Chapter 144: Chapter 144

Chapter 55 – Lost in the Darkness

“Darkness does not leave us easily as we would hope.“–Margaret Stohl

Kiya

“Osiris! You came back!”

“I told you I would, Princess. I had to take care of a couple of things.”

+10-

Bonu

02:21

Halima’s laughter bounced across the dark realm like a ricochet shit. Overflowing with sheer happiness and delight, 1 watched, much to my horror, the little girl wrapping her tiny arms around Osiris‘ neck like koala to bamboo. His stout arm supported her from the bottom of her knees, allowing her legs to dangle. It was a sickening scene to watch because Osiris didn’t deserve Halima’s affection, not after all he’s done to me. I wanted nothing more but to rip the child from his arms and retreat to someplace safe.

But this realm is my mind. Where exactly is a safe place? This is where my dark thoughts lurk; deep in trenches I dare not to dig up. I couldn’t dig them up. When they do, I’m pulled into a world full of rot, reminding me day in and day out that I’m a broken woman. Nothing can cure me of all the agony and trauma -it’ll haunt me eternally.

Darkness is pervasive and I’m seeing proof right before my eyes. Osiris has deluded my inner child into assuming he is her guardian angel. My heart skipped a beat, striking pain in my chest from an unexplained source. What is more unnerving is that I can feel what Halima is feeling; we’re the same person. Her happiness bleeds into me, sending pleasurable shivers down my spine.

My fear and shock are going into overdrive. This isn’t good.

“You stooped to a new low, Osiris.” I snarled, interrupting their ‘reunion‘. Halima gazed at me curiously while the bastard in question shot me a charming smile. “Manipulating a child? Really?”

“I did no such thing.” He quipped, tickling his finger under Halima’s chin. “I simply gave this child–you- hope. As

continue to reject your true feelings, little Halima has embraced them. Follow in her footsteps and the pain will end.”

you

“No! You poisoned me with your darkness! Your bullshit is the reason we’re here!”

“No. This place has always been here, Kiya, born and bred from horrors unimaginable. This world is a manifestation of your thoughts and feelings. Sure, my darkness loves to play with yours, but in all honestly, I didn’t make this darkness. You did.” Osiris shrugged, adjusting Halima on his hip. “Halima simply transformed it into a place familiar to her; the place that started this madness, the death of your Luna and her daughter.”

“I should rip your throat out now, you malicious bastard!” Artemis warned, venom frothing in her jaws. I glanced at her in mild shock. “You forced your agenda and your sick powers onto Kiya and infected Halima in return! You took advantage of her vulnerability and I won’t let you corrupt my human any longer!”

“Why hold yourself back, Artemis?” Osiris chuckled, tapping his neck. “Come and get me.”

“Artemis, wait!” It was too late. My wolf, fiercely protective of me, charged at the avatar like a bullet snapping, and claws aiming for his flesh.

“I will end you

But, in a blut, everything shifted

+10

Воли

02:11

“7 won’t let you hurt him!” Halima shriek in rage, her brown eyes flashing scarlet. “Get away!” Suddenly, a blow of unmitigated force charged at Artemis and me, launching us backward away from the two. Separated by several feet, we landed on our backs, punching the wind out of our lungs. What followed was a sequence of beavy, resounding clangs along with Artemis rabid barking. As my vertigo faded, my vision cleared to a scame that kindled my anger.

There was nothing that could rationalize this.

An enormous, gilded cage bedazzled with glistening pearls trapped Artemis like a zoo animall Strange lig emanated from the jail twinkling under a mystical force. Angry, my wolf slammed her body repeatedly again

scape, but it was useless. There was no lock in sight and the cage wouldn’t bude

“Artemis!” Immediately. I hopped on my feet and ran to my wolf only to be forced aside by an imperceptible wall pulsating with power with my touch. “No! Are you okay?”

“And stay there, dumb dog!”

