14 - Not Her

A/N: The chapter ahead is raw, which means it has not yet been proofread or edited.

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Candice squirmed. The man is trying to open her legs. She grabbed mud and put it on his face and mouth.

"Ah! Puta!" The man cursed out and let her hands go to wipe his face.

With that opening, Candice crawled away and ran as fast as she could. It doesn't matter what path she's taking! She must save herself, she must run away and call for help!

"MOMMY! HELP ME! KUYA FRANCIS! ATE ALICE! MOMMY!" She cried out and she heard her own voice echo back to her ears.

"Run faster, girl! Run faster! HAHA! I'M COMING AFTER YOU! I'M COMING IN YOU!"

Candice's tiny legs burned, but she didn't stop. She couldn't stop. Twigs and sharp rocks bit into her bare feet, but she barely felt the pain over the wild thumping of her heart. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her chest tight from exhaustion and fear.

Behind her, heavy footsteps crashed through the underbrush.

He was still coming.

Tears blurred her vision, she wiped them, and she forced herself to run faster, her arms pumping, her lungs screaming. She had to get away. She had to find a road, a house---someone.

Her uniform, already torn, snagged on a branch, yanking her back with a sharp rip. She let out a tiny whimper but ripped free, stumbling forward.

"GOT YAH!"

Candice screamed when his big, filthy hands picked her up from her waist.

"NO! NO! LET ME GO! MOMMY! HELP! DADDY! MOM---"

The man forced her legs open and excitedly unzipped his pants with one hand as the other is holding her by her ankle.

Kalonice wasn't herself anymore.

When she leapt from the road to the woods, the fear was gone. The panic, the hesitation, the doubt—all burned away. What was left was something sharp, something feral.

Her breath was ragged, her legs aching from the relentless sprint, but she didn't stop. She couldn't. The only thing that mattered was finding Candice.

And killing whoever took her.

The voices inside her head made animalistic noises, driving her to the edge.

Soon, her gritting teeth turned into a maniacal grin. The color of her eyes switching and fighting between blue and bottled green.

'I will do it! Let me do it, Kalonice!' the voice said as her claws reach for the sleeping body with Kalonice's face in the abyss.

When her fingertips successfully touched her face despite the chains attached on her...

Kalonice's eyes turned complete bottled green.

Midas felt it. He's behind her, chasing her. He felt it.

A stranger. Kalonice...is not Kalonice.

"MOMMY!!!" Candice cried out one last time with her eyes tightly closed.

Kalonice climbed the tree and jumped.

Candice felt the weight of the man on top of her leave. Midas picked her up and embraced her.

"It's me, little miss. It's...me..."

He was frozen, his breath caught in his throat, his pulse hammering as he held Candice close, his arms wrapped around her trembling body. She was shaking, sobbing, burying her face into his chest, but he tightened his hold, shielding her from the nightmare unfolding before them.

Because Kalonice wasn't stopping.

The knife plunged down—again. And again. And again.

Her movements were wild, frenzied, each strike fueled by something raw, something terrifying. Blood splattered onto her face, her clothes, her hands---but she didn't seem to notice nor care. Her teeth were clenched, lips formed into a grin, her chest heaving, her eyes locked onto the man beneath her---a man who had taken Candice, her baby girl.

Midas's stomach twisted, his instincts screaming at him to stop her, to pull her back. This wasn't Kalonice.

It was not Kalonice.

This wasn't the stubborn, brilliant woman who pushed back against him at every turn. This wasn't the girl who sketched dreams onto papers and dreamed for a sustainable future.

A sickening, wet gurgle signaled the end. The body beneath her stilled.

Kalonice remained hunched over for a moment, her shoulders rising and falling with ragged breaths. Then, slowly---too slowly---she turned her head.

Her gaze met his.

And for the first time in his life, Midas felt true, bone-deep horror.

Because her eyes were empty.

Not broken. Not regretful. Just---hollow.

And that her eyes were bottled green.

As the sun set over their heads, so was the color of her eyes. It gradually returned to blue, and she fainted.

Like in the movies, his father's men arrived late. Couldn't believe what they're seeing.

Midas pulled himself together and stand up. Candice is unconscious in his clutch, a good thing.

"You know what to do. Clean this mess and turn in a different man. Dispatch his body and make sure a word of this doesn't come out."

"Yes, Master."

Midas came to pick up Kalonice, too. A man covered them with a blanket. They've already secure the vicinity within and outside the woods.

What happened here, only they will know.