[BOOK TWO]
"Anniversaries to some are like counting the years spent doing something great, years spent together, or years spent alive." I started slowly, voice dropping to a drawl as I peeked cautiously out of my bedroom blinds, scanning the road to...
IT PERHAPS WASN'T the smartest move to attempt to leave during broad daylight. Some how, Dimitri and the other boys had made it very clear that we weren't allowed to set foot outside of the castle unless accompanied by one of them. And yet, here we were, off running into the fields by the edge of Hell just because Minnie 'found the road familiar'. In all honesty, we were lost.
"Minnie, focus! You said that Dimitri had brought you back here through walking so it wasn't that far away. Where is the exit?"
"That's the thing! I can't seem to remember where it is at all! It's as if the landscapes are changing."
At that moment, there was nothing I wanted to do more than to just rip my hair out one chunk by one chunk. The afternoon sun may be high in the sky by this hour, but the radiant light for sure could not reach where we were at.
Past the hill that was littered with greenery was a cave. The very second in which Minnie had showed a single ounce of recollection of the damn thing, the both of us had rushed towards the cave like kids headed towards a candy empire. So, my friends, this is the story of how we were currently trapped somewhat indoors with the cave ceilings casting a weird red glow around us, with nothing but an endless dark tunnel that seemed to lead off only to eternity.
The drops of water rang loud in the cave, echoing with a certain reverberation as I kept my eyes peeled. Something about this place made my skin just crawl, and every inch of it just reminded me of the past during our boathouse hours. In other words, there was something utterly dark and sinister creeping around the corners of this cave, and I'm not too sure if I want to find out what it was.
Curiosity had gotten me here in the first place. If I had never gone to the party, I would've never gotten the attention of Death itself. I would've been safe, tucked away at home with a tub of ice cream as I ate my sorrows away. Maybe I would've never gotten over my breakup with Lucius, but at least my friends would've never been in any danger.
And lastly, maybe Porsha would've lived.
I might not have been the one that had asked her to the party, but one change in action can cause a series of others. Maybe with my refusal of the invitation she would've skipped it as well. And yet, I'll never know if this assumption was true. Try as I might, I could never change the events of the past.
"I honestly don't think we are leaving Hell, Minnie." I raised my hand to wipe a bead of perspiration away from my forehead. The heat had turned up drastically the very second we stepped in, and each second felt a degree higher than the previous. "It seems as though we are currently walking further into it instead."
As if to prove my point, a howl suddenly echoed through the pits in which we were in, sending a strong gust of air towards us that was strong enough to whip our bodies slightly backwards. It was a blare straight through from the dark, and this made my skin crawl with horrible memories of the past.
"What was that?" Minnie gasped, a hand placed across her chest as she widened her eyes in shocked horror.
"Will you kill me if I said that I actually wanted to know what it was?" I barely even took a look back, but I could feel Minnie's full on astonishment.
"Addi, you barely even left your house, heck, your room back when we were still in town. What changed?"
What changed?
Through the past few days in which I had stayed at the four spirits' not-so-humble abode, I had managed to break out of the shell last year's party had placed me in. Everything had changed since the last event, and like the stream's water, a pebble had been dropped in, tipping its equilibrium.
My bravery, my personality entirely, had been on the rocks. It was a ship lost at sea, never truly finding the lighthouse though the gentle beam of light was never lost. I was a lost girl with no map to help me find my way home, and in all senses, I don't really know if I want to.
Sure, now I'm always tipping between cowering fear and immense courage, but it had allowed me to find a new aspect of myself. I was given space to self discover, and yet never truly bound to reckless adventuring.
"Everything changed, Minnie. The only constant we can expect in life is change. Life is just but a pool filled with different variations, justly like how the oceans never have one breed of fish. I was bound to change one way or another. Some changes are just more drastic than that of others."
My red-headed best friend stopped in her movements, eyeing me with a certain hint of pride hidden behind the orbs of her eyes. With a stunned expression still hung upon her features, she carefully combed her vibrant hair behind her ear before breaking into a soft smile.
"Well there is one thing in which will never change about me."
"And what is that?"
"I'll follow you to the ends of the world, and I'll support you until the very day you don't want me to."
I could feel my cheeks burning with the amount of strength I've used to smile as I wrapped one arm around Minnie's shoulder, hugging her close to me.
"What have I done in my past life to deserve such an angel like you as my best friend?" I humored, the both of us beaming madly.
The moment was, however, ruined when another strong, and unbelievably hot, gust of wind blew in our general direction. It pushed us off of our stance, causing us to tumble on the ground a few feet backwards. When I raised my eyes to glance at Minnie, she nodded once, climbing onto her feet immediately as I did the same.
Some monsters were bigger than others, and though I've already faced mine with a certain tinge of likeness, it was time to face the true monster of the world.
The true definition of Hell itself that can be found in stories all across the globe.
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