Gradients of black and dark purple formed whirlwinds that surrounded Carmen's body. Her knee ached from kneeling on the floor and her hands tightly clutched her t-shirt, unwilling to let go. The whirlwinds closed in on her, murmuring in perpetual whispers, words she could not perceive. 

Silence ensued a beat after Zane exposed Carmen. The argument continued in their hearts but words simply would not form. But by the powers vested by the whirlwind, Carmen could hear the enfilade in their hearts, she could tell the vehemence behind them. But not the words. 

"Carmen."

"Carmen!"

An audible sigh later, "Rose?"

The vortex loosened its grip on Carmen, but only slightly. It threatened to consume her once again and perhaps, that would be for the better. She lifted her heavy head and stared ahead at the raging eyes of doom, forgetting the love that was once behind them. 

"What is it?" she asked, weakly. 

Pathetic. 

Carmen, who once considered herself to be above everyone else, now found herself at the mercy of peasants. From the creator of misfortune, she had been demoted to the creator of her own misfortune. 

"She won't speak," Zane said. His tone lacked the venom that Adara and Rylen possessed and for just a second, Carmen believed that he would support her. 

But that second passed and Carmen knew; he was the catalyst for her predicament. 

"Nobody knew him by Nikolas Branson before the name came out in the news. Even then, there's no way Adara believed that her own uncle was Nikolas. That's because she never came in contact with him when he was under that name. But Carmen claimed that she did know Nikolas Branson before the news. She's the only one of us who has interacted with that name so she is the person Bane wants," Zane said. 

He no longer feared the consequences his actions might bring. His naive, past self believed he had control over what Bane knew and didn't know. However, now he knew that that was far from the truth. Bane already had everything he needed. 

Now, he had Zane as well. 

Words could not explain the fear that weighed Zane down. He stood tall and commanded the room but that was nothing more than manifestation. A manifestation of his waking dream wish fulfilment. Bane had grown comfortable, so much so that he revelled in playing with their plight. 

"There were CCTV cameras in his office, apparently." Unsurity wasn't in Zane's nature but his every sentence harboured that feeling, "He saw Carmen enter it through the window. This was the day before we came here, I believe. 13th October. He also said that Carmen did so much more that day, something that could have helped us."

Carmen's eyes drooped. Was there any escaping this?

Was it worth escaping?

"What did you see, Carmen?" Rylen asked, lips quivering.  

"Just fucking tell us! Maybe it's what we need to get out! Maybe it's something we've been focused on! I just want to go home," Adara exclaimed, the burden of her screams gnawing at her throat. 

"I," Carmen began, "I don't know what you're talking about."

I am capable of more than just giving up, Carmen thought, pushing the whirlwinds further away. 

Old habits die hard. 

The cycle of life - eat, scam, sleep, repeat - took over instead of her mundane emotions. She was used to a life that never let her down, so that was what she believed was meant for her. The never-ending cycle of conflicting feelings and perceived unworthiness hung like a dark cloud over the carmen as it struggled to bloom.

"Nonsense!" Adara exclaimed, the armrest beside her vibrating with the contact of her clenched fist, "I fucking hate you, Carmen! I hate you so much! If you know something, fucking tell it and let me go home!"

"I'm sorry," she responded. 

"Carmen, please," Zane said, kneeling down to her level, "you're not hiding it from anyone! Bane is already aware of what you did, it's only a matter of time. If you tell us. We might be able to-"

Zane paused. He could only offer assistance without inciting trouble, without being direct. He found himself in a difficult situation and he needed to make sure he had an exit plan.

"Don't you be soft with her!" Adara exclaimed. 

"Shut up, Adara. You're not the only one who wants to go home so quit whining," Rylen said bitterly. 

"Oh, you're one to talk-" Adara began. 

"Clearly, screaming at people is not working! So if you can't get answers out of someone, at least let us do it in peace!" Rylen exclaimed. 

Carmen tapped the floor, still feeling the lingering motion of knocking. She knew they were right; Bane already knew everything and was playing games with them. Despite being no match to him, she couldn't help clashing egos. She didn't know how to not play his game. Remaining quiet would prompt more arguing, exactly what he wanted. But speaking up would make everyone loathe her, again, exactly what he wanted. There was no real escape. 

At this point, Carmen had succeeded in pushing the dust devils to the corners of the room. Her head cleared, but not from the ease of heart. In fact, it was quite the contrary. If there was anyone capable of figuring things out, it was Zane. Carmen was not qualified in reading people's psyche but she knew Zane, she knew the meaning behind his words; he could help. 

Worst case scenario, everyone in the room would hate her. 

But a girl who was never seen didn't care to be hated. 

Even if the people who hated her were the ones who made her feel for the first time in forever. 

Or so she told herself.

"It's true, I broke into his house on 13th October," Carmen said. Silence followed her shuddering breath, masking the agitation that filled the room. 

"I had read his future, with my tarot cards," another pause later, "I don't believe in tarot cards. So..."

Carmen's voice rose as she spoke. She found it easy to justify her actions with herself since she never spoke up, but now her crimes needed solid justification and it all felt too real. The moment word was out, they'd view her as a monster. She couldn't accept that. 

