But when I looked down in order to comfort my own thoughts, I found that I was, in fact, not in my room. I had no idea what room I was in. It was very, very dark but it was also very hot. Blazing hot, even. Humanly impossible for me to handle.
I screamed in pain as I felt a long slash crawl against my abdomen. "Ow! What the hell?!" It felt like my guts were slithering out of my stomach. Another slash against both of my arms, while a metal something clamped down on my left leg.
"Stop it! Stop it! Please! Who are you? Why are you doing this?" I bellowed, wishing for someone to answer.
"Allegra! Allegra!" Someone was shouting my name...but who? Who could be in this dark, hot room, hurting me, while still hollering my name with panic? Was there more than one person in the room? Or was this all just a...
"Allegra!"
I sat straight up in the bed, looking around. My eye sight was kind of blurry but the first thing I noticed was that I wasn't in my bedroom. The room looked like a very fancy hospital room. The bed was different, more like a queen Victorian bed. The rooms were black and red, but the machines that monitored my heart beat and other things were the same. What the hell is going on?
"Oh! Good, Allegra, you're awake." It was Micah's voice. Totally and completely his. No doubt about it...but it wasn't the voice screaming my name with panic.
I was breathing very hard, looking from side to side. Had it all been just a dream? That's impossible! I mean...I felt the pain...I felt the clamp and everything. There was no way it could be just a dream.
I looked down at my stomach, pulling the silk blankets back from my ivory body, which I noted was once again in only my bra and underwear. My face reddened fifty different shades of red before covering myself up again. As embarrassing as being half naked in front of Micah was, it was hard not to notice the bandages around my abdomen, or the wrap that was tight around my ankle. "Wh-What happened?" I didn't want to look at Micah, but I had to know the truth.
He sighed. "Sadly, I'm not sure. The twins heard you screaming and went to check up on you, at least that's what they say. And that's when they smelt the blood and saw it seeping through your blanket." He walked further into the room, taking a seat on the bed next to me. "Do you know how it happened?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. I had a dream...at least, I think it was a dream, I'm just not sure. But I felt like someone was slashing my sides and my internal organs were dripping out. And then some sort of clamp thing on my ankle...I don't know."
He rubbed his chin. "Interesting...has something like this ever happened before?" He stared at me with these intense eyes that was sure to make anyone tell the truth.
I thought long and hard about it, recalling all of my nearly dangerous dreams. "Well...I'll dreams where I'd fall off my bike and my hands would get all scraped up...and then I'd wake up with my hands all messed up. Or I'd dream that I got scratched by something, and then I'd wake up with the those scratches. You mean, things like that?"
His brows scrunched together, forehead creased. "Kinda. But it's never been something like last night? Where you almost die?"
I shook my head. "Nope. Definitely not. If I had I'd be in a mental ward by now." I curled my knees up to my chest, shaking despite the warm air filtering into the room.
Micah stared at me. "Are you okay?" He inched closer to me, debating whether or not to wrap his arms around me to keep me warm, I'm guessing.
A knock at the door made us both jump away from each other, and as Micah went to answer it, I wrapped the blanket around me tighter.
"Is she better?" two distinct, identical voices said in unison. I couldn't help but smile at the warming concern in their voices.
Micah smiled, nodding tiredly. "Yes. She's getting there. She's awake if you want to see her." Micah opened the door wider, revealing two, disheveled Ari and Ash standing their with eager, yet concerned faces.
And then I was swarmed. They plopped down on the bed on either side of me, wrapping their arms around me. "Oh, Allegra! We're so glad you're okay! When we saw you we almost had a heart attack!"
I smiled, hugging them back. "I'm okay. Really. I'm a strong trooper."
They laughed. "Yeah, we know." They each kissed my cheek as they pulled away, then glanced side ways at Micah. "So, Micah...what happened to her?"
He shrugged. "Honestly...I'm not sure. I mean, it couldn't be connected to her dream...or could it? Hmm..."
