This time I was awoken by overlapping whispers, some in foreign languages and some laughing. I sat up, fear and confusion stabbing a hole through my chest. Pain racked through my head from the way the whispers over lapped. I pressed a palm to my forehead and glanced over at Cassius, who laid fast asleep beside me. I pressed a hand to his back then slid out of bed, a strange urge overcoming me. I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing and why, I just knew that there was a burning desire deep in my soul to do so.

A cold sweat and shiver claimed me as if against my own control, I reached out for the Ouija board we'd left in the living room, then knelt on the ground. The only lighting in the room was that of the moon's and the small lamp on the table beside the couch; the combination of the two sources of light caused a hazy glow to encompass the room and made it easier for the shadows to dance in the corner of the room. I tried to ignore them, but the lingering fear they gave me made it hard.

There was screaming in the back of my head, as if trying to break through and stop me, as I reached out for the heart shaped piece. My body shook so hard that when my fingers made contact with the plastic piece, it began to move slightly. My body felt like it was burning and freezing all at once; I wanted to stop but the strange urge that was forcing me wouldn't allow it. It consumed me and tortured me, body, soul, mind; completely and totally.

Words forced themselves up through my throat and out my mouth, "Tell me who I am."

Commanding, forceful, full of power. The words left a lingering sense of dread. 

Laughter drifted to my ears again and I flinched, gripping the piece tighter to prevent myself from covering my ears. It felt important to listen to the whispers, as if they might have answers just as much as the Ouija board did. Yet, the heart piece stayed in place, refusing to move. Panic erupted like flames, catching at my lungs and searing them.

"What's wrong with me?" I cried at the board, resenting how I sounded so pathetic when moments before I had resonated with power. I dug my nails into the wood of the board, as if it was possible to evoke pain it. "Who am I? What is happening to me? Give me answers! You did it once! Do it again! Answer me, god damn it!"

The moment the words left my mouth, the lights flickered off in the room and I jolted to my feet, realizing that I had made a very grave mistake. A cold feeling crept up my spine, alerting me to the fact that not only was something wrong, but I was in danger. I took a step backwards, towards the hall, prepared to bolt back to Cassius' room and wake him and explain the situation.

A shadow darted past me and something crashed into me hard, sending my body into the wall. My head made contact with the wall and I let out a loud gasp, black dots swarming my vision.

"Foolish girl," a voice whispered in my ear before the black dots claimed me completely.

***

My head felt like there was a spike driven through the back of it. 

I groaned, reaching up to run my fingers over the source of the pain. I winced, realizing that it was the same place I had been injured when my family was killed. I, reluctantly, cracked my eyes open, deciding it was best to get an understanding of my surroundings. I stopped breathing briefly at the sight of trees surrounding me. There were no trees whatsoever in the living room, which was where I had lost consciousness. 

I sat up fast, a grave mistake when having a head wound. Dizziness claimed me, momentarily blurring my vision, preventing me from getting a good baring of my surroundings. I reached up to rub my eyes in an attempt to clear my vision but froze, noticing something on my hands.

Blood.

My hands were coated in blood and as I inspected myself further, so was the shirt I had borrowed from Cassius. It might have been dark, the sun just barely beginning to peak over the horizon, but I was all too familiar with blood. I stood up, nearly slipping in the leaves that had fallen as an announcement of autumn. Tears filled my eyes and my breath was coming out in pants.

"Who did I hurt? What did I do?" I whispered to myself, but I didn't have the answers and I wasn't sure anyone else did either. 

I was too afraid of what I might have done to truly register that I was in the woods, one of my biggest fears. I'd had another episode and because of it, I would be sent away, I was sure of it; especially if I'd hurt someone. The only thing I could think to do in the moment was find my way back to the house and get help, even if it meant I would get sent back to the psych ward, or worse, jail.

It was hard to find my way through the woods for multiple reasons, one being that I was unfamiliar with, but mainly because the wound on my head caused random bouts of dizziness that required me to sit down and rest for a moment. By the time I caught sight of the kids playground I was prepared to break down in tears, but I couldn't allow that until I got inside and found someone that could help me.

I entered the house as quietly as possible, putting off waking up anyone for as long as possible. I kept my footsteps light, slipping into the bathroom. There was no use in scaring people by being blood covered when I saw them. I took a deep breath, flicking on the light but when I saw myself in the mirror a scream tore out of my throat.

Drawn in blood on my right cheek was a pentagram and on my forehead, the mark of Cain.

