Twenty-Eight

Clay

The sun was shining, and he felt happy. Flowers surrounded him, and trees shadowed him from the harsh heat of the sun. A soft breeze blew. Birds chirped.

His friends were around him. Sunny. She was smiling, too. She seemed happy, which made him even happier. She ran among the trees until she disappeared out of sight.

Tsunami. She seemed like a bird, resting against a tree, her eyes closed. He had never seen her so relaxed. Tsunami had always been the one to defend them- she had always been alert, always careful. But now...She seemed free.

He saw Starlight. He was reading a book, his black eyes sparkling. Clay could remember something. Blood. Starlight. Something that had to do with his eyes. He shrugged the thought off.

Starflight was the smartest of them all. He read restlessly. And that was the thing with Starflight- he had earned his brain, all his facts that never failed to be helpful.

And Glory. She seemed the happiest of them all. She was walking on the grass, her blonde hair flying, and a smile tugged along her lips. And he finally smiled. Everything was alright. They were back together again.

"Guys," he said. "We're finally happy. All of us. You don't have to worry anymore." He felt warm. He had never felt so safe. But something was missing- what was it?

But they kept doing what they were doing. Which puzzled Clay. "Guys!" He tried again. They didn't hear him. They seemed like they were in their own little world. Or was it him?

"They can't hear you," a voice behind him said. He turned, his heart skipping. He was afraid to lose this. This happiness. This safety.

It was Peril.

He immediately felt full. Like he was complete. He smiled in relief and grasped her hand. Her face was fuzzy. The entire thing was fuzzy, like he was standing in middle of a fog, but he felt impossibly happy. "You're here."

"You have to fight this, Clay," Peril said. He could see her eyes through the fog. Blue and beautiful. Like two moons.

"Fight what?" He said, confused. "This is a safe place."

And then he heard screaming. He looked around him, his heart beating wildly again. Nobody was there. But it sounded like someone was crying. And it felt awfully familar.

"What's that sound?" He said. "We need to help."

"It's your friend, Clay." Peril seemed sad. "You're trapped inside you. I know, because I've been there. You must learn to take control. Give it up- the feeling of happiness, the safety. You must listen to me, Clay."

Clay released Peril's hand. The air didn't seem so warm anymore. "This? Give it up?" He frowned. "I can't," he said quickly. He looked around. He couldn't do that to his friends. They were finally happy.

"You're at a wedding. Soon, they'll call you, and you'll fight me. Do you want that?" Her blue eyes stared back. They were so cold, so afraid. Was he seeing things?

"I can't. You have to understand- this is everything I've ever wanted."

The voice screamed again. "You must fight. Clay, listen to me. Listen to my voice. This isn't real. It's all in your head. Fight-"

And then Peril stopped talking. She became still, her face relaxed. And when he talked, she seemed like she couldn't hear. A happy smile replaced her frown.

Give this up? How can I?

Clay closed his eyes. He tried to concentrate. This isn't real.

But I want it to be real.

But it isn't.

Clay felt a strong desire to open his eyes again, to find relief in feeling that his friends were safe. That they were happy.

What is my weakness?

He tried to think. But thinking had never been his strength. And he realized how alone he was. In that moment, he was truly alone.

He didn't have his friends. He didn't have Peril. He only had darkness.

"This isn't real," he said again. And then he opened his eyes.

Something flashed in his mind. The perfect forest began to fade away. He cried out, reaching for it, but realized that he couldn't feel his arms.

He could only see.

And he saw his hands. Around someone's neck. He was choking her. He tried to struggle, blood rushing into his ears. He could barely see. He couldn't feel.

He was choking a girl. And in the corner, there was a different girl. She was crying. She was screaming.

Glory.

He gained control only for a moment. He loosened his arms, releasing the girl. He forced himself to look around him. All he could see was white. White seats, white curtains. White carpets. White dresses.

He slowly turned and lowered his eyes so he could see the girl. The girl he had been choking. The girl he would have killed.

He felt a sense of dread.

It was Peril. And she was coughing blood.

~

Glory

When Peril was dragged along with Clay, chaos broke loose.

Clay roared. He ran to Peril, his pupils widening until the beautiful, warm brown of his eyes was eaten away by the black. He seemed like a monster. He was a monster.

Peril seemed prepared. She dodged his attack, making him stumble. The crowd roared with anticipation.

She felt someone hold her arm, blocking her mouth while she screamed. She could taste her tears.

"Let me go!" She screamed. She struggled against the rope tightened around her wrists. Morrowseer had left the room. Perhaps it was mercy. Perhaps it was accidental. But it was enough for her to loosen. She had pulled against it the entire evening. She squirmed free and kicked the guard in the shins.

She could see Scarlet laughing beside her. She could see Scarlet's red lipstick. And she felt anger. How can someone just watch by while people kill each other?

She turned to look at Clay. He was fighting. Everyone's eyes were on him and Peril. He was choking her. He could kill her. He would kill her. She screamed again, except it was mixed with sobs. She could barely see.

That was when the the real chaos broke loose. A guard came up to the gates and opened it. He screamed. "They have invaded us! The experiments! They are all exploding!"

Everyone screamed and ran out of their seats. People ran out of the room, people tripping each other. Soon, gunshots were heard.

Get to Clay, Glory.

She turned and searched wildly for anything. Anything that could help her. And that was when she locked eyes with Deathbringer. He was watching her with an urgent expression.

She remembered the bottle. The bottle filled with black liquid. She whipped it out. Qibli would have given it to her for a reason. She stared at Deathbringer. He was being dragged away by Greatness, whose face was contorted in rage. Guards came to help her.

Venom, he mouthed. And then he disappeared.

And she knew.

Someone grabbed her wrist. "Get me out of here, mutt," Scarlet hissed. She was pointing something at her. The guards ran away.

A gun, she realized. She's pointing a gun at me.

"Get me out of here," Scarlet repeated. "Or I will shoot you."

That was when Glory came up with a plan. A short, messed up plan.

But it started with throwing the black liquid at Scarlet's face. She knew the venom was deadly. And she also knew that if anyone deserved the venom, Scarlet was probably the first on the list.

And that was what she did.