It was silent a moment while we all stared at Micah, confused. He was blabbering on about what my "illness" (as he liked to call it) could be but none of it made any sense to me. Or the twins, obviously.
"Wait. Wait. Wait. Micah, we don't know what you're talking about. We don't understand any of your angel science slash math crap. You're the only one. So why don't you dumb it up for Ash here," Ari laughed, nudging his brother with amusement.
"Watch it, bro. I did rate higher than you did on our science and math scores at school, you know," Ash tease, smiling.
As I watched this all...I just grew sadder. This was how my brother and I had been at one point, teasing each other. But now that he was gone...
It was hard to watch any further without tears falling from my eyes.
"Allegra? What's the matter?" Micah asked while the twins stared at me with concern. Micah admitted that he hated seeing me cry last night, but seeing them like that, it was just so hard to keep the flood back any further.
"It's about your family, isn't it, Allegra?" Kain guessed, coming into the room. His eyes quickly flickered from face to face, registering Ash and Ari's hands on my hips.
I nodded sadly. "Yeah, Kain. It is."
Ash and Ari looked from Kain to me, confused. "Do you guys know each other?" They asked in unison.
Kain and I smiled at each other. "Yes. We've known each other for a long time."
"Since before I was dead, that is," Kain added. He walked further into the room, leaning up against the bed. "What's the damage?" He was speaking to Micah, but his eyes stayed locked with mine.
Micah cleared his throat. "Well, um...it's probably best if you see for yourself." Micah clenched his teeth, unsure how I would react to this.
My eyes widened, clutching the blanket around myself tighter. "No."
Kain looked at me strangely. "Why not, Allegra?"
My face reddened, again, fifty shades of red. "Um, well, I'm not--"
Micah sighed. "She's only in her under garments." I was probably making him frustrated with all of the hesitating and beating around the bush.
Ash and Ari's attention snapped to the blanket. "Ooh! Well, c'mon, Allegra, let's see the damage." They had a mischievous smile on their faces, tugging on the blanket that covered me up.
My face began even redder, continuing to keep the blanket up around my chest. "That's unnecessary." I looked to Kain, noting the slight redness to his cheeks.
Kain's eyes wouldn't meet mine. "You don't have to show me...just--"
Too late. Ash and Ari succeeded in pulling the blanket off of me, exposing me in only a small bra and underwear. I was so embarrassed. I never wanted Kain to see me like...this.
"Well, isn't that just sexy!" Ash chortled, laying his hand on my injured stomach, while Ari ran his hand from my shoulder to the edge of my underwear. "Beautiful," he agreed.
Kain's face had become even redder. "Okay, guys, stop. Let her be."
Ash and Ari stuck their lips out, pouting. "But--"
"He said let her be!" Dante burst into the room then, grabbing Ash and Ari by their night shirts. "You two little pervs need to learn how to respect women. If they say that they don't want to reveal themselves, then don't!" He kicked them out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
I swallowed, gathering the blanket up around me once again. "Ummm...thanks...Dante."
He smirked, but didn't say anything.
Kain, cheeks still red, cleared his throat. "Okay, so, what happened? Why did she suddenly get those scratches?"
Micah shrugged. "I dunno. I mean, it's almost impossible to know without researching her history further...and I can't do that without the king's permission. God, this is frustrating."
"Well, what do you think it could be?" Dante asked, worried. Which surprised me. Because the last time I checked...he didn't care.
Micah shrugged. "Well...it could have been that she was having a vision. Maybe something bad is going to happen to her in the future..."
I remembered the pain that I felt in my dream...and I knew that I wouldn't be able to bear it if I had to go through it again. I'd rather die than feel that torturing pain another time. Suddenly, I began to retch, keeled over the bedside.
"Allegra!" they all said at the same time.
"Are you okay?" Kain asked, brushing a strand of hair aside.
