*HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE! MAY YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY! ALLOW ME TO BRING A LITTLE MORE PIZZAZZ TO YOUR DAY WITH A NICE UPDATE AND SOME QUESTIONS.~

QUESTIONS!!:
-What's your favorite flower? (I'd have to say it's a tie between tulips or roses.)
-What should Jack and Ao's "ship" name be? (I honestly have no idea what it would be called, even I am confused. Comment a name here and see which one comes up the most. Think of it as a contest. It's all up to you guys! Have fun!)

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY! :D*

Stay Creepy, My Friends!~

Chapter 32

Elizabeth's cold, solid metal hand was wrapped around my wrist, constricting blood flow, bruising my skin. I winced and desperately tried to pull myself out of her grip but that proved to be a worse option as I only hurt myself in the process. Her eyes bore straight into me, one radiant blue and one flaring golden in a sea of black, they gave me chills. Jeff was quick to act and he attempted to jump in and restrain her, but Elizabeth shifted into a crouch and struck a high kick towards Jeff's jaw. The hit made this unnerving smack and I cringed, but Jeff was still conscious as he held his jaw while kneeling on the floor. He wasn't getting back up though, he wobbled on his knees as if he was dizzy. The kick must've been strong.

Ben tried to jut in next but Elizabeth was quick and with one kick to the gut Ben was kneeling down right next to Jeff. I gulped down a wad of nervousness, letting it pile up with the rest of it in my gut. I looked at Elizabeth and was taken aback to see her glaring at me again. She suddenly leaped off from the bed and stood behind me, wrapping an arm around my body and releasing her metal hand from my wrist to raise it to my throat. I tilted my head back to stay away from it as best as I could.

Both disoriented boys got up to their feet and stared at Elizabeth with caution. Her hold around my torso tightened as she growled, "Where the hell am I? Who the hell are you?"

I could see Jeff's gaze harden. My gaze on him softened. Her question must answer one of his. Elizabeth doesn't remember them.

"Answer me, now," she demanded fiercely. The boys were quiet for a few moments and I silently pleaded for them to have her let go of me somehow. Maybe Sam would do it, I know he would. By now he would've done something. But he didn't. Still inactive. My despair grew.

A sudden and familiar whirring began echoing around the room and I stared wide eyed at Elizabeth's prosthesis. I began to shake as she brought it a centimeter closer to my throat. The memory of her punching my stomach came to mind and I suddenly grew nauseated. I still have the bruise. "I said, answer me," she growled, "or else I'll crush her throat and take her head clean off." Ben and Jeff seemed rattled at the threat and I felt even more so. The whirring continued and built up more speed and I prayed it didn't have a limit to how much it could last.

I watched as Jeff stepped forward and Elizabeth flinched back, taking me a step with her. He kept a straight face as he said in a calm voice, "Let her go, and we'll explain everything."

"What if I don't want to," she questioned bitterly.

"Then we'll explain while you keep her captive," he stated and I gave him a look. I could tell the option was working for Elizabeth, though. The room was quiet as she contemplated the situation. So did I. If she intends to run, she'll have to get past Ben and Jeff to get through the door or she'll have to break through the boards nailed to cover the window on the far side of the room. If she intends to maim and then run for a better chance of escape, she'll hurt Ben and Jeff and me too, or she'll kill me since she's already so close to doing so. One clench of her metal hand against my throat and I'll suffocate and die. I know I shouldn't have, but I spoke up in a feeble voice, "If you think they'll hurt you, you're wrong." She glared at me and I kept on, despite how cold her gaze was. "You've been unconscious for a week already. If they wanted to hurt you or kill you then you wouldn't have woken up at all."

She kept that intimidating face but I could tell I made her think a little deeper. During the silence, I looked at the boys, at Ben's face of concern and paranoia, at Jeff's cold face of stability and caution. Something soft brushed against my neck and I let out a small whimper, only to realize that Elizabeth had only sighed. The mechanical whirring of her arm gradually ceased and I was thankful that she could stop it on her own. Then, she relieved me further and said, "Start explaining before I grow impatient."

