8.37 – The key to your prison

Hi guys! Long time no see! Well for me anywho XD Now I am aware that the last two chapters were basically two weeks apart which is pretty long and I’d love to tell you guys that I’ll be posting a chapter a day now!, but yeah no. Loading sims, picture taking, getting them sims to stay where I want them…Not gonna happen, and on top of that I’m busy.

So I might be able to manage a chapter a week…meh we’ll see how it goes. Enjoy, enjoy

 

Xavier’s POV

This is the day I changed. For better or for worse…depends how you look at it.

“-and if you feel like you’re slipping just keep going. Worst case scenario the spell fizzles out and we have to restart. But ideally we get it on the first try.” Annaliese repeated.

“Yeah, yeah I got it.” I said hastily, rubbing my hands a little nervously.

This was it. The moment I’d been training for, for the last few months. All so I could help a girl I’d never met, but to who I was related. Should I be more nervous? Should I be not nervous? She’s my sister, my younger sister…does she expect me to do anything? To give her anything?

I hadn’t thought about it much – more like not at all – but I have no idea what to expect, or what she expects.

In the middle of my worried thoughts, Annaliese and I turned around when we heard a very unhappy female voice.

“Did you really have to do that dad!? I told Nax everything! You didn’t have to send him off, he knows! And you could’ve been nicer, I like him you know!” A girl with unbelievably bright orange hair yelled at James. James didn’t look very happy at all.

He rarely does though. Well the few times I’ve seen him.

When they reached us, the girl changed her focus onto me.

“So this is him? The older brother you just told me about? Oh yeah thanks a lot for that dad.” The girl nearly spat.

James looked at me – almost in a greeting I guess? – but I pretended not to notice and just kept looking at the girl who was supposed to be my younger sister. We didn’t look anything alike.

James said a few words in sign language to his daughter and she bit her bottom lip, before turning to us.

 

A genuine smile spread on her face as our gazes met. “Hi! I’m Catarina! But I insist you call me RayRay. You’re my…brother right?” She asked.

I couldn’t help smiling back. “Yeah, I’m Xavier….you’re different than I imagined.” I let out, not really sure what I was expecting…but never did it cross my mind that she could be a vampire. Which is weird considering James is one.

“I’d say the same for you, but I didn’t even get that opportunity. I had absolutely no idea that dad had a kid with someone else before mom. And here I was proud of being the oldest.” Catarina replied.

“Oh haha, well now apparently you have an older brother and I have a younger sister.” I said, a little ashamed of my lack of originality.

“Oh and a younger brother…but to be honest I don’t know if JayJay would like you….” Catarina said glancing at her father…well technically our father. Bleh.

“Anyway! You and her can help me out I heard? You can finally get Rina out of my head?”

Annaliese nodded. “Yup! Let’s get started, the quicker the better right?” She looked happy to finally get to be in the conversation.

I smiled a little nervously, still a little unsure I could properly pull off the spell.

“Yes! Let’s!” RayRay exclaimed.

“Be honest, is this going to hurt? Not that it’s going to change my decision, but I kind of want to be prepared.” RayRay asked.

Annaliese chuckled. “It shouldn’t! Well uh…I don’t think so. It’s not a spell that’s done very often…or at all…”

“I heard you can actually heal people too? Then there, we’re all set if something goes wrong.” RayRay said with a grin. Her optimism and generally cheery mood was getting to me.

But the atmosphere quickly dissipated when James visibly tensed, looking a bit to the side like he’d spotted something behind him. Something he clearly didn’t like.

Geez, does he simply just not like anything? Him and his daughter couldn’t be more different.

A few seconds later, RayRay suddenly looked worried. She glanced behind James and then at him. I looked as well but I couldn’t see anything at all. Either way I don’t get why they’d both suddenly be on guard. This is a beach. There’s bound to be people roaming about.

An audience to watch us perform a big spell…why did he choose this wide open area?

Wait…I’m just now realizing that there aren’t a lot of people on the beach. No scratch that, there is absolutely no one on the beach! That’s weird, it’s nice out.

“Dad who is it? Is that-?” But before RayRay could utter the name on her mind James brought his hand up and she closed her mouth.

For a moment he seemed to be heavily debating something before he reluctantly came to a decision.