“Hey!” I bollered, darting my head to my inner child “Don’t you dare insuit het Stop this, Halima Artemis did nothing to you!!”

“She’s annoying, though. I like you, not he

That’s it. Those two can fack with me all they want, but harming memis cusses the line. Marthing over to them with purpose. I yanked Halima from Osiris arms and need the bastard as and as I could im his stomach, grinning at his painful gasps. The child shrieked as I tossed her over my stopulider e a sack of yams, thrashing wildly.

are you doing?” Halima shouted “Let me go! You hurt Osins!

“Good!” The bastard deserved it. Once we were some distance elsewhere, I set Halima on her fest, ignoring her obvious glaring and sulking Artemis continue to struggle, and my amper dedaged a bit at the sight going to get you out. Art. Don’t wor

Hury, please

“Halima.” I turned back to the child, kneeling down on one knee to meet her height “Stop this Ler Artemis go. No good can come out of this! There are better ways to deal with our

ys to deal with our feelings that don’t include murting others.”

“Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t act like you’re beer than me! You are me! You’re just scared of darkness because you want to believe you’re this wonderful person full of light when you’re nott How can it be so bad when it strengthened us.

+10

“It didn’t make us strong! It made us crazy!” My hands grasped the little girl’s shoulders as I watched the Bonu fight shall out in het browns. “We aren’t like this. We’re better than the people who hurt us.”

02:11

“We are, but not in the way you think.” My jaw dropped. I’ve never heard a child’s voice become so cold. Uninviting and unforgiving. Halima pressed her tiny, battered hand on my heart, fingers twitching at my heartbeat. “You don’t have to play Ms. Goody–Two–Shoes all the time. I know how you felt when you killed that man, when you almost killed that dumb Odessa, and everything before that. You can’t look at me and tell me you didn’t feel good because I know you did! Good without the hurt. That’s how it should be.”

Labhor how she’s right. The instant gratification of beating someone who once controlled me was an abction. An adrenaline rush like no other. For once, the abiding pain was gone. I could breathe like a normal person. The chains to my anguish were broken, and I felt unstoppable. Shortly after, they recovered and held me prisoner again. It constantly had been that way; I thought I was better and then the relapse.

My heart skipped a beat, and Halima’s face cracked an excited smile. I didn’t know what it meant until I heard bubbling and gurgling from behind me, growing with vigor and volume. Sloshing echoed and crackling from the trees were heard. Turning slowly, I’m face to face with the pond Halima was dancing around earlier, now quadrupled in size. Dead leaves disappeared into the festering black pit. I peered back at my inner child, now adorning a childlike, but a new malevolent smile.

“I love you, kiya. That is why I have to do this.”

Before I could ask, something thick and black violently shot out from the water and snaked around my waist and legs, dragging me toward the black hole. At the same time I heard the trees groaning, Halima’s delighted

s, Osiris” deep chuckles, and Artemis barking–demanding that I fight back.

From my waist down, I couldn’t move, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t move my hands.

Digging my nails into the ground, I resisted against the mighty pull of the living pond, crawling forward toward my freedom. My nails threatened to split from my cuticles, but I couldn’t stop. There is no telling what waiting inside the dark waters! Artemis continued to be the encouraging voice I needed to fight against the shadowy entity.

Halima didn’t make it any easier. Because she bolted to me, crashed into my face, causing me to lose r With a delighted “Whee!“, we went plummeting into the water with a mighty splash.

my grip.

Artemis vells faded into silence. As I sank, painful deafness constrained my eardrums, muffling the sound of slashing water. Without something to grip, the force pulled my body further into the darkened depths. Even my powers, connected to the moon itself, couldn’t help me. The silvery light around my fingers fizzled and died.

There is no moon. No light. Only constant, stifling gloom.

The abysmal chill held me captive as I struggle to breathe in the black tar, desperate for a sign of life and hope. But there was none. None except for my inner child sinking with me, grabbing hold of my hands with the fragility of a feather.