I saw a small smile form on Ben's lips and Jeff's shoulders relaxed a little more. He stepped forward to take me but Elizabeth pulled me back and snapped, "You'll get her back once you're done. She stays with me." Jeff frowned at her orders but he respected them and stepped back. He looked at me and gave me a soft nod. He's only abiding to keep me safe. I nodded back, understanding his intentions. Elizabeth pulled me down to my knees and then sat on the edge of the bed while holding the back of my neck firmly with her metal arm. I stayed still as I sat there and I resisted the urge to shiver from the cold metal surface for fear that the smallest movement will set her off. I could feel the defiance in her grip and she is no doubt showing it towards Ben and Jeff.

"You can start your explaining by stating your names," she ordered.

Jeff introduced himself first and then Ben took his turn. They didn't ask for her name, either because it wasn't necessary or because they thought it would anger her. Jeff did all of the talking, telling of how he had come to grow concerned of Elizabeth's actions, and his intentions for when he found her. He never mentioned anything about how they used to know each other. When he stated that she was the proxy, she didn't seem fazed. "I know that," she stated which seemed to throw Jeff off a little. Then he added that he needed to find her in order to take her some place safe and prepare her to fight something evil. "I know that too," she said, "I know what I am, I know what I have to do and what I have to know. Tell me something else that I don't know already."

Jeff seemed frustrated. He told her all that he needed to, yet she already knew. Jeff decided to ask some questions: Why did you mark the symbol for people to see, why did you attack us, how had you gained the arm and the eye, and so on. Elizabeth was only willing to answer one of those questions. "I didn't mark the symbol for people to see," she said, "it was meant for someone else, to show that I'm still here, to intimidate them."

"We know who that is..," Ben murmured and Jeff agreed.

"What do you mean by 'still here'," Jeff asked.

Her grip on me tightened and for a moment I thought I twitched without knowing but she didn't hurt me. There was a strange sadness in her tone when she said, "I heard I was supposed to be dead."

"Heard from who," Jeff asked firmly, tensing up.

Elizabeth growled, "I'm not telling you. I'm not going to reveal their identities so you can kidnap them too."

Jeff sighed and brushed a hand through his hair. I gave him a soft look and he caught it. He looked aggravated, from Elizabeth's lack of cooperation, from talking to her again? Probably both. The room grew quiet again and I wondered if Jeff was figuring out what else to ask. Suddenly, Elizabeth said, "The two of you leave."

"Excuse me," Ben muttered.

"Leave," she ordered and stood up from the bed, yanking me up to my feet. "Leave the room." She shot me a glare and said, "I want to have a little chat with Ao." Hearing her say my name had unnerved me, partly because I never introduced myself. She also knew my name before. I wonder how. Ben frowned and said, "We're not going to leave her alone with you."

"It'll be a quick talk," she said.

"No way in hell," Jeff growled and stepped forward to grab me again. Elizabeth stuck a hand out towards him and something glowed on her marked wrist. Within the blink of an eye, something manifested and materialized around her hand. A bracer with a shining blade jutting out towards Jeff's chest. He stopped in his tracks and stared at the blade with startled eyes. He looked up at Elizabeth as she growled, "I told you to get the fuck out, Snow White." Jeff flinched from the rude comment and stared at her, looking hurt. "Do I have to repeat myself," she said and raised the blade higher to his neck. Jeff leaned his head back and gulped. He shook his head and stepped back. He grabbed Ben and pulled him out while the blonde man kept protesting. He shut the door and that's when my heart dropped into the pit of my churning stomach. The bracer glowed and disappeared into her scarlet mark and she let me go. She placed herself in front of me and I gulped nervously.

"Show me your mark," she commanded. I shook my head and said, "I-I don't have it."

She frowned. "What do you mean you don't have it," she asked me.

"It's not on me," I responded.

"I saw it on you, all over you for that matter," she said, "it doesn't just disappear either. Either it's somewhere you can't see or you're lying to me."

"I'm not lying I swear," I said.

"Then you should have it."

"I don't..!" I was growing nervy.

"Sure," she muttered and stepped closer to me. "I'll look for it myself."

"Wh-What?! No!"

She tried grabbing for my shirt but I stepped away and leaned against the wall behind me. Elizabeth frowned and sighed heavily. "What kind of proxy doesn't know where her mark is," she remarked sorely and I glared at her.

"I'm not the proxy," I protested and she stifled a wry laugh. "You're right," she told me, which took me by surprise as I've only been disagreed with thus far. She stepped closer and I froze up. Her eyes bore into me with intense vexation and she said, "You're not the proxy. You're just a girl. Someone like you could never handle that kind of thing. You're not supposed to bare the mark. I am."

