Chapter 55 Fifty-Five
'Danica...' Mason's soft voice drifted towards Danica's ears, drawing her attention from the darkness that was consuming her. 'You've got to fight.'
The desperateness in his words tugged at Danica's heart as she felt herself beginning to drift once again. She knew she needed to fight and that she couldn't let the rogue within win, but she was feeling very tired. The exhaustion she felt was all-consuming, and no matter how hard she tried to break through it, she just couldn't.
'Baby.... you've got to fight!' Mason's voice was growing stronger, tugging at her, keeping her from drifting entirely.
Attempting to claw her way back again, Danica felt herself coming slowly but surely. Looking around, she found herself in a dark space; no light was anywhere to be seen. To the side, she could see two glowing red eyes that were watching her warily.
'You....' Danica spoke, fixing her golden gaze with the creature's red one. 'Are you my rogue?'
'Stay back,' it hissed as a snarl erupted in the darkness. 'Don't come closer; otherwise, I will kill you.'
Not listening, Danica continued to move forward, unable to stop the draw that she felt. Even though the creature was threatening her, she couldn't find it within her to feel afraid. Instead, she felt herself drawn to it, wanting to be with it.
'STAY BACK!' The creature snapped, lunging forward to show an entirely black wolf with glowing red eyes. 'GET BACK!'
'No,' Danica said softly as she slowly closed the distance between them.
Reaching out her hand, Danica attempted to touch the wolf's muzzle. Snarling, the wolf snapped at her, trying to get her to back away and not touch it. Something about the wolf's reaction told her that it wasn't lashing out from aggression but rather fear.
'I'm not going to hurt you.' Danica insisted, moving slightly forward.
This time, the wolf didn't snap at her; instead, it just growled, eyeing her hand hesitantly.
'Weak.' The wolf spoke slowly, snarling. 'You were too weak.'
She was too weak. Was this wolf referring to her parents deaths when she snapped and became ferile? Did the wolf know about the entire situation?
'Do you remember that day?' Danica asked.
The wolf nodded slowly as it kept its eyes fixed on Danica.
'Can you show me?' Danica asked; she only remembered seeing her house up in flames and then blacking out. What happened between that time and the time she was found by Martha was a complete blank.
'Are you prepared for it?' The wolf asked seriously; something about the way it spoke sent a chill down Danica's spine.
'I'm ready.' She said calmly as she finished closing the distance between her and the wolf.
Kneeling down, she ran a hand along the wolf's muzzle and up across its head while leaning in to touch her forehead against the wolf as she closed her eyes. Feeling a slight tug against her memory, Danica didn't fight as the wolf began to bring her back to that night so many years ago.
The darkness around Danica began to shift as woods took its place entirely surrounding the area. The smell of smoke filled the air as heat licked at Danica's skin. Looking around, she found an all-too-familiar house with flames raging around it. A tiny child stood in front of the house, staring in disbelief at a basket on the ground beside her.
Moving forward, Danica reached out to try to comfort the child, only to find that her hand went straight through her. Letting out a howl, the child fell to the ground as the building collapsed.
As it began to smolder, Danica began to notice what looked like the silhouette of a person beginning to take shape within the rubble. Squinting, she watched as the silhouette continued to take form. Large wings expanded from its back as it moved forward, unharmed by the fire. In its arms, it carried a burned body that was still moving.
Bile began to rise in Danica's throat as she realized the person was her mother and that she was still alive despite the extensive damage to her body.
"Mama..." the little girl wailed, jumping up and running to the woman who was carrying her mother. "Mama!"
"Doesn't she look lovely like this?" The woman, or rather, the harpie, cooed. "This is what she deserves."
"MAMA!" The little girl screamed as her mother gasped for air. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" She demanded snarling.
"Don't blame me, child; blame both your parents for being traitors." The harpie spat, throwing Danica's mother on the ground.
An agonized gargle escaped her mother's lips as she connected with the ground. Scrambling, the little girl kneeled down beside her, frantically trying to find a place that was safe to touch. Finding none, she just watched as her mother continued to gasp for breath.
"Be thankful I didn't kill you too." The harpie said, patting the little girl's head. "For now, you can live, but one step out of line, and you will join your parents."
Snarling, the little girl bared her teeth at the harpie as her eyes turned red. Her canines extended, as did her nails. Lunging, the little girl tried to attack the harpie, who easily moved to the side, causing the little feral child to fall over. Jumping back up, she ran at the harpie again.
Laughing, the harpie extended her wings and began to move them easily, lifting her body into the air and out of the child's reach. Jumping and clawing, the child attempted to snag the Harpie, who was quickly growing further and further out of her reach.
Too shocked Danica could only watch as the scene unfolded before her; she watched little her in a feral state that she remembered nothing about as the harpie disappeared into the sky. She couldn't quite place her finger on it, but something about that harpie seemed familiar. Looking to the sky where she had disappeared, she couldn't help but wish she had a bit longer to examine her.
A feral snarl drew Danica's attention back to the little girl, who was now facing off with a much younger version of Martha. Martha had her hand to her mouth in shock as the feral child snarled and snapped at her.
"You poor thing." Martha said sadly as she bent down and pulled the snapping and clawing child to her. "It's okay..." She murmured as she rubbed the child's head. "It is all going to be okay."
As Martha spoke, a bright light began to form around them, nearly blinding Danica. As it grew, the calmer the child became, until suddenly the light flashed and was then absorbed into the child's body. It was when this happened that the scene around Danica began to melt away as she returned to the darkness and the waiting rogue wolf.