Beware: this chapter could be a tearjerker. :.(
Enjoy. :/ Rio.
~~Chapter 3~~
"NO!" I screamed, my hands tearing through the thin threads of my black-brunette hair, fingers puncturing my scalp like syringes set to subtle skin. Nothing more did I want to tear every strand free—to slash every mental image of living a life with only myself...
My tears rolling--shimmering like pearls under the dim half-darkness of the lair and the small fractures of light bouncing from the door to the wizard world—I swallowed bile in my throat. "How...did this...happen?" I insisted her tell me in a softened whimper, my hands still tangled in my own hair
"It was Mason, Alex..." She simply stated, gazing fretfully at her feet. She then glanced up to observe my reaction. "He's the culprit..."
"No..." I denied, looking distant, shaking my head. "No, no, no, no....he wouldn't do that!! He's good?"
"Right, he's good..." Juliet argued, "I don't want to blame you, Alex—BUT I WILL. This is all your fault! If you were here, then maybe..."
"How did this take place while I was gone, Juliet??" I demanded nicely.
"Horribly..." She put into just one word, shivering.
(Juliet's POV)
This all went down an hour ago— I can recall entering the sub shop to find your dad serving tables. I asked for Justin and he told me that he was occupied but would be down shortly. He also told me that he had some Monster Hunter business to attend to, so I went into the lair and sat in that armchair to kill time until he arrived.
Shortly after—not until a brief five minutes passed that someone else entered the room.
"Hello, Juliet." An elegant voice greeted me from behind.
I glanced up, over my shoulder, to see Mason, who just smiled at me."Hey, Mason." I laughed nervously. He was dressed in a comfortable looking black, knitted long sleeved shirt, some light blue Levi's, and converses.
To give me company, he walked across the room and took a seat on the couch. "So..." He said, resting his arm up on the top of the couch and looking intently at me, "Have you seen Alex around? She suddenly up and disappeared into thin air."
"Well, She is a wizard." I reminded him, grinning.
"Oh," He chuckled, "That's true; it almost slipped my mind..."
My focus flashed aimlessly around separate walls—separate corners—of the room, trying to fill a vacancy between Mason and I. But then I was ultimately drawn back to him from something. There was sort of a seductive taunt in his eyes—which were now deep as a pit, an endless dark shroud encased in him.
"Tell me…Juliet," He spoke, calm and collective of himself, which stressed me a bit, "Justin isn't around either?? I haven't spoken to him succinctly ever since our last encounter."
It felt like a tension bridged from across his psyche to penetrate into mine, a slow vehemence I couldn't seem to tear away from. My slow hint of fear was forced to be swallowed down my throat.
"He's—He's upstairs, unfortunately, kind of busy."
"Alright," He spoke, "I'd hate to be subtle when I get the chance to give him a much broader apology…"
"Apology for what?" His sentiments—or how I saw them beforehand—was kind of hard to make out; wasn't sure if they were either pleasant and polite…or otherwise.
He stood up slowly, lingering over the small round table and glancing upon it, getting a good look at me.
"I hope I can apologize once he discovers how beautiful you truly are…"
I blushed. "Oh, Mason, Sto--"
"—in my arms…" He finished, black eyes beaming with slight orange glimmer that was sustained in the recesses of his soul.
Mason. Licked. His. Lips.
"I can be better than him, Juliet…" He made an advance for me, moving his hand forward to slide it tentatively up my skirt, I gasped. "So much better."
"Mason, cease!" I tried stopping him, but he moved drastically closer, pushing himself onto me. Mason got a hold of me firmly, the puncture of his talons pressing into my thighs sent instant ache throughout me. I was now clutched to him.
"Juliet," He panted, trying to contain me. Mason was indeed strong but I was just as persistent. "Don't fight this! It's been two hundred years!"
"Get off of me!" I insisted.
"No! He's had his fun, dearie," Mason alleged with envy in his tone, "Now it's time for mine."
In a moment, Mason attacked with his lips. It felt as if a poison injected into my being, a kiss bestowed with a sludgy taste of adultery in my throat; a gift wrapped in a silver bow. His breath fanned my face as a chilly wind whipped over us, and a swooping sound struck Mason backwards.
Instaneously, books fell from their respective shelves--pages crinkled against the stone-hard surface as books tattered against the stone-hard surface of the floor. Mason attempted to resist the invisible shield suddenly placed over him.
My chariot arrived, Alex. My head spun and I saw Justin—eyes glazed over with an intense, lion-like determination that resembled a hero. With his wand outstretched, a sphere of light emanating from the tip, he spoke outwardly, voicing his presence…
"It's time to get back in the doghouse…dog." Justin said, flashing me a smile.
Joy filled my heart. He tried his best with wit. Lets just say—as we're already aware—he wasn't too good at it. Luckily, I love that.
Mason growled menacingly, the timid orange in his eyes twittering to a much brighter, heavier vermillion striking up to the edge of the surface.