I clenched my hands into fists and said, "Then explain to me why the mark showed up."

She stayed quiet for a moment, letting me know that she had no clear answer. "Something got messed up," was all she said, "you gained the mark, which labels you as the proxy. There can only be one, though, which contradicts with this situation."

"Well, then I'm right," I said, "This was a mistake. Good! You can be the proxy and I won't! I can just remove my role and you can take as much of the limelight as you want. Problem solved!"

"It doesn't work that way," Elizabeth stated and I dropped my somewhat relieved expression. She crossed her arms and started, "In order for you to step down from your role, the magic of what makes a proxy has to leave the host and choose another. For that to happen, the proxy has to fulfill the mission of protecting mankind from an evil being entitled by the name Zalgo, and sending him back to his own realm to slumber. I doubt you can achieve that."

A frown came upon my face. "How do you know I won't be able to defeat him," I said, "have you encountered him?"

"I have yet to."

"Then there's no way you would know."

"Oh but I do," she said darkly, "Do you want to know how?" I wanted to say no, but she continued without me. "He's the one that gouged out my left eye and bit my right arm off of my body. He took my only kindred away from me in the most gruesome of fashions, one of them being by my own hand. He drove me to insanity multiple times, manipulated me to become a war machine, and terrorized the ones I loved. He's murdered people in front of me, mutilated them and then left them to his monstrous pets to feed off of their bloody corpses. He desecrated my hometown with the blood of its citizens to which it now stands as a ghost town left to wallow in the effects of that horrible time. He has caused the bloodiest wars and is the lord of all chaos itself. He has murdered whole generations of people and has conquered realms. He is a being that feeds off of the blood and misery of all life; he's a serpent, a deluding pig, a writhing maggot that keeps transforming into a more vile, and sinister insect and injects a deadlier poison into the hearts and minds of the innocent. His true form let alone is a nightmare never to behold. If you honestly think that you could ever defeat that, then you're mistaken."

With every detail she spoke of, she grew closer and closer until she had me pressed tightly against the wall. Her eyes were fiery with hatred and her dour vibe was suffocating. I stared at her with wide, horrified eyes, with a tinge of sympathy as well. My gaze shifted towards her metal arm and then to her unnatural eye. It took me a while to notice the faint scars along her skin, reminders of a dark time in her life, a life that she vaguely remembers. I scoffed and murmured, "So, is that the only way for me to step down?"

There was a pause of silence. "No, not exactly," she started, "Something obviously got mixed up. This kind of business is a strict one and there can be no room for error. Any and every flaw must be eradicated to ensure the safety of mankind and of reality itself. If the magic got screwed up then the damage must be undone. Even if that means taking someone's life." The look she gave me was clear. I'm a flaw in this system. The only other way I would step down as being the proxy is to be killed. By the cold, savage look in her mismatched eyes, it's only likely that she would be the one to execute my death. "Is that why you attacked me at the carnival," I asked. Elizabeth nodded. I turned my head away from her and clenched my fists. I felt so small in front of her what with her belittling me. Why did the mark have to show up on me in the first place? Why is this a mistake? Ben said a host is predestined, so why am I an error? Things still don't make sense.

I shifted my eyes to the boarded up window and saw that daylight was already diminishing through the cracks. I checked the time on my phone, it's getting late. I can't stay here. "I have to go," I murmured. I dared a glance at Elizabeth and saw her eyes narrow. "Fine," she harrumphed and stepped out of the way to let me leave. I slowly made my way past her, which felt like a long time for some reason. Once I was a foot away, she muttered quietly, "Say hello to Sam for me." My steps faltered at her mention of my currently silent friend and I suddenly felt cold. Even though I was bothered, I didn't completely stop walking and so I finally made it to the door and once I opened it up I bolted for freedom. Ben and Jeff were waiting down the hall and the both of them stood to attention. "Are you okay," Jeff asked me. I nodded and said, "I'll be fine. I need to go home. My parents will be coming back from work."

"Alright," Jeff responded, "Ben can take you back. We'll be seeing you soon."

