Numb
Chapter 5 (?)
By: Lily
Sorry I haven't worked on this in a long time. I've been busy with other projects of my own. If you'd like to read my other work, including what I don't have on FanFiction.net, please feel free to visit . Don't forget to sign the Guestbook! ^.^
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"Kalia," someone called to me, "Kalia.."
"Hey, Kali!" Something hit me in the back of the head, and I started. Looking to my left, I glared at Raven, who was smirking imperiously. Then I noticed the teacher was glaring at me. Dammit, I'd fallen asleep in class again.
Lately I'd become somewhat of an insomniac.
The dreams still came, with ever-increasing frequency and intensity. In them, the man talked to me, showed me things, things I'd never dreamt of. It was beautiful and it was horrible, and the worst part was that somewhere deep inside me it all struck a cord, sweetly pulling a sad melody from my inner depths.
"Sorry," I murmured, before glancing back down at the textbook. Thankfully these last few minutes were uninterrupted sleep. The bell rang, and I got out of there as fast as I could. Just as I was rounding the corner, a hand clamped on my arm. Whirling, I cried out, "Get the fuck off me!"
Raven's eyes went wide and her hand released me in instinct of self-preservation. Immediately I was sheepish and apologetic. "Jeez, Raven, I um…I didn't mean to, you know, snap at you like that." She shrugged, her cool and untouchable mask slipping back into place. "It's okay. But what the fuck is wrong with you?" We both began walking side by side down the hallway. "You've been really weird lately; falling asleep in class, freaking out on people all the time, and not to mention, you look like shit that's been trampled over a few dozen times."
"Thanks," I muttered dryly, self-consciously tugging my hair closer to my face. It was scraggly and unbrushed, but wasn't as bad as subjecting people to my ugly makeup-less face.
"Seriously though, you look like you haven't slept in a week," she declared, gazing at me with squinted eyes. Steadily I avoided her gaze, not wanting her to see the truth that must be shining in my eyes. I really hadn't slept much in the past week; it was all I could do to stay asleep for those short moments in time, and not wake up crying.
"Listen," Raven declared, "Let's skip out on next hour and go crash Morgan's lunch period. It'll be fun; you two can torture each other." Yeah, my attitude problem with Morgan still hadn't ceased, but at least we could be civil to one another. I liked her friend Bree though; she was nice enough.
I nodded, not eager to be spending another boring day in philosophy, and we headed off to the cafeteria, where I snagged an apple and an orange juice, and Raven and I promptly headed over to Morgan and her clique. The witchy clique, I often heard kids referring to it as.
"Hey, Kali," Bree greeted me as I sat down, and several others did the same.
"Hey," I replied, giving a slight smile. Raven was greeted with less polite reserve, and immediately the babbling began. It almost sounded like that voice from the Peanuts cartoon, except higher pitched.
"Kalia," Morgan called to me, her voice reaching me over the din of the noise. I looked over at the girl I'd come to think of as my rival, and raised a questioning eyebrow. The brown haired girl looked concerned, frowning slightly and squinting at me. "Are you okay?" she asked finally, "Your vibes feel off."
Shit, now Morgan was taking an interest in my personal life?
"I'm fine…I just…I haven't been sleeping well lately," I said, giving her a half-truth. She frowned again at me. "Maybe so, but there's more to it than that," she finally replied, "If you ever want to talk, I'll listen." Then she went back to eating her lunch.
I almost wanted to gag from the pity in her voice and her eyes and just…her. Who gave her the right to interfere in my business? No one, that's right. Everyone else may have thought that Morgan was some kind of goddess in disguise, but I didn't. Honestly, she didn't awe me at all, even when she pulled that weird stunt back at our last circle where she made all the candles blow out at once. Everyone knew she did it, and just stared at her…like she'd just come up with the formula for time travel or something.
I could do better, I thought vainly, and somewhere deep inside myself I knew it. That part of me preened at the thought. That petty vain little bitch that I kept locked away…most of the time. Except with Morgan; she seemed to bring out the worst in me, always.
The bell rang, and I decided it was time for me to go. Right out the back door of the school, that is. I was going to go home, and try and get some sleep.
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"Fantastic, Kalia! You're doing so wonderful!"
The ball of witchfire grew the less I concentrated on it, and thought more about what I wanted to use it for. My control was getting better, I idly noted.
"Now make it change shape," my teacher suddenly told me.
I obeyed, and cast a 'net' over the particles, forcing them to reconvene in the formation I wished it to be. I'd chosen a cat. "Cute, creative, but not practical," he admonished. I altered my thought patterns and it suddenly changed into a sword. With a raised eyebrow, I inquired if that was what he expected. "Can you grip it?" he asked. I sent out the command for the particles to pack themselves tighter, and then settled both my hands on the hilt of the sword.
"Amazing!" the man cried, "You're catching on so quickly!" Then he looked off into the distance, and his eyes landing on something. They lit up, sparkling brightly like a kid in a candy store. "Now, go practice on that," he said, nodding his head. I turned, and saw an old doe, grazing peacefully.
My body automatically obeyed the command of it's own will. This was war; there was no time for squeamishness. I was only aiding the cycle by slaying this deer, helping it to complete it's destiny of life, death, and rebirth. I stopped right in front of the deer, and was close enough to see patches of skin, the hair long worn away. The deer raised it's head, and those helpless, hapless eyes stared back at me. Slowly my arms raised, and I brought the sword down quickly on its neck.
I woke from the dream gasping and shaking, trying to dispel the sensory images. I could still feel the slight resistance as my blade pushed through skin and muscle, slicing through the bone. I could see the blood, as red as velvet and pouring out like water from a tipped over vase. I could hear the animal's bleating cry of surprise and pain, angry at itself, I'm sure, for ever trusting me.
Disgust ripped through me, and I let out a choked cry. Leaning over the edge of the bed, I spewed the meager contents of my stomach into the plastic wastebasket. Ugh, upchuck is so gross.
"Kalia!" I heard my mother call as the door opened, "Kalia, are you home! The school called me at work!"
"Up here!" I cried, wiping my mouth with some Kleenex.
My mother opened the door a crack and peeked in. "I don't feel so good," I said, and knew I looked it. She sighed. "I'll call the school and excuse you." I said thanks, and rolled over, tears pricking at the back of my eyes. I would not cry. It was just a dream.
Just a dream. I would never have such power in reality. Ever.
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So this is the end of this meager chapter. You can expect the next part to be in Morgan's POV.