The screams came in like the roaring flames, loud and burning away.
But just as flames do, they fade away.
And as such, it leaves everything cold.
Oh so cold.
So cold.
So cold…
Soooo Cooold
"SoohHh CcoolLDd…"
"ItSh SooOHhhH ccCcoOOoLLdd…"
That weight, amplified, causes the joints to stiffen.
"soOOohhh CccoOOldd…"
The illusion created by the mind was just that - an illusion. For Cedar what her mind told her, in turn her body would believe it to be the truth. Her mind told her body that everything felt heavy, thus her body felt like sludge. It was simple as that.
It took all of her strength to open her eyes, her heavy eyes. And as she did that a bright light poured into her eyes, as if she was brought into existence itself.
She didn't know how long she had been laying there. An eternity? A Second? It had seemed as if the very of concept of time passing had left the young girl. As if it had been like the white world she had find herself waking in.
Despite the fact she couldn't feel anything; a single shudder ran down her spin. She was cold. Cold from the abnormal exhaustion that had left her body wrecked.
"Where… Where am I?" she tried to speak despite the weakness that she felt. But there was no sign of life. Not signs of death. It was just an empty answer from an empty void.
Cedar felt no real form of weakness but yet she was forced to persist through it. Her body cried out in anguish as she fought through the phantom pain that tried to weigh her down. Just trying to bring herself into a comfortable sitting position wreaked havoc throughout her forged body.
A searing pain stripped rippled through her body as if seemingly her wooden frame through the nonexistent flesh that was holding her down. Her porcelain eyes nearly bugged out of her hollow skull as she forced herself to her feet; her trembling legs barely keeping her upright.
Her mind telling her that her forged muscles were taut, Cedar found herself struggling to get a footing. It was as if the ability to find balance had been involuntarily turned off without her consent. She took one step forward.
And as if the weight of the world itself came crashing down on her, Cedar plummet into the ground. She cried out in anguish as if to mimic the cries that her wooden frame of a body cried out to her. She started to pant loudly as if she struggled for the air that didn't exist to her.
Inhale. Exhale.
Of course there was no oxygen circulating through her body, she didn't have any organs to begin with.
Inhale. Exhale.
It didn't do anything for Cedar's body itself, but it was an illusionary tactic to make her mind believe that she would be alright then she would be alright. "We think, therefore we are" was a tactic that wouldn't work on actual flesh and blood, but for a puppet fueled by magic it would work.
Cedar tried again to force herself off the ground, continuing her rhythmic "breathing," despite the cries that her body made to her. The pain didn't hurt as much as before, she believed her mind trick was working but feared that it was her growing used to the pain. Struggling to find her center her legs trembled as she tried to figure out the situation she was placed in. If her body could change color from the blood that drained away surely she believed she would have become white as a ghost.
Nothing.
There was completely nothing. It was completely bare and void.
A sudden shudder ran down Cedar's faux spin she could feel her body start to tremble again. "Hello?" she called out to the nothingness.
"…" it replied back.
Cedar's non-existing heart sank. She realized that she was holding onto a heavy breath. Fear started to waft in her mind. "Hello?" she called out again. "Is anyone there?"
"…"
Cedar clung to herself solely out of instinct; she could feel her body start to tremble. She had been shaken to the core like a small child realizing what fear meant. She desperately shifted her graze from here to there to everywhere in hopes that somewhere anywhere something would be there to calm her state. But there was nowhere. Though it was all in her mind, her body started to ache from the feeling of isolation.
She was alone in the nothingness.
Her body, though not real, froze with fear. Her mind replicated everything to her body, telling her form what to do and how to react. The fact that she knew she was telling herself she was scared was what scared her the most. She was like a scared child locked inside of her cage. Just like it was in the past.
A slight shudder ran down Cedar's spine. She peered out into the seemingly endless abyss but could not see any break. Even if she had waited she was sure that no one would come looking for her.
Abandoning the idea that anyone would ever find her there she dragged her foot and took a step into the nothingness that chilled her.
For how long did she move? A few seconds? A few hours? Cedar had no concept of time in wherever it was she was. Cedar had no concept of self she couldn't even tell if she had even moved from where she first started. Still there was no hesitation in her stride. She had nowhere else to go.