I stepped close to him and whispered, "Will you be okay being alone with Elizabeth?" He hesitated and in that quiet moment I knew he wasn't, despite saying, "Yeah.." I didn't protest or try to comfort him. I walked past him and left out of the house with Ben. We stepped off of the porch and onto the untrimmed grass. "Let's get going," Ben said and grabbed my arm. Before we left, I took another glance back at the house. One of the blocked front windows leads into the room Elizabeth is in. I wonder if she's watching us leave through the wood planks or is just keeping to herself. Say hello to Sam for me, she said. I clutched onto my school bag like it was my life. I could still feel the weight of her words on me. I wonder if Sam is as bothered as I am. If so, then he isn't making it known. Before I could think any deeper on the matter my head began swimming again and I closed my eyes as strange tingles ran over my body. Soon, I found myself outside of my estate. Even though I was dizzy, I turned towards the driveway. No one was home yet. Good.

Ben let go of me and I stepped up to the front door. As I fished for my house keys in my school bag, I told Ben, "Thank you for taking me home. I appreciate it."

"No problem," he said with an easy-going smile. Then it dropped and he added in a mild voice, "I'm sorry about today." I looked at him and shook my head. "Don't be," I said, "I'm okay. I'm just glad things didn't turn for the worse."

"What did Elizabeth say to you while you were alone with her," he asked me. I cast my eyes down as I recounted her words, remembered her glares. I didn't want to explain it all, so I summed it up as best as I could. "Something went wrong with the proxy magic. I can't get out of my position unless I fulfill the duty of the proxy or die."

"Okay..."

"She's willing to kill me," I stated grimly. Ben's only response: "Oh.."

"Also," I added, "...she remembers things from before. Though it seems that not all of her memories are recovered yet."

Ben paused and nodded. "That's good, right? I'll make sure to tell Jeff about it," he said.

Crickets began chirping around and I knew I should be getting inside and the sky was dipping into a red-orange hue. "I'll see you around," I said, ending our meet for now. Ben waved good-bye as I began unlocking the door, but before I opened it up and entered my house, I stopped and turned to him. "Hey," I started, "...how come you teleported without me giving you a kiss?"

Ben's grin grew wider as he giggled mischievously. I frowned. "Have a good night!," he exclaimed quickly, before flickering off, most likely back to the hideout. Such a pervert, geez. I sighed and shook my head as I finally entered my home. Once I was inside I went straight for my bedroom upstairs. I dropped my school bag into the floor and threw my jacket off of my body and against the papasan. I sat down on my bed then fell back onto the duvet. My eyes stared up towards one point onto the ceiling and I inhaled and exhaled deeply.

"You're not the proxy. You're just a girl."

She made my position seem like a disgrace.

"...The damage must be undone."

I knew it was all a big misunderstanding, but..

"Any and every flaw must be eradicated..."

I didn't think...

"Even if that means taking someone's life."

I could die for it.

I curled up into a ball and stared at the ruffles in the blue duvet. Everything was so quiet. "Sam, why won't you speak," I murmured dolefully. No response. I closed my eyes and tried to shake off all of the strange things of today, knowing I will be doing this more often than I expected.

...

"The atoms that make up matter never touch each other. The closer they get, the more repulsion there is between the electrical charges on their component parts. It's like trying to bring two intensely powerful magnets together, north pole to north pole. This even applies when objects appear to be in contact," I read aloud, "When you sit on a chair, you don't touch it. You float a tiny distance above, suspended by the repulsion between atoms. This electromagnetic force is vastly stronger than the force of gravity - around a billion billion billion billion times stronger."

Jack sighed as he sat comfortably on the couch. "How basic," he remarked. "Very," I giggled though we only joked. I turned the page and shifted the large textbook on my lap for a better grip on it. "You can stop if you'd like," Jack offered. I obliged and set the book down on the coffee table.

Sighing, I leaned back against the couch. It was a Saturday morning and Jack has come by to see me again. We were in the lounge room, as usual, while my parents were off to work again. My mother will be coming back in the afternoon and my father will be coming home late, when I'll probably be sleeping. No word from Ben about Jeff or Elizabeth. Personally, I'm afraid to hear about Elizabeth. She didn't set a friendly first impression. Jeff, on the other hand, I'm worried for. His stress is obviously worsening at a daily rate. I wonder how he's holding up now.

I turned my gaze onto Jack and watched him tap his fingers against his mask. Seeing him like this brings a sort of comfort and familiarity to me. He's so casual right now, which is strange since it has only been several weeks since we met, and that's not counting the time he was away. I wondered why he acted this way. Is it just because this is his personality? Or could it be that he feels the same familiarity that I've felt since I first saw him? I wondered still.

