Desperate for Love (Chapter 24)

by Steven in Illinois

I was running. I didn't care if half of myself was dead, or maybe perhaps if my entire self. I ran to Auburn, she looked at me, widened her eyes, and barely said, "Go back..." before I snatched her up. I carried her cold skin on me, and she started demanding I was put back in the hospital. I shushed her, and explained my dream. Her eyes widened, until reality hit her in a wave of coldness. She stared at me, her ice blue eyes round, and the next thing I knew, we were dashing alongside each other to try and figure out Claire's weak spot: love.

I arrived at where we had previously arrived. The trees were still on their side. I stared at the smoke from there, and realized suddenly the strange feeling I had. It was the numbness I had felt when I had seen her for the first time...Auburn.

And she did appear, for Claire wanted to avenge us for what we had done to her earlier. I stood in front of her, my face strangely calm. I looked into those fierce eyes, and I finally realized what was behind them. There was despair in her...for she had only transformed because she had gotten truly angry. And now, even her loved one despised her true form. Had she really become so evil? No...she regretted her transformation...she convinced herself it was their fault...and that brought them to the unbelievable outcome of a scared, sad, and angry young teenager. I stared, and whispered, "You don't have to stay this way." She grinned.

"Figured it out, haven't you? My truth? And do you seriously believe that I could ever become this  "loved one" in the blink of an eye?" she asked. Her smile turned into a grimace. She stared at me, and I realized it a second before she did it. She charged; she was determined to get her vengeance on the only thing that mattered to her more than power. Love was her weakness, and her strength. And as I deflected her spear, I realized there might have been more to her than I thought.

In fact, as far as I was concerned, jumping over her moves seemed so simple. Because I knew there was something else in there...

she wanted herself back.