I shook my head, swallowing. "No...I don't want to die."
They all stared at me, confused. "What do you mean? You're not going to die," Dante said, stubbornly.
"M-m-my dream...I was being tortured. It was worse than what I suspect Hell would be. I don't want to feel that pain again."
"Who was torturing? Do you know?" Micah begged, wishing to protect me from any sort of danger.
I thought about it for a moment, closing my eyes to recall. "I don't know. He was wearing a steel mask, that's all I remember."
They sighed. "We won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise. We won't let you feel that pain again."
But as much as I wanted to believe them, I had a foreboding feeling. It was the same feeling that I had after Kain died and my parents promised nothing like that would ever happen again...to me anyways. But it did.
They died.
I was breathing very hard, looking from side to side. Had it all been just a dream? That's impossible! I mean...I felt the pain...I felt the clamp and everything. There was no way it could be just a dream.
I looked down at my stomach, pulling the silk blankets back from my ivory body, which I noted was once again in only my bra and underwear. My face reddened fifty different shades of red before covering myself up again. As embarrassing as being half naked in front of Micah was, it was hard not to notice the bandages around my abdomen, or the wrap that was tight around my ankle. "Wh-What happened?" I didn't want to look at Micah, but I had to know the truth.
He sighed. "Sadly, I'm not sure. The twins heard you screaming and went to check up on you, at least that's what they say. And that's when they smelt the blood and saw it seeping through your blanket." He walked further into the room, taking a seat on the bed next to me. "Do you know how it happened?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. I had a dream...at least, I think it was a dream, I'm just not sure. But I felt like someone was slashing my sides and my internal organs were dripping out. And then some sort of clamp thing on my ankle...I don't know."
He rubbed his chin. "Interesting...has something like this ever happened before?" He stared at me with these intense eyes that was sure to make anyone tell the truth.
I thought long and hard about it, recalling all of my nearly dangerous dreams. "Well...I'll dreams where I'd fall off my bike and my hands would get all scraped up...and then I'd wake up with my hands all messed up. Or I'd dream that I got scratched by something, and then I'd wake up with the those scratches. You mean, things like that?"
His brows scrunched together, forehead creased. "Kinda. But it's never been something like last night? Where you almost die?"
I shook my head. "Nope. Definitely not. If I had I'd be in a mental ward by now." I curled my knees up to my chest, shaking despite the warm air filtering into the room.
Micah stared at me. "Are you okay?" He inched closer to me, debating whether or not to wrap his arms around me to keep me warm, I'm guessing.
A knock at the door made us both jump away from each other, and as Micah went to answer it, I wrapped the blanket around me tighter.
"Is she better?" two distinct, identical voices said in unison. I couldn't help but smile at the warming concern in their voices.
Micah smiled, nodding tiredly. "Yes. She's getting there. She's awake if you want to see her." Micah opened the door wider, revealing two, disheveled Ari and Ash standing their with eager, yet concerned faces.
And then I was swarmed. They plopped down on the bed on either side of me, wrapping their arms around me. "Oh, Allegra! We're so glad you're okay! When we saw you we almost had a heart attack!"
I smiled, hugging them back. "I'm okay. Really. I'm a strong trooper."
They laughed. "Yeah, we know." They each kissed my cheek as they pulled away, then glanced side ways at Micah. "So, Micah...what happened to her?"
He shrugged. "Honestly...I'm not sure. I mean, it couldn't be connected to her dream...or could it? Hmm..."
It was silent a moment while we all stared at Micah, confused. He was blabbering on about what my "illness" (as he liked to call it) could be but none of it made any sense to me. Or the twins, obviously.
"Wait. Wait. Wait. Micah, we don't know what you're talking about. We don't understand any of your angel science slash math crap. You're the only one. So why don't you dumb it up for Ash here," Ari laughed, nudging his brother with amusement.
"Watch it, bro. I did rate higher than you did on our science and math scores at school, you know," Ash tease, smiling.
