The Monster's Stratagem (Lesbian Story)

43: Hallucinations

Alani had not moved from her position near the balcony, but Dawn still felt as though she had been punched.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded, unable to tear her gaze away from the darkened silhouette. Alani's frame seemed to blur around the edges, her movements jittery and sporadic as the witch examined the girl from head to toe. "Well?"

Alani did not respond, and took one step closer.

Dawn's foot slid back against the floor, her back pressing against the door to her room. The unexpected sight of the witch had sent both her emotions and her mind into a frenzy, and she did not know what to do. Should she run? Should she attack? The needle in Alani's hand looked positively horrifying, and she did not want to give her the chance of injecting her again.

"Hold still." Alani's voice couldn't quite reach her ears, and her face twisted and warped into something sinister. If Dawn hadn't heard Alani call her a monster, then she would have thought that the witch was one.

"Stay back!" Dawn almost screamed, body beginning to tremble with many unpleasant feelings that she couldn't keep up with. Her breaths became erratic as she forced the air in and out of her lungs. "Leave me alone!"

"You are my daughter."

"No." She wanted to cry as she sank to her knees, unable to keep herself upright under the weight of her crushing dread. Why was the witch here? What did she want with her? Dawn would rather die than face her needle again. "Go away!"

As though she had materialised from thin air, Alani crouched before her, misshapen face inches from her own. "You are a monster."

Dawn's eyes screwed shut as she began to pound her fists into her head, fingers gripping and pulling at her hair and scalp in an attempt to ease her anguish. "Go away!"

All fell silent, the eerie kind that caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand.

Looking up and around for any sign of Alani, Dawn hastily wiped her tears as she stood on trembling legs. It appeared as though the witch had vanished without a trace, a fact that brought Dawn a tremendous amount of relief, although she couldn't get too comfortable, Alani was still out there, what if she came back? She didn't know what she would do if that happened.

Vaguely aware of the tingling of her body and the cool sweat forming on her back, she wondered if she truly was alone in this ridiculous room of hers. It felt as though the walls had eyes, watching her every movement. The world around her shook and wavered, making it incredibly hard to remain upright. It did not help that her vision came in and out of focus, unable to perceive a single concrete thing in favour of making her surroundings twist and distort into something it was not.

Numbly deciding to head towards her balcony to ensure that she was alone, Dawn stilled once she saw two very familiar heads of hair waiting for her outside: one blonde, the other red.

"Rose? Freya?" Dawn asked as she opened the doors for them, all memories of Alani forgotten and unable to believe that they had come to see her; why were they on the balcony of all places?

Freya turned her head, and Dawn could not see her face clearly. It looked as though the girl had blurred around the edges, and she could not make out any features she knew her sister had. "Oh, it's you."

The words confused her. "You came to see me?"

"Why would we want to?"

"You're my sisters."

Freya scoffed. "Still believe that, do you?"

"Of course I do."

"You're an idiot." Rose's featureless face tilted towards the heavens before gesturing to the gap between Dawn and them, as if to point out the obvious divide. "You did this."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"I hate you."

Freya's words stung viciously. "I'm so sorry, please forgive me."

"Why should we?"

"I will do anything." She meant it, she didn't think there was a single thing that she wouldn't do for them.

"What more could you do?" Rose asked, arms folding as she thought about her offer.

"Anything." Dawn repeated, the word like a vow.

"Strong words for a monster." Freya chuckled, taking a step closer. The word monster cut Dawn to her very core. "Very well, would you kill someone for me?"

Dawn found herself less concerned over committing the act but rather curious as to who her sister would like to see six feet under. "Who?"

"Alani."

The name did not surprise her. "Just her?"

Rose shook her head. "Kill everyone."

"Zaque, Garrett, anyone that would oppose you." Freya finished, a malicious smile playing at the edges of her blurred mouth. Too many times had Dawn seen her kind smile, now it was a sinister image.

"Kill them." Dawn clarified, trying to picture herself in such a scenario. "How?"

"You can figure that one out on your own." Rose's tone was sarcastic, like the one she usually used to tease. "Have you lost your anger?"

As if she could ever lose something that never left. "No."

"Everyone wants to play monsters." Freya said, although her voice was losing its sound. Stepping closer, the youngest sister leaned in to whisper in Dawn's ear. "Ensure that you become the worst."

Dawn awoke on the floor of her room, balcony doors open and curtains swaying in the late morning breeze. Her head throbbed and body felt numb as she attempted to sit up, wincing every now and then from the movement. She could scarcely remember how she got there, or for how long. From the stiffness, she guessed a couple of hours. Although this wasn't the only new sensation that crashed through her.

The rage was all consuming, lighting her very bone marrow on fire. Her blood rushed in her ears, heart hammered in her chest, fingers clawed at the ground. It felt like such a tangible thing that she could almost choke on it. It gripped and clawed at her heart, suffocating her from the inside out. Her chest, compressed by the fathomless weight of her new desires, rose and fell slowly and with purpose.

Dawn had hell to pay, and she would start by finding out exactly who stood on her side, and who did not. Namely, the two faces that haunted her.

A brief image of Syrena sleeping flashed behind her eyes, and Dawn forced herself to push it away. Now was not the time to be distracted, now was not the time to feel regret or remorse. She needed to focus.

She needed to find her sisters.