Cornelia, Gone
Well, I got it finally up. Working on chapter six!
Chapter Five: Stones and Stoned
Cornelia was still in the hospital—it was a bright, clear Wednesday. She was currently sleeping on the hospital bed, with her parents and sister looking at her. She could—somehow—hear what they were saying.
"I…I…I don't believe it," Mrs. Hale was saying, her voice embedded with a craggily, cracked voice. She had been crying since Monday, discovering that her daughter had been on drugs and alcohol. Her mind was swimming. "Our sweet, innocent daughter is…is taking…meth…and dope…and beer and—" she began sobbing on her husband' shoulder. He patted her cheek slightly. Lillian's gaze was fixed upon Cornelia's sleeping body.
"Mr. And Mrs. Hale, some of your daughter's friends would like to see her," one of the nurses said to Cornelia's parents.
"Let them in," Mr. Hale replied—more of a soft whisper. The Hales all left the sleeping Cornelia alone—with Will, Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin.
It was Taranee to speak up. "Um, Cornelia, I know you can't hear us, but we know what is best for you."
"Yeah," Irma added. "You're making your body a mess. Meth is making you violent, and dope isn't getting you anywhere. It's making you insane. Please, Corny, just please listen to us."
The four girls watched as Cornelia breathe; her eyes closed.
"But we'll help you," Hay Lin broke the silence. "We're going to nurse you back to health. You'll be off all this meth and dope and cocaine...sometime. But by the end of the year, you will. We promise."
Will felt a little nervous—even though she was talking to a sleeping body. "Um…Cornelia. Just if you can understand us, you have to know that we hate Gina as much as you do. You can't leave your duty as the Guardian of the Veil behind you just be another stoner. One day, you'll thank us." After five minutes, they all left.
Thursday came quickly—even though Cornelia was still in the hospital after her collapse. At lunch, Will, Irma, Taranee, and Hay Lin were sitting and their table, when they overheard Agatha's sneering voice.
"Where's Corny been lately?" she smirked. "She's been gone since Monday. I wonder what's wrong with her. She maybe took a vacation."
Gina had also overheard them, and then even replied, "Maybe a trip to jail!" Her stupid posse of 'friends' laughed. Even Agatha and her band of people snickered.
Will couldn't take it anymore. Getting up from the table, she went straight up to Agatha and cried; "She took a vacation to the hospital, all thanks to you!"
Agatha looked at Will with a look that Gina would give Cornelia. "Me? What did I do to my best friend? After all, I didn't decide to give her up!"
Will gave Agatha a death glare. "It was you and your stupid meth, dope, and cocaine that made her faint. She's now in a semi-coma because you're the one that got her addicted!" she turned to Gina and added, "And you've just made Cornelia's school year a living Hell for her! You're the one that made her an anorexic. You're the one that made her become friends with this bunch of trash. You're the one that makes her think we abandoned her!"
Gina gave a small smirk. "Oh, really? And what are you going to do about it?"
Will stared at Gina, her furious frown cracking into an evil smile. "May I remind you of last week's incident?" she suggested while Gina's face went pale. "Well," Will continued, "I might be able to do that exact same thing. Only harsher, with more force."
Agatha and Gina exchanged glances. Will only went back to her table and ate her lunch.
Saturday rolled around—the day Cornelia was being released from the hospital. She was not very excited though. Instead, she acted obnoxious and slightly rude. It was always—"Thank God for me getting out of this dump" and "I can't wait to leave this dumpster."
By the time she had gotten home, the phone rang. "I'll get it," Cornelia answered, running to the phone. It was Agatha.
"You're finally out of the hospital. I've got some meth for you," Agatha sneered on the other line. "Can you sneak out of your place?"
Cornelia hesitated. "Uh, yeah, sure. See you in fifteen minutes."
Running out of the kitchen to the door, she felt a nab on her jacket. "And where do you think you're going?" It was her mother.
Cornelia gave a slight 'I'm-not-doing-anything-against-the-rules-if-that's-what-your-thinking' face. "I'm going to see Agatha, that's all."
Mrs. Hale gave her a 'no-you're-not' look. And for sure: "No, you're not. You are staying here in your room. Why are you on cocaine and meth and hashish, Cornelia! Those are very dangerous to your health! You are not to be seeing her for the rest of your life! Do I make myself clear, young lady?"
Cornelia gave a disgusted look. "I hate you!" she yelled. "You don't know what I'm going through, here!" She ran away from her mother.
Cornelia sat in her room—frustrated, stressed, and infuriated. She kept on pounding her fist into the mattress, taking out all her anger. But it didn't seem to work. Her mind was racing a mile a minute—going from how much she was blaming almost everybody for this. Her parents, Will, Irma, Taranee, Hay Lin and:
'Elyon.'
Cornelia's mind went blank. Her mentality was repeating 'Elyon' over and over again. Who was Elyon? And if Cornelia did know an Elyon, what did he—or she—have to do with right now? She shook her head, continuing to get her thoughts concentrated on the other people in her life. But soon it went to somebody's name. Only it wasn't Elyon. It was:
'Caleb.'
"What is going on with me!" she cried. "Who's Elyon? Who's Caleb!" She felt a headache form on her forehead. She laid down, hoping it…it…it would…
Everything was black. But continuous voices filled the empty space with questions waiting to be answered.
"This can't be happening," a first voice said—a very familiar voice.
