Aurea Venen Part 1

..:: AUREA VENEN || PART 1 || THE GREEN ROAD ::..

<Why....? Why did you run away?> The girl in front of me seemed to utter, as if in a trance. <You could have saved us... It didn't have to end like this...>

The young brunette girl stood like a statue, a dark stain on the front of her costume blossoming along the surface of the fabric. She went on to repeat the same thing, in the haunting manner she had been speaking in many times already. It wasn't the first time this had played out before me, and it probably wouldn't be the last, but I've already lost count of the occurrences. Yet, I found it funny. I didn't really have it in me to laugh, nor could I understand what exactly was funny about it. All I knew, was that she wasn't real. There's no way she could be real, after all.

<I--> The blood started to trickle from the corners of her mouth, and then as if a recording had been rewound, it started over again. 'It's okay', I told myself, over and over. It's okay, because she isn't real, don't worry. I tore my gaze away from her, looking out towards the cityscape which appeared to be clipped straight out of a picture book. The stars in the night sky seemed to fade in and out, appearing as various different colors each time they regained visibility. Looking down, the pathway I had been following was made out of thin and obscenely green wooden planks. While their incessant creaking and groaning was extremely loud to my ears, they still felt solid enough underfoot to traverse. It was the only guidance this black void gave me, though it was never enough to distance myself from the girl's phantom. Where was this path leading me? Away? From--

I winced at the sudden sharp pain, the hand I instinctively brought up to my temple brushing black hair out of its way. My head felt dull, my memory nothing but a dark haze akin to the one that enveloped my surroundings. I can't remember what happened. I can't remember why I can't remember. <Why did you run away?> I can't even remember the name of the brunette girl, even though she had been my partner for years. That was where it stopped being funny, and where I lost the desire to laugh at all. This was serious, this entire goddamn mission was--

Wait, mission? We were sent here to this...shithole of a city, but why? To find what? It certainly wasn't this green pathway. <It didn't have to end like this...> Why was it so green? No seriously, wood planks aren't supposed to be this green, even if you painted them. It doesn't even LOOK like wood! Alright, calm down, it's not a big deal. Deep breath, try to remember....what was the mission? Why did we come here?

<I--> I glanced back over at the broken record that was my 'partner', blood oozing out of the corners of her eyes, and in the same instance resetting again. What do you want from me? Why are you appearing here, saying the same thing over and over!? Dying in front of me...over and OVER like this, I can't-- It was then that I noticed something was different about her, and stopped in my tracks. She was holding a small, creepy looking doll in her hands. It looked very fancy, possibly made from porcelain, with bright red marble eyes and a well kempt head of blond hair. Not just fancy or expensive though, it looked...real. It seemed...familiar, but...where the hell did it come from? Where have I seen it before? I'm one hundred percent sure this was the first time I've EVER seen it, yet at the same time I felt like I've seen it so many times before.

"Ufufufu~" The doll's eyes blink, its mouth twisting into a gut wrenching smirk as it begins to clap its hands together and giggle. Each time her hands came together, it made a metal clang that seemed to echo around me, ringing in my head like a bell. I know I've seen this doll before, or at least, the person that it resembles. I know I've heard this sound before. I KNOW that I know. Pain once more wells up in my head, causing me to whimper softly. Think, damnit, remember! The clanging grows louder, and I reopen my eyes to see my 'partner' slowly walking towards me, the doll still in tow.

<Why did you run away?> I had to run, I had no choice. <You could have saved us...> There's no way I could have saved you, I couldn't save even one person, let alone everyone else in the squad. <It didn't have to end like this...> I know... God damn it, I know! The girl ceased her approach directly in front of me, the entire front of her orange costume stained a dark crimson. The doll's eyes bore holes into mine, her freakish grin never wavering for a second. I know... I know what you're going to say. You don't have to remind me, it's the one thing I could never forget after all.

<I loved you.> Yet despite knowing what she would say, my eyes still widened. It was then that she shoved me back, my foot unable to shift to stop myself from falling. What was once a continuation of the green path behind me was now empty air, and I fell. I could only look up at her from below, and even though she already was so distant, I could still make out the tears of red that she shed once again. Then she was gone, as if a light had been flipped off where she had stood. They told us it was an easy mission, that we'd go in and make it back in time for dinner. All we had to do was find the girl and get rid of her, then we'd get paid and be done with it. They lied. They knew. They knew and yet they still SENT US.

"Look who I found!" A sweet voice called out from the darkness below me, extremely crisp and clear unlike the phantom's. As if my back had hit the ground with a sickening crunch, a large metal pole impaled itself through my chest. I couldn't really feel it, but I knew it hurt like a bitch. I knew I was screaming, but I couldn't even hear that. "You know, you're reallllyy bad at this whole hide and seek thing. You're not supposed to walk around out in the open, silly." They lied to us, there's no way this was a mission our amateur squad could handle. There's no way they didn't know this. Everyone else....she...

"Don't worry though! You were the last one to be found, you know what that means right?" It's then that her hands, metal and inhuman in appearance, uncovered my eyes and moved to rest on my shoulders. My eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light from the street lamp, as she stepped in front of me, her appearance a near perfect match to the doll I had seen earlier. My entire body was frozen, I wanted to run....to hide. I had to get away from her, she was the one. "You get the special prize~" She whispered, before she forcibly pressed her lips against mine, a tingling sensation running through my body. The soft and warm sensation lingered for a moment, and was instantly wiped out from the wrenching pain in my chest as the metal blade was violently removed from my body, the resulting scream muffled into the kiss. IT HURTS! OH GOD, IT HURTS SO MUCH!! WHY DOES IT HURT SO MUCH!?

It was only a moment longer before she pulled away, letting out a familiar giggle. "Oh dear, that's right, I gave that same prize to your cute brown haired girlfriend already. Ah~! Speaking of her, I know just the thing to make your prize unique after all." A feeling of dread washed over me amidst my writhing, blood beginning to leak from the corner of my mouth as I could only slowly shake my head. It hurt too much to even breath, let alone give voice to my fears. The girl fumbled with her hand for a moment, before removing a ring from one of her devilish fingers. My heart stopped as it morphed into the egg-shaped jewel I'd seen so many times before, the once bright orange color almost completely consumed by a shade of black inside it. The golden haired girl dropped it into my shaky hands, stepping back from me, her equally devilish metal legs noisily clanging against the pavement.

"I sorta used her a bit too much and broke her, sorry about that~!" She giggled again, giving a small curtsy. "I just can't help myself sometimes. You know how it is. But anyways, I'll leave you two to your touching reunion. It won't be much longer now."

Even before she wandered off, I had already long stopped listening, entirely focused on the soul gem in my hands. I'm sorry... I collapsed to my knees, soaked in my own blood, murmuring my apology. I couldn't even feel its weight anymore. Actually, I couldn't really feel much of anything anymore, not even the tears running down my cheeks. I could only repeat my apologies to it -- to her, as the soul gem collapsed in on itself.