"I give negative readings. Because it's very hard to make someone's life get better and it's easier to make it worse and if their life did get worse after my prediction... I would have some credibility," Carmen said. Her hands shook and she stared at the wobbling recliners. 

"I did the same with Nikolas. Bane. He and his wife," a sharp pain gutted Carmen's heart, "Emily told me how she was worried about his business so I told him it would fail. I followed him to his house to know exactly what it was, so that I could make it fail, in a way. That's why I followed him to his house. 

"I heard them argue and I decided to listen. I figured it out, I knew he had something to do with drugs. That's not hard to screw up, right? Then their argument grew worse and worse and he-"

Carmen was panting. The look of severity did not miss her gaze. Why must she carry on? Was she really helping herself? They all hated her already, didn't they?

I'm a monster. I destroy gardens and everything I touch. 

"Bane shot her. I didn't want to get myself into the mess so I left and I didn't look back. So when you told me that Emily could help us, Zane, I already knew she wouldn't. I knew that she was," Carmen froze. 

"Dead," Zane said, hollow. 

Emily is dead. 

Hearts thumped in the dead of night, the rhythmic drums melting the emotions that surfaced to the top. The hurt melted away, what remained of it dripping into the soul. The hurt fed the overwrought soul which strayed away from the heart as much as it could. The only thing that remained was absolute numbness, clouding the eyes and judgement as it had for so many days on end. 

Only, it was tenfold. 

And from the numbness, seeped anger. 

"You knew more about Bane than we ever did," Rylen said. His gritted teeth didn't make his voice menacing. His eyes were stranded, unable to put any sense into his feelings, unable to showcase the severity of his anger. 

"How many times have you done this before?!" Adara asked, referring to nothing in particular. Her conscience sunk to the floor, the only thing that stood above was her body itself. A disintegrating body that could no longer move on. 

"How could you be so vile and selfish? You saw her and you didn't think to call anyone for help? Worst of all, you've been manipulating all of us! You tried to make me out to be the bad guy and I tried so hard to prove that I wasn't! I trusted you the most, do you fucking remember that?" Adara screeched as her anger took a physical form - tears. 

"You left her at the clutches of someone you knew was dangerous! How did you bring yourself to do that? We should never have opposed Zane at the start! We never should have stopped the hunt! I never should have assumed that the person who Bane was looking for was a decent citizen! You, you, you're such a manipulator!" Adara's voice only continued to grow sore. 

Her dry hands pulled at the bags underneath her innocent eyes, trembling under the anger, manipulation, resentment, shame, contempt, stress, worry. 

Hurt. 

Carmen stood amidst it all, the punching bag of the emotions that raced around the room, tangling into one another, becoming a ball of dust that obstructed her eyes and seeing the world for what it is - humanity. Just when she seemed to return to the normality of humans, there was every reason not to. Every human she could see loathed her, a sign that she should not bother. 

But she no longer could separate herself from her actions and their repercussions. 

"You said you wanted to foil his business. This was the same day that I lost the drugs I had to supply. Carmen, at least now, for the love of god, tell me the truth! Was it you who stole it from me? Was it because of you that the drugs I was supplying reached the police? Is it because of you that I'm here? Tell me, please!" Rylen pleaded. 

That was what Rylen had been missing. He had forgotten the reasons for his predicament and that he did nothing to anger Bane. He only remembered being in a muddle and decided not to dwell on the past.

Perhaps he should have. 

"You're also the only one who ever knew the name Nikolas Branson. That was the name written on the bag of drugs. Carmen, did you fucking cause me to fall off my bike, fear Bane's wrath, wrap me up into your mess and add Adara into it as well?" Bane asked. 

The hatred was evident. 

Rylen felt his insides explode. A sudden rush of energized anger hit him like a spell, controlling his actions and movements. His rocky, clenched fists, punched the soundproof wall, where Carmen thought the escape lay. The wall was scarred by the hatred everyone felt for Carmen. 

Adara, however, didn't differentiate between Carmen and the wall. Both caused her such pain and anxiety but there was a difference. 

Hitting one of them wouldn't hurt her own hand. 

And that was that. An imaginary imprint of small, rough hands stung Carmen's cheek, a mark that numbed her body and isolated her soul away from her. The bullet shattered as well, the burden now being shared by all the lost souls. 

Even still, she didn't rejoice in the break-up with her only constant in the last three, turning four days. She was even more of an outcast than ever before. 

Her only hope was to leave the room, scathed. No matter the outcome, her companions would never keep quiet about the crimes she committed. Unscathed was not an option so she only prayed for escape. 

And maybe, she prayed for a chance to make it up to them. 

𓆩⟡𓆪

Only Carmen knew that it was never supposed to go this far. What started off as a prank and making money out of pranks became serious. Carmen had failed to see the growing intensity of her actions before it was too late. 

Carmen had lost track of the people she manipulated overall. But not all the statistics were lost in her head. Vividly, she remembered fifteen instances, fifteen times she went too far. 

It all started with her grandmother. 