"But it is, Elyon," another voice replied—this one even more memorable than the first. "We have to help her."
"But I can't leave Meridian! I just can't! Who will take care of the people? I'm afraid you'll have to leave me behind."
"No, I'm not," the other 'person' said fiercely. "Cornelia needs our help. She's in danger. Elyon, please. She's your best friend you've known since you were a little girl! Please, Elyon. Cornelia needs you more than Meridian. The Guardians need you."
The first voice—addressed as 'Elyon'—did not seem to reply. It hesitated. "I don't know…I mean…I am queen of Meridian. I must protect it. You have to let this one slide, Caleb. I'm sorry. I am truly sorry."
A soft knock awoke Cornelia. "Uh…come in," she said, rubbing her head, noticing that the headache was gone. The door opened and Lillian came in the room, carrying a few things in her hand.
"Mom and Dad are going somewhere, so they assigned my babysitter to come. A friend of yours just stopped by and told me to give these to you."
Lillian approached her 'psycho' sister and handed the little tubes to Cornelia. Cornelia recognized these as the meth tubes.
"Uh, Lillian, would you like to try one?" she asked.
Lillian looked wide-eyed at Cornelia. "What are they?"
"It's something good," Cornelia soothed. She handed one to Lillian. Lillian placed it in her mouth—sticking most of the meth out.
"Now just push your tongue against it—" Cornelia encouraged. Lillian did so, and then opened her mouth, the tube falling out.
"Blek!" she choked. "That is yucky! Why do you like it? It's not tasty!"
"Maybe for you," Cornelia rolled her eyes, "but it's delicious for me."
Lillian sighed and walked out of Cornelia's room—only…she seemed a little dizzy. She seemed to sway from side to side, trying to find her way out of her older sister's room.
"Are you sure you can handle this?" Elyon asked worriedly in Meridian to Caleb. They had an argument after discovering what Caleb had told her—Cornelia was no longer Cornelia anymore. She was taking drugs, alcohol, and forgotten everything about as a Guardian. Elyon had cried for a few minutes while Caleb left her alone.
Caleb nodded. "I can try, at least. But I won't be able to succeed without your help. I can at least put some sense back into her mind."
Elyon still felt even more worried. She looked at Caleb with a apprehensive face, but she pushed the thought away.
"Just be careful. We don't know what Cornelia has gotten herself into."
It was midnight, and Cornelia was in the dark alleyway streets with Agatha and a few other of their friends, sitting around a hand-made fire by a previous stoner, having either pot, cocaine, or meth. Cornelia was easily blending into the environment around them, having a stick of cocaine.
"…so then this stupid redhead comes up to me and threatens…" Agatha was saying, but Cornelia wasn't really listening. She was paying more attention to the strange oral dream she had before Lillian came into her room.
"Cornelia…?" Agatha asked. Cornelia snapped her attention to the kids around the fire.
"Were you listening?"
"Uh…yeah. Just a little dazed."
Agatha rolled her eyes. Five minutes later, a noise interrupting the story Agatha was telling. Cornelia turned around.
"Alright, who's out there?" Cornelia yelled harshly. "Who ever you are, we aren't scared of you."
A stone all of the sudden came out in total darkness and hit Cornelia's arm, but bounced off. More stones came out of the darkness and knocked almost everybody out. The slightly frightened Cornelia wanted to run, but before she had time to even turn around, she saw a hand grab and pull her into the dark alleyway.
"Let go of me, you idiot!" she screamed. But the hand covered her mouth, making her voice a muffled sound.
For a quick moment, she wished everything away. She wished that she didn't faint in the bathroom. She wished she didn't meet Agatha. She wished Gina never came back.
She wished that her mother were here.
"Cornelia, listen to me," one of the voice's from her oral dream. "You're destroying your life. You're destroying your past…your present, and your future. Cornelia, please!" Kicking her legs and trying to remove the hand from her mouth, Cornelia paid no attention to the person talking to her.
"Do you even know who I am, Cornelia?" he asked, "do you even care who I am?"
But Cornelia continued to wriggle her way out of his grasp. "Get off of me, you creep!" she bellowed after finally freeing herself of his hold. "I don't know what your doing, but I don't like it!"
She sprinted out of the alleyway, splashing into puddles. The person continued to follow her.
"Cornelia! Oh, Cornelia! Please! Just listen! You don't understand…"
She ran for her life. She ran as quick and as hard as she could, trying to get away. Her leg's were stiffening and becoming sore, but she only took off without stopping, trying to find her way to the apartment building. Racing to the building, she felt another grasp on her arm. But it wasn't the person that held her captive for only a few moments.
It was the police.
Well, a little cliffhanger, huh? You can probably guess who was Cornelia's capturer—after all, it is obvious.
-Teenaged Assassin
Chapter Six: Under the Gun
Cornelia is in serious trouble with the police, but it isn't just the police—it's also the Guardians' powers.
Something you'll see in Chapter six:
Cornelia's head was throbbing like she had twisted both her ankle and her arm. Pain was covering her body as she cringed and yelled and cried. Her eyes wouldn't open—at least she couldn't try to open them—but she was in absolute unbearable pain.
But then, the agonizing slowly went away. She could finally see herself. Green power was covering her body—as if it was healing it. But within a quick instant, it drifted off. Somebody—whoever it was—soon bellowed, "Cornelia Hale…you are no longer a Guardian of the Viel."