✖ Chapter 13 ✖
I DIDN'T REMEMBER passing out when my eyes first flew open some time around the next day, I suppose. Though I was no longer in a cell, I felt the same claustrophobia. There was nothing but a cot in the corner of the room, and no toilet told me this had to be temporary unless they enjoyed cleaning up other people's "accidents."
It all came back shortly after I awoke; Rose's demonic side gaining full control as it tried to split the earth right down the middle, taking every human being with it; Cecilia stepping in with her strength yet dying magic due to her old age; Rose's horrendous screaming as she crumpled to the ground... And somewhere in the mix, I believed they'd used some sort of knock-out magic because I remembered nothing else.
I had no idea where I was, though there was not bars in front of me - an actual door, oddly enough. I was not being held captive like a hostage but rather like a civilian, and if a simple door has given me that much sense of freedom, I could only imagine what actually being free would feel like again.
Panic washed over me a brief moment when I realized Daniel wasn't with me, but I tried to shake the feeling away as I placed my hand on the handle. My hesitance told me I supposed it would've been locked, but was utterly surprised when it opened without so much as mere force.
Could I have been dreaming?
The bizarre situation led me to believe so, but I tried to ignore it as I poked my head out into a hallway, dimly lit by small light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Furrowing my eyebrows, I stepped out onto the cool cement, and that's when I noticed my feet were bare and I was not wearing the asylum jumper anymore. Instead, I was wearing a large white button-down with white pants to match, leaving me more puzzled than before.
Had they messed with my memory?
I assumed I was acting as if they were Cecilia, though I hadn't had the motivation to mention or even think of her name, for that matter. So instead, I gained the little strength I could muster and turned left.
Unsure of what I expected, it definitely wasn't an endless-feeling corridor. There were countless doors lining the seemingly eternal hallway, but all of them were locked as I tried them. I heard a shuffle of feet from behind me, whipping around only to find emptiness. The predicament, to say the least, was eerie and unsettling.
But I refused to be intimidated - if this was a game, then I'll be a player.
Holding my hands, palms up, down at my sides, I felt them begin to burn as I beckoned for the fire, if necessary. Another scruff of the floor. I whipped around. Nothing. The same routine repeating itself about three times before I heard it.
Before I heard her.
And maybe I should've been more wary about the situation, but I couldn't fight myself on this. It wasn't like the control before when I walked into a blatant trap - this was me needing her. I couldn't keep denying the fact that I missed her, even a mere smile or her quick remarks. We've been apart nearly as long as we'd been together, and I was sick of the distance.
"Rose!" I called, cautious of the situation, raising an eyebrow as I peered down the long corridor. There was no coherent answer at first, just muffles.
She shouted my name again, sounding closer than last time. I released the energy from my hands just as her frail body rounded the corner, fear slapped across her face and it was more than obvious that this was no trick. No one can fake being that terrified.
I opened my mouth to speak, but she grabbed my wrist and kept running, bringing me with her. Then she spoke. "I know you shouldn't trust me but this is serious. Cecilia has us in a simulation and-"
"A what?" I asked, keeping up with her swift pace, the mere contact of her hand wrapped around my wrist burning more than fire ever could.
"A simulation," she repeated. "None of this is real, but it feels real. In reality we're tied up in chairs two feet from each other."
"You sound-"
"Familiar with the concept?" She snorted. "This is only one of the awful things she's done since she took me."
My heart clenched, my jaw tightening at the thought of the horrendous things she may have gone through. If it's anything near the torture I faced in the asylum, so help me God I'll-
She yanked on my wrist, turning sharply into a closet, one of the only doors that wasn't locked. She closed it behind us, propping a chair under the handle and the only sounds surrounding us were the pants of our erratic breathing. I could just see her silhouette through the crack of the door, her bright eyes still sparked with fear.
"What are we running from?" I whispered.
She placed her finger to her lips to shush me as a reply.
So instead I took the time to study her face, the same face I remembered so vividly all those months away from her. I felt my heart falter at the pure beauty that was still clinging to her, on the outside and in. She was peering through the crack, a strand of hair falling in her face and due to the small room, I easily bent down to tuck it behind her ear.