The scream cut off sharply, dissolving into fits of sobs. The door was thrown open and I was greeted by the sight of Isaiah and Jase standing in the doorway, their eyes wide as they took me in. Even though I knew they must have been terrified of me, I threw myself into Jase's arms, crying so hard my entire body rattled.

"What did I do?" I wailed, gripping his shirt and pressing my face into his chest, muffling my words. "What happened to me?"

"I don't know, Nyx," he muttered, smoothing down my hair and pressing a kiss to my head. "But I promise you we're going to take care of you." He paused and in his moment of hesitation, his grip tightened on me. "Isaiah, wake up the others. Send Landon in here to help me look her over for injuries. Whatever you do, don't tell Mik the full extent."

"Don't wash those marks off until Cassius gets a picture." Isaiah said lowly before I listened to his footsteps, indicating that he had left Jase and I alone.

Jase slowly released me then jerked his chin towards the sink, silently asking me to get on the counter. I reached up to wipe my tears away but then froze, remembering that Isaiah hadn't wanted me to ruin the marks. My hand hovered awkwardly in the air, but Jase reached out and grabbed it, brushing his lips against my knuckles then pressed my palm to his chest.

"You're going to be okay, Nyx," he whispered, helping me onto the counter. His green eyes were a pool of worry and fear as they looked at me. "It's going to be okay."

My lips formed a shaky smile and I brought my face close to his. "Brave words from the boy who didn't wake up covered in blood. So, tell me, Jase. Will it really be okay?"

He didn't get a chance to respond as Landon stepped into the bathroom, purposely bumping into the door to catch our attention. We both glanced over and I resisted the need to reach out for him for some form of comfort. "Am I interrupting something?"

My hands trembled and so did my lips. "No. Absolutely nothing. Jase was just leaving."

Jase shot me a glare, but didn't resist, slipping past Landon, presumably going to join the others to talk about me. Landon stared at me for exactly 28 seconds before stepping across the room to stand before me. I flinched when he reached out to cup my face, but allowed it. His eyes scanned over the blood that marred my face, and then his fingers found the wound at the back of my head.

At first, we didn't speak as he dressed the injury on my back of my head. But when he wet a soft towel and began to slowly clean the blood off my hands, I caved. "I did something bad, didn't I?" I asked quietly. I wanted to cry, but the well inside me was dry, and I was afraid that if I did cry, it would be the same color as the blood that stained Cassius' shirt and my hands.

Landon paused, setting the towel down next to my thigh. He gripped my hips, directing my attention on him. His blue eyes were an inferno, more intense than I had ever seen them before. An inferno I wished I was in the middle of it, eager for the continuous pain to come to an end.

"Nyx." Landon's expression was grave, his voice serious. "I promise you, you did absolutely nothing wrong."

"I wish I believed you." My voice was that of a stranger's, a stranger I never wanted to get to know. I looked away from Landon, focusing on the wall behind him. "I wish I believed myself because I keep telling myself there has to be a logical explanation. But when a girl wakes up in the woods coated in blood, there's only so many things to think." I paused then flashed him the dangerous look I was known for in the psych ward. "And I bet you're thinking every single one of them right now."

Landon pulled me into such a bone crushing hug, that it became hard to breathe. I was shocked for only a moment before winding my arms around him and returning it. As much as I had appreciated Jase's hug, I hadn't known I needed one of Landon's bear hugs.

"What I'm thinking right now," he whispered into my ear, his voice harsh but soft and loving all at the same time. "Is that, the girl I care deeply about needs me and I'm going to do everything I can to help her."

"Landon."

Cassius' voice cut like a knife, and stung like that of a cut. It was an unwelcome one, at that. I cared for him, and I had spent the night with him, but at the moment I needed Landon's words of reassurance and warm hugs; I did not want nor need Cassius' practical thoughts and harsh truths in the moment. I looked over Landon's shoulder to look Cassius dead in the eye.

"You can leave." I said, infusing as much strength in my voice as I could.

"I could," he replied, crossing his arms, a storm igniting in his beautiful eyes I adored. "But if I did, you would never get the truth." 

a/n: This chapter is on the shorter side and I feel like someone is going to call cliffy BUT THIS IS THE BEST PLACE TO STOP THIS CHAPTER because there's going to be information overload next chapter. So please everyone refrain from killing me, I have my reasons.

Theories and thoughts in the comments, please :)

xoxo,

ry.