Chapter was too long so I improvised :)

Part 2 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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                                                      CHAPTER 18

         "I meet people and they become chapters in my stories."

                                                 ― Avijeet Das

THE CAVE WAS dark, dirty water stains racing down the walls. Helene squinted into the darkness as the shadows shifted, moving slowly as the wind howled loudly like a lone ghost. She began to walk, each footstep echoing loudly, her black sleek boots covered in dirt. She could feel her hands shaking, and she clenched them to make them stop.

"Hello?" she called out, hoping to find someone who could help her.

Her only reply was a faint echo of her own voice against the cave walls.

She waited in silence, leaning against one of the cave's walls. Standing ever so still, Helene listened to the cave, to the eerie quiet that unsettled her more than any sound could. That's when she heard the rustling, the beat of steady wings beside her ear. She whirled around quickly, eyes snapping.

What the hell was that?

Suddenly, a thousand wings beat as one, an army above her head. Helene let out a shriek, batting them away as they tore mercilessly above her. But as they had come quickly, they left just like that.

Bringing her hand back to her face, Helene examined the wounds. She watched with wide eyes as the blood began to flow back into her hand, as the wounds closed as seamlessly as they had opened.

Helene blinked.

Swallowing, Helene lowered her hand and turned the corner, walking straight into something that looked much like a pit.

Hisssssssss. Something moved in the darkness.

Her head snapped up.

Fire-wielder. It mocked.

Her breathing became quick, and her palms started to become sweaty.

You think you are so strong.

"It's because I am!" Helene said out loud, hoping the thing wouldn't smell her fear.

It laughed. Your powers look so...ummm...tasty.

She stepped forward and closer to the dark pit. "What the hell are you?"

Your worst fear. Then it cackled loudly. So loudly that Helene felt her brain about to burst.

"I don't mean any harm. Just let me out!"

No way out. No way.

"Please!"

You are a roaring storm of fire.

Helene frowned. "And what are you?"

I am a dark shadow.

Suddenly it slithered away, as if it was never there.

"Please help me! Please!"

There was an eerie silence, followed by claws scratching the ground. And then a drunken giggle.

Helene. It hissed. Remember.

"What?" she cried in despair, "remember what?"

Remember. The voice began to disappear.

Just as Helene was about to return back to the way she had come from, two yellow eyes stared back at her from the bottom of the pit.

And began to laugh.

Helene screamed, putting up her hand to shoot fire at it. But nothing happened. Suddenly, deep down she knew something was very wrong.

Her powers were gone. She did not possess fire powers any longer.

Remember. It cackled.

Tears fell down on her cheeks as she realized her fire was gone, and her stomach now felt empty. It was a dull ache in her head that confirmed the unusual thing.

Her powers were really gone.

She began to run, her feet dragging against the rocky and uneven ground, trying to get away as fast as she could. And as far as she could from the yellow eyed demon.

She tripped over a rock, and went sprawling over the small rocks and sand, cutting into her knee. Another laugh echoed into her skull

"Get out!" she yelled desperately, clawing at her head, but to no avail.

Raising her hand to wipe her nose on her sleeve, Helene screamed a loud ear piercing sound. Her hand was covered in something black. It was not like slime, but rather smooth as the blade of a knife, slowly climbing up her hand like a dark swarm of bees. It climbed higher onto her skin, sucking and tickling. She ran a hand over her arm to make sure it was real before she gulped and let out a sob.

What was happening to her?

Helene shrugged off her shirt just in time to watch it cover her stomach, than her chest, her neck and then her mouth. She gagged loudly, trying to escape.

Remember. The voice mocked and teased, echoing slightly lesser now.

Helene tried to reply, hands clawing at her mouth but choked loudly, over the black darkness that slowly and steadily swallowed her whole.

                                                     »»————-❈————-««

HELENE THREW UP again into the shiny white toilet in the washroom connected with her sleeping quarters. She had woken up a few minutes ago with the worst feeling of nausea she had ever had. Shoving past Ella who had been sitting on the edge of her bed, she ran to the washroom and threw up, again and again.

She didn't know if it was because of the nightmare or because of her hangover, but whatever it was, she hated it. Absolutely despised the feeling she was going through at the moment.

"Why does this always happen to me?"

"Maybe because you're the only idiot who jumps off a ship and into the ocean in the middle of nowhere. Can't you keep your liquor down?" Ella replied from behind her.

Helene threw up again. "Remind me, why are you here again?"

"To watch you suffer."

"Seriously."

"Guard watch. Cas just left an hour ago."

Helene huffed out a laugh. "I'm not a dog."

"A lot like one."

Helene decided to ignore her as she stood up to clean her mouth in the sink. After a few rinses, she turned to Ella, who was still standing there. "You can leave now. I'm awake and fully capable to assist myself."

Just as she was about to step out, she slipped from the wet ground. Ella grabbed her. "You were saying?"

"Okay, fine. I'm fine! Perfectly fine, okay?" She shrugged Ella's touch off of her and went to sit down on her bed to catch her breath. Her stomach was empty, yet she was not hungry. Who was hungry after throwing up a weeks worth of food anyway?

Ella stepped back, her eyes assessing Helene, but said nothing. She watched her for a while before joining her on the bed.

"You should eat," she muttered.

"Why do you care?" Helene snapped back. Instantly, she felt bad.

Ella looked taken aback. When she didn't respond immediately, Helene took the opportunity to quickly slide in a, "sorry."

There was another round of awkward silence.

The thing was that Helene was never close with Ella in the sisterly type of way. She cared about her, she worried about her, but not so much that she would say things like 'I love you' or 'take care'. When it came to Ella, Helene felt out of place even though it was her sister.

The truth was, she felt like Ella judged her for everything. If she were fighting, Ella would joke about her lack of throwing skills or aim. It made her doubt herself, and make her dislike Ella so much more for it. So when Ell turned to her and asked her the most awkwardest and unsettling question ever, Helene was speechless. Not only because of the uneasy feeling but the fact that Ella was capable of asking such weird things.

"Why do you hate me?"

Helene turned her eyes slowly to meet hers. So very slowly.

"What? I don't hate you."

Ella cleared her throat. "Yes. Yes you do."

"I do not. I just...we're just-"

"Not close."

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"Uhm."

Silence.

Both the sisters looked around, trying to get rid of the tension.

"Look, I'm sorry okay? You're just so mean to me." Helene gave in and said with a whiny edge to her voice.

Ella's eyes snapped back to hers in surprise. "I'm mean to you? What did I do?"

"Like that time I failed a class and had to do summer school all you did was laugh at me and blame me for my failure. Did you ever think that maybe I needed support?"

"Well, excuse me but I never knew you had feelings! Like half the time you were some cold hearted bitch!"

Helene felt herself roll her eyes. "Okay, there's no denying that I am a bitch sometimes. But you didn't and you don't have to not support me."

"But I do support you!" Ella protested. "Like that time when we went to go search for Grave and I was like, way to go and hurrah and everything."

Helene eyes widened at Grave's name. The memory of him in her room wafted over to her. Everything he had told her and all the secrecy. It made her stomach feel hollow all of a sudden.

"What?" Ella asked, sounding annoyed.

Part 2 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Edited...