"Juliet, behind me…" Justin spoke, and I did what I was told without nary a question. "Mason…It has been two….centuries. All good things have to come to an end…" Justin said, keeping his outstretched hand consistent with Mason himself.
"On the contrary, Justin," Mason snickered, "You couldn't be more…blindly correct in that statement…"
"What…?" Justin whispered, then shook his head, blinked a few times, and tried changing the focus of this whole altercation's subject. "I—I thought you loved, Alex. How could you...put up with yourself knowing the relationship you made with her was only false?? Was only…forged??"
"It's purely elementary. Really, Justin…you're really resorting to such naïve behavior?" Mason toyed incessantly with Justin's feelings, sneering devilishly.
"Explain yourself!!" Justin demanded hastily, flashing the wand toward the werewolf. I felt him quiver under the calm placing of my palms and fingertips to his back. He was trying to keep his head up. I valued that in him.
Mason sighed, still strangled to the bookcase, wrists suspended. "It's simple…You grow, you change, you reconsider. If you'd take the time to process your own significant other, you'd be a little less naïve and a bit more…rational."
His line of vision banked from Justin to me, staring me over. It was as if the longer he stayed on me, the more I was frightened at what would come next. They were like a spotlight; I was under the befuddlement of standing blank, motionless in front of a monumentally accumulated crowd of critics.
"Juliet," Mason called, "How do you plan to kill your beloved this time? Harshly?"
Tears spouted and rolled down my cheeks. "Shut--up," I seethed.
"What…?" Justin briefly turned a head back to me, then spun back to study Mason closely once again.
"He's delusional, Justin," I reassured him, "Do away with him!"
But I knew Justin was too merciful to commit such an act. I knew him. The truth was just at the tip of Mason's tongue, and I hadn't wanted even the smallest incentive to slip off.
At least….we'd no longer hold any more secrets.
"Do away with me--oh, Juliet, you humor me," Mason continued to monologue, "You want to have the last hurrah again, don't you? You never cease to absolutely astound me. Never again…"
"THIS ISN'T THE TIME AND PLACE FOR THIS!" I shouted at him.
"She hasn't told you yet, Justin?" Mason asked in outward disbelief. He began to cackle, "How was it when you got that—that dart of adrenaline and you killed them, huh? How was that—how was the show?"
"Them?? Wait, what??" Justin deliberated, "What is he…"
I can't even begin to tell you how much Justin knew ME, Alex. He immediately saw the truth in my eyes as he glanced over his shoulder. He couldn't believe what he COULDN'T SEE. He knew. He knew me like the back of his hand.
"Justin," Our faces turned back to Mason, who had finally grown accustomed to his manual, magical imprisonment. "If she truly loved you—truly—she'd have let you in on a little secret she's let all of her past-exes in on—she murdered her parents, Justin…"
The lacerations were evident in my mind; I could see the gashes around my parents ankles as I left them to burn, left them to die. The flame I felt became real, a reality burned out of my conscious and into the beautiful landscape of my own life, scorched and tore every fragment my world was blended in. The fabric was destroyed indefinitely--such a pain I would feel didn't leave an imprint until afterward.
Until the ashes fell after the storm.
"No…" Justin defended, "My Juliet wouldn't do…"
No.
I was slipping.
Defaced in my own misery, my knees bucked and in a few brief seconds they fell against the floor with a loud thud, My hands barely keeping a tight enough grip on Justin's fore arm.
I was slipping,
And within the next few seconds…I would've slipped into a perpetual hell…
Justin looked down, confusedly, fixated on my sudden collapse.
"Justin…" I croaked.
"Such a ravenous heart…" Mason said admirably, "Why do you think I fell in love with you??"
Justin wasn't even remotely aware of Mason's voice any longer; he was far too deeply invoked in me—eyes widened, lips parted.
"Please….please forgive me…" I tried to apologize, choking on those exact words… "I don't know what overcame me…"
My heart split into two pieces.
The wand slipped softly from Justin's fingers, the release was ultimately slowed down as it fell to the ground with a simple tick-tick-tick on the floor of The Lair.
The room froze for a simplistic, feeble--"HA!" Mason exclaimed.
The room shook as Mason—who morphed into full wolf in a flash--soared over and crashed into Justin, thrashing him up against the wall with a boom. With the collision, the shelves Justin smashed into were broken, twisted, and demolished. Justin let out a grunt, panting.
"NOOOO….!" I screeched, my nerves crackling with fire, "WHAT ARE YOU…!"
Mason forced his Razor-sharp werewolf talons into Justin's stomach—the piercing sound clashed against my ears like the piercing of a blade streaking across glass.
A bloodcurdling shout exploded from Justin's lungs. I couldn't listen—tried to imagine it not touching my ears. The shout surged through me; convulsed and shook me.
As if on cue, I screamed along with him for what seemed like an eternity--A short image containing my smiling parents staring back at me.
Though it would kill, I still caught sight of Justin. His mouth stretched open wide, harboring the shout; His eyes darted intensely up at the ceiling, seeing it but not acknowledging it.
