DARKLING

Unedited. ••• Heavy dark clouds covers the already dark sky in dense layers. The air was thick and heavy with the promise of rain and thunder storms. Ribbons of lightening struck the sky illuminating the figure of the girl who lay writhing atop the bed with the sheets tightly clenched in her fist. She whimpers as if in pain, as disturbing images flooded her vision. The wind snarles. Lightening streaked. Thunder rumbles. Short hard pants fell from her lips as if she was trying hard to breath. Her brows clench tightly. The pain, the fear, everything felt real...too real. Then it stopped. For a second everything was still. The night grew quiet, her expression stilled. Then thunder boomed like a cannon, so loud the windows rattle. She shot up the bed with a start and less than a second later thunder once again shatters the silence. She scramble back on her bed until her back was plastered against the board. Her heart racing like she's just ran a marathon, her eyes were filled with panic as fear gripped her heart. She was awake, but her mind wasn't as it was still stuck in her nightmares. "No...no...please no..." She chants like a mantra while furiously shaking her head. The thunder didn't stop. It rumbles and rumbles so loud she could feel it vibrate through her, until she could take it no more and let out a piercing scream. Her expression stricken with fear. She was in a frenzy as she squeezed her eyes shut and pressed against her palms against her ears to block out the noises. She lets out another scream. The doors burst open and a man rushes in. As quick as he could, he switched on the lights, drew the curtains shut and flicked on the music player to the loudest volume to tune out the thunder claps before he rushed to her side. "Shh...you're okay, you're safe now...safe with me" He murmured soothing and comforting words in her ears while patting her back until her screams turn to tremors and she slipped into a state of unconsciousness. ★ ★ ★ The following morning was bright, a little too bright for her liking. There were no clouds to dim the glare of the sun. The sky blue once more left no evidence of it's previous fury. Her gaze remained transfixed on the view before her, her hands were wrapped around a mug of steaming hot chocolate, a thick woolen shawl drapped around her shoulders as she sat on a chair facing one of the glass walls overlooking the garden. She stare intently at the rows of flowers as if there was something more about them than what meet the eyes. Her expression though remained calm, peaceful and unruffled, an obvious contrast to her crazed self last night. Living here for more than a year now, it has been a usual routine. Same spot. Same seat. Same mug of steaming hot chocolate. Staring at the same scene...yet it never tires her. The garden's a beautiful sight indeed. Tony who was standing behind the kitchen counter mixing up what he likes to call an "healthy morning concotion" threw glances at her every now and then, until he pours his blend of green vegetables into a cup and walks towards her while taking sips from it. He Joins her in staring at the beautiful serene sight of the colorful yet green garden but in all honesty his mind was some place else. The silence between them was nothing short of comfortable, until Tony decided to break it. "You did well last night." She scoffed. If screaming like a banshee while looking like a mad woman was his definition of "did well" it makes her wonder what his definition of "did bad" would be. Not that she remembers exactly what had happened last night but it wasn't that hard to guess. Her throat felt sore. "You really did." he pressed trying to sound convincing seeing as she did not believe him. "I didn't have to sedate you, you fell asleep on your own. And besides," he adds. "It has been a while since you've had one of those episodes. I thought the triggers had stopped, what happened?" "Did you forget to take your meds before bed?" He asks, his tone accusing. He was met with a short silence before she answered absent mindedly. "It coincident with a nightmare." She takes a sip from her mug only to notice it was now empty. Oh. "Nightmare? I thought you stopped having them." 'You've thought alot of things Tony, doesn't mean it's true though.' "It never stopped." She answered instead, in a flat monotone. "What?" Surprised, he leans forward to place the now empty glass on the table in front of him before turning to face her with an accusing raise of his brow, his hands folded across his chest. "Why had you told Mrs. Peterson otherwise then?" "That woman's a badger" she sneered distastefully leaning forward to place her mug on the table as well. "Why didn't you tell me then?" "You never asked." she answered flatly. "I thought we agreed on telling me everything, even the unimportants. No secrets, remember?" "Well I'm telling you now ain't I?" "You're being difficult" he sighed "Drop it Tony..." she drawls lazily with a yawn, her eyes half closed as if ready to drop asleep any second from then. "You shouldn't worry about things like this when it isn't even that serious." She adds, "And its not that frequent." That was a lie. She sees things whenever she closes her eyes. Things from the past. Things she doesn't want to see. Tony let it pass though, even though he could sense the obvious lie. She was a very good liar. But he was a very good detective add to the fact that he almost practically raised her. And right now, it seems he had something else to talk about. "I enrolled you in a school." She stares at him. "What?" "I enrolled you in a school." She glared. Hard. "I knew you wouldn't agree to it so I didn't bother telling you about it but-" "Good, cause I'm not going." She cut him off. Her tone coming out as hard as her glare. "Its about time you know. You don't plan to live like this forever do you?" "What's wrong with the way I'm living?" 'Everything.' Answered her subconsciousness. Her glare didn't falter though. He sighed. Again. He seem to be sighing a lot lately, and the reason being the girl trying to drill holes into his head with her glares Tony walked to stand before her obstructing the warmth of the sunlight for a few seconds before squatting in front of her. "Remember when you were 9?" No. She doesn't remember. She doesn't remember a lot of things from the past. "All you ever wished for was a normal life and I had promised you -" "I was nine." She cut him off mid sentence. "Now I'm old enough to know me and the word normal don't cross. I'm not normal Tony. I can never be normal" "How do you know that when you've never even tried." She doesn't need to try to know its a loosing game. "I'm trying my best Ryzhaya But you have to try with me too." Again with the stupid nicknames. She loves it though. Not that she'll ever tell him that, but It's not like he doesn't know anyways. "Locking yourself up indoors isn't exactly what people call a normal life." 'Its safer' She wanted to argue but even she knew that isn't exactly true. The truth is she was- "Scared?" Tony complete her thoughts almost as if he could read her mind. "What?" "You're scared." 'No I'm not!' But the words were stuck in her throat. "It's normal to feel fear at times like this" "I'm not scared" She mutters in an inaudible whisper. "Don't let your past dictate your future Ryzhaya." "You can't change what had happened but you can direct what will happen...you just have to step out of this shell and try, huh?" She remained silent though. For a long time. "So is that a yes?" She ignores him. "You'll meet a lot of kids like yourself." That got her attention. With a tilt of her head, she asked. "Mentally unstable kids?" "You're not mentally unstable" Tony argued. But her medical report says otherwise. As of just last years she was diagnosed with two mental conditions. If that doesn't make her mentally unstable then she wonders what does. He was quick to change the subject, seeing that she was about to argue. "You'll like it. Its an amazing place." He says as he picks up both cups and made his way to the kitchen sink. "Waterfall Academy, ever heard of it?" ★★★ Ryzhaya - Russian word for "red head"