CRASH!
Shards of fallen glassware scattered across the floor, glistening like silver mirrors under the kitchen lights. Daniel gripped the sides of the counter, his nails digging into the splintery wood as if they could cut right through it. He stared into nothing for the longest time, completely unaware of his unstable breathing pattern, and reflecting on Gwen's leaving words.
'Are you feeling okay? Because you pronounced 'food poisoning' differently today.'
'You pronounced 'food poisoning' differently today.'
'Food poisoning differe-'
'Food poisoning!'
'FOOD POISONING!"
' G'
Daniel fell to his knees, covering his ears in his palms but the voice kept playing in his head, over and over like a broken record. Eventually, it amplified above Daniel's anguished screams, cold sweat pouring down his face.
"ENOUGH!"
In an instant, the voice had vanished. Daniel opened his eyes, unblocking his ears as he rose to his feet. He examined around the room, gripping the hilt of his dagger behind his back, searching for the source of the sudden shout only to be met with an irritated sigh from an unearthly voice, one of which Daniel recognized.
The blonde released his dagger as he turned to a nearby mirror to be met with, unsurprisingly, David's face, but with deep black eyes and a sharp, permanent smile with hundreds of thin sharp teeth that seemed to stretch around his head.
"X...Xemug?" Daniel stammered as he slowly approached the mirror for further inspection. The reflection chuckled, unfazed by Daniel's movements.
"Of course, I am, fool! Who else would I seem to be? Other than this pathetic reflection. And what have you learned about negative emotions?"
Daniel gulped, running a hand through his sweaty hair. "O-of course, my apologies, lord." A familiar smile stretched on Daniel's face. "Let me just say that I am humbled that you-"
"Enough with the formalities, Daniel. If you thought I showed myself to you because you were special, you are sorely mistaken. I come to you for the opposite."
Daniel felt a twinge of pain in his chest at that remark but kept his clean smile. The reflection continued.
"You were easily discovered by a child. A clever child, but a child. Not only that, but you were so consumed by pride that you swallowed your own poison. Pride is a negative emotion, Daniel. Would this planet's atmospherical negativity be tainting your mind and soul?"
"No!" Daniel dropped to his knees in submission, uncaring of the glass shards tearing through his knees. "Of course not, my lord. I would never let that happen. I want my soul to be pure enough to stand with you in the celestial realm."
The reflection shook their head. "There is no such thing as 'pure enough', Daniel. There is only 'pure'. If you were not so committed to your mission, and the only surviving minister -since that girl went missing- I would have stripped you of your leadership." Daniel's forehead sunk deeper onto the floor as he bowed, beads of sweat slipping between the cracks in the wooden floorboards. "However, because of that, I will grant you one final chance of redemption. If you fail-"
"I won't!" Daniel lifted his head so hard off the floor his neck cracked, louder than normal. Huffing pants in relief to regain his posture. "I promise! I won't! Thank you, Xemug!" his smile grew further into his cheeks.
The reflection huffed. "Good. Now, about the girl, she suspects you. What are you to do about it?"
"You mean to silence her?"
"No, she is far too impure to die by your hands. Also, it is impossible to kill her without being noticed. What you should be focused on are the children. How much longer until they find out?"
"That's impossible." Daniel walked over to the nearest window, piercing through the reflection in it, absentmindedly watching the campers. "The kids don't suspect a thing. The only one who figured me out so quickly was Max..." Daniel's eyes widened almost out of their sockets as two familiar figures entered his field vision. The reflection's smile curled. "And Nikki and Neil. They knew. They knew, and I forgot it." How could he have forgotten something so faint yet so obvious? The blonde's uneasy breathing was rising until the reflection spoke.
"Don't get too excited, Daniel. Look again."
Daniel did as he was told. The campers were all walking down the same path as if actually following each other. Most of them carrying long wooden planks, paint, and other materials. Daniel blinked unbelievingly. "They...they're all working together."
The reflection's smile curled as Daniel continued to stare passed it. "Too quickly, it seems. They could be preparing your gallows for all you know. What you need to do is to be one step ahead of them. So, what will you do?"
Daniel turned his gaze away from the window when he felt something warm slide down his legs. He looked down to see thin streaks of blood, staining the trims of his socks, from several shards of glass protruding from his knees. He looked at the purple beverage in the blender, a smile crept on his face. Whipping out his book with a pentacle on the cover, he turned to a specific page.
"What will I do?"
He wiped a line of blood from his leg with his finger, and lifted his shirt up over his chest, keeping it there by his teeth, and began drawing the pattern on his torso.
"Save them all."
Daniel's reflection smiled.
"No! ... No! ... NO!"
Max huffed as he tossed every useless object over his shoulder. Of course, Daniel would trap him in a cellar with no blunt, glass-shattering objects lying around. He couldn't have expected him to make it easy for him. Ever since Daniel shut the door Max had spent the last hour/hours searching for a way to free him and David, especially David.
Punching and kicking the glass wasn't an option, and his sore knuckles and feet would second that. Pushing and trying to knock it over was out of the question, he wasn't even sure an adult could succeed. And he couldn't even try to reach for the hose at the top, what with his obvious height. It wasn't like there was anything he could use to reach or to give him a boost. But he'd be damned if he didn't try everything he could for David's sake. After all, he would do the same in Max's shoes.
Max turned his gaze toward David. The only horologe he had was measuring the water to David's level, which was getting dangerously close to his chin. Max's eyes were more fixed on David's expression. He didn't look like his chipper and upbeat self. His maroon hair floof, usually upright and lively, now drooped on his face, strands were torn apart. Above all else, his eyes dimmed under the limited light, glazed and glued to Max's direction but seemed to be looking through him as if he were an apparition. He looked tired. He looked defeated. Completely hopeless.
Max shook his fists, gritting his teeth as if they could break. "Stop that." He huffed a few times. "Stop looking at me like that. Do you hear me?! Don't you fucking give me that look! You think I'm not trying my best here? I'm actually trying something for you, David! You should be happy or say how proud you are of me for doing this! So, don't look at me like it's useless! It's not hopeless, David! It's never hopeless! And you know what-?" Max's voice cracked and pierced a tiny finger at the glass. "I learned that from you." One slight movement from David was enough for Max to return to his searching. "So, lighten up a little, or something."
David felt his heartbeat for the first time in a while, but this feeling stung. Seeing how cynical, little Max was trying so hard to save him, to save the camp again, hurt to witness. For all he knew, Daniel had already won. The only difference is if he survived in the end to witness it. His eyes felt heavier. His breathing steadied. He needed to sleep. Sleep was good.
