RAVENS #1: THE DARKNESS

Chapter 43 - Sight

Alyssa Takada

I walked out of the meeting room and went straight to my office. I've been working non-stop ever since I stepped foot in Tokyo. Today, I'm so proud of myself because I didn't cry.

It's been exactly a week since I left New York, and I'm not okay.

I will be okay. I know I will.

Someone knocked on my office door and opened it slowly, "Aeri-chan, we're going to the newest cafe near the subway station. Do you want to join us?" My cousin who worked with us asked, and I smiled, shaking my head.

"I'll pass."

"Okay." With that, she left.

I entered my new apartment and put my bag on the kitchen counter. I grabbed a cold water bottle from the fridge and drank it like my life depended on it.

My plan for tonight was to take a hot shower, eat some sleeping pills, and sleep. When I made my way to the living room, suddenly, the power went out. My first reaction was to find my phone, turn on the flashlight, and use it to turn on the emergency light.

"Aeri-chan..." I snapped my head to the side, hearing those voices again.

"Aeri-chan, you're going to be my masterpiece soon, and you're going to be the most beautiful doll ever on this planet." Another whisper.

"Look at your beautiful pale skin... you're perfect, Aeri-chan." I closed my ears, and my head started to spin around.

"From head to toe, you're flawless." I clawed my nails into my arms and scratched them so hard that I screamed in agony for it. Whispers started to fill the room, giving me a sense of being trapped in a small box. I scratched my body, leaving marks so they'd change their mind.

"Please... don't..." I whispered.

"Aeri-chan, you can't hurt yourself!" He tied my hands with a chain so I wouldn't be able to scratch myself again. I screamed and screamed.

"Aeri-chan, I think I like you in a bikini better. Never mind, Aeri-chan is better naked so that I can imagine it better." I still remember when they touched my body.

My eyes were glued to the balcony, and I walked towards it. My hands grabbed the door knob, opening it, letting the cold breeze hit my skin. I strolled to the edge and looked down.

"Alyssa!"

"Aeri-chan!"

"Alyssa! Open the door!"

"Aeri-chan, jump!"

"Alyssa!"

"Aeri-chan, I want you to jump!"

"Alyssa! Open the door!" My hands grabbed onto the railing, and my eyes were glued to the ground. I lifted my legs to the other side, ready to jump.

"Aeri-chan, you—" Someone grabbed my body and dragged me back to the balcony. My head was spinning, and I couldn't hear or see anything. My eyes were glued to the sky, and my ears were ringing. My body was cold, and my lungs slowly gave up on me.

Liam Hastington

When I arrived at her new apartment, I saw three police cars and one fire truck. My heart instantly dropped to the ground, and I went up to her unit floor, and they were trying to open her door.

Something was wrong.

Fuck!

"What happened?" I asked in a panic, and they looked at me confused. They can't speak English, but they kept trying to open the door.

"Tell me what happened!" I grabbed one of them.

"Screaming... lots of screams..." The police pointed, and I cursed under my breath.

"Alyssa!" I called her, banging the door.

"Alyssa! Open the door!" I called her, louder this time. They tried their best to open the door. I waited anxiously, and my heart beat so fast.

"Faster!" I yelled in panic.

"Alyssa!" I banged the door again, trying to get her attention. She's having a panic attack, and my gut tells me that something will go so fucking wrong if they don't open the door fast enough. Instead of waiting, I decided to take over.

"Mr.Hastington..." Rocky brought the crew, and they quickly tried to open the door.

"Alyssa! Open the door!" I banged the door again, trying to get her attention. I hoped for her to hear my voice and snapped out even though for a second.

"Three... two... one..." They opened the door, and the first thing that I saw was she was on the edge of the balcony. I ran towards her and grabbed her arm before she could throw herself to her death.

Once she's laid on the ground, her eyes are empty.

So fucking empty that it scared me.

"Alyssa..."

She was breathing heavily, but she looked like a corpse. Her body was stiff but trembling. I tried to shake her, but she was not responding to anything. Her arms were bleeding because she scratched it so hard. There are a couple of bruises on her legs, too.

"Alyssa..." I called her again, but no response. She closed her eyes, and her body stopped trembling.

"There's no intruder, sir." Rocky reported, "The lights were out for ten minutes, and it must have triggered her panic attack."

"Let's bring her to the hospital." They brought a stretcher, and I put her on it. We quickly rushed her and alerted her parents about it. I kept my eyes on the doctors who checked on her, and I needed to ensure they were doing the right thing.

"Her neighbors called the emergency line because she was screaming so loud. They tried to knock, but she didn't respond. She was screaming for at least twenty to thirty minutes." Fuck.

I ran my hands through my hair, frustrated and worried. My heart was beating so fast, having evil thoughts about her dying after seeing her almost taking her own life. My head replayed the scene from earlier again and again.

She was ready.

If we didn't open the door right on time, she would have died.

I slaughtered her demons, and I killed them. It's not enough because she still lived with the trauma. She will remember it for the rest of her life, and I blamed myself for not being there.

My eyes were glued to her vitals, and I walked towards her bed.

"From now on, I won't let you get out of my sight again," I whispered.