Cassandra's Legacy:
Book 2: The One I Love
A/N: This is the sequel to My Last Breath. It is written in a slightly different style than MLB and it is a few chapters shorter, but that's just how it came out. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own PRNS or any other thing Power Rangers. I also don't own the song "The One I Love" by The Rasmus from their album Dead Letters.
Chapter 1: In the Dark
Tori lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. It wasn't supposed to be this way, she thought indignantly. This isn't fair.
Haven't slept in a week,
My bed has become my coffin.
Cannot breathe, cannot speak.
My head's like a bomb, still waiting.
Take my heart and take my soul,
I don't need them anymore.
Only a week ago she had finally escaped her last nightmare. That one had been terrible enough. For 2 weeks the dream had terrorized her. At last it had hit her in the real world. But in real life she survived the battle that had killed her in the land of dreams. She told her friends—shared a pretty deep insecurity with them as well—and they reassured her . They would never abandon her or look down on her, they said. They loved her. Everything was tied up, right? Now there was another dream. Only this one was worse. It was far, far worse.
The one I love
Is striking me down on my knees.
The one I love,
Drowning me in my dreams,
The one I love,
Over and over again,
Dragging me under.
She closed her eyes, reliving the terrible images. Strong arms swung at her with a heavy bat, first bringing her to her knees, then knocking her to the ground. Beating her until she couldn't take it anymore. Beating her until reality and her mind blurred and it was hard to tell which was which. Destroying her until death seemed almost an option.
Then she was being dragged, dragged to the pool at the foot of the waterfall by Ninja Ops, the pool she had walked on and through, swam in, for nearly 2 years. Under the water, waves lapped above her head. She struggled to reach the surface only to be forced under, over and over and over. Eventually she could no longer struggle. She had no room left to breathe. One more dunk would finish her. The arms began to push her under. And as the cool water lapped around her chin she looked up into her murderer's face in defiance. And it was Blake's face. Blake's face. And that killed her more than the endless waters ever did. She loved being held in his arms, the tender feel of his hand in hers, the soft electricity that flowed when their eyes met.
But she could no longer find comfort there. Not now. The last time, telling the others had helped, even if it had been after the fact. But they could not fight this phantom. And she could not tell them. This was an entirely different matter.
Not to mention, what if it came true? After all, the last one did.
Hypnotized by the night
Silently rising beside me,
Emptiness, nothingness
Is burning a hole inside me.
Take my faith and take my pride,
I don't need them anymore.
The shadows of her room hovered around Tori in the darkness. She shivered and fled beneath her covers, rolled up in a tight ball of fear. Tori had never been afraid of the dark before. Never, not even as a child. Which was why this irrational fear, this fear which she could not escape terrified her. She wiped away a tear thinking of her friends.
They wondered what was wrong with her. They questioned her endlessly, pleading her to tell them what was wrong, what was bothering her. They reminded her that as her friends they would always be there for her, no matter what was going on that she thought she couldn't share. But what could she do? She couldn't tell them the truth. Not any of them. What would they think?. And if Blake heard….What would Blake think? She loved him, she didn't want to fear him, but it was hard not to. Every time he lovingly wrapped his arms around her was bliss until she looked down and saw those arms and remembered them striking her down.
Her life had been nothing this past week .She battled Lothor, did her schoolwork, but she didn't hang around much. Mostly she spent her time in her favorite, secret cove on the beach, which none of her friends knew how to find, nor even knew existed. She was safe from their concerns there.
Tori tried to go on, but how impossible was that with this great emptiness? The one she loved was going to kill her.
The one I love
Is striking me down on my knees.
The one I love,
Drowning me in my dreams,
The one I love,
Over and over again,
Dragging me under.
Tori closed her eyes for a moment in weariness. She was so tired, and she wanted to sleep so badly. But she knew if she fell asleep she would have the dream again, so she couldn't.
She opened her eyes again and saw a bat swinging at her face. She opened her mouth to scream but there was no voice to scream with. Swoosh! Again the bat swung at her. An evil laugh echoed in the background. The voice sounded familiar….The bat swung at her head, hard, until she fell to her knees. Another few swings and she was on the ground, completely unable to defend herself. She felt those once-gentle hands she loved, now rough, dragging her to the water, pushing her under…and under…and under…and then the great betrayal, those eyes, and she saw Blake.
This bed has become my chapel of stone,
A garden of darkness to where I'm thrown.
So take my life, I don't need it anymore.
She opened her eyes again and she was back in her room. "Oh God, I can't live like this anymore!" she cried aloud in anguish. There's no need to even get up. For how can I live, knowing this? "There's no need to go on," she whispered. "There's no way left to go on. Not if..." Not if this is what's going to happen.