As I watched this all...I just grew sadder. This was how my brother and I had been at one point, teasing each other. But now that he was gone...
It was hard to watch any further without tears falling from my eyes.
"Allegra? What's the matter?" Micah asked while the twins stared at me with concern. Micah admitted that he hated seeing me cry last night, but seeing them like that, it was just so hard to keep the flood back any further.
"It's about your family, isn't it, Allegra?" Kain guessed, coming into the room. His eyes quickly flickered from face to face, registering Ash and Ari's hands on my hips.
I nodded sadly. "Yeah, Kain. It is."
Ash and Ari looked from Kain to me, confused. "Do you guys know each other?" They asked in unison.
Kain and I smiled at each other. "Yes. We've known each other for a long time."
"Since before I was dead, that is," Kain added. He walked further into the room, leaning up against the bed. "What's the damage?" He was speaking to Micah, but his eyes stayed locked with mine.
Micah cleared his throat. "Well, um...it's probably best if you see for yourself." Micah clenched his teeth, unsure how I would react to this.
My eyes widened, clutching the blanket around myself tighter. "No."
Kain looked at me strangely. "Why not, Allegra?"
My face reddened, again, fifty shades of red. "Um, well, I'm not--"
Micah sighed. "She's only in her under garments." I was probably making him frustrated with all of the hesitating and beating around the bush.
Ash and Ari's attention snapped to the blanket. "Ooh! Well, c'mon, Allegra, let's see the damage." They had a mischievous smile on their faces, tugging on the blanket that covered me up.
My face began even redder, continuing to keep the blanket up around my chest. "That's unnecessary." I looked to Kain, noting the slight redness to his cheeks.
Kain's eyes wouldn't meet mine. "You don't have to show me...just--"
Too late. Ash and Ari succeeded in pulling the blanket off of me, exposing me in only a small bra and underwear. I was so embarrassed. I never wanted Kain to see me like...this.
"Well, isn't that just sexy!" Ash chortled, laying his hand on my injured stomach, while Ari ran his hand from my shoulder to the edge of my underwear. "Beautiful," he agreed.
Kain's face had become even redder. "Okay, guys, stop. Let her be."
Ash and Ari stuck their lips out, pouting. "But--"
I swallowed, gathering the blanket up around me once again. "Ummm...thanks...Dante."
He smirked, but didn't say anything.
Kain, cheeks still red, cleared his throat. "Okay, so, what happened? Why did she suddenly get those scratches?"
Micah shrugged. "I dunno. I mean, it's almost impossible to know without researching her history further...and I can't do that without the king's permission. God, this is frustrating."
"Well, what do you think it could be?" Dante asked, worried. Which surprised me. Because the last time I checked...he didn't care.
Micah shrugged. "Well...it could have been that she was having a vision. Maybe something bad is going to happen to her in the future..."
I remembered the pain that I felt in my dream...and I knew that I wouldn't be able to bear it if I had to go through it again. I'd rather die than feel that torturing pain another time. Suddenly, I began to retch, keeled over the bedside.
"Allegra!" they all said at the same time.
"Are you okay?" Kain asked, brushing a strand of hair aside.
I shook my head, swallowing. "No...I don't want to die."
They all stared at me, confused. "What do you mean? You're not going to die," Dante said, stubbornly.
"M-m-my dream...I was being tortured. It was worse than what I suspect Hell would be. I don't want to feel that pain again."
"Who was torturing? Do you know?" Micah begged, wishing to protect me from any sort of danger.
I thought about it for a moment, closing my eyes to recall. "I don't know. He was wearing a steel mask, that's all I remember."
They sighed. "We won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise. We won't let you feel that pain again."
But as much as I wanted to believe them, I had a foreboding feeling. It was the same feeling that I had after Kain died and my parents promised nothing like that would ever happen again...to me anyways. But it did.
They died.
