Beast Caller

by Brea Alepoú

  "Good thing I'm going to the Isabelle Sector instead of the void," Melony said jokingly.

  Itsumi flinched again.

  "What?" Melony asked.

  Itsumi said nothing, just standing there. Melony tentatively touched Itsumi’s shoulder.

  Itsumi took in a deep breath. "The void is child's play compared to the Isabelle. Many have been given the choice, and most would prefer to be in the void or set on fire." She sounded so solemn.

  Melony's hand slipped from Itsumi’s shoulder and fell to her side. She looked at Itsumi, but she didn't turn. Her eyes stayed casted down, not looking at Melony. "So, I'm basically going to hell for something I didn't do?"

  Itsumi nodded subtly just as the elevator stopped moving. Melony gulped as the doors opened.

  Pink.

  Pink was everywhere: the walls, the paintings, the flowers, stuffed animals, and even the floor. It was all pink like bubblegum.

  "What the hell?"

  Itsumi walked out of the elevator, and Melony hurried behind her before the elevator doors closed. Melony’s eyes hurt from all the pink; everywhere she turned her head there was pink.

  "What is this? The Pepto room?"

  She hoped to get a laugh from Itsumi, but there wasn’t one, only Itsumi’s shoulders tensing more the farther they walked into the pink room. They stopped by one of the walls. Melony looked at the wall, trying to see why they’d stopped in front of it. There was nothing there, and if she stared any harder at the pink, she swore it would blind her. She opened her mouth to ask Itsumi why they were staring at a wall when a line appeared on the wall.

  Melony watched the line as it formed an outline of a door. Itsumi moved back, and Melony followed suit and took two steps back just in case. She didn't have access to her fire, so she was going to be as cautious as possible.

  Melony watched as a door appeared on the wall, surprised not only by a magical door but the fact that it wasn't pink. The door was brown with a bronze handle. It looked like a normal door and not the door to her doom.

  Itsumi opened the door and walked through. It was pitch black, Itsumi’s body disappearing into the darkness. Melony didn't move from her spot. Unwilling to walk into the empty void when she couldn't see anything.

  Itsumi’s head popped out, the rest of her body still hidden. Melony wondered if it was because Itsumi wore all black that she couldn't see the rest of her.

  Melony took a step back, remembering her mother's head on the kitchen floor and no body in sight. She started to hyperventilate. The edges of her vision started to blur, and she felt as if she was going to throw up and pass out all at once. Before she knew it, her head was pressed against soft cloth and slender fingers were in her curls.

  "Breathe." Itsumi’s voice sounded so strong.

  Melony breathed, trying to calm her racing heart as she sat pressed against Itsumi. Her body shook slightly as she held on. She had yet to have any time to really think about everything and it was all starting to hit her at once.

  "You must stay calm and strong. If they see you break like this, then they will destroy you." Itsumi continued to touch her curls and rub her scalp in a calming manner.

  Melony wanted to scream and cry all at once. She didn't deserve this. Her mother hadn't deserved to die. She still had no idea where her dad was.

  Fuck.

  Fuck.

  Her fucking life was a mess and now she had to be strong? How?

  There were footsteps approaching, and Itsumi’s hand stopped moving and her arms tightened around Melony. Melony's face was still buried in the soft fabric of Itsumi’s clothing. She didn't move back to see who was approaching. It sounded like heels against the pink marble floor.

  "What are you doing, fox?" said a sweet, childlike voice.

  Melony tried to move, but Itsumi’s grip tightened, stopping her from moving.

  "Lady Isabelle, I was just bringing the witch to your sector."

  The clicking heels got closer until they stopped right next to them. Melony still couldn't see who it was. From the voice, she had pictured a child, but Itsumi had referred to her as Isabelle.

  "Then why are you on the floor holding her?"

  Again, the voice sounded like that of a child, and Melony wanted to see. She tried again to sit up, but Itsumi’s hold didn't budge at first. Slowly, the hold loosened and Melony was able to lift her head. Her eyes locked on the hot pink heels that stood next to her.

