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Past, Present, and Future
She was running as fast as her legs would carry her. The creature, as her township had labeled it, was chasing her. Escaping from the creature's tight grasp was difficult and she had been close. But it still wasn't enough. Her lungs were on the veritable verge of bursting. She was so close to her cabin. Almost safe. Considering her father was still alive to rid the world of the awful creature. Even in the miserable state she was in, the girl looked angelic. The bruises and abrasions on her face did nothing to hide the deep blue eyes that were filled with fear or the delicate cheeks that had stinging tears sliding down them. Long aquamarine hair flowed behind her catching on various tree branches as she passed. A dress made of peculiar white gauze covered her body. The dress was in relatively good condition in light of her spending a week in the company of the creature. Her bare feet were covered with small scrapes and she was certain that at least one of her toenails had been ripped out due to her clumsy running. The creature, though it had seen fit to provide her with a dress, had not seen to footwear. Solid footfalls followed close behind her. Panic filled her and hastened her pace. The increased speed only made her gait clumsier. "Papa, I'm coming. Please be there." The outline of the cabin loomed ahead of her in the darkness. Relief almost made her stop. But then she remembered the creature that was still chasing her. She called out to her father, hoping that he would bring the book and the medallion with him if he even came out at all. "Papa!" The door opened and a man stood in the doorway. "Laura? Is that you, my child?" Laura ran up to the man and hugged him fiercely. "Yes, Papa. It is I. I escaped. But the creature has followed me. Where is the book? Where is the medallion? We need to destroy the creature." The father drew the out of breath girl inside and closed the door behind him. Regret and sadness filled him. If only he done things differently... He looked down at his daughter, clinging to his arm. "The book and medallion are over there. Fetch them, my dear." She scrambled around the sparse furnishings and returned clutching a medallion in her fist and a book against her chest. "Thank you." He opened the book to a certain page and waited. The door of the cabin was kicked open and on the other side stood another girl. She looked identical to the girl hiding behind her father, right down to the style of clothing. But there were differences. This girl's hair, the same length as the other's, was a startling lavender. The dress, made of the same cloth, was a deep black. "Papa, you found my little pet." She flashed the father a winning smile. "May I have her back?" The father was in a state of shock. "N-nora? But you're...you're dead. I saw you die." Nora laughed, a baneful laugh. "Am I not right here in front of you, Papa?" She extended her hand to the trembling girl. "Come to sister, little Laura." Laura hid her face in her father's back. "You cannot have my daughter, creature." The father said it with such venom that Nora cringed. He held out the medallion and she backed away from them. Tears sprung to Nora's eyes. "But Papa..." The father's malice wavered and the medallion slipped out of his fingers. "Don't cry, my Nora." He opened his arms to Nora, an invitation to embrace. "Papa, no!" Laura yanked on her father's shirt. "Papa, don't let her fool you!" Nora welcomed her father into her own arms. She held his head to her breast and he allowed it, not realizing in his haze that the way he was being held was wrong. Her fingers entangled themselves in his hair, seductively running through its length. She looked up at Laura and smirked at her. It was wrong. Laura knew that this creature was not her sister. She hung her head dejectedly "You may take me, Nora. Just leave my Papa alone." Nora dropped the drunken man in her arms on the floor. "I knew you'd comply sooner or later, my sister. Remember, we share the same mind." She tapped her temple. "I know how you think." She stepped over the man on the floor to get near Laura. "I know how you feel." She gently caressed her sister's cheek, all the while getting closer to Laura. "I know what you want." She stopped in front of her sister. "I know...everything." She pressed her lips against her sister's. Laura stood still, letting the creature do as it pleased. Waiting for the right moment. She was going to do what her father could not. Nora's hands brushed against her sister's breasts through the dress. She whispered against Laura's lips. "I am no longer your sister, little Laura. I am evil. And you are my little pleasure toy." Thousands of plans ran through Laura's head. Ways of defeating this creature her sister had become. "No. I am not your pleasure toy." The soft caresses stopped, taking with them the small tingles of pleasure. "I am good. And good always defeats evil." Before Nora could react, Laura was behind her with the medallion pressed against the small of her back and the book open in her hand. Nora cried out. "What are you doing, sister? That hurts." "Good." Laura began to read aloud from the book. "To the ground you will return, creature of evil. From the people's minds you will go. Be gone. May the ropes of goodness bind you. May the hearts of purity destroy you. Be gone!" Nora collapsed in front of Laura. Her hands grasped at the empty air and her blank eyes pleaded with Laura. Laura backed away as her eyes slid close and she exploded in a cloud of dust. Her father sat up and looked around. "Where is Nora?" Laura's eyes filled with tears. "She's gone...for now." She helped her father up and hugged him. "Goodbye, Papa." She, too, disappeared in a burst of light, still clutching the medallion in her hand. |