My eyes surged with water—I squeezed them shut.
My mouth gaped open—I shoved my hand over it.
Justin's rushed, rapid pants found my ears as I felt the soles of his converse pressing against the floors, descending him to the ground. Those pants turned into croaky squeaks crackling from his throat.
I was too defenseless to halt Mason thus further.
"Your hunt is through," Mason said, stepping over him and approaching him.
"You, heartless little BASTARD!" I screamed with the strength I still had left.
"Insult me as you wish, Juliet," He stated, picking me up to hold me by the waist. I fought to shake his grip, but I was hurt too fatally. In a flash, I hissed vehemently, baring my sharp fangs only an inch from his face.
"Do you really want to do that?" Mason inquired. My eyes instantly spotted his bloody talons right at my stomach. I reconsidered.
"Be thankful, I spared his future demise…"
He threw me down to the floor and spun around to scamper out of the lair swiftly, without my reflexes catching up with me to stop him once and for all. I rushed over on my hands and knees—blubbering loudly and without recognition—to Justin's severely damaged body. I looked him over fast; numerous times I studied the damage but couldn't make head nor tail of it. Justin was wearing this gray hoodie—unzipped and hanging open, with a white t-shirt underneath. The bottom half of his t-shirt was sadistically torn away. Exposing his lower stomach, blood had splattered everywhere and the flow showed no sign of stopping, to my dismay. He was still making small noises of pain.
There was this thing I was sure of about a werewolves' composition. There was a special component hidden in the bones of their talons--it turned vampires powerless, turned humans to corpses. Any mortal wouldn't be lucky enough to survive the slash and then have their effort wasted completely by the poisonous toxin. Hope might've died, but time still stood apparent.
I crouched over Justin, crying immensely over his petrified face. He had the countenance of a ghost: skin already losing color, eyes open semi-wide, lips parted.
But…breathing. Thank GOD, still breathing.
"Justin…stay with me, now, please…" I put my hands firmly around his cheeks. He was so fragile, losing life with every second, His weakened gasps escaped with my sharp detection.
"Stay with me!!" I demanded.
"Juli…e…" He couldn't finish my name.
"What??? JUSTIN, WHAT?!"
The world stopped momentarily.
"ACK!" Justin grunted in a sharp cry.
The poison had set in full capacity.
"JUSTIN! STAY WITH ME, BABY!!" I screamed into his ears, softly smacking his cheeks for any response. Any response was all that I needed. "Please…"
A cold gurgle, as low and chilling as dial tone escaped his mouth.
That was his final resignation.
"No…..NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!! JUSTIN!!" I wept with excruciating pain, "Please….JUSTIN!!" My lids squeezed waterfalls down my cheeks; my head shook with denial as I refused to adjust to such madness. Then I stared down, crying his name once again.
"JUSTIN—JUSTIN, PLEASE…." My cry trailed off into the silence of the room.
My weep was interrupted so suddenly by a speckle on Justin's cheek that held a terribly sharp contrast to his now petrified, bone-white pigmentation. My divine vision could spot it. A small, crimson bead of liquid--a splotch casually sitting directly under his bottom right eyelid. Another bead then fell and collected with the other at the surface of his skin…and then I finally felt it.
My senses had attracted to its presence at once; the pressure around my eyes. I cleanly swiped a finger along my bottom eyelid and observed the residue on my fore finger.
For the very first time since my…parent's murder…I was actually crying blood.
(Alex's POV)
"Where is he, Juliet?"I asked quickly, "He escaped….to where?"
"I wasn't aware…" Juliet answered.
"Where is the…" The words were jammed down my throat; I had to smooth out their pathway. "Where is he--Justin?"I paced slowly around the contents of the lair, eyeing the furniture, the broken books, the clutter of papers covering the floor.
"Its been…literally eons since I've hidden a corpse or two," Such dark talk from Juliet didn't seem even the least bit humorous. She couldn't make this situation appear any more terrifying than it already was. "So…I didn't take the liberty of stowing away his remains…I was too…reflective to do that…" Her voice then ached with grief, "…in addition to how broken you know I am…."
I crouched down to scoop up the scattered remnants of the books Mason had brought down in his detainment, sure to grab the pages in piles and to stuff them back in whichever book I had in hand.
Something sparked my attention in my peripheral vision at that moment. I slowly rotated my vision—turned my head, to see a corpse lying behind a stool that was in front our wizard class table.
"I put him there because we all know how much he was eager to learn…" Juliet clarified in a soft tone.
Fear was Justin's playing card—one of his insecurities. I just never thought…never could imagine—I…
I never thought It would embody him in death…
As it turns out, I wasn't truly too much of a Stickler to willingly wait for 15 reviews, those will collect over time. This was truly an amazing chapter to write!! I loved every inch. I finished this at 2:22 AM. And pretty proud of it!!! Yeah! The next chapter will be up soon. I was so eager to post this one. It's a tear jerker. Did any of you cry?
Drop a review, along with any comments or stuff you'd like to point out, okay?
Rio.