Our Powerful Family

The Beast Inside

Mahto’s POV:

I have to contain myself. Don’t shift. Seeing them in pain makes me angry. I’m roaring extra loud when Max suddenly starts screaming. She’s never opened up to me so I don’t know much about her past and all I got Mercy to say was a lot of bad s**t happened to her. I want to wish her nightmare isn’t that bad but I know it’s horrible. I can tell.

Max is thrashing and this is the first time I’ve seen her cry. She’s so scared. I want to save her. But how? I’m trapped like the others and I don’t want to shift or I could lose my cool and get them all hurt more. I keep seeing Max try to reach and grab her belly but the vines won’t let her.

She’s trying to run from something. Her past. Whatever happened to her. I can’t see it. I could see some of the others, but not hers. Why? Because not knowing what’s hurting her makes me hurt more? Whoever figured that out must be a genuine. I’m in pain. So much pain I think nothing can heal it. Then she goes limp. 

Fear rises in me but I can hear her heart still. It’s beating weakly, the aftermath of a broken heart and shattered soul. I want to help her. I want to hold her close and tell her it’s going to be okay. But will it? Why is this happening? Why isn’t she moving, yet I still see the glistening tears rolling down her cheeks.

Then the darkness finds me. I’m more worried that i can’t see any of them. I can’t make sure they are okay. I have to protect them with all I am. It’s all I can do. Since I didn’t have a family before them. They are all I have. Mercy is the true savior of our group. She saved us all. 

Mercy gave Gary a purpose. She became the daughter he never had and he was the father she always longed for. Mercy saved Max from her horrible past, gave her a new home and a loving family. It was Mercy that found Leo and Eva, saving them from certain death in the freezing alps. I have no idea how they got there but they are lucky she found them. Mercy insisted we take in Jorden because he had no home or family. She found Kelsey begging on the streets as a child, slowly starving and gave her a home with us. And of course, Markus has to admit he loves Mercy too. She gave him the family he never got to experience, people to care and he is warming up to us. And finally, me. She found me years ago, trying to get along by nothing more than the clothes on my back. I had never had a family. I was an orphan.

She saved us all and yes, we have our ups and downs, but damn if we don’t make the best family ever. A light peeked into the darkness around me, and I squinted as it got closer. But it wasn’t a light. It was an Angel. But... Max? I’m not gonna lie, I never thought of her as an angel. I mean, she’s perfect in her own way, but hella scary. I’d more call her my demon if I ever called her anything. 

Angel Max lifts her glowing white hand to caress my cheek and the second her warm skin touches mine, everything changes. The white light suddenly turns a crimson red. I jerk away as she suddenly smiles a creepy demonic smile. Her eyes are void of all emotion and I know this isn’t Max. She may seem heartless sometimes, but you can always see the emotions in her eyes. Sometimes it’s overwhelming.

A wall comes up behind me and she places a hand on either side of my sides. I’m frozen, I want to run. To find my Max. But I can’t. Something is holding me in place as she leans closer, somehow reaching my ear despite the height difference. “I’m going to make your life hell.” Her voice is even different and I hate it. 

She laughs under her breath before stepping back and melting into the blackness of the floor. I shiver, that was terrifying and I kind of want to curl up with a blanket now. I know it makes me seem like a baby, but I could care less right now. I go to step forward and find myself suddenly in a field of flowers.

What the fuck... I freeze before taking another step when I see Kelsey skipping along like shes in heaven or some s**t. I blink when I see Markus following her and skipping in a similar fashion. Okay, what drugs did I take? Is this the punishment?! If so, mission accomplished. I’m freaked the f**k out right now. Someone save me- oh my god. The others suddenly come up. I’m scared but a warm feeling rises in my chest. 

No matter how f*****g weird this is, seeing them now makes me happy. Then Max runs up to me. It looks more like her than the demon I saw only moments ago. It warms my heart and I raise my hand to caress her cheek. But the second I graze her soft skin with my fingers, her cheek starts to literally disintegrate. My eyes widen as her expression suddenly turns to fear. “Mahto-!” She calls out to me. 

I try to grab her, to pull her close to me. But when I do so, her entire body turns to ashes. The ashes float off into the wind and I almost fall. I want to hold her, goddammit! I look around as if she might reappear but I don’t see the same field of flowers that were there before. Instead, all the flowers are dead or turning to ash. Fire is everywhere, and then I see them. 

I can’t focus on anything else. Mercy. Jorden. Eva. Leo. Gary. Kelsey. Markus. And... Max... all of them. Dead. In horrible gruesome ways. Blood is everywhere. Oh god, Max isn’t even in one piece... more like... five... tears fill my eyes as I look at all of them. Their eyes open wide in shock. I can’t move again. I’m frozen in fear this time. 

But I don’t let it control me. Fear is a liar. This isn’t my friends. No. They aren’t this weak. They are strong and powerful and I love them. I growl suddenly, focusing on not seeing it. Seeing through the bullshit. I have to be strong for my real friends. The ones alive and well. And no one is breaking the beast inside me.