knew the last outcome was not going to be better than the one to come.
As Rhena began to approach the group, one of the boys of the group broke formation and began to approach her half way. She stopped and looked at him, her stomach turning once she recognized who he was. At soon as she sensed him, she wanted to fun the other direction.
Once he was close enough, he smiled and leaned over, giving her a warm kiss on the cheek lasting a few seconds before embracing her. She closed her eyes, not wanting to look at anyone during the interaction in fears that's someone might decipher what was going on in her mind.
Isaac held her tight, not realizing she was tensed. He was the boy she had loved before, the one she was supposed to be with. The one she was supposed to love for the rest of her life. She was supposed to feel butterflies in her stomach at his contact, she had before. But now, the only thing she felt was dread.
That place had been like a second home to her for her entire life, but now, it all seem too foreign, too cold and strange. She hadn't been there for even a day and she already wanted to go back. But she had to stay if she wanted to have the answers she so much desire, she only would have to go through them first.
But going through them would be like separating layers of skins. One by one, slow, painful, and extremely messy.
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