Part XVI

Black round eyes. a bloody smile. Gruesome stench. foul breath fanning my face, a result of how close his face is to mine.

"Baby", Dylan's eery groggy voice resonates around this poorly illuminated room, "you promised not to leave me. But you did."

Cocking his head to side, his neck makes a sickening cracking noise causing my insides to rumble in fear. Shaking my head side to side, I try to cry out or say something but my lips are sealed, blocking me from making any sound. I can't even make throat noises.

My hands are tied to the chair so tight that the rope cuts into my skin from any slight movement.

"You failed me. Now you have to face the consequences my love." Bringing a knife to my eye sight, he swings it back and forth slowly, smirking evily revealing sharp elongated canines. I try to shout, cry, move but all attempts turn futile.

"Now", he puts the knife to my chest, "be gone for good." With that, he stabs directly into my chest, the extreme pain filling up my whole body, a strained blood curdling scream erupts from me, breaking all the restrictions in my throat. my gaze meets his black orbs that's slowly turning blue and familiar. His canines retreat back into his mouth and his smile upturns.

"Crystal", he says but it's barely a whisper as I bleed to death.

"Crystal." He says again and my eyes closes slowly, not even trying to live anymore. feeling him shake me vigorously shouting my name in a harsh whisper, so close but sounding so far.

"Crystal you have to wake up!!!!" His voice booms and shockingly, my eyes open to meet brown eyes. Immediately, I sit up, breathing heavily and sweating profusely like I just ran a hundred miles.

"Thank God you're awake", Betty holds my hand and pats my hair gently, the gesture familiar but the memory distant.

Quickly, I remove my hand from hers and try to move away but my thighs hurt too badly although surprisingly not as bad as the stab in my chest. My chest doesn't even hurt at all anymore. How's that even possible? Looking sad, Betty moves away from me but still sits on the bed.

"You're having nightmares, right?" She asks and I rest my back on the bed, looking away from her. She seems so nice but I can't bring myself to open up to her or even talk. looking at her alone is a struggle.

"You'll get over it soon. I know you will."

"What?", I ask in disgust. I'd get over it soon? Get over what exactly?. The fact that my father in law is a crazy homicidal psychopath with supernatural powers and nearly tortured me to death? Or that the only person I love with my entire being and trusted with my whole life was the one who took it? Or what exactly is she freaking tryna tell me?!!

"I-i just d-din't -",

"Save it", I cut her off, "I just want to know where I am and why you're here with me."

"I know," she sighs, "and I'd tell you everything but you have to eat first. you'll really die if you don't. You lost a lot of blood and you've been suffering-"

"And who's fault is that?", I interrupt her again. She keeps irritating me the more she speaks.

Suddenly, a delicious looking dish appears by my side. A tray filled with pancakes, a glass of milk and different fruits.

"You should drink the glass of milk. It'll give you strength." With that, she disappears into thin air startling the living day light out of me. What is going on with these people. I was so stupid to think there was anything normal about the Connors.

The aroma of the pancake fills my nose and my stomach grumbles simultaneously making me realise I haven't eaten in two days. Or is it three days?

"I can't even keep track of time anymore" I chuckle to myself and pick up the tray, placing it on my thigh and doing perfect justice to it. never have I tasted pancakes so good, I smile to myself feeling really satisfied and much better.

"I see you enjoyed it" Betty's voice comes from behind me and I shake in fear but feeling a little bit relieved she's here. It was really creepy and scary being alone in this vast, empty and overly quiet place. Smiling widely, Betty sits beside me and I finally look at her.

My tired depressed blue eyes meet sad and broken brown ones. She must be so sad about Jake.

"You feel bad for him?", I ask and she cocks an eyebrow in confusion, "Jake, I mean."

"Oh," she sighs and smiles a little, resting her back and stretching her legs on the bed matching my own position, "I can't say I don't feel bad for him but then, something had to be done".

"Why. Why are you helping me and being nice to me out of the blues?"

"Out of the blues? I've always been nice to you"

"Yes, but you know what I mean"

"Well, you'll understand with time but that's not what is important now my dear. Why don't you ask the pressing questions first" she laughs a little and I find myself feeling relaxed, a bit.

"Am I still alive?" We both laugh a little.

"I told you before, you're alive, but Jake doesn't know that".

"What about Dylan?" I ask, my heart picking up it's pace not sure if I'm ready for this particular answer.

"He knows you're here with me. At least that's what he's expecting to happen"

"What do you mean by 'expecting'?"

"When Jake dropped the knife in his hand, he applied a spell to it. A really risky spell"

"What? A spell? Dylan has powers too?"

"You saw him transform Crystal, what were you thinking? That he's just a powerless beast?

"Well...", I say pretty low, not sure if she heard me. I guess I knew but I just didn't want to accept it, I complete my statement in my head.

"Jake is obviously powerful but he's stupid. A blood seeking psychopath", she says with hate and disdain in her voice, surprising me. I keep mute, my silence implying that she continues.

"The spell made the knife futile spiritually. It can perform well physically, it could cause pain, cut through things but the damage isn't permanent or completely real. That's why your finger came back, the stab in your heart healed and your spirit came back to life. your body is lifeless though but life fills it the moment you decide to leave here.

The spell is risky because if you didn't have the drive to live, the spell wouldn't have worked."

"Huh? The drive to live?" I thought I wanted to die and end the pain. I was begging for death through out the time Jake tortured me.

"Yes." She says smiling, "deep down, there was something you wanted to live for. You were giving up, but your subconscious wanted you to live. And the spell needs a consent to work on a body. Only the owner of that body can give that consent."

"Wow" was all I could say.

The more I know, the more I want to know.

Thousands of questions flood into my head and I'm grateful I have someone to ask. even if that someone might stab me in the heart for real someday.