Kingsley had fallen asleep in Toby's arms just as she had for the past several, if not more, nights before. It was becoming ritualistic to her and she couldn't complain one bit. To be held by the one you loved, no matter if the sentiment had been responded back or not, was something of a wonder. She didn't know if she'd be able to sleep again without it.
The small room that was hers in the church was warm and peaceful and slowly beginning to take on the feeling of "home". The small trinkets that Toby had given to her for her birthday sat side by side on the plain dresser tucked in one corner; the jade angel statue with its harp of metal chimes and the intricately ornate box containing the two beautiful decorative combs. She even had the hummingbird wind chime that Mayu had given her hanging by the single window of the room, completing the feeling that she was surrounded by things she loved.
Her dreams had been kind to her thus far, the sweet tea of chamomile and lavender that Toby had prepared for her before going to sleep mulling them into a gentle lullaby, and her breathing was even and deep. It seemed like tonight was going to be a restful night, that she would be able to wake in the morning wearing an honest smile. Little did she know that the night was still young.
"Kingsley..."
The Irish girl woke at the sound of her name being whispered, sounding as if it had been breathed right into the cusp of her ear. Long-lashed lids blinked groggily, the wispy fingers of sleep still trailing like a thin veil across her psyche.
"Kingsley..."
Again, she heard it, and this time she was sure that it was real. The center of her brow crinkled as she pushed more heartily at the swimming haze of sleep, forcing it back as she willed herself awake, rising up on an elbow. Toby's heavy breathing told her that he, too, had drifted off to sleep and, knowing that he only did so for a few hours every night, she didn't have the heart to wake him. Nor did she have the time to chose.
"Kingsley!"
This time the voice was more urgent. She turned her head about, looking around the small room, but she found nothing but emptiness and shadows. No person standing there, no one stashed by the window, calling out her name. This alone had Kingsley's heart on its way to pounding but it was the next whispered words that had it thudding in truth.
"Kingsley, come..."
She didn't know why but she found herself folding back the blankets and, silently, slipping from the bed. She padded toward the old wooden door with only one look back, making sure that she hadn't woken Toby in her exit, before taking the cold metal handle into hand and pressing against the wooden grain.
She stepped out into the hallway and looked down both ways. There was no one standing out there, no one whispering through the cracks in her door. No one else was even awake at this time of night and Kingsley suddenly thought that she shouldn't be either, turning to hurry back behind the door.
"Kingsley, help!"
That urgent whisper, that specific word....It sent a chill down her spine that frozen her every action, even caught the air in her lungs. Slowly, she turned, looking down the hallway to her left, in the direction in which the voice had called to her from. Kingsley bit her bottom lip, teeth creasing into it a hard line, and a silent debate waged war in her head; go out searching to find the source of the voice or go back into her room and curl up next to Toby. She didn't know how or why the former won the vote of the jury but she shortly found herself moving down the empty hall, bare feet padding against the smooth, cool floor boards.
She kept hearing the voice whisper to her, "Kingsley....Kingsley!...", and she followed it as best she could. Finally, after more twists and turns than she could remember, the young girl found herself standing in the open archway of what appeared to be some sort of worship room. It was rather plain and had only a simple cross and a single table at its head, the latter draped over by a simple linen cloth who's color she could only guess was red. A few drab benches formed lines on each side, angled very slightly so that one might imagine that they appeared as the rough sketches of wings stretching out toward either wall. She stood there studying them until she heard the whisper call again.
"Kingsley, come here..." The voice was coaxing, convincing her body to take slow, measured steps, one after another, in a gradual approach toward the front of the room.
"Kingsley, you've come!," the whispers cooed, for now there was not one voice but two....No, three. Four! There were a handful of voices and yet they all spoke as one, making it impossible to discern the true number at the source. They had the cadence of a child, almost sing-song in their appraisal in the fact that she had come, and Kingsley felt uncontrollably pleased that she had listened to their calling, stepping up to the main alter and past it, coming to stand between it and the relic suspended on the wall.
