chapter 1: Ghost in my mind.
The smell of iron filled the room a placid smile stretched across his face.
on the checkered floor, Slumped dead in grotesque angle were the three faces that defined his world, loved him, stood by him. A single Tear slipped down quietly even as his heart constricted and the placid grin widen.
The checkered floor twisted to a dark blue, the lines slowly cut open before his eyes, urea stang at his nostrils as tongues fluttered from the open ground,each lapped at the blood stained tile with relish.
Crimson stars twinkled under his eyelids, His right hand moved rhythmically, the dagger caught the chandelier light in one hypnotic swing. Blood smeared everything - smearing his face, soaking his clothes and matting his ash-grey hair. His lips smacked nervously as he watched them. The chandelier twinkled brilliantly above him. Illuminating the demonic silhouette that rested against the wall.
Quinn turned toward the bodies, his knees hitting the floor not in prayer, but in a sudden, jarring fear.
"Dad? I can't hear you," he whispered, his voice cracking.
He reached out, his fingers trembling as they brushed his father's cooling skin. Dread, cold and heavy, settled in the pit of his stomach.
He wrinkled his nose in sudden disgust as he watched the dark river of red flow through the center of the hall. The silence of the house was a physical weight, stabbing at him more painfully than any blade.
He reached to grab his sister's hand, desperate for a pulse, but the heavy oak doors burst open. Soldiers trooped in, horrified at the blood stained sight. Their eyes fluttered in horror. They retained their indifferent demeanour.
"Quinn Stormblessed you are under arrest."
His sketchy grin contracted. His eyes pleaded innocence, the once devilish expression was totally erased leaving an innocent, timid boy in its wake.
The soldiers pulled him out, pushing his head into the air ship. He whimpered, twisted and turned, but eyes trailed after him, whispering in shock.
"He killed his entire family."
He screamed for the last time. "I didn't do it." but that was the last he'd ever did. Reclined to his face, he was acquitted for murder, locked up and driven like a beast.
Weeks turned into months, six months since he last saw his mother's smile, his father's chuckle or May's insatiable appetite. He sat up in his cell, his breath clogged as iron scent stung his nostrils. He fell off his cot, a siren scream tore though the atmosphere. His eyes began to shift, the color swirling and changing as the heat overwhelmed him. In the neighboring cells, inmates scrambled to the far corners, whispering about the "devil child" as his screams tore through the block. His lips twisted into a cynical upward curve. He couldn't stop it. The wardens froze in their tracks, their boots rooted to the stone floor. They watched the skin of his back scorch and blister from an internal fire. Quinn rolled onto his belly, gasping, his breathing finally beginning to steady as the peak of the pain passed.
click! click! click!
The hallway clock reminded them that time was still moving. The wardens finally approached, their steps cautious, as if approaching a sleeping predator.
"He's been marked," one whimpered, his face slick with sweat.
"What do we do?" the other asked, panic lacing his voice.
They lifted him up, but the heat radiating from Quinn's body hadn't faded; it lingered in the air, thick and suffocating. The room felt vacuum-sealed. Inmates nearby began to squeeze their throats, gasping for air as the oxygen seemed to vanish. Fear became a physical weight in the room. Officers rushed forward, filtering the other prisoners out, leaving Quinn in the center of the void. To them, he was already dead. He was a "Marked One," and for a criminal, that was a death sentence.
"where is he?" her voice rang through the hallway. Steps echoed in the distance as she slammed the gate opened. Her peach hair flailed behind her, sticking to her sweat creased forehead. She sundered off towards him, her palm tracing his face. Unlike them, she wasn't scared, her eyes danced at his pale face. His eyes slowly slithered open, a blur greeted him. "Henzai." his words were muffled, struggling to cope with the uncertainty that had taken him. She hugged him, stroked his hair quietly as she soothed him in hushed whispers. "you are fine, I'm here now." She whistled. The wardens backed off, rounding his inmates into a new cell. The chilling silence stabbed her heart, she was all alone with him. The metallic scent of iron stang her nostrils. She clenched her fists, hiding gritted teeth behind the a smiling facade.