"Jack," I called and he turned his head slightly towards me. I wanted to say something, to ask why he acted this way, to figure out just some of the questions I have. Instead I came out with nothing. If I ask him anything I may drive him away. But I can't stand not knowing anything about him. Sadly, I know very little, and that's okay considering we met weeks ago, but we've done so much with each other that it's hard to think that we're still in the dark about a lot of things. This all makes me sound so pressing against him but I just want to know a few things. Maybe then I'll gain some closure until I can receive more answers later.

"Did you want to tell me something," Jack asked. I don't know what happened but I panicked. My words didn't come out the way I wanted them to and I said, "Are you hungry? I'm hungry! Let's eat something." Ao, you're a friggin' idiot.

"Um," Jack murmured, "No thanks, I'll pass."

I smiled. "Are you sure? You know, the only time I've ever seen you eat was at the sushi bar. ...Do you ever eat?"

Jack shifted in his spot on the couch. "Yes," he answers, "I just have a...limited diet."

"Okay, then," I said, "I'll just whip up a P-B and J sandwich."

"What is that?" Jack asked me.

I stared at him with wide eyes and gasped dramatically. "You don't know what a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is?!"

"No, not exactly."

I grinned widely. "You're going to eat one," I said and started racing out of the lounge room. Jack came after me, saying, "You don't have to make me anything, it's fine."

"Non-sense," I exclaimed boldly, "it would be inconsiderate of me to allow you to live on without trying a P-B and J!"

"I really don't think it's that important to me."

"Oh but after this, it will be," I laughed. We made it into the kitchen and I scrambled for the ingredients. Jack only leaned against the island counter and watched me placidly. "Do you want a glass of milk with your sandwich," I asked, "are you allergic to milk? Is that why your diet is limited? I have soy milk! I have a whole carton of soy milk."

"No, I'm not allergic to milk," he answered.

"Okay good, because I might've been lying about the soy milk," I said. Jack shook his head and I continued making the sandwiches. When I was done, I wrapped his up in a paper towel and handed it to him. "Here you go," I said. He grabbed it hesitantly and held it like it would explode at any moment. I giggled, "Go ahead and try it. Come on."

Jack hunched his shoulders and muttered, "I shouldn't be eating this."

"Carbs aren't going to kill you," I joked.

Jack shook his head, "I'm not worried about that."

"Then, what's wrong," I asked.

Jack was quiet for a moment and I began to worry. I didn't want to upset him. I was close to protesting against him eating the sandwich when he began lifting up his mask as he said, "Nothing's wrong. I'll be fine." I watched as Jack lifted his mask up above his mouth and took a bite out of the sandwich. As soon as he started chewing, his lips contorted into a grimace and I smiled warmly. "You don't have to eat it now," I chuckled.

"I've got it," he groaned after he swallowed his first bite. "Agh, something got stuck in my mouth."

"That's the peanut better."

"Ugh, is one of its ingredients glue?" He grumbled as he tried to remove the peanut butter with his tongue. I giggled. The more bites he took, the more uncomfortable he got. It got to the point where Jack was gagging. I gave him a glass of water and had him stop eating. "You're not allergic to peanut butter, are you," I asked him as he was finally calming down. He shook his head and murmured, "No, I'm not. I'll be fine."

"Sorry I made you eat it," I said.

"It's alright," he groaned, "it was probably for the best to get something in my system anyway.."

"You didn't seem to enjoy it," I remarked.

"Food is food," he sighed and put his blue mask back in place. I smiled. When I had finished up my sandwich, we started walking back to the lounge room. As we were walking down the hall, Jack coughed and groaned, "That peanut butter really sticks, doesn't it?"

"You get used to it," I remarked. While we were walking, Jack grabbed my hand and I froze. I watched him slip his mask just above his mouth again, lean down, pick up my hand and bite it. It wasn't hard but it still made me flinch, especially because his teeth were still sharp. I stared at his lingering lips and felt a soft blush graze my cheeks. Why is he...?

