CHAPTER 6

"Don't hurt her..." The plea echoed in the void of my consciousness, a desperate whisper against the tempestuous tide of Zephyr's will. I was nothing but a mere vessel, a puppet dancing on the strings of his malevolent design. His icy grip on my mind was absolute, leaving me nothing but a helpless spectator in the macabre theater of my own body.

"Allison?" My mother's voice, soft and filled with pain called out. But what could I do? I was a prisoner trapped within my own flesh. The statement I have been saying for over a million times.

"Mom!! Let me out of here! Please... I've been here for days now. I'm finally okay. Please, the monster finally fled off my body. I'm scared he might return. Help, please!" Zephyr's voice, cold and devoid of empathy, emerged from my lips. I felt a surge of shame and terror. It was my voice, yet it carried the icy venom of another. The thought of what he might do to her, the echoes of past horrors, sent shivers down my spine, or what felt like a spine.

"Are you okay?" My mother's voice trembled, a stark contrast to the chilling indifference of the demon within me. Her fear was a palpable thing, a heavy weight on my conscience, or what remained of it. But, like I have always said, I was nothing but a conduit for evil, nothing but a puppet dancing on strings of darkness.

"I'll release you my dear. I'll get the keys," she said, her voice filled with hope. Her footsteps, every rhythmic counterpoint to the choas within, had already faded into the distance. If only I could tell her not to.

Zephyr mustn't hurt her!

If he did...

What was I - a nobody but a puppet. What would I be able to do about it?

The shadow, the reason for our sudden escape out of this solitary chamber grew even larger within the confines of the room. Zephyr kept cursing loudly, making my head hurt. His anger filled my whole head.

"If Vanessa doesn't hurry, I'd have to kill her," he threatened, his voice a chilling whisper that seemed to fill the entire room. Fear, cold and absolute, gripped me. I was a helpless spectator to the unfolding horror, my body a willing instrument of destruction.

"Mom hurry!" I screamed, the sound tearing from my throat. The footsteps grew louder, closer. Hope flared, a fragile flame in the face of impending doom.

"Please don't hurt her," I begged silently, my heart pounding in my chest. I was a coward, trapped in my own body, unable to protect the one person who loved me unconditionally. My life, a tragic farce, was a testament to the power of darkness.

"These emotions of yours are only going to make things a lot worse" Zephyr's voice filled my head and suddenly, the door creaked open, revealing my mother's face, etched with fear and desperation. Her eyes, filled with a mixture of love and terror, searched my face for any sign of the daughter she knew.

Before she could even think more, with a speed that defied human comprehension, I was propelled forward, away from my mother. The world spun around me as I was hurled into the night. I landed hard on the forest floor, the cold earth a stark contrast to the burning sensation in my chest. The darkness was complete, broken only by the eerie glow of the moon.

"Your stupid emotions are making it difficult for me to think Arachna!" Zephyr's voice howled in my head. Instant reflex made me shut my eyes tightly and gripped my head with such force unable to comprehend. His voice was truly beyond loud.

The forest was alive with strange noises, the rustling of leaves, the distant howl of a creature. Fear gnawed at me. But this time, I tried my possible best to be calm. I didn't want to think about what could happen if he warns me to stop these emotions of mine again.

" It's too late.They know where I am" Nothing but fear was evident in his voice. Who knows where he is?

This is making sense now.

He is hiding from someone but this time in my body.