Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long; I've just been completely swamped by school and the sorts. I do hope they chapter will make up for it; it's not as great as I usually write, but it's full of drama and action, so I hope every one likes it. I have actually abandoned my other story, Return, because I decided on a new plot, but that one's rather private, so unless I get messages saying to keep on going with it, it's gone. Also, thanks so much to Alistarsmusic; your reviews are awesome like pie and they're always inspiring to see and make me love writing that much more. Anyway, like always, I hope you enjoy, and I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Thanks for reading!
~Hanieya Okudashu
Chapter 18: Overtaken
"Ah hell… Is this going to happen every single time Arsenio and Daniel are in the same room?" I cursed softly in my head, eyes narrowed, as I studied the scene below me. From experience, and Arsenio's words, I'd finally understood that my lapse in memories meant that Alana was invading me again, and damn it I hated it!
Ignoring all else, I flew before my own eyes. "Alana!" I barked, "Damn it, give me my body back!"
Nothing.
"Alana!" I screamed, "I know you can hear me damn it! Give me my bloody body back or I swear if you steal it, I'll haunt you for eternity!"
Alana stood and stretched luxuriously, my shirt lifting to show a bit of my stomach… her stomach… hell, you know what I mean! "Alana!" I screeched at her.
Finally, she turned to me. "You're vexing me," she said coolly, pointing an elegant finger at me, "Be silent." And then I couldn't speak anymore. My throat closed up, and no matter how hard I tried, no sound came out of my mouth, try as I might. What the hell is this?! I am so seriously outclassed it's not even funny! Yo man, that is just so friggin' uncool!
I could see Winsey was stepping back, horror marking every feature of her body. Even from my position, I could see her mouthing, "Oh Lord, Oh Lord, Oh Lord," over and over again like some sort of prayer. I swooped in front of her; Arsenio and Daniel couldn't see me, but Winsey, being a hunter could. Hopefully. Frantically, I waved my hands in front of her face, poked her, did everything I could, but even she could not detect my presence. What the hell was I supposed to do?! If I could scream, I would scream until Alana retreated out of pure annoyance.
I swooped down before the fiend that had stolen my body again, waving my hands in front of her as she rolled back her… my shoulders… Agh! You get my point! Pretending I wasn't even there, she waved her hand in front of her face nonchalantly, right where I was. And I was knocked backwards with the force of a train.
I flew and flew, tumbling head over heels for minutes, hours, I don't know. I rammed right trees and walls, each of them feeling like nothing more than a slight ripple over my ghostly skin. Finally I managed to upright myself long enough to stop my motion. Where the hell was I? I couldn't even tell how far I'd gone now.
Figuring if I flew backwards from the way I'd been tumbling I'd get back to the drama, I headed in that direction. Sure enough, within minutes, I was back before Alana, Daniel, Arsenio and Winsey. This time though, I knew not to antagonize her; she'd just send me flying again and waste time. Bloody hell, what was I supposed to do then?!
Winsey had regained her composure and was staring at Alana coolly, her eyes calculating and planning already. The girl knew how to get her way with things; I didn't doubt that, ever. Ah man, if anyone could help me get out of this situation now, it was Winsey! Please! God, Buddha, whatever there is, help me now!
By now, Alana was done stretching my body in ways I didn't even know I could bend, faking innocence as she showed off parts of my body. Just seeing her do that made me want to rip my own hair out. How dare she do such a slutty thing?! Especially while she was in my body! That sounded so wrong…
Arsenio and Daniel had stopped fighting by that point and were both looking at my body, each of them with blank faces. What were they thinking? I'd give all my clothes and all my money just to find out, I really would.
"Good morning, my beautiful," Daniel said finally, a beautiful smile on his face. "How are you? I've been waiting for you for a while."
"I'm well, thank you very much, Davide," Alana giggled, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "But I must say, I am rather disappointed in you; why is the girl still alive? Don't you want me back?"
"You know I want you back more than anything!" Davide declared, ignoring Winsey's and Arsenio's faces of absolute disgust.
My heart broke all the more. What happened to this morning? When he said he forgave me for being with Arsenio? Did all of that mean absolutely nothing to him?! Tears welled up in my ghostly eyes. I was so done with this heart break! I wanted to scream in Daniel's face, tell him that we were so over, scream that he never wanted me to begin with. But most of all, I wanted him to deny it. I wanted him to tell me that it wasn't true; that he really loved me for me.