Jack finally stopped nibbling on my hand and he scoffed as he leaned away. "That's better," he whispered and shifted his mask down. I raised a questioning eyebrow at him and he released my hand so it fell at my side. He started walking on down the hallway but I stayed in my place. I was still a bit thrown off by his actions. I looked at my hand and saw his bite mark, making small parts of my skin look raw and irritated. If he put any more pressure, he would've broken the skin. I rubbed at my taut skin and carried on walking down the hall. When I entered the lounge room, Jack was near the book shelves. I stared at him as he trailed his bandaged fingers against the spines of many books. He reached up one more shelf above his height and snagged his fingers on the top of a book. He held it in his hands, felt his fingers across the front cover, back cover and spine and then set it back in the spot it was previously rested. As he turned his back to me and searched for another book, I suddenly remembered something that I deemed important.

"Jack," I called. He stopped himself from grabbing a book and turned to me. I walked up next to him and said, "Remember that time when I fixed you up after encountering a gang of thugs?"

"Yes.."

"And you know how you were shirtless and stuff...?" I twiddled my thumbs.

"Yes..?"

"Well," I started, "I saw something on your back and I was kind of wondering if I could see it again..?"

Jack was quiet for a few moments and I felt like I creeped him out. Surprisingly enough though, he started taking his hoodie and shirt off, which obviously took me off guard. I blushed and looked away as he revealed his torso and placed his hoodie and shirt aside. "There," he said as he turned his back to me, allowing me to see the Ouroboros symbol. I relaxed my shrunken stance and observed the black mark. Now that I can clearly check this out, it really is a tattoo. Wait, maybe "check this out" isn't the appropriate thing to say.

"Do you mind if I touch it," I asked, looking closer.

"Depends," Jack started, "is that all you intend to touch?"

I frowned and blushed. "Y-Yes! Geez, what do you make me out for?"

"Well, you were the one that thought I implied sexual intercourse when I was only offering food-."

"Shush!!"

I calmed down and stepped a bit closer. Alright, Ao, this is it. Let's delve inside for Jack's little secrets. Really, "delve inside"? Are you okay, Blue? Did the peanut butter do something? There's obviously something wrong with you because right now you're talking to yourself and it's really awkward. You should probably stop. Yes? No? Well, you know what, no one asked for your opinion-- Jesus, just touch the symbol!!

I placed my fingers on the center of the symbol, directly on Jack's spine, and waited for something to happen. Jack's skin was cool under my touch but I expected jolting warmth. I furrowed my brow and touched a spot on his shoulder blade. There was no blinding white light, no jolting sensation, no heat, nothing. I pressed my fingers against another spot but I got the same result. I tried both hands and there was still no effect. Nothing but Jack's cool, gray skin and his black tattoo. Both frustrated and confused I placed my forehead against the center of the symbol. Jack stood perfectly stone still and asked, "What are you doing?"

"N-Nothing," I stammered and focused intently on that white light. I clenched my eyes closed tightly and groaned. "Seriously," Jack said, "what are you doing?"

"Nothing," I repeated. I was really doing nothing. I couldn't feel the strange energy I receive along with the white light. No matter how much I pressed my head or hands against Jack's back and no matter how much I focused, I couldn't get that spark leading to a vision.

Jack asked, "Are you trying to become one with me or...?"

"No!" I exclaimed and pulled myself away from him. I murmured to myself, "Why won't it work?"

"Why won't what work?"

I didn't answer Jack's question for instead I was too busy thinking. "It should work," I sighed, "did I max out or something?"

"Ao, what's going on?"

"I don't exactly know," I answered, "that's why I'm testing this thing out on you."

"What thing?" I could tell he was growing discomfited.

"I can't tell you because I haven't figured out what to explain yet," I answered, "All I know is that this is supposed to work, so why isn't it-?" I placed my hand on his back again. My body froze up, my surroundings faded out to make way for a bright white light, and a strange pressure built up inside my stomach, making me feel sick. Everything was so sudden and I couldn't prepare myself for anything at all.

Before I knew it, I found myself walking down some stairs. The edges of my vision were a little hazy but I could see clearly so far. I was careful about my footing and I leaped off from the last step and right in front of a steel door. My hands reached for a few latches and I unlocked the door, allowed myself through and then I closed it behind me. The room I entered was dark and smelled of something metallic and almost rotten. What is this? My hands fumbled for something on the wall and my fingers caught a switch. One light in the center of the room turned on, allowing me to see a man on a chair, tied up, gagged, bloodied and bruised. I didn't react to the sight of him, if anything I walked right past him towards a shelf stacked with jars and bottles of chemicals and other objects. I checked the labels of the jars for a certain chemical.