"Kingsley, you need to help us," they said to her, their sound coming from above. She lifted her chestnut-tressed head up to the cross, eyes moving evenly from base to intersection to crown. Without knowing why, she began to lift her arms and, to her disbelief, she saw some sort of light begin to radiate from them. It wasn't the limbs themselves that were glowing but rather her very veins, as if the blood rushing inside of them was suddenly made of electric light, the white color of them growing.
It wasn't long before it wasn't just her arms that were glowing but her legs and torso too, each trace of highway vein turning into a lighted line until it seemed that her whole body was aglow. There was a warmth that was now rising to accompany the increasingly blinding glare, too, rippling out in small waves over every inch of her, its main focus vibrating out from her center core.
"Kingsley, you're our only hope." She couldn't move her head. She couldn't move her hands, legs or arms. She couldn't move her entire body and it seemed that even her eyes refused to budge. They remained transfixed on the naked wooden cross that now towered before her, looming as if it were some frightening god.
"Kingsley, you're going to save us." She didn't know what was going on and, for the first time since she'd arrived, she knew without a doubt that she was scared. She tried to move her body but it refused to listen, her very muscles seeming to be working without her control. She tried to scream, to call out, but even her lips refused to part. All she could do was stand there with her arms outstretched, her body glowing like it was a star, like it was its own little sun.
"Kingsley, it's time for you to awaken now. It's time for you to see. Kingsley, it's time for you to forgive our sins. It's time for you to burn!" And just like that, the light within her became as fire and the pain that erupted with it matched the flames. The girl's mouth was finally let to tear open as her head was wrenched back, the scream wracking out from her lungs made up of an agony that no living creature should have to endure. The light that burned at the heart of her seemed to be boiling away her very soul, the molten blood that coursed through her veins searing through every layer of bone, meat and flesh until there was nothing left but an incurably blinding light, that of which had started to melt away the very green of her eyes.
She hadn't known that there could be pain such as this before, hadn't known that anything so agonizing could exist. But now she knew what it felt like to be burned alive by Hell's fire. That this is what it felt like to die.
"Kingsley, you need to awaken now. Kingsley, you need to wake up. Kingsley you need to open your eyes. Kingsley, you need to WAKE UP!"
Kingsley woke with a start with her whole body jolting as she drew in a lusty breath, the rush of it too swift and setting her lungs to panicking as she struggled and fought to set herself upright. Her heart was fluttering quicker than a songbird's and her shirt was sticking to her chest. Two large hands were gripping at her shoulders and shaking them even as she reached out to bat them away, crying out in protest.
"Kingsley, it's me! It's Toby! Calm down! You were dreaming!" She could hear the more familiar voice fighting to pierce through the dense fog that had been her reality not moments before, her mind still reeling and trying to decide which was fake and which was not. Unseeing eyes blinked rapidly, trying to focus on something, anything that she could define as real, but she saw nothing. Nothing but blinding light still filled her eyes, making it impossible to see. Reaching up to rub hard at still-present lids did nothing to change the color or even the shade of the pure white light that had decidedly settled in a sickeningly even tone across her sight and instantly her stomach churned. She suddenly felt very dizzy and lurched up before doubling over, arms banding across her stomach as she gagged, fighting hard at the urge to be sick.
"Kingsley....Are you okay?" That familiar voice again and those same large hands. This time they were gentler in their touch, one holding supportively to a shoulder while the other moved in soothing circles across her back. "Kings, what?s wrong?" The Irish girl felt the bile rise up to burn at the back of her throat but she swallowed it down, focusing hard on the pure white sheets that had glazed across her eyes.
"I'm blind." The words were whispers and tasted like ash upon her tongue, her stomach rolling as she huddled into herself, feeling a deathly chill crawl over her even as she dripped with sweat. Carefully, she turned toward him, her eyes staring blankly and brimming with tears and the look of terror and dread was washing across her stricken face. "Toby, I think I'm blind..."
