My eyes twitched as they adjusted from the bright lights above me. They buzzed slightly. I shivered when I felt a cold gust of hair brush against my skin. My body ached when I sat up from the hospital bed. "I'm never doing day drinking again," I muttered, trying to reach for my black eye.
But, to my surprise, my arm was chained to the metal armrest on the bed. I tugged at the silver chain to see if it would come off. "Hello! I don't know why I'm here, but if you could get out, that would be very much appreciated!" I shouted. The metal door on the other side of the room swung open.
I squinted my eyes at the sudden source of light. Ruby and someone else walked into the large room. She set a stool beside the bed and sat down. The other person stood behind Ruby, holding a clipboard in his hands. "Your arm looks worse. We'll have to get you something for that," Ruby said.
She looked down at her clipboard and wrote something down. She sighed, setting the clipboard down so it sat in her lab. "Let's start the interview," Ruby said, "First question: do you remember your father?" My brows furrowed in response to her question.
Ruby looked down at her papers and brought her eyes up to me. The boy from behind her shifted from one foot to the other. "I'm sorry I guess I wasn't very clear," Ruby cleared her throat, "Did you know your father? Do you remember any significant memories, or do you know where he went?" I shook my head.
The woman sighed yet again and wrote down my answer. She dragged her finger across the paper, stopping at one question. "What is one core memory between the two of you?" Ruby questioned. I thought to myself, yet nothing came to mind. "I don't really remember my father. He left when I was five," I replied.
I felt myself begin to grow angrier by the second. Ruby held the board against her, gripping the sides. "Y/N, I don't want to ask again," she said, a brow raised. "You know, this is kind of a hard subject. People don't really like to talk about a parent who left them," I said.
"Y/N, please, I need to know," Ruby pleaded. She glanced at the boy behind her and brought her eyes back to me. "How the hell does this relate to the relationship? I don't want to talk about my father," I said, feeling my blood begin to boil. My heart raced, beating against my chest.
Ruby sighed heavily and put the clipboard on the table beside the bed. She leaned forward, her hands on her knees. "Y/N," Ruby paused, "Your father was an excellent doctor. He was great to work with." I turned away from her, craning my neck to the side to block out her voice. Ruby lightly touched my arm as she tried to sympathize.
I yanked my arm away from the bar, breaking the restraint. The chain flew across the room and shattered into pieces. "Astounding," Ruby said. She grabbed her papers again and quickly wrote something down. I stared at the broken pieces that laid on the ground.
So many different things were flying through my head. There were red marks all along my arm from how much I was pulling at the chain. "There is no interview, is there?" I asked, turning back to them. My eyes were drawn to the boy from earlier. He held a needle in one hand. His other hand bawled up in a fist.
He walked over and grabbed my arm. I tried ripping my arm from his grip, but he was a bit stronger than me. My actions stopped when there was a slight prick at the side of my neck. Ruby pushed the boy back, waiting to see what my reaction would be. Everything around me began to fade in and out.
~~~~
(Later at the lab)
I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but I woke up on the cold floor rather than the bed. It was hard against my body as I cautiously sat up. Both my hands were stinging with pain. My hand gripped the wall when I stood up from the concrete. "Y/N," a voice echoed throughout the room. I looked around to try and find the source of sound.
"On a scale from one to ten, how much pain are you in?" they asked.
"Fuck you!"
(Third Person View)
Hemmings, Ruby, and Marty stood in front of the screens showing both Randall and Y/N's rooms. "How's Randall?" Marty asked. "Fine. He keeps asking about Y/N. It's all he's been talking about," Ruby answered. Randall paced back and forth. His hands stayed in his hair, gripping it slightly. He stopped walking and looked up at the camera.
He lifted his hand, flipping off whoever was on the other side. Randall huffed and went back to pacing. "Where's Y/N? Let me see her!" he exclaimed. Hemmings leaned forward and tapped a button on the side of the mic. "I'm afraid we can't do that, Mr. Carpio," he said, "Just a few more tests and you can see her."