  They were small… Child small. There were even matched with frilly, light pink socks. Melony moved her eyes up, looking at the hot pink puffy dress. It was decorated with little jewels. Soon, she was looking into the big blue eyes of a little girl no older than seven.

  With blonde, curly pigtails.

  The little girl smiled at her, her small hand reaching out and touching Melony’s cheek. "Are you okay?" she asked sweetly.

  Melony felt Itsumi pull her back subtly. Melony glanced over to Itsumi to ask her what was wrong, since it was just a child, but Itsumi’s eyes were trained on the child and didn't budge.

  "Can neither one of you hear me? I have asked questions but no one answers." She tapped the toe of one small shoe and placed a hand on her hip.

  "We hear you just fine, Lady Isabelle," Itsumi said.

  Isabelle's eyes flicked over to Melony. Melony looked her up and down again. She couldn't believe the child in front of her was Isabelle—the one in charge of a hell worse than eternal shadows.

  "You're what? Five?" Melony asked.

  Itsumi instantly stood up and stepped in front of Melony.

  "Do you guard this witch who has broken Queen Lydia's rules?"

  The question sounded so sweet and innocent from Isabelle's mouth, but the way Itsumi’s shoulders drew higher, Melony didn't think that was the case. Melony still sat on the floor, so she got up and stood behind Itsumi. Isabelle only reached her hip; she was that small.

  "You seem to have a problem answering me," she said as she took a step forward.

  Itsumi didn't move. Melony didn't know what was going on, but she realized that Itsumi was protecting her from the little girl. Melony looked back and forth from the two, and the hostility toward the little girl was odd. Melony looked to Isabelle again, trying to see what made her so scary or dangerous. There was nothing. She looked like a sweet little girl who loved pink way too much.

  Isabelle looked to Melony, a huge smile appearing on her face. "Shall I show you what a little girl can do?"

  Melony got all the creepy vibes just from the question. She may look nice, but Melony could suddenly picture her standing at the foot of a bed holding a knife with a smile on her face. The image made Melony shiver with new fear. That wasn't something she wanted to see anytime soon.

  "I don't think so," Melony said.

  Isabelle looked disappointed. She shrugged and turned to face Itsumi. "You're dismissed." She waved her hand in a shooing motion toward Itsumi. Isabelle went toward the door where there was nothing but murkiness. "Come on, witch."

  Itsumi turned and faced Melony. "You must never drop your guard. She may look like a child, but she’s older than you and deadly." Itsumi's dark eyes stared down into Melony’s.

  Melony felt the intensity from the stare and nodded in understanding. Itsumi nodded in return. As she moved to walk the opposite way, she placed her hand on Melony’s shoulder and squeezed before letting go and leaving Melony.

  Melony touched where Itsumi’s hand had just been. She didn't turn to watch Itsumi leave, too afraid she might chase after her and beg her once more to help. It would be futile, and even if Itsumi did help, what would happen to her?

  "Are you deaf?" Isabelle asked. She stood next to the inky blackness, looking back at Melony.

  Melony sighed. She lifted her head and squared her shoulders. She would answer them honestly and try and get everything fixed. Then she would get Zola and they would leave. Finally, when everything stopped happening, Melony would be able to hide away in a corner and cry.

  She walked tow
ard the pitch-black entrance.

  Isabelle walked through the door, disappearing completely from sight. Everything in her told her to run and not follow Isabelle, but where would she go? How in the hell would she escape? She couldn't use her power, she couldn't teleport, and even with teleporting, she might end up in the void going mad. Her only option was to prove her innocence and hope that they let her and Zola go.

  She stood in front of the entrance and took a deep breath before walking through it. It felt as if the shadows were trying to cling to her skin. She rubbed her arms, trying to wipe off the feeling, but it stayed as she continued to walk farther into the darkness. She blinked her eyes a few times, trying to make sure her eyes were open and not closed. They were open, but she still couldn't see anything. She didn't stop walking for fear that she would be stuck in the dark gloomy place. She kept walking straight. Well, she figured it was straight, but she didn't really know.

