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 Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:32 pm
The Shrine. The place where warmth was, where she could feel whole. Perhaps the goddess would ask something of her again? If she could complete the task, she could gain more of what she was missing, and then she could--
"Oh." It was a simple utterance, one of surprise and curiosity. A Goddess, working, perhaps it would be best if she, Rhryse, left her to it? No, the Goddess addressed her. Gave her something. A gift? Rhryse took the bag and did as instructed. Empty. She gave the Goddess a look of question.
"Okay," she replied. She could help. She accepted the scissors and turned, heading out. A faint noise reached her ears, but she hardly listened. A task for the Goddess. A heart. She had to find a heart.
Surely that would not be so hard?
She stepped through the opening and found three doors. Each was very, very different. A pumpkin? She didn't know what that was, but she knew this was an image of one. The door seemed simple, nice. Next to it... a strange symbol, one she could hardly make out for the wear on it. She didn't like the feel of this door at all, and the gouges on it seemed angry to her. Then there was the last door. She felt something dark here, mean behind that door, but the sigil on it held no such emotion inside of her. In fact, something in her mind seemed to like this symbol best, for just a moment.
Rhryse stood in front of the doors, unsure for several moments. Surely the feeling she got from behind the doors was in her mind. A mental trick of sorts. She bit her lip, starting. The last symbol had sparked something, vaguely, somewhere inside. Not quite warmth but... Rhryse chose the third door.
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 6:39 pm
Darkness. She didn’t like it. The moment the door closed part of her wished she could take it all back. Wished she could have said no to the Goddess. She shook her head at the thought. It was a gift. She couldn’t turn that down. Especially not from a Goddess. Never. The Goddess asked her to take it, she asked her to do this. This was a simple task, and Rhryse knew she had to follow through with it. For the Goddess.
So she moved down the hall in the darkness that frightened her. Was it the dark? Or was it the sound that came to her ears steady in that darkness?
Thud.
There was something dull about the sound.
She nearly tripped over the crate. It was just there and… the sound. It was there, too. She reached out to touch the box, wanting to find a way around… but hadn’t the Goddess said it was in a box? The thing she needed? She tried to look inside, but it was dark. Dark but for the faintest traces of red.
Her hands touched something odd. Something that felt like… An arm. She knew it was an arm. The sound had stopped.
Exploring further, Rhryse tried to reach into the box. The thing was in the box, in all of the box. It felt… were these memories? Or just an inherit knowledge that caused the chill down her back? She didn’t know, and she tried her best to shove it aside. The Goddess had asked her to bring a heart. Rhryse looked into the box. She could see the faint glow, hear the faint beating.
Thump-thump
A heart. All that the goddess asked for. The bag in her hand felt light, as if it were waiting to be filled. The scissors in her other hand felt heavy, reminding her they were there. Rhryse was torn.
The heart still beat. Faint, but there. The body it belonged to… The Goddess had said they didn’t make it. So… so…
It made her stomach (she hadn’t even known she had one) turn to think about it. It was even worse doing it. Worse than she could have thought. Her hands shook, her mind whirled, and she felt sick. Sick and weak.
The flesh tore, something oozed, and as her trembling fingers reached and grabbed, the body moved. Rhryse felt fingers dig into her arm, and a voice shrieked a name. "Sherry!" A name familiar, but not one she recognized. It chilled her. Or maybe that was the fact that her hand was in this things chest?
The body fell still.
In Rhryse mind she saw something new.
”Sh----,” it was her mother speaking. “Sh--ry, come over here. That’s a good girl. You remember Aunt M---ha from last month? Well, this is her daughter that we told you about. Bethany. Say ‘Hello,’ ----ry.”
“Hello.” The girl before her was her own age, 10 maybe, and shy. She was pale, like She---, had dark hair, and her brown eyes were large with fear. The girl named S----- felt herself smile. “Come on, Bethany. I’ll show you my room. Do you like horses? I have the new Barbie horse!”
Bethany nodded, and reached out to take the hand She--- was offering.