A fifteen-year-old Carmen fidgeted with the trinkets she had attached to her hair. The shiny, silver metal contrasted against her thick dark hair, her eyes shining alongside it. 

Her grandmother unfurled the tarp, closing her tarot card shed for the day. To the rest of the world, her grandmother was done working. But Carmen knew - she was only getting started. 

Carmen had helped her before. She never got directly involved but she was always her grandmother's underling. She would stand on the lookout, hand her materials whenever needed and act as a distraction ever so often - kids were very pitiable. 

But today, she was going to play an integral role in someone's misfortune. 

Before she knew it, her grandmother whisked her away as they followed their recent customer - a man with declining health. She did not know the details but that was enough to guess what her grandma was planning - to exacerbate his health. 

"Listen very carefully, Carmen," her grandmother said calmly, "when I ask you to, run onto the road. Don't fear the vehicles, they will stop for you."

"What?" Carmen asked, startled. That wasn't what she expected at all, "But the traffic is so, I mean, there's so much traffic! What if I get run over? What is wrong with you, grandma?"

"We haven't been so extravagant lately. People seem to think I'm exaggerating my predictions. They must be told that they are wrong and this is exactly how we can achieve that," she answered nonchalantly. 

Carmen scoffed, yanking her arm away from her grandmother, "First of all, nobody is even going to know you predicted his future! No one is going to know what you predicted either. This is pointless! Even if you do want to go ahead with your nonsense, do it yourself! I'm not going to put myself at risk again!" 

Her grandmother grabbed her hand abruptly, pinching it with her fingers. Carmen winced in pain, swatting the fingers away from her. 

"You're father would be so disappointed to see you throw your life away. He would want you to live luxuriously and this is the only way to do it," her grandmother said. Although her voice was kind, her eyes weren't, "Do you want to disappoint him once again? He wouldn't want to see you suffer the same fate as his garden."

As always, that did it for Carmen. Every time that she tried to break out of her grandmother's grasp, a mention of the garden would put her in place. She wondered how different it would be if she disobeyed her grandmother without her knowledge. Alas, she never made that a reality. 

So, she followed her grandmother. They stood at the footpath, eyeing the vehicles slowly picking up speed. To Carmen's slight relief, they set up camp by the traffic signal, so none of the vehicles would be able to cause her any harm. 

Carmen assumed then that in that case, nothing would happen to this man either. They could scare him, she would have obeyed her grandmother and all would be fine in the world. 

"Go," her grandmother urged. 

The signal indicated that the green light would come on in ten seconds. Carmen located the tall, skinny man sitting atop a sexy, matte black bike. He was at the start of the wait - much to her grandma's luck. 

As the time ticked and there were only five minutes left, Carmen made her move. She faced the man with her head down, unwilling to show her despicable face. She could discern his irritated tone which asked her to move but she did not budge. She would not, not until her grandmother gave her the orders.

All the while, she mused about how pointless this whole ordeal was. It was hardly a scare, so underwhelming compared to what she had seen. Carmen only sighed in relief. She even looked up at the man, smiling - for once, she wasn't a part of prolonged sadness, only a short-lived irritation. 

Within a blink of an eye, the mood changed. The man leaned forward awkwardly, the bike falling to the side due to the lack of balance. Vehicles zoomed past Carmen as the lights turned green but she stared at the man on the floor, fallen for no apparent reason. 

As she looked up from the floor, she saw another man manoeuvring through the crowd as bikers screamed after him. A green mask covered his nose and face and before others could make a move, he galloped away. 

When Carmen looked at the man again, it wasn't out of curiosity. Dread bled up her legs, an odd, sticky liquid keeping her in place. She looked down slowly and dared not to scream - the engine of the bike was revving, his body rubbing against in accelerator slightly. But that was not the most shocking thing. 

On the road, there was blood. 

The man didn't even whimper. 

"Car," her grandmother called out, unwilling to reveal her name. 

However, Carmen remained put. Men and women got out of their vehicles to witness the scene, and some of them ran in the direction of the masked man. Others tried to approach Carmen, not showing any contempt yet - she was just a child, she probably did nothing wrong. 

But she knew she had. 

Her body trembled and her head spun. A woman nearby held her close so as to ensure she didn't fall down. She closed her eyes and the horrors only aggravated. Subconsciously, she was matching emotions to his face, picturing the dread, the pain, the end of the man. She pictured an angered look towards her - after all, she blocked his escape. 

The next set of events was a blur, even to her. Somehow, she ended at the footpath again, her grandmother wiping her legs as others asked if she was alright. After everyone was gone, her grandmother told her that she was brilliant. 

And then she knew. 

She wasn't an indirect cause of his death. She was a direct cause. 

And that was the first of fifteen times. 

Coincidentally, both the first and last filled her with the same amount of guilt, only this time, it was coupled with fear, shame, and the loss of those who trusted her unquestionably. 

𓆩⟡𓆪

A/N: I'd say this marks the end of the first half of the book! The second half might be longer but this is definitely the turning point! So, how is the pacing so far? Is there anything the four of them have missed? What do you think is going to happen next? Most importantly, have you enjoyed the book thus far? Do let me know :)
WC: 3170