"And you, my lovely Emil, how are you now, my love?" Alana asked, turning a seductive smile on the Italian. Even from here I could feel the heat of Daniel's glare on Arsenio at Alana's use of 'my love' to someone other than him.
"Don't speak to me, temptress!" Arsenio spat at her, eyes burning in fury. "Return Elena to us, now!"
"Aww, what happened to our love, Emil?" Alana purred, "You used to love me so much, especially those nights when you came to visit me in my bed…" Oh, gag! Seriously?! Can anyone spell slut for me?
"Our love ended the moment you returned here in Elena's body," Arsenio replied stiffly, "I want nothing more to do with you, especially since you're willing to murder an innocent girl just to live a life that was over for you centuries ago!"
"Yes, very true, very true, but a girl gets what a girl wants; don't you know that? I want to be with you again, Emil; I want the three of us to live together happily. Don't you want that too?"
"You know, Emil, we can put aside our hatred for each other just temporarily," Daniel said, a small smirk on his face. A bit of hope bloomed up inside me; please tell me they were going to band together to defeat this evil witch who was trying to frickin murder me! That flower shriveled away less than a second later. "If we kill Elena, Alana will be back, and we can fight for her fair and square this time around. What do you say? I for one would rather have my lady tigress back rather than that little kitten of a girl."
That dude really knew how to break a girl's heart, didn't he? My heart felt like it was being stabbed with every word he said. Did he really have to be so cruel? What happened to loving me?! I couldn't stand the thought that he had only gotten close to me so he'd have a connection to Alana, but now, now it was useless to deny it. It was true. And it tore my heart to shreds.
"You are a disgusting monster!" Arsenio spat at Daniel, "Elena is your girlfriend! And you would toss her away just like that for a woman who died so long ago! Elena is alive; Alana is not. Would you throw away your supposed love for the girl just because your old love has returned? An old love that turned us on each other for the last few centuries?"
"You're just jealous that she always wanted me more than you!" Daniel threw at him, "Now you want Elena because she wants you more than she does me! Well Alana is the real thing! Elena is just a temporary being so we could get Alana back! Elena means nothing to me!"
And there went the rest of my heart. Tears spilled down my cheeks. It's not that I hadn't expected it, but to hear it actually said aloud was like a sucker punch to the heart: it hurt like a bitch.
Daniel turned back to my body, which was smirking in amusement at the display in front of her. "I will get you back," Daniel swore, "I lost you all those years ago because Arsenio was a jealous bastard from hell, but I swear it, I will get you back, no matter how many spells I have to perform, how long I have to try, and how much I have to make Elena scream. I will get you back."
"Remember, all you have to do is kill the girl," Alana purred, "That's all you have to do. Plunge a knife into her heart and we can be together for eternity." Alana turned a smile onto Arsenio as well, "And you, Emil, my first love, I will always love you, and any time you want me, I will be here waiting for you. Both of us will be."
"Speak not to me, she-devil," Arsenio hissed, "You're never going to get Elena, not while I stand. I'm done with your games, witch!"
As I watched, I was heartened by Arsenio's words. Maybe it was true; maybe Arsenio really did love me… I should really give him a chance rather than moping about Daniel all day long like Winsey told me to… Wait, Winsey, where is she?
I swiveled my head around, looking for the small, Chinese girl. Where in the world had she gone? She'd taken the distraction Alana and two men provided perfectly, slipping away to a place where only she knew where she was. I tried not to make my actions too noticeable, or Alana would pick up on what I was doing and find Winsey and hurt her. I didn't know if Alana would be able to tell if Winsey was a hunter or not while she was in my mortal body. Hopefully she wouldn't.
I finally found her… in a tree? What was she doing in a bloody tree? But she was quiet, so quiet. I watched her sneak along the branch, barely making a sound as she kept her eyes trained on my body. And from out of her leather sleeve, she pulled out… a wooden knife.
I just stared dumbfounded at that moment. Who in the world carries a wooden knife with them in their leather jacket? Seriously? That's just flat out creepy, with a capital C. But even so, I watched as she quietly crept along the branch to a spot not far from Alana's head, but still hidden from view so the boys wouldn't see her. What was she planning to do with the wood? Wait… wood… oh no, oh hell no!
