O Death ⇉ Paul Lahote

ten

Heidi slipped back inside and silently made her way towards the bathroom and turned on the shower, stepping in after stripping off her blood and dirt covered clothes. She closed her eyes as she stood under the hot water before opening them again, watching the blood and dirt be washed off her body and go down the drain.

The hunger inside of her had subsided, but she was scared when it would return, and she would have to kill again. She didn't really want to do it, but she knew that she had to, and there was no going against Ereshkigal.

Climbing out of the shower, Heidi wrapped a towel around herself and stared at her clothes on the floor. She needed to dispose of them, but she didn't know how.

"Burn them," Ereshkigal whispered in Heidi's ear, answering her unspoken question, her dark fingertips playing with Heidi's damp hair while the other hand was twisting around Heidi's arm. "Nobody will ever know what happened. If someone sees, just say you couldn't sleep and wanted some air."

Heidi slowly nodded, making her way out of the bathroom and towards her room to change. Dropping the towel onto the floor, Heidi changed into a fresh t-shirt and shorts, forcing her feet into her boots before returning to the bathroom to pick up her blood-soaked clothes and climbing out the window again.

She made her way towards the fire pit, eyes fixed straight ahead of her. Throwing her clothes into the centre of the fire pit, Ereshkigal materialised beside her and ignited the pile of clothes. Staring into the flames, Heidi watched her clothes burn. "Now I am become death... the destroyer of worlds," Heidi muttered softly to herself, fixating on the flames.

Ereshkigal clung a little to Heidi, brushing her hair behind her shoulder to look at her illuminated face better. "Soon, you will be the most powerful being on this Earth. Kings will tremble at your feet, everyone will worship your every move, you will have whatever you desire. You were born for this Heidi, same as me."

Heidi thought of her words. As much as she wanted and craved that on the surface, she knew deep down she didn't need it. All she truly wanted was a sense of belonging – one that was earned, not handed to her on a golden platter.

Staring into the flames, Heidi's eyes fluttered shut and she collapsed and sank into a world of darkness.

Heidi awoke back in bed with the sunlight beaming down on her face, the smell of bacon and French toast wafting from the kitchen and the sounds of talking and laughter echoing into her room. After changing, she made her way out to the kitchen.

The laughter slowly died out when Heidi walked in, the only sounds were Heidi's bare feet softly sliding across the wooden floorboards. Paul looked at Heidi, almost dropping the piece of French toast that was on his fork as he noticed her eyes. The blackness in her eyes he'd seen the day before had grown, becoming more noticeable. But within the blink of an eye, it was gone.

Heidi shook her head a little and walked outside to the fire pit, smiling faintly at the small pile of ash of what was left of her clothes. Sitting down on one of the logs, she glared at the ash as she tried to fight back her tears. "They all think I'm a freak," she whispered, sniffing as tears began to form in her eyes.

She felt arms around her, fingers being ran through her hair. "They don't understand you, Heidi. They will never understand you. You are far above them, and they see that. Soon, we will have every single one of them bow at your feet. Soon, you won't need to hide your hunger and your killing, they will know, and they will help you – as will I." Ereshkigal reassured her, but it didn't help much – it was still setting a divide between her and everyone else.

Heidi shook her head, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. "I just want to belong, not be separated from people."

"Heidi, sweetheart," Ereshkigal turned Heidi to face her. "You belong with me and every girl who came before you as mine – with me, you'll always have a place to belong. Don't you ever forget that. For as long as you and I are connected, we will belong to one another."

Note

I'm planning on having this story finished by the end of the year – I've dragged it on for way too long and it's not fair on any of you guys, so fingers crossed I can pull it off. Sorry this chapter is a little short, I want to try to get to the darker stuff quickly without rushing the story, so this is what my brain decided was the best course of action.

Happy Halloween my loves! Hope your day/night is filled with spooky things!