Liberation

Chapter 10

Julia's point of view:

"Such bold words from someone who only has days left to live." "Kiss your powers goodbye." "I'll see you dead."

Those words, all spoken by Henley, have lived in the deepest, most remote corner of my mind, unknowingly haunting me forever. I figured the easiest way to forget her and what she's done is to eliminate her from my existence. However, seeing her has brought all my horrors out of the shadows.

The pills have proven to not make me mindless, but they have brought my greatest fears back. Fears I hoped to never relive, my dark past that I hoped would never see the light of day again.
I decide to clear my head and wash my face, hoping the cool water will calm me down.

I make my way to the bathroom and turn on the sink, but when I look into the mirror, I don't see me. Instead, I see an evil woman with black hair and golden eyes, gazing at me with her unnaturally perfect face that makes even the brave recoil in fear.

I scream and stumble back, effectively falling and hitting my head against the floor.

Pain sets in, a thousand tiny needles shooting through my head as the world whizzes into a black emptiness.

*********
Flashback:

The last person she eyes is Peter before she finally lashes out with the power of control at him. I hear a sickening SNAP before I turn and see him fall to the ground in pain.

"PETER!" I scream as I catch him before he hits the floor. Adam, Cassia, Susan, and Kyle all ambush Henley and drag her over to the extracting chair and bind her hands and feet so she can't move while she struggles against them all in the process. To make sure she shuts up, they gag her mouth as well.

I turn my attention back to Peter, tears streaming down his face. "Cassia! Help him!" I plead for her. She runs over to us and puts a hand on Peter's forehead. "Please tell me you can fix whatever she did to him. Please Cassia," I beg as I start to panic.
She closes her eyes and tries to undo whatever happened to him, but nothing happens. "It's not working Cassia! What did she do to him?!" I scream as I hold Peter close. His face has turned as white as a sheet, and he's having trouble breathing.
Her voice trembles as she explains. "She gave him internal bleeding in all his vital organs. It's too complex for me to fix. I'm...I'm sorry Julia," she says as tears begin to form in her eyes.

Reality:

I shoot straight up with a gasp, the memory freshly awakening one of my memories I've managed to keep dormant.

Sitting up quickly was a mistake, for the pain in my head flares up again from hitting it on the ground. I feel so frail at the moment that it's a wonder I didn't shatter into a million pieces from hitting the ground.

Slowly and gingerly, I rise and look back in the mirror, no longer seeing her but seeing myself instead. I rise my hand and softly touch my head, concentrating on healing not only the pain from the fall but the pain from the memories as well.

Blue light begins to shine, soft at first and then becoming brighter, like lighting a candle in a pitch black nothing. Comfort eases its way in, alleviating the pain and memories.
She can't hurt me. I'm out of her reach.
I take a deep breath and look one last time in the reflective glass, expecting to see nothing but myself and my green eyes. Except this time, Henley isn't taking my presence.

This time, she's standing right behind me.

*********

At dinner, I have no appetite. I just twirl my spoon around in my soup, occasionally looking at my reflection in the silver to make sure I don't see Henley again.