Her Nightmare (1)

For a moment, Kalliope drifted into a quiet sleep and the darkness had never felt more peaceful to harbor in, until all of the sudden, a scorching heat embroiled her being. Then, she felt her body getting heavier and heavier to the point of suffocation as though an enormous boulder was pressing on her.

It wasn't long before an agonizing pain encapsulated her in a blanket of misery as she was gnawed in torment by an invisible presence. She wasn't sure whether it was because she had her eyes closed or she just couldn't make out of the culprit's countenance due to the excessive pain that drove her into a state of delirium.

In that moment, the pain had overwhelmed her mind and it became the only thing that her consciousness was aware of. She was drifting in and out of her mind, fighting relentlessly in order to stay breathing. And when the suffering reached its apex, surpassing her limit of endurance, a blinding white light exploded in her mind.

It threw her consciousness into a pool of memories, submerging her down the lane of the time past. They were chaotic, traversing through her disorderly and in a flash of speed that prevented her to even process what scene it was and whether it was hers or another's.

Gibberish upon gibberish rang in her ears and none was a complete sentence. The faces she knew, the faces she had forgotten, and those whom she wasn't familiar at all. They rushed past her before she could begin to question who.

Then, all of the sudden, it all vanished. The blinding light dimmed into darkness. A voice was faintly heard then, as if it was echoing from afar.

"…..rry."

"….sorry."

Slowly but surely, the voice started to become clearer and clearer.

"….I'm sorry."

It was a woman's voice. Although it sounded mature, it was nevertheless a mellifluous one.

"….truly…"

Even though she appeared to be crying with her wavering tone and broken speech, her voice still sounded sweet. Kalliope couldn't understand how, but she could somehow feel the loving affection pouring out of her in every word she said.

"Please…" her plea resounded in utmost desperation and Kalliope could not ascertain whether it was a well wishes or a plea to whoever could grant her, regardless of which side it had come from.

"….live and be happy…"

It was then, a terrified scream suddenly broke through the darkness and the sadness turned malevolent. Hatred smeared her heart and death stained her nose. Both emotions held onto her in a powerful grip. For whatever reason, Kalliope could somehow sense these feelings weren't hers but in the next moment, she felt it as though it was her own.

It overpowered her consciousness and fear enveloped her next. The horror snapped her eyes open and a stunningly gorgeous face greeted her. The lady's luminous golden hair swayed with the midnight breeze. Kalliope stared straight at a pair of bright sapphire eyes upon that porcelain face as she dragged her body backwards in absolute nightmare.

Kalliope knitted her eyebrows. She tried to stop herself from moving but her body didn't respond. In fact, her hand reached out the next moment as she cried in fear. Everything felt as though she was merely a bystander.

"D-Don't! P-Please….cousin…why?"

When Kalliope heard that stuttering voice, she immediately recognized it. Although it felt like it came from her, this voice without a doubt belonged to Alice.

A sinister laugh brought her body into a shudder. Kalliope continued to stare at the other party as they drew closer and closer. Her heartbeat pounded along each of their step. Kalliope shook her head in cowardice, trying to scramble to her feet to no avail as both of her feet were broken, leaving a horrendous sight of protruding bones and a mess of blood upon her legs.

Everything felt so real as if she was experiencing this herself. She could even feel the tremendous pain and the overwhelming fear plaguing her mind. It was such a foreign feeling that Kalliope couldn't pull herself out. She could only accept it, live, and suffer from it.

Her ten fingers were digging into the soil as she painstakingly dragged her body across the ground. Even as her nails had ruptured and her skin broken, and the pain shot through her unbearably, her hands didn't stop pulling her body forward. Large beads of tears trailed down her face continuously.

Every beat of Alice's heart, every emotion, each drop of tears and sweat, Kalliope felt everything. She lived through every single seconds of this unbroken nightmare. And it was gradually driving her frustration into madness.

"Aww…stop crawling, Cousin. It will only hurt you further. Do not worry about anything," the other party laughed unrestrainedly and the others followed along. "Stop and continue playing with us. I swear I won't leave a single scar on your body."

Kalliope shook her head indicating her distrust towards the other party's words. She kept her energy and focus on escaping as her desperate cry for help poured out of her mouth.

"…help… anybody…please."

"Someone…help me…."

While those words of plea escaped from Alice, Kalliope cries for help drowned in silence.

'Argan. Help!'

'Argan, are you there? Help!'

None of those words sounded into reality. Only Alice cries remained audible. Then, before she could react, her ankle was grabbed and Kalliope was pulled back. Her body grazed the hard ground in a flash.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" A hysterical scream escaped her mouth as she was mercilessly dragged back.