Rhryse shivered and looked down at the heart, now quiet, in her hand. The rest of the body was in the box, pieces jumbled together like a broken doll. She swallowed, forcing back down the sensation that she might throw something up. She didn’t like the thing in the box. And she didn’t like what she’d done to it.
Hands still shaking, she managed to place the heart inside the bag.
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 9:24 pm
Rhryse continued on. She had to take this heart to the Goddess. And the only way to go was… wet. Wet and cold. She felt the water seeping into her boots, chilling her gray skin. She could hear… footsteps? Were they not her own? Were they—When she turned, she saw nothing. There was nothing to see.
So she continued.
She paused when the water was at her knees. Should she continue? What if there was no way out here? No. There had to be. She had to continue.
"Please give it back."
Rhryse spun, certain she had heard someone. There was still nothing to see.
The chill down her spine was due to the water, she was sure of that. She continued. The feeling of dread and fear inside her grew as she moved, as the water crept higher. Forward was the only way. It had to be. It was—
The voice again. She whirled, but there was nothing. Nothing but the water lapping at her neck. She should turn, go back. It only got deeper from here, she could feel it. She had to go back. Find another way. The hands stopped her. Cold hands, strong hands. Hands that gripped her and pushed her down. She saw the face then, a face eerily similar to the one she’d seen in the box. A face like—the memory. She’d nearly forgotten it. It was the same…
Rhryse flailed, struggling against the grip of the other. Her head was submerged now, and she dared not breath. She’d already swallowed the foul liquid in her surprise. There was nothing she could do. It was starting to hurt, but she couldn’t fight it, she wasn’t strong enough to fight it. Rhryse didn’t want to die. The face snarled at her, angry and desperate.
"Give me back my heart."
That face, with its gray eyes and horrid mask of anger. It was the same face. The same.
”Please, Beth. He is way more into you than he is into me.” She--- slumped down on the bed. “Besides. I don’t want anything to do with that dating stuff. I mean, kissing? Ack!” She made her best disgusted face. “Gross!”
Bethany laughed. “Oh, please, She---. I know you have a thing for T---r. Are you telling me you don’t want to kiss him?” The last sentence came out in a teasing sing-song kind of voice. “Sh---y and Ty--- sitting in a tree, k-i-s-“ The pillow hit her square in the face.
“No way, Beth. No way. I would never… Besides. Everyone likes ---er.” She--- shrugged it off. She was way too shy for dating. Or make up. She had been surprised when Beth showed up at her house with eye-shadow on that day before they went to the movies. Bethany, with make-up and talking about boys. Was this what it was to be a 14 year old girl?
“Hahaha!” Beth laughed.
“So,” S---ry decided to change the subject away from herself. “What do you want to do about Cr---?”
“I’m going to kiss him!” The look on Beth’s face was nothing short of sly. With a little hint of embarrassed added in. “But you can’t tell your mom. She’ll tell my mom, and my mom would FREAK OUT. I’m not allowed to date until I’m 16. Best Friend Cousins don’t tell their moms.” She gave Sh---y a stern look.
“I knoooow. I would never do that.” S---ry shook her head. There was no way she’d betray Beth like that. "Soooo, when you gonna kiss him?"
Her chest hurt, her lungs burning for air. Rhryse was going to die, and Bethany was killing her.
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 9:51 pm
Bethany. The memories were a little fragmented, pieces her and there faded. But she knew enough. Bethany. Her friend. Her cousin. Her best friend for years. They talked about everything together. Shared secrets.
And Bethany was killing her.
Because she’d cut her heart out.
Rhryse didn’t want to die. It hurt, in her chest. It hurt in her heart.
But she didn’t want to die. The Goddess had asked her to bring the heart. The Goddess had asked…
The scissors were heavy and cold in her hand. How had she forgotten about them? It seemed a silly question. She’d forgotten about Bethany, too, at one point.
She could feel it. The last bits of her life, the last bits of her light, fading in the dark, cold water. Bethany was still screaming for her heart back.
The heart was for the Goddess. She’d asked for it. She needed it. And Rhryse’s whole purpose for being here was to complete the tasks the Goddesses asked of her. She couldn’t die here. She couldn’t return the heart.
