9.

-HER-

Being so close to him, I feel so cold and scared. It’s as if he’s made of ice and the dangerous amount of energy oozing off him isn’t labelling him as friendly either.

“Your first task is...” He trails off. Silence follows his words and only the haunting sound of the twists and turns of the wind against my window could be heard.

“You have to come with me in order to know your first task.” He says and I could only shiver thinking of which hellhole he’d take me.

“Now.” He snaps and I get up from my bed and walk into my closet to get my warmest jacket. I chose the one with black fur and ensure that Oculus Carver is wrapped securely around my arm so that I could use it whenever I am in need. I walk out of my closet to find him standing by my window.

He stands tall, his hood is shadowing majority of his face. There’s this haunting and regal air about his presence that rakes my inside. It causes havoc to my senses and my mind seems to be in a rampage.

What did I get myself into?

What am I going to do if I don’t manage to complete the tasks?

They told my parents that I am going to die young. If that’s so then I want it soon. I want it before my 18th birthday. I put on my boots and see him open the window and jump out gracefully with his huge figure. I follow him and soon, I am standing by him on the snow in the dead of the night.

It’s windy and snowing heavily. I see snowflakes sticking to the fur on my coat and soon, a white layer of snow is formed on my black fur coat. A chill runs down my spine not because of the coldness but due to imagining all the dreadful things that he could tell me to do.

He starts walking towards the forest and I follow him. It’s really dark in the forest for my werewolf sight to see anything. Fog and snow clouds my sight and my breath come out as white clouds in front of my face. Its freezing cold tonight but I have my warmest jacket. My jacket could save me from freezing but I am afraid that it won’t be able to save me from my terrible fate.

While walking, I try to mentally devise a plan to run away but deep down, I know that it will be useless. I cannot run away from him. I cannot hide from him. He’ll always find me like he did tonight. He seems to be having the same thoughts because I see him turn his head back to make sure I am following him.

“You know the caves of Zesux?” He asks while walking. At the mention of those caves, I stop on my track. Is he going to send me there?

“What happened?” He asks when he senses that I have stopped walking. He stops walking and turns around to look at me. The side of his lips curls up and I gulp audibly.

He’s going to send me there.

“Scared? Don’t want to go there?” He asks huskily while stepping toward me. I stand there and mentally calculate all the possibilities of me walking out alive of those caves.

The caves of Zesux are considered the most dangerous caves. It’s said to be on of the portals to hell which is guarded by a basilisk named Zesux. It is a serpent-like creature with the head of a rooster. It is capable of causing death with just its stare and is incredibly venomous.

He tilts his head to a side and I see his lips curl into a sly smirk as if he knows what I am thinking.

“I want the Basilisk’s eyes.” He says and I feel my heart stop beating in my chest. My whole body shakes as he throws his head back and chuckles at me. I step back, trying to run away and he instantly growls at me.

“You should have thought before trespassing on my land and questioning my power.” He growls and for the millionth time, I mentally scold myself for going to the ruins and yelling nonsense at his statue. I was drunk and I wanted to talk about my suffering. I tried to drain my pain out verbally and I think that was my fault. I tried to let my pain out. I should have buried it inside me and continue to hurt daily.

I shouldn’t have done it. Now, because of my previous actions, I am going to die but wait! Isn’t that what I really wanted? I wanted to die before my 18th birthday and I am getting the perfect opportunity to do so. Why step back?

“I will do it.” I say sternly, taking him off guard for a moment. He tilts his head and studies me from top to bottom.

“Let’s see.” He says turning around and continues to walk. I follow him silently replaying all the good and bad memories in my head for the last time.

I will miss mom. No matter how much she scolded me or punished me, I just can’t stop loving her. She gave me a life which I am going to end tonight. Thank you, mom, for everything.

I feel a tear escape my eye and slide down my cheek leaving a wet track behind for the freezing wind to claim it.

I will miss dad. He may prefer Phoebe before me but I knew that I always held a special place in his heart. I may be the most notorious and outrageous kid in the pack but still, he saved me countless times from getting into trouble. I will miss him so much.

He admired me for the way I fight. He trained me to fight from a young age, unlike Grace and Phoebe. He always used to be the one to nurse my wounds and look after me when I used to fall ill. Today he won’t be there to save me.

I wish if I got a chance to see them for the last time and apologize for not being the ideal daughter. I just want to let them know that I tried. I tried really hard but I just couldn’t fit in the mold of their expectations that they had for me.

My heart aches to leave them like this. I know that they will be broken to know that I have departed but how shall I explain to them that it’s too much for me to bear? I cannot be like this forever. It’s a lot of hurt to live with.

I continue walking in silence in the night, following his large figure. Soon, I see the trees thinning out and the sky becoming darker. A serene yet haunting silence hangs in the air as it charges with tension. I feel a storm brewing inside me, fighting tooth and nail to be let out.

Slowly, the snow starts to disappear and I see rocks appear while we climb an upward hill. I have never dared to come this far. In fact, this place is out of bounds. As we climb higher and higher, the rocks become steeper and sharper. I stumble and slip countless times while my way up but Arles looks like as if he comes here often. He seems to know the exact place to step without falling or stumbling.

He occasionally turns his head around and growls warningly at me whenever I slow down. Several scratches cover my hands and shortly after, I see the mouth of the caves appear in distance. My stomach twitches painfully and I feel bile rising up my food pipe. Adrenaline rushes in my veins and my heart starts to beat faster as we near the opening of the caves.

For a moment, I consider turning around and running back home but it will be useless because Arles will catch me and drag me back here. I have already stepped in and there’s no turning back.

Finally, we reach the top of the hill, standing in front of the cave’s mouth. My body is visibly shaking and I feel hard to breathe in the situation. It’s so dark in the cave, I can tell from standing there.

“Go.” Arles growls and I gulp. I was about to step in the front when I felt being pulled back roughly. I turn around to see a scowl covering Arles’ lips.

“Leave the jacket.” He orders. I wanted to shout at him but instead of that, I find myself unbuttoning the jacket and handing it to him. The freezing cold night air hits my body like a big wave, knocking me out of my breath. My teethes chatter while I step forward. I hug myself, somehow wishing that the cold inside won’t bother me. I feel the cold creep inside my body and it won’t take me long till I freeze to death.

I think it will be better if I freeze to death than meeting the Basilisk.

“You have one hour to be back with the Basilisk’s eyes.” I hear Arles say behind me as I step inside the cave and feel my bones freeze because the temperature is lower here than outside. It’s immensely dark in here, so dark that I can hardly see even after using my werewolf sight.

After several steps, I feel wet in my feet and soon, the sound of water echoes throughout the cave, reaching my ears and haunting me.

Fvck!