"God," I mumbled to myself, though it was silent enough for her to hear me, "I missed you so much."
Instead of responding with words, her arms were wrapped around my neck before I could process it. I sucked in a sharp breath, my arms instantly winding around her waist. I squeezed her tightly, though trying not to hurt her. Whatever was chasing us out there didn't seem to matter as I held her in that small closet, her small body still fitting perfectly against mine.
I hadn't realized a lump had swelled in my throat, whether from having my Rose back or the fear of losing her again, I'm not sure. But I closed my eyes tightly, nuzzling my face in her neck. She still smelled of flowers, albeit her shampoo held the essence of lavender. I didn't particularly care. She could've smelled like a sewer and I still would've treasured this moment.
"Please don't leave me again," I whispered, hating my for being so emotional but not caring all the same.
Rose pulled back, her arms still around my waist and my hands moving to cup her face. She gave me a little smile, enough of one to make me smile back. "I'll try," she said teasingly and I almost laughed.
The situation we were in long forgotten, I leaned in to finally feel those lips on mine again. However, the shuffle of movement outside drew us back to reality and the reunited kiss ceased to exist.
Knowing Rose was just as strong as me, if not stronger, I still put my arm across her chest and moved her behind me. We fell silent, holding our breaths and I tried to look out the crack to see what or who had her so afraid.
A simulation.
I had to remember that none of this was real, except Rose and I.
The eerie quiet remained, unsettling, unnerving. My stomach churned, awaiting the next move of the suspect but none came. I could still feel the presence of it on the opposite side of the door, and I knew Rose could too. She reached down for my hand and I took it gratefully, squeezing and trying to block out how amazing it felt to be with her again.
Right when I began to ponder about how long our time together would last, a large eyeball popped into view from the crack of the door, an inhuman sounding laugh escaping whatever mouth it had - it was surely not human.
Rose screamed as the door was ripped off it's hinging, a large beast towering over the both of us. It looked to be covered in slime, one eye in the middle of it's head and a large mouth with no teeth. It appeared to me as a scientifically mutilated cyclops, however the one metal arm told me this was no simple experiment - it was a creation, completed and finally getting put to use.
"Rose, run!" I yelled as it reached down, Rose barely slipping out of the way before it's large metal hand clasped closed.
It reached for me next and I hardly ducked under it before it was coming back. Rose was muttering incoherent words under her breath, leaving me confused but also to deal with the large... whatever it was. I didn't mind too much considering I wanted to keep her safe, but there was no way I could beat this thing on my own.
I tried another mind trick of mine, to focus on something so intense that they would collapse right before you. Not from choking rather than going unconscious. I don't know why I expected it to work, but I was still disappointed when the beast laughed in my failed attempts, a laughter so loud it shook the building.
While it was laughing, I broke part of the door off to use it as a stake, so to say. When it swiped at me again, I dug it into it's mushy flesh with all my strength, the payout being a piercing scream that nearly made my ears bleed. I was thrown to the side of the room, sliding across the floor as it picked the wood out, almost small enough to be a toothpick to him.
Rose was still standing behind him, hands outstretched with her eyes closed as she continued her hushed words. I got the impression she was doing a spell of some sort and thought it best not to distract her, so I worked on being the distraction for the beast.
It went to smash it's fist on top of me and I rolled out of the way, cracks scattering the floor where his punch landed. He grunted, reached for me again as I dodged once more. I frantically looked around for another form of weapon, conjuring the heat in my palm in the mean time and flicking the ball of fire right into it's face.
Another scream, but not enough for death.
I slid beneath it, grabbing the now slimy wood and throwing it with my strength, right into it's only eye. Instead of oozing blood, there was more oozing slime and I cringed while taking a few steps back, waiting for it to retaliate as it snatched the wood out of it's eye.
And it did retaliate in the worst way - grabbing Rose.
She gasped, not expecting it and I yelled for her before the beast's other hand collided into my body, slamming me against the wall. Fear struck every part of my body, the fact that this wasn't real not seeming to click anymore. I was scared of losing Rose, scared of letting her down again, and the grip he had on her only got tighter and tighter by the second.
