Fox Ball

Wrapped around my new found love, I fell asleep with the thoughts of that whisper plaguing my mind. It was a restless sleep, my body tossing and turning against my partner. I could feel Rose’s hand brushing through my hair in her own sleepy pattern, having fallen asleep much faster than I had. It seemed to calm her as she fell into unconsciousness with a smile on her face.

“Olivia…help me…” It haunted my mind. I spent the first hour of sleep just trying to place the voice. It was so familiar, yet had a haunted edge to it. Just as the answer was about to come to me, the dream started.

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I’m drowning.

I can’t breathe. I can feel the air being pushed in between my lungs but I can’t seem to get enough. I’m choking on it.

I’m dying.

I can’t open my eyes. They are glued shut. I can’t hear anything other than a loud beeping next to my ear. I can’t move. My limbs like stone.

I’m gone.

When I was finally able to open my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the vast feeling of familiarity. I had definitely been here before. I’ve seen this before. I just couldn’t place where.

There was a table in front of me, metal, with straps at the head, on each side, in the middle, and at the foot of it. They were made of a rustic looking leather, with something akin to runes engraved on them. The runes glowed an eerie blue, shimmering in the darkness of the room. To the side was a heart monitor, the flat lines emitting an ominous glow in the room. There were no sounds other than the monotonous drip of the pipes in the corner and the shuffling of feet in what I assumed was a hallway. If it weren’t for the aura of the room, I would have thought that I was in a hospital room.

There was a wall of cabinets that I could only dream of what they contained. On the far wall was a workbench and a table that had surgical instruments laid neatly down. Other than that, the room was completely empty besides me.

It smelt of rust and something metallic, as if the horrors of this room, horrors I couldn’t even imagine, were engraved in the very stone of the walls.

I tried to take a step forward, but it was as if I were glued to my spot in the darkest corner of the room.

“Olivia…help me…” There was that whisper again, much louder this time, clearer in it’s tone. Whoever was speaking sounded desperate, even through the haunted edge. It didn’t sound mechanical, but something else that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Almost like a voice coming through a television with bad reception.

Suddenly, the door burst open, casting a creepy orange glow in the room from the lights in the hall. The light flicked and waned, reminding me of candlelight. Two burly men walked in, carrying the prone form of someone I immediately recognized. They were carrying Tyler; seemingly unconscious, but otherwise unharmed.

I tried to run forward, tried to yell, tried to push the men away from my brother, but I was frozen. Stuck to watch whatever was about to happen to my only flesh and blood.

“Olivia…help me…” I heard the voice again, this time I immediately recognized it. It was Tyler. He was trying to get me to help him. With this whisper, I noticed something different. I wasn’t hearing him per se, at least not with my ears. He was speaking in my mind, sending me thoughts of desperation, pleading with me to do something.

Tears welled in my eyes as I watched the two men bind my brother to the table. I had to get to him. I had to save him. I couldn’t save him in the clearing, but I can save him now. If only my feet would move. If only my mouth would speak.

The dark haired man spoke first. “We can definitely use this one. He has some power. A power he probably isn’t even aware of, locked up inside his soul.”

The other man responded. “We’ll get to that power,” he said, walking over to the table holding the surgical instruments. He picked up a scalpel, the pure glee I found in his expression making a shiver of fear roll down my spine. “One way or another, we will get to it.” He set the scalpel back down and moved back to the table.

They began hooking Tyler up to the machines beside the bed, the heart monitor now emitting a beep with every heartbeat. It was slow for awhile, at least a couple minutes, before it started speeding up. Tyler was awake, and the two men were very clearly aware of this.

“Mr. Gratzen will be very pleased with this one.” I had heard that before, but I just couldn’t place where. “We’ll have to wait until he gets back from Breckenridge.”

The mention of that place made me pause before I fully remembered what was happening. A rush of dread washed over me. I have dreamt this before, long before the whole kitsune thing started. But I was the one on the table in my dream, I was the one surrounded by faceless men. I was the one being tortured.

I fought against the invisible binds that held me to the corner I stood, but to no avail. All I could do was watch as the men talked over the body of my brother, making plans for what they would do to him, how they could alter him and destroy him, and hurt him.

I wanted to scream at them to stop. I wanted to push them away. I wanted to keep them from hurting Tyler. But there was nothing I could do.

“Do you know what Mr. Gratzen plans to do with him?” The dark haired man questioned. I urged myself to not listen, I couldn’t hear this, but my ears picked up the response.

“I don’t know. He just told me for the two of us to break his spirit; make him malleable. I’m sure it’s in his plans for capturing that young hybrid.”

He’s laying on this table because of me. This was all my fault. If I had only stayed with Peter, none of this would be happening. Everyone I loved would have been safe. Tears welled in my eyes, spilling down my cold cheeks as I watched them grab an instrument from the table, something that I couldn’t recognize. I squeezed my eyes shut, the only thing I could hear being my brother’s screams.

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I woke with a start, tears streaming down my face as I silently cried. It was still dark outside, the moon and stars casting an eerie glow on the sea before me. I glanced beside me. Luckily Rose was still sleeping. I crept out of her arms and up the hill separating the ocean and the Ruins. I looked to where Talia and Guide were still asleep, unencumbered by the growing horror of the night. I sighed in relief. I needed privacy for what I was about to do.

I strode up to the highest point of the Ruins and sat with my knees bent and my legs crossed. Closing my eyes, I sharpened my focus, imagining the one person who could give me answers.

It’s time to see what the dark fox is planning.