He started talking in sign language, which really just looks like random hand movements to me, giving what kind of looked like instructions.

Annaliese and Catarina watched his hands move, nodding a few times, their faces serious.

I looked behind James again still not seeing anything out of the ordinary. Annaliese didn’t seem to have seen anything either so could it be related to that power James has? That mind control power? Is he controlling someone right now!?

But wait…RayRay seemed to react to. Oh, she has the same eyes…does that mean she also has the same power?

My thoughts were cut short when James stopped ‘talking’. He gave me what almost seemed like a reluctant glance before turning around and walking away.

I turned to the two girls.

“Please someone tell me what just happened here.”

RayRay gave me an amused yet apologetic smile. “There’s some unwanted visitors coming over so dad decided to go take care of them.”

“But he told us to start the spell without him.” Annaliese said, already taking out her wand.

“He’ll come back after no worries. Let’s get this over with, Rina is not liking the spell idea.” RayRay said, trying to smile but frowning at the same time.

With a glance and a nod, Annaliese and I backed up and I started thinking of the spell and only the spell. If I didn’t have my full concentration on this…I would be probably fail.

Annaliese pulled out her wand and I felt magic start to trickle from my fingers.

Catarina went from watching us with fascination to pressing her fingers against her temples in a matter of seconds.

“You guys better make this fast. Rina is really really not liking this idea.” She muttered her eyes closed in concentration. The sudden gravity of the situation fell on me like a wave of stress. I could see how much this other being inside her was causing actual physical pain.

If I failed and we had to do this again it would just prolong her sufferance…and what if….what if that other person took control…?

“Xavier! Now we have to start over!” Annaliese snapped. We weren’t even ten seconds in the spell and I’d already screwed it up.

Second try I was a lot more focused and we finally started getting into the spell. It’s a complicated spell that requires a stabilizing of the environment or something. Basically there are several steps to the spell before we get to the actual retrieval part.

Catarina started to grow distressed with every second that passed and that only added to my stress. I really had the weird feeling that other personality was trying to claw its way out.

Unfortunately, I was spot on.

Catarina’s whole attitude changed in the blink of an eye. She shook her hands away from her head like they were infected and gave us a curious smile with the eyes of a rebellious child.

It was pretty clear that ‘Rina’ had taken over.

“Aw what are you doing? That’s not very nice! Put away your wands and let me explain.”

Annaliese narrowed her eyes but didn’t stop the spell, so I did the same.

This other entity, the one we were trying to get rid of, didn’t quite like being ignored.

“Hey! I asked you to stop…it’s all a big misunderstanding! RayRay makes me sound like an evil person but I’m not! We used to be friends…I just need to find Ry so please stop!” She demanded angrily.

I clamped my mouth shut and kept working on my magic. We’re good as long as she doesn’t run away. She needs to be in our line of sight for this to work.

Just when Annaliese and I started the incantation part of the spell, RayRay looked up at me with sad eyes.

“Xavier? That’s your name right? I can’t tell with RayRay’s powers…you do know this will kill me? The spell is going to kill me! I don’t want to die Xavier! I just want to see Ry! Why does everybody try and get in our way?”

I didn’t know anything about this entity…only what strangers had decided to tell me. I don’t even know how my younger sister got someone else in her head. Is it really going to kill this person? I don’t want to be a murderer.

I almost faltered in my incantation, but Annaliese gave me a sharp glare bringing me back on track.

Rina grew angered again.

“You’re evil! Both of you! If you kill me I’ll kill RayRay! I swear I will!” She spat and I frowned in worry. I could feel the spell start to lose control because of me again.

Annaliese could feel it too, but before the spell could fail on its own (or before we could save it in time) Rina suddenly lunged forwards and grabbed my hands in an effort to stop my movements.

As Catarina’s fingers brushed against my skin, my whole world suddenly tilted. And for a few moments, moments that felt like eternity, there wasn’t just me anymore. My world suddenly became crowded and I was aware of a thousand things, a thousand other lifelines and of someone brushing against them looking for mine, looking for me.

When the world settled once again I found myself in a room. A room I somehow knew wasn’t real. Like a dream…yet it felt all too real. You don’t feel this much in a dream.

I took a look around the weird room. The place had odd things here and there and there were no windows. For some reason it felt like there should be windows. Like this place wasn’t itself without windows.