The scissors entered flesh, sinking deeper than she’d thought they would. She must have hit the hole she’d made earlier. The thought made her stomach flip. She pushed on the scissors again, her hand following them inside the body of Bethany, where just minutes before she’d ripped a heart out. The scream hurt her ears, even under water.
There was no water. No Bethany. Rhryse sat on the floor, barely holding herself up as she threw up whatever amount of water she had swallowed. It was still ice cold and very foul. Throwing up didn’t make her feel better.
Light danced across her shaking fingers where they clung to the dry floor. Light. A door. A way out. Rhryse rose, unsteady, and turned toward that door. She wanted out, away from here as soon as possible.
A flicker in the corner of her eye caused her to turn back one last time. Bethany. Bethany watching her, Bethany holding the scissors that had helped her best friend cut out her heart.
Rhryse turned back to the door. She was numb, but not from the cold.
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 4:55 pm
Day Two
Ruin. The Goddess that chose her. Red. The color of her heart.
Rhryse looked down at the dagger in her hand. Simple with a glittering stone a claw charm. "Fend for myself?" Rhryse repeated, unsure of what it meant. Even as she watched, the dagger began to change color.
She looked back to the Goddess, then to the way out. It was what the Goddess asked, so it was what would happen. Rhryse stepped through the opening.
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 5:29 pm
It was cold. That was the first thing she noticed as she stirred. The next thing was the light, then the table, then the white. Where was she? When had she arrived there? When had she fallen asleep?
Her head hurt, her ears picking up a faint sound from the lights that only made things worse. She hated when lights hummed like that. If she stared at them too long they seemed to flicker, which didn't help with the head pain. It was bright enough without staring at the lights, anyway. Bright lights, white walls... Rhryse didn't like it in that room.
So she moved to the door, opening it slowly. Nothing but more white and more light in the hall. It was still the only way to proceed. So she did. Slowly, a little unsteady and --
SLAM!
She whirled, breathless now and wondering just who... Nothing. The door was still open. The room still empty behind her. She could see no reason for the sound she'd heard. Odd.
Her feet grew steadier the more she moved, and the hallway meant for little deviation on her course. It was long, longer than she might have imagined to be, but she continued, hoping for a way out. She didn't like this place with its bare white walls, bright, painful lights, and eerie stillness. It was not a friendly place.
So when she saw the exit, she was nearly overjoyed. A way out. Just what she needed.
Thud.
She whirled at the noise again, but found the hall to be just the same as before. Bare and lonely. Rhryse slowly turned, wondering about the sounds. She had just let herself breath again when she heard another thud, and again she turned.
This time she jumped, fear sending chills up and down her spine. She was not alone. A dark figure, menacing just by basis of its existence, stared at her. Watched her. They moved, their footsteps echoing down the hall. The strange sound of metal on metal rang out, too, and Rhryse then noticed the rusty scissors the figure held.
She didn't wait to see what they would do. Fear still sending chills down her back, Rhryse turned and fled.
She was nauseous.
Her heart was in her throat, and she could hear it beating, her breath fast and loud, the door too far away. The footsteps behind her were steady and certain.
The door! If she could just reach the door. Why was it so far?
It wasn't that far. Her hands found it a moment later. Fear was making things strange, worse.
The door didn't move when she tried the handle. Locked. Locked and.... needed a passcode. Oh hell. Rhryse tasted bile in the back of her throat.
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Grifferie rolled 1 4-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-4)
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 5:30 pm
Rhryse tried the door again panic beginning to set in. There was no other way out of the hall. And if the dark figure caught up with her.... Everything seemed to spin, fear and adrenaline catching up to her. "I don't care, Beth. I'm not going."
"I don't see why not," Beth was scowling at her. "Mother said I can't go unless you go, and I really, really want to go. Please."
"No. I don't like Paula, I'm not going to her birthday party." It was as simple as that. She might have loved Bethany, but she wasn't going to suffer through an evening of not-fun just so Beth could try and hang out with the "cool kids". It wasn't worth it. "Besides, I don't even have a gift to take. That would just be rude."
