CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

What seemed like a hundred of crows were flying above the park; cawing continuously—giving a foreboding feeling to the already frightening night. And there was Alice; as an unearthly as the night they first saw her. So supreme, and so divine as she stood in the middle of a murder of crows. Her hair flowing behind her like wings made of wings.

She had her back on them but they knew she saw them as Ao, who was sitting on top of her head, spun around and cawed at their direction. She was standing just a few inches away from the eye of the storm; completely motionless despite the turmoil of her surroundings.

Five more people arrived and Clinton told them to get ready for anything. The moon, which was overshadowed by the violent clouds, had appeared. And terror embraced everyone who was present as the moon turned the color of blood.

"Take your pills and remove your earphones," Clinton ordered and everyone followed suit.

A monstrous roar shook the grounds as coal-black clouds descended from the eye of the storm. The tail of the cloud tornado swiveled directly in front of Alice. But the young girl made no inclination to move away. The crows cawed more loudly as if anxious as well.

A dark mist exploded and a forceful wind pushed them all back as the cloud tornado vanished. And there—in front of Alice was a man they've all never seen before. He was tall but slouched over, scrawny, and as thin as bones. His hair was long, flowing behind him like a cape of black. His eyes—his eyes were almost nonexistent as a black abyss stared at them.

His thin lips rose to a sinister grin and they all felt fear shiver down their spine. The creature, whatever it was, let out a minacious cackle—raising his thin arms to his side as if savoring the cold air of the night. And as sudden as his laugh, he stopped. Everything came to a standstill. Even the crows had quietened.

"My, my, my," he sang in a patronizing, singsongy tone. "Look who managed to escape his prison,���

Ao cawed angrily in reply. Alice raised one, gloved hand towards her and the little crow jumped in her fingers. Then, the young girl raised her hand high in the air and gave Ao a little push. As the little crow took into the air, she joined the other crows in their circle.

"I must repay you for locking me up," the creature continued, his sinister grin not leaving his lips. "I will rule this realm. And nightmares won't be just for those who sleep,"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Jet found himself back at the dining room of the orphanage, just mere minutes away from the darkest day of his life.

"Oh, shit," he muttered under his breath.

~oOo~

Ronnie found himself in the same park. But it was mid-afternoon. The sun was burning bright and the streets were busy. The siren of the ambulance, the crowd of curious bystanders, and the Agency-uniformed Clean-up team were like cold water for Ronnie as he remembered that day as vividly as if it had just happened the day before. It was the day Eliza had left him.

The crowd parted at his arrival and it was like his world had come crashing down on him for the second time. There was Eliza—in all her beauty yet she was tainted by her own blood. There was a gaping hole in her stomach.

His knees shaking in despair and his feet felt like lead as he dragged himself towards her. "Eliza?" he called; his voice shook. "Eliza?"

Ronnie fell on his knees. Eliza's glassy eyes stared straight at him. He choked as he reached to hold her. Her hands were cold; reminding him that he was too late. It tortured him to know that despite his own abilities, he was not fast enough to save her.

With tears in his eyes, he gripped her hand in his and cried his heart out. He repeatedly apologized and he couldn't stop his wails for the woman who had continuously supported him and tirelessly saved him numerous times. He wasn't even sure of what sounds he was making and all he could hear was his heart as it broke into a million pieces.

Letting go of one of her hands, Ronnie gently closed Eliza's eyes. He lowered his head towards her and rested his forehead in hers.

"I love you, Eliza," he whispered as he closed his eyes, picturing her smiling at him. "I always will, baby,"

He leaned away from her and revealed the engagement ring he was hiding in his pocket. He lovingly put it in her finger despite that Eliza wouldn't be able to see it anymore. He leaned in towards her once more and kissed her tenderly in the forehead.

"Goodbye, my love,"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ronnie found himself back at the start once more. The siren of the ambulance was no longer cold water but torture. He let out a loud bawl and screamed angrily at the sky. His heart aching and his eyes blurred by the nonstop tears, Ronnie dropped on his knees—cursing everything around him.

"Wake up," an unfamiliar voice whispered.

Ronnie looked around but there was no one around him. And the crowd, despite his outburst, was ignoring him as if he wasn't there at all. He tried wiping the tears off of his eyes to see cleared but his tears continued to fall.

"Wake up," the voice repeated. "This is not real. You have to understand that. Find what is different here from your memories and you will find your way out. You have to wake up,"

"Alice?" Ronnie called uncertainly. "Is that you? How come I can hear you?"

"Nightmare have you all trapped. Your Dimension Manipulation would not work in his world. I am using all that I have left so that I can talk to each of you. I do not have enough strength to help you more than this. So, you have to find that one thing on your own,"

Ronnie took a deep breath and stood up. Determined, he wiped the tears off his face and walked to relive the darkest day of his life once more. Despite his heart clenching on his own, he forced himself to ignore the pain. He looked around the park as he acted his own part in his repeating nightmare.

"Ahh! Shit!" Ronnie cursed loudly as he found himself at the start once more having failed just after Alice had given her a clue. "Shit!"

Ronnie begrudgingly went along with it once more. As he walked towards Eliza, he made extra sure to watch his surroundings for anything that was out of the ordinary. The crowd parted for him once more and he saw Eliza's body. He clenched his eyes shut as his pain stabbed him in the chest.

He stopped on his track and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Once he had collected his mind, he opened his eyes once more and continued to look around. And out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a Japanese maple tree mixed in with red maples.

A grin graced his lips as he ran towards the tree. Once he was directly in front of it, Ronnie could feel something coming from it. With a deep breath, he stretched his arm to touch its trunk. And as if an invisible portal, his arm vanished in front of him.

"Yes! Take that you, prick!" he screamed towards the sky before jumping into the portal.