I Don't Want To Be A Hero

Chapter 16 Her Fear

Back at the Mansion

They carried Davina inside like she was made of glass.

Her screams had faded into hoarse, broken whimpers by the time they reached the medical wing of the mansion, but her body still jerked violently—thrashing at things only she could see. Theo and Lizzy exchanged a terrified look neither of them dared voice.

Sebastian was already pulling restraints from the cabinet. "We have to secure her," he said quietly. "She's going to hurt herself."

Theo hesitated. "She's never been like this."

Lizzy swallowed hard. "I know. But we don't have a choice."

Together, they eased Davina onto the bed. She fought them instinctively, tears streaking down her cheeks, her voice cracking as she begged someone—someone none of them could see—to stop.

Sebastian tightened the last strap around her wrist. "Ben needs to get here. Now."

As if summoned, the door burst open.

Ben strode in with Leeann right behind him, both carrying cases of equipment. Ben's expression dropped the moment he saw Davina tied down, trembling, eyes unfocused and wild.

"someone called Fearme did this?" he asked, already snapping open a kit.

Theo nodded. "Gas. Hallucinogenic. Strong."

Leeann moved to Davina's side, brushing hair from her damp forehead. "Oh, sweetheart… what did she do to you?"

Davina didn't respond. She couldn't. Her eyes were locked on something far away—something only she could see.

Leeann pulled on gloves. "I'm taking blood. We need to know what's in her system before it spreads or worsens."

She slid the needle into her arm with practiced precision. Davina flinched violently, but Lizzy held her shoulders steady.

"Got it?" Ben questioned, as Leeann sealed the vial. "I need to start running tests most of my equipment is in the kitchen. Ben, monitor her vitals. If her heart rate spikes again, call me."

Ben nodded, already checking Davina's pulse. "Go. We'll keep her safe."

Leeann disappeared down the hall, footsteps echoing.

And Davina slipped deeper into the nightmare.

Inside the Hallucination

She was sixteen again.

The restaurant was warm, elegant, filled with soft music and the clinking of silverware. Her mother laughed at something Stephan said, her smile bright and alive. Davina remembered this night. She remembered the dress she wore. The way her mother's perfume smelled. The way Stephan kept sneaking her extra dessert when Nicole wasn't looking.

For a moment, it felt real.

Then the doors exploded inward.

Lucifer stepped through the smoke, his grin wide and feral, eyes glowing with manic delight. The room erupted into screams.

Davina's breath caught. "No… no, please—"

But she couldn't move. Couldn't speak. Couldn't change anything.

Lucifer clapped his hands together like a child about to open presents.

"Let's play a game," he said. "Kill… or be killed."

Davina watched it unfold exactly as it had that night.

The panic.

The begging.

The gunshots.

Her mother shielding her.

Stephan trying to stand between them and Lucifer.

And then—

The moment.

The moment she could never forget.

Lucifer pointing the gun.

Her mother's scream.

Stephan's body hitting the floor.

Her mother collapsing beside him.

Davina sobbed, reaching for them, but her hands passed through like smoke.

"No—stop—STOP!" she cried, voice breaking.

But the scene reset.

The doors burst open again.

Lucifer stepped in again.

The game began again.

And she watched them die again.

And again.

And again.

Each time sharper.

Each time louder.

Each time closer.

Until she wasn't just watching—

She was kneeling in their blood.

She was holding their bodies.

She was sixteen and helpless and drowning in the moment that broke her.

Outside the hallucination, her body arched against the restraints, a raw scream tearing from her throat.

Lizzy flinched. "God, please hurry…"

Theo stood frozen at the foot of the bed, fists clenched, fire flickering helplessly around his hands.

Sebastian whispered, "She's reliving it."

And Davina—Siren—was trapped in the worst night of her life, forced to watch the people she loved die over and over, with no way out.

Leeann worked like a woman possessed.

The kitchen wasn't meant for emergencies like this. The overhead lights cast a soft glow across the small room—no lab counters, no built‑in machines, just a single island and a large counter that Leeann had already covered with the equipment she and Ben brought.

She snapped open the portable analyzer, its small screen flickering to life. With quick, practiced movements, she loaded Davina's blood sample into the cartridge slot. The machine hummed quietly, scanning, breaking down compounds, searching for anything recognizable.

Ben now hovered behind her, arms crossed tightly, his worry barely contained.

Theo and Lizzy were still with Davina, watching as Davina writhed against the restraints, her voice hoarse from hours of screaming.

Leeann's eyes widened as the results began to populate. "There it is… Fearme's compound. A neuro‑hallucinogenic gas—binds to the amygdala, hijacks fear responses, amplifies trauma."

Ben's voice cracked. "Can you cure it?"

Leeann didn't look up. "I can neutralize the toxin in her bloodstream. I can stop it from spreading. I can keep her alive."

"But?" Sebastian pressed, suddenly appearing.

Leeann exhaled slowly. "But the hallucination—the mental loop she's trapped in? That's not chemical anymore. The toxin triggered it, but now her brain is doing the rest."

Sebastian suddenly appeared. "Meaning?"

Leeann finally turned to face them, her expression grim. "Meaning she has to break out of it herself. We can pull the poison out of her body, but we can't pull her out of her mind."

Sebastian's breath hitched. "She's in there alone."

Ben clenched his jaw. "Then we make damn sure she has a body to come back to."

Leeann nodded once. "I'll administer the antidote. It'll stop the toxin from worsening the hallucination. But it won't wake her."

She grabbed the syringe, filled it with the neutralizing agent, and hurried back to the room.

Davina didn't react when the needle slid into her arm. She didn't even flinch. Her eyes were wide, unfocused, staring at something none of them could see.

Ben whispered, voice breaking, "Come on, Davina… fight your way back."

Inside the Hallucination

The restaurant reset again.

The warm lighting.

The soft music.

Her mother's laugh.

Stephan's gentle smile.

Davina stood in the middle of it, shaking, knowing exactly what was coming but powerless to stop it.

The doors burst open.

Lucifer strode in, the same cruel grin carved across his face. His voice echoed through the room like a nightmare she could never wake from.

"Let's play a game," he said. "Kill… or be killed."

Davina screamed, "STOP! PLEASE STOP!" but the scene didn't hear her. It never did.

Her mother grabbed her hand. Stephan pushed her behind him. Lucifer raised the gun.

The shots rang out.

Her mother fell first.

Stephan collapsed beside her.

Blood pooled across the white tablecloth.

Davina dropped to her knees, sobbing, reaching for them—but her hands passed through their bodies like mist.

"No… no, please… not again…"

The scene reset.

The doors burst open.

Lucifer entered.

The game began.

Her parents died.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Each loop carved deeper into her mind, sharper than the last. She could feel the terror in her bones, the helplessness crushing her chest.

She tried to run.

She tried to scream.

She tried to fight.

But the nightmare held her in place.

She was sixteen.

She was powerless.

She was drowning in the moment that defined her life.

And somewhere far away—outside the hallucination—she could faintly hear Lizzy's voice, trembling and desperate:

"Davina… please come back…"

But the nightmare swallowed the sound.

Lucifer raised the gun again.

Davina's breath hitched.

And the loop began once more.

TO BE CONTINUED