Warning: This chapter contains negative content that is not fit for all audiences.


Magnuson


12•19•8993. 19:33.


     She's a snake. A serpent. A despicable creature coiling around my neck to squeeze the life out of me.

     I remain in the cold corner, muscles tense as a natural defensive instinct, as Jane continues biting her nails while sitting with her legs crossed.

     She is the color red personified. Full of anger. Full of hatred. A steel trap  of a mind.

     "So," Jane rises to her feet and leans her back against the stone wall, staring into the darkness, "there are two ways for you to talk. You do it on your own, or... or I help you." The look in her eyes suggests an underlying meaning to her words.

     I look right into her eyes, determined. "You already know my answer, Jane."

     She lets out a small laugh, just loud enough for me to hear. Although, her eyes tell a different story.

     "I'm afraid I do."

     Here we go again.

     Jane raises her hand and I'm thrown across the ground and into a dark corner on the opposite side of the chamber. My head slams into the stone and my vision blurs.

     I see her silhouette walk toward me threateningly, feet pounding on the ground. She kneels next to me with her face only a few inches from mine. She comes into focus, and her green eyes glow with an unnatural, eerie light, as do her fingers and scars. She puts a fingertip on the center of my forehead, and I'm forced into my memories.

     Flashes of Arcadia unravel before me. She smiles. She laughs. She screams, cries, shivers, and punches. Flashes of her life blink in and out of existence.

     Jane's power feels like a string coiling around each nerve in my brain, forcing me to make connections that I've always been terrified of. And just before I lose consciousness...

     "I hope I didn't hurt you, Magnus." Jane looks normal again, her eyes, fingers, and scars returning to their natural appearance.

     I gasp for breath. My body shakes as I glare at Jane.

     As I open my mouth to say something to her, she moves her hand as if she were a puppeteer, and my mouth is slammed shut.

     She makes a closed-mouth grin and long strides toward the door. Jane salutes me.

     "Thanks for the information. See you tomorrow." she  says.

     She exits, shuts the door, and releases her control of my body.

     I yell until then pain goes away.