I heard a noise from behind me and I turned just in time to see the tied up man not so tied up anymore as he was making a run for the steel door. I heard myself gasp and I raced after him. My hands clawed onto his torn up pants and I tried pulling him away from the door, for what purpose? He's breaking for freedom, I can only guess, so why keep him from that? The man snapped at me to let him go but I wouldn't listen. I struggled with him for a while until things got aggressive and both the man and I fell against a shelf. A few jars and bottles clattered or shattered onto the floor, spilling all kinds of liquids at our feet. The man grabbed for a jar that had a letter 'P' on the label and he suddenly smashed it across my face. My vision spotted and I could feel my skin burning around my cheeks and forehead and temples. A loud, ear-splitting scream echoed around the room and I could feel myself fall across the floor. Legs kicking, heart racing, vocal cords splitting, I was a mess. The sounds of stomping footsteps flowed into the room and there was another loud, guttural scream of terror. Something spilled violently on my body and then there was a loud schluck as something fell onto the floor. I was trembling uncontrollably as my skin kept burning from whatever chemical was thrown into my face. Hands grabbed onto me and arms enveloped my shaking body as I was carried away, somewhere, away from the sickly smelling room which I now realize it had the rancid scent of blood and other bodily fluids all along.

I soon found myself lying down on something. My vision was splotchy, couldn't see correctly. The skin around my eyes felt raw and tears still spilled down my face. My body still shook, my heart still raced. Voices warped around me, those of a man and a woman, and they spoke urgently, arguing, discussing, planning, agreeing. There was a word that I could barely make out, something about "removal". Removal of what?

Something compressed my wrists and ankles and torso, holding me down, restraining me. I began panicking, pleading for something not to happen but I couldn't even hear myself. Through my fuzzy vision I saw two figures looming over me, giving me looks of sympathy or focus. I wanted to reach out for them, to beg for a comforting hug, to just fall asleep in their arms and forget this all ever happened. They didn't allow me that privilege. Instead they ignored me and went on with what they were doing. Warm fingers stretched my eyelids apart, making my damaged eyes water. My heart rate kept picking up speed and for a moment I thought it would burst out of my chest from the intensity and kill me. For some reason, I wished that was what could've happened. Instead, I felt something cold and hard gently touched my eye and kept pushing through the side. I whimpered, then whimpering turned to sobbing, then sobbing turned to screaming bloody murder. My fingers clawed at the platform under me and I struggled against my restraints. I felt fluids coming down my cheek and it wasn't my tears. It was something else, something thicker. It felt messy and I couldn't take it anymore. Please stop.. Please. I could hear a voice plead along with me: "Please! Mama? Dad? No! Stop!!!"

After that I kept blacking out and I couldn't tell which came before or after another scene. I didn't know what was happening. Soon enough all of the pain stopped and my screams came down to feeble whimpers. I was being carried away again and then I was set down on something plush and comfy. A bed. Hands brushed my hair away from my sweat dampened forehead and my hand was given a squeeze. I turned my head, expecting to see someone beside me, the person comforting me after doing something terrible, but I could see no one. Everything was pure blackness.

I came back to reality with a loud, shrilled cry of agony, using my own voice. I stepped back a few times until I fell over and hit the floor with a hard thud. I writhed and clawed at my eyes as I could still feel the searing pain from that vision. Jack shouted my name and I could feel his hands grab firmly onto my arms. It wasn't until he pulled me against him that I noticed how badly I was shaking. I calmed my screaming down to quiet rambling. "What's wrong," Jack asked me, his voice lined with concern. I gulped and breathed heavily against his shoulder, what I presumed was his shoulder. I froze. I felt for his head. Where? Where is it? He's in front of me right? Of course he is. He's holding me. Wait, where are we? "Why is it so dark," I murmured, waving my hands around, "did you turn off the lights?"

"No," Jack answered, "one moment you touched my back and then a few seconds later you started screaming. There was no time for me to do anything." The vision felt longer than a few seconds. I reached his head, brushing my fingers through his hair, feeling the string that held his mask on his face. I turned towards him, where I think he is and blinked. He wasn't showing up. He should be less than an inch away from my face right now. Why is everything still so dark? I panicked and felt tears of frustration prick my eyes. My fingers clawed onto Jack and I shook my head. "Ao," he called softly, "what's wrong?"

"J-Jack," I stammered, "I-I....I.."

"You what? What's going on? Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not!" I can't believe this. "I can't see!"