Reveal (Part 2)

I could hear voices all around me, loud whispers full of distress but I couldn't make out what they were saying. It's like listening to a different language, you can tell that they are speaking something but you don't know what it is exactly.

Shrouded in darkness, I feel emptiness surround me and the voices being the only ones to keep me company. 

What is this? Where am I? What is going on?

Is this … a dream? No, it feels nothing like a dream should. Well, not my dreams anyway. 

Am I in my subconscious? Then … is Kefi here?

My eyes are closed, I am not going to attempt to call out to her. If we could see each other, she wouldn't have hesitated to jump on me.

Sleep paralysis? 

I can feel my body slumped against something. Feels like I'm laying down on a soft thing. It doesn't feel like my bed though. 

So I am awake. But, why can't I move? There's this pressure weighting down in me. Not even my eyes are listening to me. Why? What's going on?

Maybe the voices are important. Let me try to listen in on them. With the power of persistence, I might be able to understand them as well. 

Great, I'm sounding like those two now. 

"-didn't. Please tell me you didn't!" Sounds like the other woman that Aurora brought. Jasmine. That's it. 

Why does she sound so distressed? If she's there, then that means that Aurora is there too, right? 

Come on, eyes. Open. Open.

I felt the pressure disappear from my body and my fingers began to twitch as I got back control. Once I could fully move my hand, I quickly sat up scared that I may lose that control again. 

"Oh, you're awake." A voice greeted me but my eyes are yet to be adjusted to the brightness around me. 

Every time I tried to open my eyes, it would close shut by itself. Great, now even my eyes have a mind of their own. What next?

"Are you ok?" The voice asked, standing in front of me to form a shadow in my line of vision. 

"It's too bright." I simply said, covering my eyes with my hands, as if that's going to change something. 

"Bright? Ohhh~ Give me a minute." I could hear shuffling and the footsteps faded further from me before everything went dark again. 

"Try opening your eyes now." The voice said, and I slowly did as I was told. 

Even though my surrounding is dark now, I can make everything out, almost like I'm looking through night-vision goggles. Strange.

"Can you see?" Jasmine asked, standing across from me, in front of what looks like a window.

"Yes," I replied, turning my attention to the two bodies on another bed. 

"Well, that makes sense. Your body is changing to accommodate the snake spirit inside you." Jasmine sat down on a chair, smiling at me, "Humans are incredible, don't you think so? They adapt to their environment and surroundings in order to survive."

"Adapt?" I asked. "You mean-"

"Well, if your body doesn't adapt then you will die and it won't be a painless death either." The two bodies began to stir, putting me on the edge. 

Though I could see, it isn't the same as seeing in the daylight. I don't know who they are but they don't seem to be posing any threat. From what I can tell. 

"Anyway, let's move from this ominous topic." She suddenly perked up, "How are you feeling, dear?"

"I feel fine," I said, looking at my hands. 

"That's good. But if you feel anything of discomfort then please do not hesitate to tell me, ok?" She looked at me like she was expecting me to ask or say something instantly.

"Sure." I said, then paused, "Could you open the window?"

"Alright. Hopefully, your eyes will be used to this by now, right?" She asked, walking to the window. 

"Yeah," I replied, not entirely sure. 

"Ok, then." She opened the window and light flooded into the room. It hurt for a while but then I got used to it faster than I anticipated. 

"Are you ok?" She ran to my side, concern etched in her face. 

"Yeah," I answered, keeping my eyes open as the slightly annoying feeling faded from my eyes. 

With a clear vision, I got out of the bed and looked around me. We are in some kind of white room, dull and monochromatic. Nothing I recognised. 

"This is Aurora's room," Jasmine said as if answering my question. 

"Aurora's room? So you mean-"

"Yes, we are in the headquarters of the Society. Welcome, Meraki." She spoke so pleasantly and with a soft melody, but she can't hide the feeling of dread that is sticking to her like a leech every time she looks at me.

"Do you have something to say to me?" I asked, looking at the other bed. I sighed in relief when I saw Caris and the other boy that was with Aurora. 

