CARMELLA

CHAPTER 15. MILD BRAVERY MISERY

---

*Inside the Vision*

Carmella walked cautiously through the creaking hallway of a dim, dust-choked house. The air felt heavy, thick with old magic and buried secrets. Her boots echoed across the wooden floorboards as she stepped into the past.

“Where am I?” she asked, voice echoing in the silence.

A voice answered from nowhere—and yet everywhere. Soft, calm, knowing.

*“You’re in your grandmother’s house. Your mother’s mother.”*

Carmella spun slowly, eyes narrowing. “And who are you?”

*“I am your subconscious… your guide through this vision.”*

She hesitated. “Why am I here?”

*“Because this is where it all began. Your grandmother wasn’t just a witch—she was one of the darkest the world has seen.”*

As Carmella moved toward the next room, a strange warmth pulsed from the floor beneath her. The scent of boiling herbs and something far more sinister seeped through the air.

She stepped into a kitchen where a woman—her grandmother—stood hunched over a massive cauldron. Fiery green fumes curled upward as she stirred the thick, glowing potion with purpose.

*“This potion,”* the voice said gently, *“was meant to destroy the human world.”*

Carmella raised a brow. “That’s wonderful.”

*“But watch…”*

The door burst open.

A younger version of Carmella’s mother—Annie—rushed in, barely more than a teenager. Her eyes blazed with anger and fear.

“Mum! What the heck are you doing?!”

The older woman didn’t flinch. “I’m making good potions for everyone.”

Annie’s voice shook. “Stop lying! I saw the ingredients!”

The woman paused, turning to her daughter with a familiar coldness. “Annie, I’m doing this for you. One day, you’ll take over.”

“I will *never* be like you.”

“One day… you’ll understand.”

Without another word, she walked out, leaving Annie alone.

Carmella crossed her arms, watching silently. “This is *exactly* how I act with my mum.”

*“Keep watching,”* the voice urged.

Annie looked down at the bubbling potion, then reached into her satchel. Her fingers trembled as she pulled out a vial filled with glowing, golden dust.

Without hesitation, she poured it into the pot.

The mixture hissed, changing color. Its glow softened.

*“She changed the entire course of the spell,”* the voice whispered. *“She chose to protect, not destroy.”*

Carmella scoffed. “Yay. My *heroic* mother.” The sarcasm dripped from her voice. “Anything more exciting?”

*“Look to your left.”*

She turned—and gasped.

A shimmering portal stood open. Through it, she saw a burning city. Bodies lay in the streets. Smoke curled into the sky. At the center, her grandmother laughed—wild, victorious.

*“This… is what would’ve happened if your mother hadn’t acted.”*

The image shifted again. Annie—tear-streaked and younger—held a man’s head in her lap. Her father.

Carmella stepped closer. “That’s… my dad?”

*“Yes,”* the voice answered softly. *“Without her choice, you never would have existed.”*

The portal flickered… then vanished.

*“Now,”* the voice continued, *“go into the next room. You’ll witness the mayhem your grandmother caused… before your mother stopped her.”*

Carmella stepped into the room and felt the air shift—dense, heavy, crackling with energy. Before her eyes, the walls melted away, revealing a new realm. The scent of smoke and ash filled her lungs.

She had entered the realm of her grandmother’s mayhem.

Buildings lay in ruin. Fire swallowed homes. The streets were drenched in chaos. At the center of the destruction stood four figures—Grandma, young Emma, Grannie Nile, and a much younger Smith—wreaking havoc with brutal magic, their laughter echoing like a curse over the burning city.

Carmella gasped and ducked behind a broken car, her heart pounding. That’s when she saw them—two younger figures crouched in the shadows. Her mother. Her father.

“What are we gonna do?” young Mum cried, eyes wide with fear.

“We need to stop her,” young Dad said firmly, holding her hand.

Carmella stepped forward, wanting to scream. “Mum! Try and use your powers—do something!”

But the voice returned, calm and distant. *“They can’t see you. They can’t hear you.”*

In the vision, young Mum stood tall, her eyes fierce with determination. Magic burst from her palms as she hurled a powerful wave toward her mother. Grandma flew backward, crashing to the ground.

“Did you bring the witch’s dagger?” she asked, panting.

“Yes,” young Dad said, pulling it from his coat.

“Let’s do this together.”

Without hesitation, they charged toward the fallen witch. The blade plunged into Grandma’s chest.

A final scream tore through the sky—“AHHHHHHHHH!”—and then, silence.

Her body disintegrated into ashes.

“We did it,” young Mum whispered, falling to her knees.

“Yes,” her husband replied, wrapping his arms around her.

But the moment of victory was short-lived. Warlock guards from the Witchworld appeared in a violent flash of light.

“Where are the others?” one barked.

Emma and Grannie Nile fled instantly, vanishing like shadows. But Smith—young, confused, left behind—was grabbed by the guards.

“Mum! Mum! They’re taking me! MUM!!” he cried, his voice piercing.

Grannie Nile watched from behind a wall… and did nothing.

Carmella’s jaw clenched. “She even betrayed her own son,” she muttered, her voice cold.

The vision faded.

She stood once again in the empty room.

“Okay,” she whispered. “Now where’s my portal place?”

[12/3, 7:45 PM] ChatGPT: *“Go into your mother’s room,”* the voice replied.

She moved quickly, pushing the door open. There, glowing in the air like a c***k between worlds, was a portal.

*“As you step into this realm, it will show you your future,”* the voice warned.

Carmella stepped forward—unafraid.

—

*Meanwhile, in the real world…*

Mrs. Emma paced anxiously, eyes locked on Carmella’s still-floating body.

“It’s been five minutes,” she said. “Shouldn’t the vision have ended by now?”

Grannie Nile frowned. “Visions take longer than that… but this—this is different.am having a bad feeling about this girl I can feel it… her heart… it’s softening.”

Grannie Nile closed her eyes.

“What do we do?” Mrs Emma asked

Grannie Nile’s voice turned sharp. “Kill it.”

With a flick of her fingers, she cast a dark incantation. Black mist coiled from her hand, slamming into Carmella’s chest. A demon’s essence entered her—cold, empty, evil. A force that would strip her of all empathy… and turn her into the weapon they needed.

A weapon without mercy.

A witch without a heart.

--