A Collection of Short Stories

9: Eh?

Victoria stares off into the distance, wondering what she had just witnessed. A couple of minutes ago, she had walked into a couple of guys that were saying really shady things. It went something like this:

"Did you get her?" One guy asked.

"Now, now, Mike. Don't be so hasty. Of course, I got her," the other guys said.

"Good job. She could be the key to the whole plan."

"Let's sell her. A bargain or trade perhaps?"

"Woah! Hold your horses, Russ. How to you know they'll comply?"

"I guess we don't."

The guy, presumably Mike, stormed off. Victoria wondered what she had heard. "Shit!" she heard the other guy, presumable Russ, curse. She decided that she would follow him when he would leave. He grabbed his phone, and so she went into the convenience store.

When she walked back out, she saw that he had just pressed the red button, indicating that the call was over. She cursed her luck, and when he finally started moving, she followed.

She was now following this shady dude, who was apparently going to sell some other girl. She cursed herself, knowing that if she was found out, she was as good as dead.

Yet, she still continued to follow this strange man. They eventually came to an abandoned warehouse district. The aura that was hanging around the buildings was pure evil, and Victoria was considering to not follow him into the building. She musters up her courage and sneaks into the building after him.

She climbs inside an old box, which has a peephole in it. Victoria notices a girl being kept in a cage in the centre of the wide area. She squints her eyes and makes out the face of the girl. It was no other than her classmate, Lily.

She never really knew Lily. She was beautiful, but a loner. Most of the boys were afraid of her, and the girls never really wanted to hang out with her either. Of course, Victoria had talked to her once or twice, but that was it.

Victoria was shy to admit it, but she and Lily used to be childhood best friends. However, Lily moved away for a couple of years, and so Victoria got over that friendship. She started a life without Lily in middle school, and her friends remained over the course of the years. It was a shock to her when Lily showed up on her first day of high school.

She had blatantly ignored Lily throughout the year. She did remember one thing, though. She gave the box a knock. It echoed throughout the empty room. A couple of guys milling around the room raised their heads. She pretended to sniffle, and then repeated the pattern.

Victoria remembered that they had learned Morse code fluently at one point, and tried to do the pattern saying "in the box". She prayed that the guards didn't know Morse code. She knocked the pattern. She watched as Lily smiled and looked at the box she was in. One of the guard's eyes lit up with recognition. Yet, all they did was wink at the box.

Suddenly, a man walked in. He looked like he was supposed to be in a cartoon or some sort of fantasy film or novel. He was in a suit - regular, I know. He had a black cape on his shoulders, and two large swords strapped to a belt.

He had long white hair that was in a ponytail. It was swishing back and forth over his long cape as he was striding into the room. "I know who you are, Liliana."

"Arcus," she sneers.

"I told you a million times before! I will not be helping you open that portal!"

"I know. You will be helping me, though."

"No! I shall not! Why are you doing this?" she pleads with Arcus.

"Why? Why? Because of you! You always talked about wanting to go home! I will take you home!"

"I went home 2 years ago. I came back! Mother was too unbearable!" She yells with tears streaming down her face. She whispers, "She's only gotten worse since you've left."

"What?" He gasps.

"Let me out, and I'll let you go through the portal. Know that I will not be following you through."

"No! I want Mother to see us together! She'll be happy!" He smiles a manic smile.

"Mother can't feel anything any more! She's completely numb! She doesn't need us!"

"Then who does she need?!" he yells back.

"She needs Aris!" Lily yells at the top of her lungs.

Arcus gasps.

"I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!" She whispers solemnly.

"No, I should be," he says with a bowed head. He looks up and whistles loudly.

Suddenly, a pair of double-doors open, and a large machine gets pulled in. It had a pointer at its front. That pointer was pointed directly at the cage with Lily. "You must come with me!" Arcus roars.

"No. I shall not," she says defiantly.

He gives a signal, and the tip starts to glow. "You can't force me to do anything," Lily says.

"Liliana, it is not safe in this world. You must return and become the princess of light- as you are destined to be!"

"I don't want to fight against Aris! I want to be her sister!"

"Yes, and as her sister, you have the duty of being her sworn enemy."

"In a sibling sort of way- yes! But not as a 2-decade long war! I shall not return!"

"My humblest apologies, then. I must take my leave."

The tip glows brighter and brighter when a sudden bright light engulfs the room. Everyone is temporarily blinded and holds their hands in front of their eyes. Everyone except for Arcus and Lily. They were still glaring at each other, neither breaking their gaze. If this was sibling rivalry, it was definitely going too far.

Victoria watches as the beam passes through a gap in between the bars, and hits Lily. A surprised gasp passes her lips. One moment she was standing upright, clutching the bars, and the next, she was writhing around on the floor.

Everything suddenly went silent. Thunder rumbles as the pitter-patter of rain hits the roof. An orb floats in mid-air. Victoria gives a confused gasp from her hiding place, and a couple of glances dart around the room.

Victoria clasps both hands over her mouth and continues watching as the orb expands. It creates a door and Arcus whispers something to it. A gust of wind, and the door swings open.

She watches as the other side of the door seems to unfurl. First, there was a wasteland, then floral beauty, and lastly a city. The door kept on switching between these three places. She watches as Arcus gently places a hand on the door frame.

Lily gives out a yelp of pain. Arcus turns to the people around him. "Now it is time for me to give to you what I have promised," he says.

He watches as the people scramble to the door and walks through. "My apologies, Liliana. I will miss you."

He sticks his hand into a pocket and carefully removes something resembling a remote. He gently places the remote in front of the cage and gives a mocking snort of laughter. Victoria suddenly notices the distance at which the remote was placed. It was within sight, but just outside the length that could be reached through Lily's arms.

He watches her menacingly, staring mockingly down at her. He chuckles. "Goodbye!" he says while walking through the door.

He throws one last glance and chuckles over his shoulder. Lily was clutching her body as if it were about to explode. Victoria watches as Lily makes a face of pure pain towards the door. Lily looked like she was about to pass out. Once the doorway was gone, Victoria had no time to process things.

She jumped into action immediately. She swung herself out of the box and grabbed the remote. Luckily, it only had an on-and-off switch, so it was easy to turn it off. "Damn," Victoria said. "I didn't know your family consisted of such psychos."

"I told you back then that you wouldn't want to meet them," Lily replied between huffs and groans of pain.

"I won't ask questions. Maybe later. But not now."

"Thanks."