"Huh? Me?" Jasmine asked, looking around like there was someone else besides us. 

"Yeah. You look like you want to ask me something." I repeated myself, sitting back on the bed. Head in my hands as I kept my eye contact with her. "So, go ahead. I promise I won't bite."

Morning, Meraki. 

Oh, hi, Kefi. Where have you been?

I was sleeping. Anyway, what's going on?

Interrogation.

"Wha- what do you mean?" She asked, nervously looking away. 

"There's nothing you want to ask me? At all?" I asked again, still looking at her. 

"No. Nothing at all." She insisted, still not meeting my gaze. 

"Alright." I turned away from her. "Then can you answer my question?"

"Question?" She stopped looking everywhere else and looked at me, "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me more about Aurora," I said, leaning back on my arms, resting on the bed. 

"Aurora? Hmmm … What can I say about her?" Jasmine's demure instantly brightened once she started thinking about Aurora. "She is the prodigy of the Society. From the moment she came here, she instantly got everyone's interest."

"Did she look that strange?" I asked, playing with the folds of the bedsheet. 

Jasmine stared at me for a couple of seconds before bursting into laughter, "Oh, no. Nothing like that. No one cared about how you looked here. People from different ethnicities and countries are here so, appearances never mattered."

"Oh. So, what made her so interesting?" 

"Well, Aurora was incredibly aloof. She never hung out with anyone nor did she try to make any friends. That's understandable though. Most of us were here to improve not make friends.

"This line of work is dangerous and we could die at any minute. So forming bonds only lead to more pain and suffering than we already have encountered."

Jasmine sighed and looked up at the ceiling. I followed her gaze but I only saw more marble. 

"It's hard not to make friends though." She continued, a soft smile on her face, "These are the people you grow up with. Training, fighting, studying, everything. We did everything together."

"But, not Aurora." She finally turned away from the ceiling and looked at me, "She never got close to anyone but she wasn't mean either. She did what she needed to and then left."

"She sounds fun," Kefi remarked, gaining a giggle from Jasmine. 

"She was perfect in everything she did. A little too perfect." Jasmine stopped talking like she was lost in thought. "Most wanted to crack her and see what she was really like underneath all that. How much of it was real and how much was fake, they all wanted to know."

"What happened then?" I leaned forward, curious to know of their discovery. 

"They found nothing." Jasmine answered, gleefully, "No matter what they did or what situation came her way, she never cracked."

"Oh," I said under my breath. "She is absolutely perfect then?" 

"Well … not absolutely." She flashed me a cunning smile. "You seem strangely interested in knowing her weakness. Do you not like Aurora?"

"Oh, she likes her alright," Kefi spoke before I had the chance to. "But Meraki has a very strange way of showing it. Isn't that right?"

"I care about Aurora," I answered, ignoring Kefi. "She has done so much for me. But as you know, I am without memories."

"I understand. You don't have to say anymore." Jasmine interrupted, "You know how much Aurora cares about you, right? If I am to base it off speculation, I would say that, without a doubt, you are her weakness." 

As soon as Jasmine said that, I felt disappointed and she could tell from my expression. 

"What's wrong? I thought you would feel more special, that the person who has never cared for anyone before would care so much for you."

"I don't care about that," I said, looking to the door. "I refuse to be the reason for a person's demise." 

"What makes you think that, Meraki? Aurora is strong, she won't be taken down easily." Jasmine said that but her words are full of half-truths and white lies.

"I was hoping she would have a proper weakness. Not me." I continued. "But it seems she already made up her mind to go down with me."

"What? What are you-" Jasmine froze and looked at me, my unwavering gaze. "You already know?"

"Not really? I just got a jist of it." I pulled up my sleeve and showed my arm, something that looked like a faded burn mark was there.

"So, she did it." Jasmine murmured, touching the mark.

"Yes. Now, let's stop stalling and please tell me-" I pointed to the mark on my arm- "what really is a 'Blood Pact'? I won't take any more lies or half-truths this time."