Bloodshed.

Braxton’s eyes narrowed. “Whether you will admit it or not, you know damn well that curing them one by one is just not enough anymore. That Chaos Container worked wonders while only a few were being taken, but now..” he told me thickly, before taking a long breath and regaining composure, “If only we were stronger. We could go after the Banshee herself, and finally stop this madness.” Ivy looked at her partner with apathy.

It was time to be serious. “I’m working on it.” I told them with a slight hint of frustration in my voice. “But for now, the C.C. with have to do.” They nodded in understanding.

Just then, the pitter-patter of tiny feet could be heard approaching quickly. “Master! Master!” a soft, male voice called out. I smirked from beneath my hat. He stopped at my feet and bowed awkwardly.

“Well hello there, Willow.” I said. The little imp stood up straight and smiled up at me.

“Was tonight’s round successful for the Master?” he asked curiously.

“More or less.” I replied, motioning to my right shoulder. He climbed my clothes briskly and placed himself there. “How’s the training coming, my friend?”

Willow’s little face lit up. “Oh, it is going fine. The army is growing strong, although… We are nothing without the Master.” he told me. I rolled my eyes subtly. “Eli is complaining again, unfortunately. He says the blood of the livestock are making him weak. And the twins are misbehaving again. But don‘t worry, Master! I will not let you down! I will form them into grade A warriors, just the like the M-”

I pinched his lips shut, staring at him with my green eyes. “Well done. Now rest, Willow.” I somewhat ordered him. I pulled my fingers back and he nodded, curling up on my shoulder. I turned back to Braxton and Ivy. “Excuse me.” I said, and without another word, I swiftly made my way into the left corridor. I had to see the training results for myself.

Turning down hallway after hallway, I finally reached the Tall Tower, where all the Good beings slept. The elves with their changelings, the other imps and the vampires. Unfortunately, Braxton and Ivy were the only angels we had. But we made up for it with the great number of other creatures. When I stepped inside the large room, I saw that almost everyone was sound asleep, save for Claire, the Mother Elf as we called her. Taking a torch from the wall, I made my way over to her. She didn’t even see me approach as she watched her ‘children’ sleep.

“Evening, Claire.” I said, causing her to jump a little. When she saw that it was me, she smiled.

“Good evening, Master.” she said, standing up straight and curtseying. “How was your night?”

“Fine.” I stated simply. “How’s everything coming along?”

“Oh, it’s alright. Most of the children have mastered their magic, to which I am very impressed. They haven’t quite mastered the bow yet, but we’re getting there. The imps have been practicing their tricks on the children, and they have improved as well. But how are you holding up? I overheard the angels discussing the potential of the Chaos Container earlier on today.”

I sighed. “I’m in the process of creating something much stronger. Hopefully, I’ll be able to destroy her soon….”

My eyes were beginning to close. My fingers were limp against the keys as I tried to think of what to write next. The Skittles bag lay next to me, untouched since I began typing. I stretched and gave a slight yawn, resting against the back of my chair. Writing did take a toll on me, but I couldn’t stop.

Like I always do when I was stuck, I stared at the ceiling, as if the next words of my story were written there. I decided to take a small break, and I couldn’t hold my eyes open any longer. Colourful images passed before my closed eyes, and I began to form complete images and scenes inside my head. Perhaps there could be slight romance? Something my story lacked; compassion. But that wasn’t really my thing.. I had grown to love the gore and the violence and the unexpected events in my story. Maybe their hideout could be infiltrated. Oh, the possibilities..

I could feel myself beginning to fall asleep, but I couldn’t seem to do anything to wake myself up. My eyes seemed glued shut. I really should’ve been sleeping hours ago. No doubt I had completely screwed up my body with all these late nights, malnutrition and with an obsession to boot..

My entire body seemed to be falling. It had been so long since I’d gotten any sleep that everything seemed to be so much more intense as my body began to shut down into sleep mode.

That’s when something inside my head started to ache. It felt like the constant prick of a needle, and I groaned slightly as I twitched violently in my ‘sleep’. That’s when everything started to go wrong. A big flash of light before my eyes, followed by this hollow ringing in my ears.. It sounded like a scream.

Until I somehow managed to pull myself together. I flung forward in my seat, almost hitting myself on my typewriter. I was breathing heavily and my eyes were wide open now, darting around in my skull. That’s when I realized there was another ringing sound, only this time it was my cell phone. I brought a limp, shaky hand down on it, flipping it open and putting it to my ear. “Hello?” I said plainly.

“Fox! Where have you been, man? I only tried to reach you about 1 000 times! You really need to stop going into your own little world while you write.” I heard Taegan said loudly on the other line. He didn’t even wait for my response before stating that he would be over in around 10 minutes. The line went dead and flipped it closed, putting it back in its spot on the table.

I gave an exasperated sigh and put my head in my hands.

What the fuck had happened to me?