"Excuses." Bethany was glaring at her. "Stupid little excuses. Why can't you do this one thing for me? I'd go for you. So stop being selfish and just go. It'll be fun, and it's only for a couple of hours."
"No, Beth. I have other things to---"
"Augh! You are a selfish little b***h. I ask for one thing, and you just don't even allow me that one chance for happiness? I don't even know why I'm friends with you." She stormed from the room, slamming the door on her way out.
"No, Beth! Wait!" The door was flung back open as she ran out after Bethany. She blinked, the bright lights nearly blinding her again, the door handle cold under her fingers. What was-- "Selfish. Selfish little b***h. I ask for one thing..." Rhryse froze, the words echoing down the hall. No, that's not...it couldn't be...
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Grifferie rolled 1 4-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-4)
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 5:44 pm
It couldn't be. It didn't make any sense. She didn't even know who this Bethany was, so why would her ghost be taunting her? That was who the figure was, right? The voice...was similar. Twisted and broken, but similar. And the words... The hallway seemed to spin again. "And?"
"And?!" Bethany repeated, "It was wonderful! Perfect. Most girls only dream of their first kiss being so perfect!" She was beyond please with how her afternoon had gone, anyone could see that.
A giggle.
"What's so funny?" Bethany was staring at her.
She shook her head. "Nothing. I just, can't imagine actually kissing a boy. Especially not with my tongue. Just... Ewwww." She shook her head and flailed, emphasizing the point.
Bethany gave an exaggerated sigh. "Child. You don't know what you're missing."
"Oh, please, Beth. You've only had the one kiss. You're not an expert or anything."
"I know waaay, more than you." She was leaning against the door, the hum from the lights ringing in her ears. Why did her head hurt? Why was she seeing these things? "Child. I know more than you." The voice was harsh and broken. The sound of metal scraping metal accompanied it. The footsteps were moving ever closer.
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Grifferie rolled 1 4-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-4)
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 5:53 pm
She tried the door again. It's didn't budge. Frantic, she spun, looking around the hall again. There was nothing. No way out. Just her and the figure and the sounds.... "Oh." She tried not to sound sad. "No, it's fine. Go. Have fun."
"I knew you'd understand!" Bethany was smiling at her. For half a second she looked like she might lean in for a hug, but then she glanced at her other friends and seemed to think better of it. "I mean, we see each other enough being family and all. But this? This is the chance of my lifetime."
"I know," she said, gesturing to the car full of people. "It's not everyday a boy with a car asks you to lunch. Go and enjoy yourself, Beth."
"Not everyday that boy is Tom-- D----lson!" Bethany whispered, unable to contain her glee. Without another word she turned and scurried towards the car, sliding into the backseat with two other people.
Which left her alone. She supposed that was fine. She grabbed her sack lunch and set off to find a quiet place to eat it. Rhryse nearly fell over when she came back to reality this time. The cold wall was the only thing that stopped her. "Chance of a lifetime. Family." There was chuckled with the words this time. How did it know? Could it see what she saw?
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Grifferie rolled 1 4-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-4)
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 6:06 pm
Why did it sound like Bethany? Why did she keep seeing Bethany? What was going on? They laughed. Laughed like only 10 year olds could laugh. From the belly, from the heart. Non-stop and joyful. They laughed until they cried, until they couldn't breath. She'd never understood the phrase "die laughing" but now she did. They laughed until hurt, and then they laughed some more.
Their parents came to check on them, but laughed, shook their heads and walked away.
Bethany's cat was wearing a pink bonnet, and was definitely queen of the tea party. The figure laughed. It was not the fun-filled happy laughter of a ten year old who dressed up their cat. It was full of malice. Another chill of fear ran down Rhryse's back.
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Grifferie rolled 1 4-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-4)
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 6:13 pm
By a stroke of luck Rhryse saw the paper. Paper. It could help. Maybe? She was desperate, and needed something, anything. It made no sense. Letters equaled numbers? What did that mean? How did that help? She stared at the keypad, then the paper. She was afraid. Nothing made sense. She wanted to cry.