Cedar remembered. She remembered the days where she walked the halls of Ever After High. She remembered her fellow students that filled the hallways. She remembered the sounds of full activity if not from one of her friends it was another. She remembered all their voices. She remembered all their faces. She remembered them all. Now there was no one.
The lack of life scared Cedar the most. Yet she continued the walk in silence…
Then she stopped. Her breath caught in her throat. Her attention almost magnetically dragged to the corner of her porcelain eye. There was a black figure.
Run away, she heard the voice in her head scream, run away and never return.
Another sudden chill ran down her spine. She dare not turn for she feared if she did she would lose what little sanity she had. She caught herself heaving heavy long breaths in rhythmic timing to the sound of her beating heart. If she could lose blood she would have been certain she would have been as white as a sheet of paper.
Cedar was not alone anymore. No. To tell the truth, Cedar would say for certain she was never alone in the first place.
What had planted itself in the corner of Cedar's eye seemed to be some kind of figure in a dark cloak. The cloak in of itself seemed as if it had been cut from the darkness itself. Cedar glanced anxiously at the creature, the beating of her nonexistent heart beating faster and faster against its cage.
Cedar swallowed hard. She turned her head to look at this creature.
Her eyes popped. It was gone. In the instant it was gone.
No. It never left. Cedar jerked her attention to the other corner. The creature was now to her left.
And it was gone again. And it appeared again. Cedar hurriedly shifted her attention to the thing that was haunting her. And yet again it disappeared.
Every time Cedar tried to get this cloaked being in her sights it seemed to effortlessly moving about her as if it were some form of eye floater. Cedar was assaulted by chills as she instinctively moved her attention from here to there as she tried to get the creature directly in her sights. Then the worst happened –
"Yo! What's up, little puppet!" –It spoke. "You been keepin' me waitin' a long time, and the big man don't like waitin'!" ice crept up Cedar's spine. It had seemed that the voice was coming from everywhere but nowhere - from the floater but yet from not.
Cedar lost heart. From the disturbing contrasting dissimilarity from the figure and the voice as well as the appearance of some form omniscience tone that seemed to threated to drown her. She swallowed hard. Her throat was tight. She couldn't utter a single word. She was completely petrified.
"What's wrong?" the voice responded to her silence. "Kitty gotcha tounge?"
Instinctively Cedar tried to look at the thing that she believed was speaking to her. "What…what are you talking about?" but as of course it didn't even linger for an instant.
"Awww, man!" it was quickly growing agitated. "You kiddin' me, right? You must be kiddin' me! We really be playin' this game."
A silence fell. And it was that silence why it was so terrifying. Finally Cedar spoke up in confusion, "I…I don't understand."
A loud noised echoed as if to signify the sound of sucked teeth. "OH MY GOSH! We really are doin' this!" It spoke out in frustration with the young puppet.. "For someone of your situation, you sure be lyin' there like a log."
Cedar was lost. The tone between her and this thing seemed to try to weigh heavily down on her. She could feel herself suffocating despite the lack of lungs. "What are you?" she asked.
"WHAT I am is not really important." it spat out, "But what I AM, I am right here, right now." It answered. "You catchin' my drift?"
The situation left Cedar speechless all she could do was shake her head. Her breathing grew heavier with every passing moment as she listened to its voice. It held sway over her and she knew it. Though she tried to avoid contact she could its gaze on her, she felt exposed.
"Look doll," the all-encompassing voice replied to her silent statement, "I'm not a very patient man. And I know the big man up top ain't good with his patience either."
Cedar was at a feeble state. She couldn't think. She couldn't say anything. She was essentially dead on her feet.
"Look!" the darkness spoke as it interpreted her silence. "I got a message from the bigman himself." The antithetical voice seemed to clear its' voice. "You can either be honest or you can stand there and lie child. At least pick a side!" the super imposing voice recited.
Cedar suddenly strode forward trying to keep herself from stumbling as if it were the extent of what remained of her strength. "What…What are you talking about?" She knew the truth. Cedar Wood was the child of Pinnochio, she was cursed with being incapable to speak lies. She could only speak the truth. In fact the truth was…
The truth was…
The truth was she couldn't respond.