  She walked and walked. She felt lost, but she didn't let the thought of walking into the void Itsumi had told her about consume her. Isabelle had walked into the blackness with no issues, and Itsumi had walked in and out of the blackness without any problems, so it couldn't be the void.

  She repeated that to herself a few times. She needed to believe that soon she would be able to see. The constant emptiness was overbearing. She had never been afraid of the dark, but there was a difference to darkness with lights off. Eyes would adjust to that type of dark, but the one she was walking through… There was no adjusting. It was just inky blackness.

  She breathed shallowly as she continued to move, even starting to coat her tongue and slide down her throat. She coughed a few times, trying to remove the feeling from her throat, but just like her arms, the feeling stayed. She shivered with the thought of the blackness entering her. She hoped that it would all end soon. She continued to walk, but her legs began to shake and each step staggered as she continued to move in a direction she couldn't see. She wanted to call out but was afraid that her vice had been taken away.

  "You can open your eyes," Isabelle’s childlike voice said.

  Melony hadn't realized she’d closed her eyes. She tentatively opened them. The glare of the light hurt her eyes, and she instantly closed them again.

  "Shit." She covered her eyes, rubbing them. She squinted, trying to let them get used to the light. Going from pitch black to light was alarming, and it hurt like hell.

  She couldn't see much in the room, but there was a draft making it feel cold. She rubbed her eyes again and tried to open them a little wider. The light didn't hurt as much, but it still stung her eyes. With her eyes cast down to avoid the blaring light, she squinted and really focused on the floor. There were little red dots on it. She blinked a few times, tempted to bend down and take a closer look. As her eyes focused, she realized that it wasn’t dots, but little strawberries painted on the floor.

  Strange.

  She looked up slowly at the walls. They were an even brighter pink than the room before, but unlike the room before, there were no stuffed animals or paintings of flowers. It was an empty room. Well, empty besides Melony and Isabelle. Isabelle stood there, watching Melony, not saying anything. Melony looked at her again; she really did just look like a little girl. Melony had the urge to ask her if she should be in school, but she remembered Itsumi’s words. She just couldn't see how Isabelle could possibly be older than her.

  "Are you done?" Isabelle asked.

  Melony nodded.

  "Good." She turned around and walked until she was leaning against the wall. "This can be easy. All I need you to do is tell me who you bought the fire gems from and your accomplices." She made the questions sound so simple.

  "I didn't buy any gems, and like I told the suit guy, I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I have only used fire when creatures attacked me. The ghouls and then those creepy, grey, monster-looking things. You know, the ones with hunched backs and half their faces missing?"

  "Nolveks?"

  Melony shrugged. Like she knew what those weird things were.

  "You don't know what a nolvek is?"

  "No."

  The way Isabelle tilted her head as she studied Melony was such a little girl thing to do. "Why?" She even asked questions like one.

  "Never seen one, and they don't teach about all this stuff in college."

  Isabelle pushed off the wall. "Are you going to tell me how you had access to a fire gem?"

  Melony sighed. "I didn't."

  Isabelle shook her head, her curly pigtails whipping back and forth. "You don't expect me to believe that, do you?"

  "I'm telling you the truth," Melony said.

  A smile appeared on Isabelle's face. One that didn't seem all that innocent. "And here I thought you would be simple and just tell me what I needed to know." She started to walk toward Melony. "A part of me is pleased that Hudson didn't send a weak-minded witch to me." She was now only inches from Melony. She looked up with her big blue eyes, and a huge smile on her face. "My record is ten hours, but that witch was weak. The strongest witch held out for ten days. Let’s see if you can last that long."

  She walked around Melony, and Melony twisted to watch Isabelle head toward the doorway. "What?"