Her eyes wavered before they met mine, her cheeks tinting a crimson color from the lack of oxygen she was recieving. I tried to stand but stumbled, the impact from hitting the cement wall overwhelming me. But somehow she smiled and mouthed "it's okay" before she quit struggling.
It's a simulation. It's fake. It's not real. She's alive. It's. Not. Real.
But even as I told myself that, I couldn't help but to scream for her life as he squeezed the little ounce left of it out of her.
***
My eyes shot open, my scream echoing through the room we were in. Just as Rose said, I was tied to a chair with chains, going around my torso, wrists, and my feet. It was hard to breathe for a moment, adapting to the tightness, but it was soon manageable just as my horror faded.
Sweat beaded my forehead as I looked over to Rose, who was staring at me intently. I let out a breath of relief at the sight of her breathing, hanging my head back as I did so. "Jesus Christ," I muttered, shaking my head. The methods of torture seemed to be endless with Cecilia, and truthfully, that was worse than being electrocuted or whipped.
"I almost didn't get us out," she said quietly, her voice a little hoarse and she cleared her throat. "Doing the spell, I mean. It takes a minute to kick in, but I stole it from Cecilia's desk once to memorize it."
"Is that the only way out?" I asked.
She shrugged, ropes around her instead of chains. "That or you have to die."
I frowned, my head throbbing from the latest event. I wondered where Cecilia was and why she had left us unattended, or if she was simply in another room watching us. Instinctively, I scanned the corners of the room for cameras, up high and below, and was grateful to see none.
"These wire show them our minds," said Rose, and it was then I felt multiple of them sticking to my forehead and arms. "The ones on our arms show them our pulse. I'm not sure why that really matters, honestly."
I squirmed, trying to tear them off of me. Talk about invasion of privacy. Knowing that a psychopath was looking into my mind and studying it made me more than uncomfortable. I managed to unhook the few on my arms, but the ones on my head would not budge.
"She should be in here soon," Rose told me quietly, looking off at the wall in front of her. "I usually sit for about ten minutes or so before she comes in."
I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Rose."
"It's not your fault, Harry."
"It is, though. It all is," I grumbled, glaring down at the floor as I chewed my bottom lip. "If we hadn't have gone after that stupid necklace-"
"You mean the one that no longer exists?"
I tried to turn my head around to see the woman that just entered the room, anger coursing through me. Cecilia smiled at us both, as if we were here for a business meeting or something, and sat behind her desk. A frail woman padded after her, hair a mess and glasses slipping from her nose.
"Rose, you've met Hilary. Hilary, meet Harry," introduced Cecilia.
Hilary waved nervously before cowering away from my glare.
"What do you want?" I asked, exhausted of all of her games. "And what do you mean the necklace no longer exists? What the hell did you do?"
Cecilia looked smug, but she shrugged nonetheless. "I want nothing more than for you both to use your magic to your full potential. That was quite the show in there," she said, smirking as she referred to the simulation.
I went to stand, forgetting about the chains as they held me in place. Groaning in frustration, I leaned my head back, refusing to give her the satisfaction of watching me attempt to free myself. By the smile on her lips, I could tell I was already halfway there.
Cecilia looked to Rose who looked to the floor. "I'm quite upset with you, Rose. I hadn't expected you to cheat your way out of the system for the tenth time."
My jaw dropped. "You've put her through that kind of crap ten times?"
She shrugged. "More, actually. Ten since she figured out the exit spell."
It was hard to refrain myself from ripping the chains off right then and there, though it would be difficult, it would be manageable.
Rose swallowed when Cecilia said, "I was also expecting that dark side to take over. It's unfortunate that it hadn't."
I narrowed my eyes at Cecilia who laughed at my attempt. "Do you conclude me stupid, boy? Those chains are meant to hold back the worst of the worst, the baddest of the bad."
"I accept your compliment," I bit back.
She sucked in a breath, clasping her hands on her mahogany desk. "Would you like to know what happened to that oh-so-precious necklace?"
I continued to hold my glare on her, but her next words brought shock and I lost my stare.
"We've managed to make the necklace portable. All it's power now dwells in one human being, and that human being is your adored Rosalie."
(I've literally been waiting to write that plot twist for so long omg. just had to say that. hope you enjoyed the chapter!)