Randall rolled his eyes and slid down the wall to sit. He brought his knees to his chest, his arms resting on them. Inside Y/N's room, she sat on the edge of the hospital bed with her head in her hands. She tried thinking of some escape plan, but nothing seemed to come to mind.
"What about the girl?" Marty asked, bringing her eyes to the screen. Ruby smiled at the question. "She's incredible. I've never seen anything like it. No wonder mother never wanted her to do magic," Ruby said.
She grabbed a notebook, writing down something before forgetting it. "Does she know what her Mother did to her?" Marty asked. "No, but I believe we can use that as leverage," Hemmings smirked.
(Y/N's point of view)
I felt my hands begin to shake as I sat on the bed. My whole body ached. I could feel the blood at the back of my throat as if I had been running a mile. I tried looking out of the large windows but didn't see much. A loud alarm blared from the corners of the room, causing me to cover my ears.
A large, thin figure ran into the room with bright silver hair. I quickly ducked out of the way. I watched it crash into the wall before sprinting at me and swinging at my tired body. I ran to the hospital bed and pulled the metal armrest off the side.
The 'thing' sped at me, running into the metal rod that I held. I let go of the rod, letting it fall to the side with the rod stuck in its chest. My chest rose up and down from the sudden scene, breathing heavily. I tried to keep myself from panicking, but the side of the lifeless body and the blood now on my hands prevented me.
"No," my hands shook vigorously, "No. This can't be happening."
I looked back at the thing, the eyes completely left of life. Tears began to stream down my face at the sight. "Ms. Stone," the man said through the loudspeaker. I ignored the voice, stepping over to the bed to use the sheets to rub the blood off. Part of me didn't want to respond to the voice, knowing that they'd continue.
The blood never came off of my hands, causing me to cry harder. "What did you do to me!" I exclaimed. "We didn't do anything," the man said, "Your mother did this to you." I dropped the sheet from my hands, looking up at the camera from the corner of the room. I shook my head and grabbed the sheet again.
"It's called a Power incantation," he continued, "Your Mother casted this incantation on you as a mistake, but-" I ran my hands through my hair, desperately trying to block out the man's voice. "I'm telling you the truth. Have you always wondered why you have been so strong or why you comprehend things so easily?"
He continued to speak until he paused. I looked up at the sudden silent gap. Just then, four more zombie-like creatures ran into the room. I quickly grabbed the rod from the thing's chest and stabbed the first creature that came towards me. "Ms. Stone, you're Mother is the reason for your abilities. Don't reject it. Harness it," he spoke.
"Shut up!" I yelled, sobbing. The creatures walked around me in a circle, the man continuing to pester me with questions and information. I screamed in frustration and covered my ears. Everything around me went silent.
It was so silent you could hear a pin drop. I shook when I opened my eyes. The three figures laid on the ground, no longer breathing. I fell to my knees, still holding the metal rod.
I woke up to see two shadows running over to me. One of the shadows knelt down beside me, setting a hand on my shoulder. "Y/N?" they said. I sat up from the ground with my elbow propping myself up. I rubbed my eyes to clear my blurred vision. Hamish knelt beside me with a worried expression on his face.
"Hey, you're awake," he said. Hamish stood up from the ground and extended a hand. He helped me up, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Did you do this?" Lilith asked. She gestured to the bodies surrounding us. I stuttered out a response, not knowing how to respond. "We'll talk about it later, okay?" Hamish said.
"Let's just get you out of here," Hamish said. I nodded. He put a hand on my back as they led me out of the building. I couldn't help but still look down at my hands, covered in blood. Hamish looked down at me, lowering my arms so I couldn't look at them. The three of us went down mazes of hallways.
I kept myself from getting dizzy, still trying to adjust to everything. Lilith opened the door for me and looked both ways. The two of them stood at the end of the stairs, waiting for me to explain what happened. "It's a long story," I said. Lilith raised her brows and crossed her arms.
"My mother casted an incantation on me that gives me strange and the ability to learn things quickly."