"Seriously?" It spoke up in astonishment. "No, seriously?" it repeated itself. "Fine puppet, if that's the way you gonna dance!"
A single beat out of rhythm. She couldn't even respond. All she could do was watch with sorrow filled eyes as she was simply enveloped by darkness.
Then nothing.
An all-encompassing darkness. Not even a sense of self kept Cedar connected. It had felt like all life lines had been cut. It was as if time was plodding its way through molasses. Simply as if she herself had gone extinct in the here and now.
Then there was a rush of heat. A burning situation.
Cedar could feel as if a fire had been lit underneath her. As if it was trying to burn her to cinder.
She started to swelter. Despite the need to breathe, she could feel herself suffocating.
As if abruptly tearing away at the silence a sound that was best described as her soul being ripped away from her body, Cedar screamed. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally opened her eyes. And as she did she quickly wished to whatever Godmother there was she hadn't.
The land she awoke in was desolate and scarred. No life present. Cedar staggered as she receded out of the need of necessity. Blackened tree and burnt ground lined the dark forest. The smell of death lingered. There was no life. Everything within this place had been claimed by death.
Cedar's face twisted in fear. Memories came flooding in droves. It was such a mere stroll down memory lane one couldn't even believe how she could forget. The image of all her friends came to her. She remembered the small cottage in the woods. She remembered that night.
"So do you remember now puppet?" an empathtic voice came from behind.
Cedar turned to that voice. There was no soul in her eyes. Her eyes contained no energy. Despite the lack of flesh, she looked like a corpse dead on her feet.
Standing behind her was 'it,' yet now she could see it clearly in its darkness enveloping cloak. It spoke again. "So which is it? Are you the liar or the honest child?" there was no soul in that voice.
Only onething came to Cedar's mind – a memory. She remembered going on summer vacation with her friends, it was supposed to be just them alone in the woods. But she remembered. She remembered everything.
One night there was an accident. She didn't know who caused it but now it didn't mattered. There was a fire. Everyone escaped outside. Everyone got out to safety.
All except one Cedar remembered. Ginger was stuck inside. And Cedar remembered. She remembered at that time the only thing on her mind was to help her friend. That she didn't care what happened to her person.
Cedar Remembered. That she leapt into the blazing cottage.
The pressure soon grew so heavy that Cedar fell to her knees. All the energy was gone from her body. She could no longer breathe. If she could sweat she would have been drenched.
"So what is your answer child?" the empathetic voice spoke up. "Are you a liar or are you honest?"
How far had Cedar fallen? She no longer had the strength to life her head let alone to answer what seemed to be such a simple answer. What was the truth? She should know the truth. The truth should be simple. The truth was…
"So what are you? You must choose."
Cedar dejectedly lifted her head as if to speak to this thing.
It was gone.
Cedar was all alone.
There was absolutely nothing.
Cedar tried to gather what remained of her strength and stumbled to her feet. There was nothing left for her but to forward. Whatever the choice she had there was only one way now.
Cedar strode forward. Her gait gave the impression of no hesitation. She moved unfazed. Every step she took spoke that she was worn out. Every step she took prodded for what seemed like an eternity. A wounded psyche and a broken soul was all that remained.
"Are you a liar or are you honest?"
She started to stumble.
"You must choose!"
Then she broke out into a sprint.
"What is your answer child?"
And then she ran. Somehow she had summoned the energy. Soon she was enveloped by a white light.
A flickering light poured into Cedar's eyes as she awoke. Her body felt full of sludge. The overall weakness that she felt was awful. She carefully looked around the room.
It was dark. The only thing she was certain was of the bed she was laying on and the bed stand next to her and the flickering candle that barely lit up the room. And there was something else next to the candle. Almost as if pleading for the strength to move her hand to the small object.
It was a flower. It was a snow white flower. It's white petal nearly contradicting the small black room that she found herself in. She was all alone.
Mustering what strength she could she raised her aching body up and dropped her legs over the side of her bed. Her eyes dropped down to the floor and she remembered the wooden floor panels.
Are you a liar or are you honest? You must choose!
Cedar silent started to cry to herself as if attempting not to wake anyone else up. Then she gave her answer.