She pulled his head up, met his ash-grey eyes, her heart plunged deeper into sorrow. As his psychologist, it was strictly business. But she believed him, loved him better than anyone could. "let me tell you a story." she whispered. Quinn glanced up at her emerald eyes. His heart relaxed as he saw the transparency in her eyes. He trailed his arms upwards, entwining them into hers. She smiled.
"When the console first appeared, it was six years ago. My brother was among the marked ones." she started. Quinn relaxed at her voice, calm and effective. A memory flashed through his face. May's smile. she continued; "teenagers were marked and transported to a realm where they faced trials that defined them. At first the death rate was palpable." her forehead creased from the sweat, her heartbeat struggled to remain calm, Quinn Ignored her tensed breathing, his eyes reclined to her story. "My brother died. Since he had no access to Alkethra academy." she minced each words slowly. Quinn's lips parted. Just one question.
"why?"
"Alkethra didn't take murderers, he allegedly killed his best friend who awakened a talent." Quinn's fears were confirmed, his heart began pounding slowly at his ribs, a sharp pain forced a whimper. Henzai stroked his face slowly. "But he didn't do it. No one listened, helped him and he died." She sighed, catching a tear at the verge of falling. Quinn bit his lips, hiding his own tears. "just like how I'd die too." He muttered. His skin crawled as a silhouette caught his eyes, they were not alone anymore, something ate into his soul from the corner of the cell. Eyes trailed after every breath he made.
"Quinn promise me you'll survive." she held his chin, meeting his starry eyes. "I can't Henzai, I can't" his lips faltered, she gliced through his chattering teeth. She breathed in one crumpled sigh. "It's not real, whatever you see in there, it's not real." she soothed. He nearly seethed at her words. Those were to calm him down, but it elicited fear. Deep down, he saw it, knew it. It was real. He grimaced at the thought of dying in an unknown realm. "I can't be like you father." he muttered. A failed promise. His mother smiled engulfed into flames, his lips parting with a sigh. "May don't you believe me?" His words drowned at her slow singing. He hummed the tone too. This was something his mother sang occasionally when he was nervous.
"But whatever you see in there... it isn't real. Don't let the fear take you." she reminded.
Quinn placed his hand over hers. His fingers were cold, his grey-ash eyes unblinking. "I can survive for a few moments."
"You will," she assured him, though she swallowed hard.
No, you won't, the dark voice screamed in his ear.
When she rose to leave, she paused at the door. It had been five days of this. She looked at him—a boy who seemed less worried about the death sentence of the Trials and more worried about the life he was leaving behind.
"How can I tell you that tomorrow is the day?" she whispered to herself. She turned back one last time. "See you next time, Mister Stormblessed."
"I hope so too," Quinn replied.
As her steps faded Into oblivion, the air grew stale. Bile rise up his throat as he sought release. Sweat mapped his forehead, the acrid smell clogged his nostrils. He turned in a whisper to the invisible eyes that stalked him.
"I didn't do it." he whispered, his face snapped at the picture plastered on his wall. "May please tell them I didn't kill you." He pleaded, tears tracked down his sunken face. But you did. The voice persisted.
The cell gate opened as she walked inside. Snatching her book from the desk. "forgot this" she beamed, her heart sank as she noticed his tears. "What's wrong Quinn?" she soothed
"Miss Henzai. Don't leave" He begged. She gave a placid grin. He squeezed his eyes shut, a dark hum trailed outside his ears. It was getting louder, sweats raced down his face, his heart thrummed softly. Henzai fixed a concern frown at him. "are you okay Quinn?" Her voice echoed at him, but as soon as he heard it, it faded like a distant memory, his mind blurred. The smell of metal pulsated through his nostrils, his lips stretched into a placid grin.
*****
*****
His eyes adjusted to the dim light. He squinted, making out one saddened frown. The copper hair wasn't an oddity. His frown slowly alighted, his lips tore apart with one question. "why did you do it Quinn?"
He rehearsed his answer once more, calm precise. It was now a daily occurrence to be questioned about his family's death. His lips parted to answer, but the interviewer's next sentence stung him. His heart skipped a
bit as he heard does words.
"why Quinn... Why did you kill... Henzai Hinata?"