Their eyes widened at my sudden information. Lilith shared a glance with Hamish. "When did this happen?" she asked. "I don't know. I don't remember this happening at all," I replied. Our conversation was cut short by the rest of our friends running out of the building.
Lilith ran over to Randall and crashed him into a hug. She slapped him in the face. He recoiled from the hit, stating 'ouch'. Randall held his face. "You asshole, don't ever do that again," she looked at them and then at me, "And you, why the hell would you leave?"
"I didn't leave! Randall over here was the one that took me!" I shouted, regretting my tone of voice. I felt the back of my head start to ache from the bright sun and the yelling. "Everyone back to the den," Hamish said. "Even her?" Lilith directed towards Alyssa.
To which Alyssa claimed that she could destroy Lilith with the snap of her fingers. Hamish sighed. Lilith looked at Alyssa, pissed off. They began walking away with me following pursuit. I was stopped when Randall wrapped a hand around my wrist, pulling me close to him. "We'll talk later," he said quietly.
~~~~
(Later That Night, back at the den)
And now we were back at the den. Hamish poured some wine into a glass. I reached for it, but he pulled my hand away. "Awe, c'mon," I said. "You're still recovering. You're getting water," he pointed, passing me a bottle of water. I sighed and caught it.
I sat down on the couch, putting my feet on the coffee table. Hamish offered Randall a drink as well. "No, thanks," Randall waved his hand. He walked towards me and joined me on the couch. "You never pass up an après-kill drink," Hamish thought. "I'm not in the mood," Randall responded.
"Après-kill?" Alyssa questioned. She stepped into the living room, standing to the side while the rest of us had our own spots. Hamish gave her a drink similar to what Lilith and Jack had. She reluctantly took it from him. "The Order has their traditions. The Knights have there's," I took a sip of my water. "Yeah," Randall put his arm around me, "We have après-kill, and you kill innocent people.
Alyssa shook her head and took a sip of her drink. Lilith commented that it was an Order-backed operation. I noticed that Randall seemed to get more agitated by the second. I could tell that something was different about him. "Doing a bang-up job with your undercover work there, buddy," Randall countered. He stood up from the couch, removing his arm from my shoulder.
"I have never even seen that guy before," Jack said. "No one's blaming you, Jack," Hamish shook his head. He turned around, looking through the bottles of alcohol before settling on one. He poured a little bit into the glass before adding something else. "Hemmings went rogue. It's the only explanation," Alyssa said, sitting down on one of the chairs. Jack sat on the armrest. "He practically forced us to kill," I said.
I pointed to myself and Randall, who nodded, directing me with his hands. "Yeah, because the Order isn't inherently evil," he retorted sarcastically. "My Order would never sanction that," Alyysa claimed. My brows raised at her comment. From the events that had taken place, you'd think that that would show The Order's intentions. "Right. They only torture people in a fun way," Lilith remarked.
Alyssa shook her head, yet again, and scoffed. She chuckled in defense with her arms crossed. Jack took the drink from her hand, leaning forwards to set it down on the coffee table. "So now torture bothers you?" Alyssa responded. "What's the supposed to mean?" Lilith asked in reaction. She stood up from the stool. Hamish took a step forwards, putting an arm out to try and diffuse something.
"You're not the least bit curious as to why you were kicked out?" Alyssa stated, leaning in. My brows furrowed at her statement. What could she have meant by 'kicked out', she couldn't have meant the Knights. I stood up from the patterned couch and joined Randall's side. "Kicked out of what? Do you two know each other?" I inquired. She looked back at Jack as if she was waiting for him to break some sort of news.
He thought to himself before taking the last sip of his drink. Jack stood up from the chair, cracking his knuckles. "Lilith was in The Order," he confessed. "What?" me and Randall said in unison. Randall set down his drink and turned towards Lilith, a look of confusion and betrayal on his face. "Is that true?" he questioned. Yet, he got no response. She remained standing with her eyes focused on the ground.
Randall repeated his question with a little more force and intensity. The tension in the room grew from the sentences spoken. "Hey! Is that true? Are you one of them?" Randall interrogated. He got up in Lilith's face. Alyssa reacted to the word 'them'. "Okay, why don't you just dial it down a few notches," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Randall shook my hand off and began pacing back and forth.