“I’m sorry, but I had to do it.” Halima spoke. Her mouth didn’t move, but I could hear her sharp voice in my head.

+10%

Bonus

“Halima…” I countered, weakness taking over my muscles. “We might die here.”

02:13

“That’s okay. It’ll be just the two of us, together!” Her eyelids dropped, and she grimaced. “Do you want me? You never came to see if I was okay until today. It’s a lonely without you, even with Ala.” For emphasis, she showed her teddy bear. My teddy bear. I gazed at the bear, long and hard, until I clutched its other hand. Our sinking slowed considerably, but it didn’t stop.

“I’m sorry…” I murmured. Guilt began eating away at my heart. Halima was here, inundated by black and rot with a toy to keep her company. Was it my fault that I cursed my inner child to a world of loneliness? Did I do this to her? All the times I couldn’t handle with my ordeals, I took refuge in my world of cruel solitude.

Even with therapy, there was consistently that presence in the back of my head, noting how I had no place in the world. That Selene made a mistake with me. Through my grueling weight gain, therapy sessions, and visits to the psychiatrist, it reaffirmed that presence that I’m just too jumbled up for anyone to deal with. I had Artemis, but I constantly felt like the anxieties were tearing me apart, specifically. She’s stronger than me.

Who would want to deal with me? Neron must be out of his mind to love me like this.

“We can make the hurt stop.” Halima murmured, rubbing my shoulder. “The only way for us to feel better is to get rid of the people who hurt us.”

“I can’t…”

“It’s not fair that we hurt all the time! It never goes away, Kiya! They all get to live happy. Why? They did this to us! We’re like this because of them!” The girl glanced down, tears mingling in with the water. “I’m tired of hurting. I want us to be happy; is that too much to ask for?”

I know, I know, I know! We don’t deserve this! All my options are waning away as we speak, and there isn’t anything I could do. I have to be the bigger person, but why did it have to be me? Holding my head, I felt a headache throb against my skull.

Suddenly, there were voices. Multiple voices carried through the water, resounding with volume. The voices of the Zircon pack members, vulgar words of hatred, disgust, and delighted torture rung like gongs. Memories flashed before my eyes, sharp and detailed. Every syllable, every emotion stung like needles to flesh. I tried hard to think about the happiness I got at my new pack; my family and friends, but the screeching in my ear from Zircon’s evil seized my solstice and replaced it with searing pain.

“Make it stop, Kiya!” Halima begged, clinging onto me for dear life. Her head buried itself in my chest, hiding from the memories. “Please, it hurts! Make it go away!”

Wrapping my arms around Halima, I pushed her more into me as the memories became more vivid and the voices became stronger.

Stop it!

Stop it!

STOP IT!

I screamed so loud that my throat burned. The sound that escaped my mouth didn’t feel like my own, but it

in the Dark nets

+10

did the trick. All the voices stopped. The pain stopped. And suddenly, I felt warm all over, like someone punu blanket over me. It felt…good. Halima continued to cling to me, sniffling from our recent mental attack 02:10

“The light is painful, Kiya.” She wept. “We suffered so much. But in the darkness, no longer. We are safe, and we will be happy. We are free!”

Those words. I’ve heard them before. My inner child looked up from my chest and shined me a pleasant smile, warming my soul. From that point on, I knew I had to protect that smile. That one smile.

“We don’t want to suffer anymore, do we?”

“No… we don’t.” I responded.

“Let’s stay here, together. Nothing can hurt us here.”

Halima retreated into my chest again, my body curving around her like a ball. Nothing will hurt her again. I won’t allow it..

No more pain.

No more terrible memories.

Just the two of us, besieged in warm darkness.

Mom…Dad…I’m sorry. I know you thought better of me. You both thought I was stronger than this.

But I’m tired of fighting.

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