I tried waving my hands in front of her, trying to catch her attention, but she was too intent on her prey. Bloody fuck! The girl was going to stake me! Er, Alana! But Alana is in my body, so isn't that staking me? Ah fuck! No!
But it was no good. I screamed and screamed, but it was nothing. She couldn't hear me.
My best friend made her move to kill me.
Her aim was perfect, her determination was real, and her concentration never wavered.
But the mark never hit the target.
At the very last moment, Daniel and Arsenio both caught on to what was going and managed to jump in the way. Daniel tackled Alana, throwing her to the ground, fear for her life widening her eyes and making them bright with terror. At the exact same moment, Arsenio body slammed Winsey, throwing her right off course and into a tree.
I could see from the fury on Arsenio's face, and could see that he was about to lay it right on her at that very moment, but it never happened.
Alana threw Daniel off her and stalked towards the fallen Winsey, pushing Arsenio out of her way when he tried to defend my best friend. Said person just growled and tried to stand, but apparently Arsenio had been really tough with his throw; I could see pain on Winsey's face even as she tried to move. Oh man, I hope he didn't break her spine…
"Bitch," Alana growled, "You dare try to kill me? You dare?!"
All Winsey did was whisper, "Go to hell, she-devil," and spit in Alana's face. Ew, she was so going to have to pay me back for that later! That was my face she spit on! Damn, even like this I'm selfish…
At that moment, I knew what was going to happen next. I knew what was going to happen. And even as I screamed, Alana back-handed my best friend across the face, sending her flying a good twenty feet, skidding to a halt when she hit the concrete of the stairs.
The small Chinese tried to stand, she really did, and she managed to get out of the way just as Alana was about to pounce on her. Winsey was good, she was really, really good. But Alana had had centuries of practice. And it showed. I was never going to forget the next minute of my life.
Winsey was darting towards the tree she'd been thrown against, trying to get her knife back, and she's just gotten it when Alana reached her. My friend spun backwards, her eyes calculating and precise, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough. She was fast, so fast, and yes! She actually got a hit on Alana's arm!
Her arm darted out and grabbed the arm about to strike. And all it took was a flick of her wrist. That was all it took. All it took. Alana broke my Chinese girl's arm.
I could see Winsey biting her lip to keep from screaming, but her eyes told all her pain. It tore me apart to see her in so much pain, especially when she was trying to help me by getting rid of Alana. I waved my hands in front of Alana, trying to distract her, anything to get her to leave Winsey alone!
But it did nothing. If anything, it just seemed to annoy Alana all the more.
I could see the moment an idea sparked to her mind. Alana grabbed Winsey's stake and whispered in her ear, "Let's see how you like being hit, little huntress." That was when she dragged the knife in a deep cut right down her chest to her belly button. Blood flowed from the wound, dripping onto the stairs, staining them an iridescent red. I could barely breathe; it was so horrible!
Winsey hissed in pain, her eyes showing her real agony even as she tried to control it. Where the hell were the guys?! Why weren't they doing anything?!
And that was when Alana did the worst thing of all. She licked up Winsey's blood. She ran my tongue down Winsey's chest and stomach, using her teeth to scrape the torn skin, causing my friend all the more torment. She tried to get away all right, she really did, but Alana was strong and pinned her down. Winsey was completely trapped. And to punish her, Alana back-handed her once more.
And that was when I lost it.
With a scream, I tore at my own body, attacked at my own physical being, trying to make Alana relinquish her hold on my person. She was not staying in there! Not after hurting Winsey like that! There was no way whatsoever she was going to stay there after doing that to my best friend!
I forced myself towards my own being, demanding it returned to me. I pulled myself towards the core of my own being, forcing out the being that had invaded me. "Alana!" I screeched, "Give me back to me!"
And that was when I felt the familiar tug. I followed it quickly, eager to be back in my physical form.
Alana seemed to notice, because she turned to Daniel, her eyes frantic, "She's coming back!" she screamed, "Remember your promise!"
And a moment later, I was myself again.
I blinked my eyes; how had I gotten here? There was something wet under me… What in the world?
I looked down. And screamed.
Winsey laid in a twisted, agonized heap under me, blood gushing from a horrific wound on her chest. But her eyes, beyond the torment, was relief.
"It's about time you got back," she forced out.
"I-," I started. But there was nothing else to say.
My little Chinese girl grimaced once and surrendered to the darkness.