The small room that was hers in the church was warm and peaceful and slowly beginning to take on the feeling of "home". The small trinkets that Toby had given to her for her birthday sat side by side on the plain dresser tucked in one corner; the jade angel statue with its harp of metal chimes and the intricately ornate box containing the two beautiful decorative combs. She even had the hummingbird wind chime that Mayu had given her hanging by the single window of the room, completing the feeling that she was surrounded by things she loved.
Her dreams had been kind to her thus far, the sweet tea of chamomile and lavender that Toby had prepared for her before going to sleep mulling them into a gentle lullaby, and her breathing was even and deep. It seemed like tonight was going to be a restful night, that she would be able to wake in the morning wearing an honest smile. Little did she know that the night was still young.
"Kingsley..."
The Irish girl woke at the sound of her name being whispered, sounding as if it had been breathed right into the cusp of her ear. Long-lashed lids blinked groggily, the wispy fingers of sleep still trailing like a thin veil across her psyche.
"Kingsley..."
Again, she heard it, and this time she was sure that it was real. The center of her brow crinkled as she pushed more heartily at the swimming haze of sleep, forcing it back as she willed herself awake, rising up on an elbow. Toby's heavy breathing told her that he, too, had drifted off to sleep and, knowing that he only did so for a few hours every night, she didn't have the heart to wake him. Nor did she have the time to chose.
"Kingsley!"
This time the voice was more urgent. She turned her head about, looking around the small room, but she found nothing but emptiness and shadows. No person standing there, no one stashed by the window, calling out her name. This alone had Kingsley's heart on its way to pounding but it was the next whispered words that had it thudding in truth.
"Kingsley, come..."
She didn't know why but she found herself folding back the blankets and, silently, slipping from the bed. She padded toward the old wooden door with only one look back, making sure that she hadn't woken Toby in her exit, before taking the cold metal handle into hand and pressing against the wooden grain.
She stepped out into the hallway and looked down both ways. There was no one standing out there, no one whispering through the cracks in her door. No one else was even awake at this time of night and Kingsley suddenly thought that she shouldn't be either, turning to hurry back behind the door.
"Kingsley, help!"
That urgent whisper, that specific word....It sent a chill down her spine that frozen her every action, even caught the air in her lungs. Slowly, she turned, looking down the hallway to her left, in the direction in which the voice had called to her from. Kingsley bit her bottom lip, teeth creasing into it a hard line, and a silent debate waged war in her head; go out searching to find the source of the voice or go back into her room and curl up next to Toby. She didn't know how or why the former won the vote of the jury but she shortly found herself moving down the empty hall, bare feet padding against the smooth, cool floor boards.
She kept hearing the voice whisper to her, "Kingsley....Kingsley!...", and she followed it as best she could. Finally, after more twists and turns than she could remember, the young girl found herself standing in the open archway of what appeared to be some sort of worship room. It was rather plain and had only a simple cross and a single table at its head, the latter draped over by a simple linen cloth who's color she could only guess was red. A few drab benches formed lines on each side, angled very slightly so that one might imagine that they appeared as the rough sketches of wings stretching out toward either wall. She stood there studying them until she heard the whisper call again.
"Kingsley, come here..." The voice was coaxing, convincing her body to take slow, measured steps, one after another, in a gradual approach toward the front of the room.
"Kingsley, you've come!," the whispers cooed, for now there was not one voice but two....No, three. Four! There were a handful of voices and yet they all spoke as one, making it impossible to discern the true number at the source. They had the cadence of a child, almost sing-song in their appraisal in the fact that she had come, and Kingsley felt uncontrollably pleased that she had listened to their calling, stepping up to the main alter and past it, coming to stand between it and the relic suspended on the wall.