My friend began muttering to himself before looking back at Jack. His look of betrayal had been replaced with anger. "If it weren't for us, you'd be another one of their fucking drones," he accused. Jack's head whipped to Randall. "I thought they were trying to make a difference, do something good," he claimed, waving his hands around. Alyssa glanced at Jack, letting out a heavy sigh.
Randall turned to me. I could see his face softening but then returned to frustration. "And you?" he said. "I never wanted to be in it in the first place," I replied. "Like you said, you have a choice. Everyone has a choice," Randall said, pointing to all of us with his finger. I glanced at Jack for help, yet he stood there, not knowing how to handle the situation.
I scoffed. "Do you really think I had a choice?! I was born into it!" I shouted, "I didn't get a choice to join a secret society like you all did." His expression never disappeared at my response. Instead, it just made him even angrier. "You should've never been Knights," he said. Randall turned around with his back now facing us.
He ran his hands through his curly hair. "No, you probably shouldn't have," Jack spoke. Jack cleared his throat after he spoke. "Do I not get a say in this?" I said, feeling my own anger begin to reach the tipping point. It was one thing that the Knights had killed a high-ranking member, but for me to be accused that I had a choice irked me. I didn't have a choice.
Part of me feels that if anyone asked someone to be in a magic society, they might say yes. What else was I supposed to do? Alyssa went on and on about how The Order was going to come after the Knights for killing Hemmings. I went to make a comment, but Alyssa glared at me. "Can we just kill her and get it over with already?" Lilith said, tilting her head towards the Order member.
"Is that your answer for everything?" Alyssa countered. "Well, it's a lot better than what The Order does. So other than that, yes," I said. Jack stepped into the conversation, stating that nobody was killing anyone or anything tonight. Hamish tried to diminish the situation again by offering anyone a drink. "Can you make a decision without resorting to beer pong?" Lilith said.
She stood up from her chair, making her way over to the bar. "I'm not resorting," Hamish insisted, shaking his head. "No, you're an alcoholic," Randall stepped behind Hamish. "He's not an alcoholic. He's an alcohol aficionado," I clarified. Hamish motioned to me with a grin on his face, thanking me for my comment.
Alyssa reached for her jacket, putting her arms through the sleeves. Jack handed Alyssa her purse. "Do you really think leaving is a good idea?" I questioned, walking over to her and preventing her from leaving the living room. "Y/N/N, do you really think that's a good idea?" she said, keeping her arms at her side.
"You think I can't take you?" Alyssa said, her brows raised. Lilith joined my side. I saw her form her hands into fists. "Oh, I think she can," Lilith smirked. She and Alyssa stared at each other, their eyes focused on one another's movements. They were about to fight when Jack interrupted the conversation with the sudden information drop.
He shouted that Edward Coventry was his father. All of our heads turned in his direction. I had already known, but I was surprised that he had broken the news so quickly. I expected him to wait a little bit. "Did you know about this?" Randall asked, noticing my expression. "You didn't think to tell us that Edward was his father?" he added. "It wasn't my place to say anything," I said, walking away from Lilith and Alyssa.
The two of them were distracted by Jack's confession. "Your father is the leader of the fucking Order?" Randall continued. He continued his stroll towards Jack. "That's not any of your business, Randall," I said, joining Jack, knowing that Randall was getting close to pouncing on him. "I trusted you, man! You betrayed me," Randall insisted.
His hands were clenched into fists, similar to Lilith's. "I betrayed you? You turned me into a fucking werewolf?" Jack argued, putting emphasis on the word 'I'. "That's a mistake that I can fix right now," Randall claimed. He took another step towards Jack. "Hey! Can you come down!" I exclaimed.
I stood in the middle of Jack and Randall, lightly pushing Randall back. Jack stood behind me, not knowing what to do. "Randall, you're being a real dick right now," I said. Jack took my hand and pulled me aside from Randall. It was hard to describe Randall's sudden change in demeanor. He wasn't himself, definitely not.
