CHAPTER 4

‹‹‹‹‹ STILL IN THE PAST ‹‹‹‹‹

Spending their last moments with their only child who was just happy a while ago felt like a dream for both Vanessa and Damon. Vanessa had collapsed onto her daughter, her eyes soaked with tears unimaginable.

"Wake up" She effortlessly screamed

"Don't do this to me. You promised you'd take care of me didn't you?" She screamed even more. Damon, a fortress of composure crumbling held onto Vanessa, his hands trembling.

"My love, it'll be alright" Damon said knowing fully well nothing could change. He had accepted fate.

Then, the unthinkable happened. Allison jolted upright, her eyes, once pools of innocence, now twin voids of chilling white. Her grip on Vanessa was not a mother's embrace but a vise, her fingers digging into soft flesh. Vanessa's face contorted in agony, her muffled cries a desperate plea. Damon, a hulking figure, was hurled aside like a rag doll when he tried to intervene.

Nurses, their calm professionalism shattered by the horrific scene, rushed into the room. Their voices, a cacophony of orders and pleas, were swallowed by the chaos. Vanessa, a limp and lifeless form, was whisked away, leaving Allison alone in her terrifying transformation.

Her voice, beyond imaginable, a guttural growl, was a stark contrast to her previous gentle tones.

"Don't come near me!" She hissed, her words thick with menace. She stood at the edge of the bed like a predator eyeing its prey. The room was frozen in terror. No one dared move, their minds racing, trying to comprehend the impossible.

A low inhumane growl rumbled in her chest, sending shivers down everyone's spine. The once angelic Allison was gone, replaced by a creature of pure darkness.

››››› BACK TO PRESENT ›››››

"Great memory you have Arachna" Zephyr's voice, that irritatingly voice. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to drown out of the mental cacophony.

"I thought I took away your emotions. Hmm... something's odd. Arachna, tell me, what is it?"

"Don't call me that, ever!" I commanded, my voice echoed, a hollow sound bouncing off the cold, unforgiving walls.

"Whatever, Arachna"

I'm so freaking pissed! The stupid demon won't stop with the name-calling. I've told it a million times to back off, but it thinks it's funny. What a joke! Three years of this crap? Enough is enough! He should just freaking leave my body.

"Anger is an emotion. Why are ...and how...?"

Confusion was evident in his voice, a good thing for me, as he's always so sure and overconfident. He deserves it. He better be stuck in this state for life. However, it's not possible.

•••

Forty minutes of absolute silence!!

That's unheard of. This is Zephyr we're talking about, the king of drama, the master of manipulation. A single moment without him stirring up trouble is like the sun rising from the west. It's unnatural, suspicious even. Something's brewing. I just know it. He's either plotting his next move or he's finally snapped and give into full-on hibernation mode. Either way, this eerie quiet is giving me the creeps.

"Zephyr" I called. The name rolled of my tongue like a bitter taste.

"Zephyr" I called again. He's gone. He left?

"Zephyr" Am I free? Do I feel different? He left? Finally!!! Then a loud chuckle filled my head which left me paralyzed. Chuckle!?

"Zephyr? Is that really you?" I whispered to myself, my voice echoing in the cold, steel confines of this prison. For three long years, he'd been my constant, my tormentor, the monster I'd become. But now, something was different. A chuckle? That was new. Zephyr was always cold, calculating, filled with a pride that bordered on arrogance.

Now, there was doubt, uncertainty. It was like looking into a mirror and seeing a stranger staring back. The fear I'd sown, the destruction I'd caused - it all paled in comparison to this new terror. What was happening to me? To him? This was torture on a whole new level. I needed answers, but where would I find them? Trapped in this metallic cage, with no one but myself for company, the truth felt further away than ever.