Story: No Regrets

Published: 5/10/08

Summary: They're comming for her, and there's no escape this time

Rating: T

Beta: 'Chelle, Ceci

Weeeee have fun reading THIS twisted one... I actually like it alot, and PLEASE, no stupid reviews... thanks

-NnH

Something's wrong. I know it.

I don't know how I know, but I do. It's something in the air, I think. Something's changed. They look at me differently now, and I think they might be catching on. They're so cautious, so scared. None of them say anything, but it's obvious. I can see it in their eyes.

They talk about me when I leave the room. I know they've bugged my sleeping quarters ... not to mention the rest of the damn house. Every time I walk into a room, it goes completely silent for a second. A second where they stare, shocked at me, as if they think I'm going to jump up and slit their throats. I leave the room.

I suppose the reason they're scared could be because I'm a suspicious face during a state of war. I suppose the reason they're scared is because they're confused, because the attacks are becoming more and more frequent. Because the enemy knows things they shouldn't know. Because our already small numbers are dwindling rapidly.

I suppose those are all good reasons to be scared, but they aren't the real reason. They're scared because no matter how hard they try, they will never succeed. Their last hope is resting on the shoulders of what is in their eyes, a small, untrained, hotheaded child. A child who hates most of them, a child they held captive for the last year and a half, who has every reason to leave them for dead.

And yet, it never occurred to them that I may not fight for them. They completely took for granted that I am on their side, and that may very well be their downfall.

They think I'm useless, that I can't do anything. I guess I can't really blame them. They don't know everything that's happened, they don't know what I've been through, and they're so used to the idea that children are less trained, softer, more innocent then they are, that they would never think that one child could be more jaded than they ever were. They don't think that one child could ever succeed where they have failed.

They don't see what I see though. They don't see the air around them darkening, they don't see the flashes of color around every corner, they don't see that they're always being watched, that their leader is just as scared and confused as they are, and that The Dark Things are sitting just around the corner, just out of sight, waiting to take them.

The last time I felt this way was right before She died. It is the same feeling as right before she was captured. The same all-encompassing darkness as I pushed through during our three day search for her. It is the same sick terror as when I found her body lying in the river outside the house.

It figures. They would only be back on the anniversary of her death. The one day I most want to be alone, is the one day they feel the need to annoy me.

It just fucking figures.

I get up, crossing to the window, staring blankly out at the pavement, at the trees, the black figures creeping towards the house, the quiet lake shimmering in the moonlight...

Wait.

Creeping towards the house?

Shit.

They're back. I can feel the blood rushing up into my ears. Everything is the same. Every. Last. Little. Thing.

It's Them. The ones who took my friend from me.

It's Them. The ones who crushed our group, the ones who tortured her for two days before killing her somewhere we'd be sure to find her.

It's Them. It was their fault

But this time, I'm ready. This time I'll get my revenge. I'm stronger now, I'm going to get what's mine. I'm going to get my revenge.

I feel my eyes flash with determination. I slide quietly towards the door, staying as quiet as possible. I'll pull open the door, and burst into the hallway outside. I'll catch them, and make them feel every ounce of pain they inflicted on her. I'll make them pay. I'll make them bleed.

I slam into the door, and contrary to my thoughts, it stays closed. Locked. Sealed. I run back to the window. If I jump, I can still make it out that way. That's Sealed as well. There's no exits. I understand now. They aren't here to gloat, they aren't here to steal. I understand the note. The note carved into her forehead that morning.

"Don't despair, the earth spins, and everyone gets a turn"

Every year. Once a year, until I die. There's no escape, and They needed me to know that. "The earth spins" a circle. An endless fucking circle. I wonder who they will kill this year.

That thought strikes me as funny for some reason, and I start laughing. They beat me at my own game, and damn is it hilarious.

I can prepare for next year, though. I may have lost now, but the rules are coming increasingly clear with each passing moment. I know what I will have to do, because I can't afford to lose to them again.

I slump down onto the bed, crying as much as I am laughing. There's nothing left to do but sleep. Sleep, and wait until the morning, when I will discover which one of my friends will be found in the creak in a few days time. I'm not laughing anymore now. There's no way out, and I've failed. I can't win, and I can't fight. There's nothing left for me.

I hear the click I've been waiting for, and straighten up, eyes immediately dry. They've lifted the monitors. They're not watching me anymore.

I grab my favorite book off my bedside table, and begin reading, using this time to organize my thoughts.

Vaguely I wonder if I overdid the "sad panic" act just a bit. Then I remember that their leader is an idiot, and I smirk. No one will ever notice. No one here even noticed it coming. Not one of them.

I feel a bit of doubt creeping into the back of my mind. Wondering if I am doing the right thing. If I have any right to be taking pleasure in their deaths. They were all my friends not that long ago.

I remember finding her body. I remember the bruises, the cuts, the way her mouth was still open, frozen in a silent scream, eyes rolled into the back of her head. It was obvious she died in extreme pain.

I remember every little detail, turning them over in my mind, I smile.

Yeah, it's worth it.

END