"Guys, I think whatever Hemmings did to you is still affecting you two," Alyssa mentioned, slowly making her way over with her hands extended. "Hemmings didn't do anything to me," I stated. Alyssa shook her head, reaching for something in the pocket of her purse. "You know what they did to me? They opened my eyes to your fucking bullshit," Randall pointed to himself.
Hamish had stopped what he was doing, rounding the side of the bar to join the scene. "Y/N, Randall," he said. Randall shouted and pushed Hamish to the ground. I lunged forward but was grabbed tightly by Jack. I bent my knee, kicking behind me to push Jack off of me. I didn't get far out of the house because my body was brought down to the ground by both Lilith and Jack.
"It's affecting Y/N too!" Lilith notified. I squirmed around, trying to get away from her strength. Hamish flipped over Randall and punched him in the jaw. Lilith pushed me over, so I was facing her. "Don't do you dare," I said as I shook my head. Before I knew it, her fist collided with my face.
(Third Person view)
Once Randall and Y/N had been knocked out, Alyssa ordered Hamish and Lilith to keep the two still. She took out a velvet pouch from her purse. "Sorry about dropping that whole Order thing on you," Alyssa said, kneeling between Randall and Y/N. "How can you stay with them, knowing what they're capable of?" Lilith replied. She held Y/N down by her shoulders.
"Same way you rationalize murdering people. Maybe it's stupid, but it's the first place I felt like I could just be who I am," said Alyssa. "Are you two seriously talking about feelings right now?" Hamish said, grunting as he struggled to hold Randall. Lilith rolled her eyes and told Alyssa to hurry it up.
Randall roared as he partially transformed into Greybeard. Alyssa slowly but carefully pulled out a medal piece from his neck. Y/N squirmed around a little bit, trying to get loose. "Now, can you do her?!" Lilith exclaimed. Alyssa rushed over and carefully pulled out the metal piece of Y/N's neck.
(Y/N's point of view)
I hadn't noticed before how blurry my vision was until Lilith punched me. I turned around on my back to find everyone crowding around me and Randall. He groaned, reaching for the side of his neck in pain. "Oh, shit," he said, "Did I lose at beer pong again?" The Knights, including Alyssa, all sighed in relief. Jack stepped over to me and extended a hand, bringing me up from the ground.
~~~~
(Later That Night)
"Hey guys," Randall said. "Sorry, I tried to kill all of you." He paused to stretch her arms and turned to me, who walked past him. "And sorry for accusing me," Randall added. "It's fine. You're not the first one to tell me life-changing shit today," I replied, earning a very confused look from him. Hamish handed me a glass of some mixture he had come up with.
"My mom casted an incantation on me to make me stronger. That's all I know," I informed, answering Randall's expression and sitting down on the couch.
Since we were all apologizing, Jack said that he was sorry about his sudden statement about his relation to Edward Coventry. "I'm not sorry about anything, but you are a couple of assholes," Hamish said. Both me and Randall glanced at him. "Sorry, I called you assholes," Hamish added. He shook his head and joined us on the couch. Randall reached for the side of his face, stretching his jaw.
"Did you punch me in the face?" Hamish said, turning to Hamish. "Me? I would never?" he responded. I noticed Hamish look away with his widening slightly. I smiled to myself, taking a sip of my drink. Alyssa stepped into the living room with Jack at her side. "Well, this has been, uh..." she paused, "Hell. But I've got to go." Lilith grabbed a random bottle of liqueur.
Hamish followed her with his eyes but didn't bother to say anything. Instead, he sunk back on the couch and took a long but much-needed sip of his drink. "Oh, I'll walk you home," Jack said. He turned around and began walking to the front door. Lilith, or Killith, motioned for me to scoot over so she had room to sit.
I sighed, moving over as she waved me to. I sat close to Randall with my shoulder hitting his. He smiled and put an arm around my shoulders, slowly bringing me closer to him. A thought then popped into his head. "Did you punch me?" he questioned. I rolled my eyes, chuckling at his inquiry.
"You wish."