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Grifferie rolled 1 4-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-4)
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 6:16 pm
She dropped the paper. Useless. Useless. "Useless!" Bethany was screaming. Screaming at her.
"Bethany. I didn't mean anything by it. She asked. I couldn't lie to her."
"No! That's not what friends do. You can't tell my mother stuff like that. I trusted you! Useless little whore. You didn't have to tell her I wasn't with you. You should have lied. Now I'm grounded for weeks. She won't even let me out of the house. I hate you!" The phone clicked. She'd hung up.
Tears fell. Her best friend hated her, all because she'd told the truth. Heck, she hadn't even known Beth wasn't home. She'd heard nothing about that party. It wasn't her fault. The figure was closer. "Useless! Useless! Useless little whore! It sounded like something between a sing-song chant and a snarl. Rhryse tried the door again.
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Grifferie rolled 1 4-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-4)
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 6:24 pm
Her eyes fell, and she saw another piece of paper. She reached for it, desperate. Letters? What did-- The thought stuck her like lightning. She scrambled, finding the other piece of paper. Quick, quick. "0. 2. 4. 5." She said each number as she put it in. The door clicked. She pushed, and ran.
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Grifferie rolled 1 4-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-4)
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 6:31 pm
She was outside.
The figure was still behind her. Saying things from her memories...saying more. Something about a heart. About cutting out a heart. Cutting out Rhryse's heart.
Rhryse ran.
She didn't even hesitate at the bridge. She ran right over it, turning in time to see it fall apart.
The figure yelled. "Useless little whore. I'll cut your heart out! After you return mine, I'll be taking yours!"
Rhryse ran.
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Grifferie rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 6:34 pm
A dead end. A house. Would she be safe there? Would--
The dagger was glowing. Rhryse looked at it, and remembered what the Goddess had said. This was--
The figure was before it. It snarled. "Useless."
Rhryse shook her head. She raised the dagger, preparing to use it.
Thanksgiving. Never the best time, but never this bad before. They'd always had each other before.
"You still haven't forgiven me?"
Bethany scoffed. "No. Why would I? You nearly ruined my life."
Sh---y poked at her pie with her fork. "I told you, I didn't even know you weren't home. You didn't tell me. I can't be expected to help you if I don't know how."
"Oh, shut up. You're so stupid. I can't tell you about a party you're not invited to. Then it's not secret. You should have just known." Scorn was dripping in her voice.
"Beth. That's not how things work. What if something had been wro--"
"No. God. You are stupid. So stupid. The only reason I even talk to you is because I have to. Stupid family. Don't look at me like that. You know I hate you, She---. Don't act so surprised. Stupid whore." Bethany stood, crossing the room and tossing her pie in the trash. "Don't talk to me anymore. You're nothing but a stupid problem. I don't need you helping Mom ruin my life." She walked out of the room.
She--- heard their parents ask Bethany a question. She heard Beth reply, then she heard the front door open and close.
She didn't understand. They'd been best friends for years. And now...now there was nothing there.
She felt the hands. They had hold of her, keeping her still. She tried to fight, tried to struggle, but she couldn't. She could hardly move.
"It only hurts once." The voice was next to her ear.
Her heart beat fast. Loud. All she heard was the beating of her heart and the sound of her breathing. Terror. Rhryse felt terror. Raw, lonely, sickening terror. She felt cold, even though she'd been running. There was silence. Silence and her breath, and her heartbeat.
The sound of scissors came a moment later.
SNIP.
Pain. Pain in her chest. Pain that came with the sound. Searing and unbearable pain. The terror she'd felt was fully realized as she felt warm liquid run down her front. No. No. NO. She needed that heart. It was hers. It was how she lived. It was how she felt. It kept her warm.
SNIP.
There was no pain this time. Just the sounds. Her heart beat. The scissors. The sound of her heart being cut out. The sound of her heartbeat fading as the figure walked away with her heart.
It hadn't been a lie. It only hurt once.
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