He is the Bad Wolf

THE REVIVAL

Sia heard a distant voice calling her from somewhere she couldn't reach. The darkness turned out to be quite therapeutic and relaxing, it was strange to think that way especially when most people were afraid of darkness. There is nothing to fear. Being standing in a dark room was not scary, the creepy thing was not knowing what was hidden there from our eyes. Humans are vulnerable and so fragile beings. With any breeze they become utterly broken, a broken heart was death for this species. Sia had died and spent so much time wandering in the underworld sea of souls that nothing mattered to her anymore. Sia felt sorry for these lost souls. Women who had lost their husbands in the war, their children, men who did not understand why they were there. Children ... children who were fervently looking for their parents on every corner.

She felt sorry for humans. She knew that they would never leave purgatory and vanish forever without a chance to be reborn, their existence would only be a pathetic memory in the minds of those who once remembered them. Sia would be remembered for centuries and of that she was going to make sure. Gideon hadn't forgotten her name. She hadn't forgotten his name. She had not forgotten to be killed by the bare hands of her lover. Sia would make him pay for using it. She would make sure he suffered for betraying her so cruelly.

“Cold…” She murmured softly as she curled up on the damp ground.

Sia was in a state between being asleep and being awake, she knew she was conscious but was not sure if she was still in the world of dreams and alternate realities where everything was possible or if reality itself had slapped her in the face to remind him who she was. Sia remained in a fetal position trying to fight off the cold but there wasn't much she could do if her body was naked, her skin exposed to the elements and anyone with a good pair of eyes. Her eyes slowly opened, letting some light pass through her tired eyelids.

The cry threatened to explode inside her as she opened her eyes fully and realized that she was no longer in the underworld. She gasped and slowly peeled her limbs off the rocky and uneven ground. Sia was imprisoned in a cell, trapped behind thick metal bars. She was in what appeared to be a dungeon. At the sides of the entrance arch were two torches whose flames threatened to extinguish at any moment. She began to hyperventilate. What is this place? Where I am? How did I get here? They were questions that immediately formed in Sia's head. For a few moments she thought maybe she was dreaming, that Gideon hadn't actually killed her, and she'd been hit on the head and brought here later. Yes, it sure is! The possibility was stupidly absurd, but it was all better than accepting what she knew had actually happened to her.

“Hello?” She called out but no one responded. “Is there anyone in here?” Silence. What is happening? I don’t understand.

Sia sighed and put a hand against her chest but couldn't feel her heart pounding. Tears fell within seconds as she realized it was all true. Gideon had actually killed her to steal her heart and use it in that damn ritual. Did the desire to save his pack justify betraying and murdering the love of his life? A torrent of pure anger ran through her veins, evaporating her blood. She screamed in pain. Not physical if not a pain that came from the depths of her soul. A feeling as pure as the love that Gideon once prophesied to her one of the many nights they spent together stargazing. "Damn you! I hate you!" She wailed sadly in solitude. “How could you do this to me?!”

“My poor child.” A voice cooed out. Sia gasped and scrambled back in surprise. “Who has stomped on this sad, little dove?” Footsteps echoed from the dungeon entrance, after a few seconds a woman descended. Sia blinked in confusion. The woman was beautiful, long straight hair and as red as blood. Pale, translucent skin contrasted with violet eyes that glowed in the impending darkness of the dungeon. A turned-up nose, thin red lips smiled rather wickedly at Sia as she approached the cell. Sia pressed her knees to her chest to cover her nakedness and in part feel a little more secure. “Fear not, my dear. I am not here to harm you.”

Sia scrunched up her nose and snarled at the woman. “Your actions prove otherwise, my lady!” Even though her voice trembled she did not falter, “I’ve been locked up as if I were an animal! My clothing has been removed and I fear for my innocence to have been robbed by someone who is undeserving!” She spat at the floor for good measure, “You are a woman yourself! How can you be fine with this? Are you perhaps hateful and spiteful towards your own gender?”

The woman frowned and tilted her head slightly to the side as if she were having troubles understanding Sia’s blabbering. Had she spoken in another tongue? “My goodness! Your spirit hasn’t wavered in the least throughout the centuries!” Centuries? “I assure you, dear, that no man or woman has touched you inappropriately. You were supposed to be taken to a private and much,” she waved around the dungeon, “nicer room than this.”

“Lies!”

“I’ve been accused of being many things and I am almost ashamed to admit that I am, in fact, a few- however I am not a liar. I promise.”

“Your promises mean nothing for the wind carries away the little weight of your words.”

“Well, there’s that. Let’s get you out of here and all cleaned up.” The woman produced a small key and deftly maneuvered it into the lock. The cell door swung inward with a high-pitched squeak that caused Sia to tremble. The woman entered the cell cautiously. “Up with you now.” Sia shook her head and pressed her body even more towards the wall. “There’s nothing I haven’t seen already. Come on.” But still, Sia remained on the floor. “Fine.” The woman sighed and tugged and shrugged her coat off her shoulders then offered it to Sia with raised brows. “Put it on and when you’re done, I will wait for you at the top of the stairs.”

The woman turned without saying anything more and left giving Sia a little privacy so she could put on the heavy black wool jacket. Smells good. Apples and cinnamon? "What is this nightmare?" Sia put the jacket on and adjusted it as tightly as she could around her body. It barely covered her knees. She slowly left the cell and tiptoed toward the stairs. Unhurriedly she climbed the stairs that curled as she got closer to the end. And just as the woman had told her, there she was waiting for her. "Good, now follow me." Sia wondered if she was really awake. It all seemed so strange. She had never seen so much wealth. The floor was made of glass and under this tents that varied in huge bright colors swam carelessly. Pillars held the ceiling overhead; the walls were black and glossy. Stone sculptures depicted different scenes, some violent, some erotic, and some just ... interesting. “Take it all in, my dear, there’s more beyond these doors.”

And as the woman pushed the double wooden doors, Sia realized there was, indeed, more.