"Kingsley, you need to help us," they said to her, their sound coming from above. She lifted her chestnut-tressed head up to the cross, eyes moving evenly from base to intersection to crown. Without knowing why, she began to lift her arms and, to her disbelief, she saw some sort of light begin to radiate from them. It wasn't the limbs themselves that were glowing but rather her very veins, as if the blood rushing inside of them was suddenly made of electric light, the white color of them growing.
It wasn't long before it wasn't just her arms that were glowing but her legs and torso too, each trace of highway vein turning into a lighted line until it seemed that her whole body was aglow. There was a warmth that was now rising to accompany the increasingly blinding glare, too, rippling out in small waves over every inch of her, its main focus vibrating out from her center core.
"Kingsley, you're our only hope." She couldn't move her head. She couldn't move her hands, legs or arms. She couldn't move her entire body and it seemed that even her eyes refused to budge. They remained transfixed on the naked wooden cross that now towered before her, looming as if it were some frightening god.
"Kingsley, you're going to save us." She didn't know what was going on and, for the first time since she'd arrived, she knew without a doubt that she was scared. She tried to move her body but it refused to listen, her very muscles seeming to be working without her control. She tried to scream, to call out, but even her lips refused to part. All she could do was stand there with her arms outstretched, her body glowing like it was a star, like it was its own little sun.
"Kingsley, it's time for you to awaken now. It's time for you to see. Kingsley, it's time for you to forgive our sins. It's time for you to burn!" And just like that, the light within her became as fire and the pain that erupted with it matched the flames. The girl's mouth was finally let to tear open as her head was wrenched back, the scream wracking out from her lungs made up of an agony that no living creature should have to endure. The light that burned at the heart of her seemed to be boiling away her very soul, the molten blood that coursed through her veins searing through every layer of bone, meat and flesh until there was nothing left but an incurably blinding light, that of which had started to melt away the very green of her eyes.
She hadn't known that there could be pain such as this before, hadn't known that anything so agonizing could exist. But now she knew what it felt like to be burned alive by Hell's fire. That this is what it felt like to die.
"Kingsley, you need to awaken now. Kingsley, you need to wake up. Kingsley you need to open your eyes. Kingsley, you need to WAKE UP!"
Kingsley woke with a start with her whole body jolting as she drew in a lusty breath, the rush of it too swift and setting her lungs to panicking as she struggled and fought to set herself upright. Her heart was fluttering quicker than a songbird's and her shirt was sticking to her chest. Two large hands were gripping at her shoulders and shaking them even as she reached out to bat them away, crying out in protest.
"Kingsley, it's me! It's Toby! Calm down! You were dreaming!" She could hear the more familiar voice fighting to pierce through the dense fog that had been her reality not moments before, her mind still reeling and trying to decide which was fake and which was not. Unseeing eyes blinked rapidly, trying to focus on something, anything that she could define as real, but she saw nothing. Nothing but blinding light still filled her eyes, making it impossible to see. Reaching up to rub hard at still-present lids did nothing to change the color or even the shade of the pure white light that had decidedly settled in a sickeningly even tone across her sight and instantly her stomach churned. She suddenly felt very dizzy and lurched up before doubling over, arms banding across her stomach as she gagged, fighting hard at the urge to be sick.
"Kingsley....Are you okay?" That familiar voice again and those same large hands. This time they were gentler in their touch, one holding supportively to a shoulder while the other moved in soothing circles across her back. "Kings, what?s wrong?" The Irish girl felt the bile rise up to burn at the back of her throat but she swallowed it down, focusing hard on the pure white sheets that had glazed across her eyes.
"I'm blind." The words were whispers and tasted like ash upon her tongue, her stomach rolling as she huddled into herself, feeling a deathly chill crawl over her even as she dripped with sweat. Carefully, she turned toward him, her eyes staring blankly and brimming with tears and the look of terror and dread was washing across her stricken face. "Toby, I think I'm blind..."