  Isabelle didn't turn around or answer her. She walked until she disappeared into the inky blackness. As Isabelle disappeared, the brown door closed. Melony ran toward the door, but it closed before she could make it. She reached for the doorknob, but there wasn’t one. The door started to disappear into the wall.

  Melony looked at the now pink wall trying to find the door. She felt around, but there was nothing. Panic beginning to rise, she banged against the wall.

  "Hey," she yelled.

  There was no reply. She continued to bang on the wall and yell for someone to help her. She felt as if the walls were closing in on her. Her hands hurt as she beat on the wall to no avail. She turned her back to the wall, slouched down to the floor, pulled her knees up, and rested her head on them. Everything that had been happening to her was insane.

  "Wake up," she whispered. "Please wake up."

  She couldn't stay in this nightmare, not a second longer. She wanted out.

  Of course, she didn't wake up, because it wasn't a dream. Everything that had happened to her had really happened. She squeezed her legs tighter against her body as she shook. Hot tears slid down her face. She was no longer strong enough to hold them back. They continued to fall as she sat there and hugged herself.

  She’d lost her mother and had no idea where her father was. She’d left Denelle with some random vampire and got Zola caught. It was all her fault, but she had no idea why she deserved it all. Why she had brought such despair to everyone.

  What if she had never gone home? Would her mother still be alive? Would she be in her kitchen making her father dinner? Her eyes stung as tears continued to break free. She would never hear her mother's sweet voice again. She would never be hugged and reassured by her ever again. She would never hear her soft voice as she called out to her.

  It all hurt so much.

  She felt ashamed that she had no idea where her father was. She could only hope that he had escaped and was alive. She knew the likely chance of that having happened were slim. He was an old man, but fuck did she hope. She didn't want to lose both of her parents. There was so much she’d never gotten to say to them. So many things that she’d never gotten to experience with them.

  When had been the last time she’d told her mother she loved her or her father? Fresh tears poured from her eyes as she cried harder. Her body shook with the force, her face hot as she continued to cry. All of this was her fault, and she had no idea how it all happened. Or why it was even happening.

  "Why?" she cried out.

  No one answered her, and her silent crying changed to wails as she laid down on the ground and broke down. She couldn't hold back the flood of emotions that had been held back by sheer force. The anger and heartache wracked through her. The empty room was what
she deserved. She would never be able to hurt anyone in there.

  Although… she had no one else.

  The realization made more tears leak from her eyes. The quiet room was her only solace as she cried herself into a deep sleep.

  Melony opened her eyes, and all she could see was a clear blue sky. It was bright with sunshine. She slowly lifted her head and looked around. She was laying on plush, green grass. She was surrounded by it, no one and nothing in sight. A small breeze picked up, the cool air wrapping around Melony. It felt good and relaxing.

  "Melony," a soft voice called out to her.

  Melony knew that voice. She turned around, and, sure enough, there stood her mother, her light brown curls staying still even with the breeze. She had on light blue gown that contrasted beautifully against her dark skin. A smile was plastered on her pretty face.

  "Mom!" Melony shouted as she got up and raced over to her mother. She grabbed her and hugged her. Melony breathed in her mother's warm, vanilla scent. This had to be real if she could touch and smell her. Melony felt the tears on her face as she squeezed her mother tighter to her.

  "Melony, honey." Her mother pulled back.

  Melony looked at her mother's face, nothing like the way it had looked severed on the kitchen floor. Melony looked down and, sure enough, her mother had a body. She smiled, so happy to see her mother once again.

  "Mom, I've missed you so much."

  Her mother smiled at her and, once again, pulled her into a hug.

  "There's so much I need to tell you, mom. I had a terrible dream. It wa—"

  "Shhh, just relax, darling," her mother said as she rubbed soothing circles on Melony's back.

  Melony relaxed as her mother held her. This was all she wanted. They stood there, her mother holding her and everything feeling right… until it didn't. Why were they outside? Where were they? She moved to stand back, but her mother's grip tightened. She tried again to free herself, but her mother—who shouldn't have been so strong—didn't budge.