I’ve never been here before. I know I haven’t. I would recognize something like this…yet it feels familiar. Not as a whole, but as individual pieces. That vase looks like the one Charlie bought at a flea market, and the one Jupiter broke the one time I tried to get him in the house.

Every object here was significant in one way or another….everything except that door. That huge door…quite possible the only thing that came close to a window. I had to do a double take before I could confirm that there was indeed someone behind the door.

The moment I saw the flash of orange hair I ran over. Catarina was on the other side, seeming like herself but I couldn’t be sure, and pounding on the door. She was yelling something as well, but I couldn’t hear a thing. But she was mouthing it so loudly that after a few seconds I figured out what she was saying.

Let me in! Open the door!

I gripped the handle and a creepy chill went down my back. I resisted the urge to turn around, mostly because of Catarina’s panicked face as she looked behind her back, and I twisted and pulled the handle as hard as I could.

The door didn’t budge. It didn’t even shake. So I pulled again and again each time with as much strength as I could muster. Catarina stopped yelling and knocking and looked behind her fearfully.

I followed her gaze and spotted what looked like her clone, but completely in white. White hair, white skin, white eyes and white clothes.

The chill from earlier came back, seizing control of my spine as the facts sunk in. The door was locked. The room had no windows. I was stuck. I was locked in.

I can’t get out.

The walls started to fluctuate and the air in my lungs grew thin. Just before my claustrophobia could really kick in and drive me to my knees, Catarina started to mimic a key.

I’m surprised I even caught her making the movement but I did and the idea lit up in my mind dissipating my anxiety. Of course! There had to be a key! After all there was a keyhole in the door.

“A key! Of course! It’s got to be here somewhere!” I exclaimed before realizing she couldn’t hear me.

I left the door and started searching among all the memories piled up, because I’d determined at this point that all the objects in this room were just that – my memories. What else could they be? Since this was clearly not reality it had to be some sort of mindscape…or something. Not that it’s the time to be figuring this out.

In my search, I hesitated in front of a book. I didn’t remember it at all, but if it was here it had to be something from my childhood. My hesitation was caused by the buildup of anxiety again just looking at it sitting there.

Just thinking about what could be trapped in its pages…

I shook it off, made sure the key wasn’t in it, and continued my search.

Eventually I grew impatient, I wasn’t having any luck finding a key and Catarina’s knocks had started up again.

I stood in the middle of the room, looking around and slowly realizing that it wasn’t here. Somehow I had the feeling the key should be in this room, but it was nowhere in sight.

“Xavier.”

A familiar voice came from behind me, sending chills down my back again. I spun around and there he was.

Edmund.

He was blurry, but he looked just like in those magazines. I knew it was Edmund and I knew he had something important in his hand.

But then I blinked and he disappeared, replaced by someone else I knew all too well.

“Let me guide you.”

It was Traz this time with his mask on and his black eye staring into my soul. But most importantly, with his hand stretched out presenting to me a key. A blurry key, like an after image.

I reached out to grab the key, knowing it was what I needed to open the door, but my hand closed in thin air and Traz disappeared. I was alone once again.

I spun around as RayRay’s knocks intensified. With one hand she was knocking furiously and with the other she was holding on tightly to the door as her white look alike gripped her waist and pulled. When our eyes met RayRay suddenly stopped knocking and gestured behind me.

I didn’t have the time to turn around before a hand pierced my stomach. A very very bony hand.

Something was behind me and it had dug its hand through my back like it was sliding it into water.

I wanted to scream out, but the pain I was feeling couldn’t really be described as pain. I looked down at the skeletal hand and saw that it was holding something. A key. The key, the non-blurry key.

Before I could reach down and grab it the hand retreated back into me and….somehow it felt like it dropped the key inside me before pulling its hand out of my back. Like it was telling me that the key was right there. In my stomach.

But there was nothing I could do about that information, because at that moment RayRay lost hold of the door and the whole room disappeared.

I was thrown back into reality with Annaliese looking like she hadn’t moved an inch since Rina grabbed my hand.

Rina dropped my hand as I held my head feeling dizzy and disoriented. The spell was now officially screwed. A huge grin spread on her face as she stared at something behind us.

“You came!”

“Of course.”

Thunk