Be Careful What You Wish For

“Where did the lights go?” I asked and rubbed my eyes, trying to adjust to the newly found darkness.

“I prefer a moodier atmosphere.” Justin said to me in a voice deeper than his own. I paused for a moment, not sure what was wrong with his voice.

“Are you okay? What’s going on?” I said, trying to hide the panic creeping into my voice.

“I’m fine, Kellin. We’re making a deal that’s whats going on.” he informed me and lit candles suddenly filled the empty spaces, replacing the darkness with dim light.

He stepped forward and caressed my face with his hand. His touch freezed my already cold skin from the snow. He had an upturned grin spread across his cheeks. No matter how hurt I was over the kiss, part of me still wished I was back with Vic. Could I really go through with this deal thing?

“What’s the deal about?” I asked and he gave off a small chuckle.

“It’s about you, my fragile human.” he said and closed the space between us. My back was against the wall and he was practically standing on my feet. I didn’t like how nervous I was becoming around him.

“I know but I need to know the details of this.” I told him and he stepped back, waved his hand and made a long and old scroll appear.

“It’s just a simple contract that states I will protect you as long as you agree to be mine. You’ll essentially be exchanged from Vic to me.” he said and held out the scroll to me. It was written in Latin, I frowned. I’m sure he knew I couldn’t understand the dead language.

“What about my life? I don’t want to be anybody’s property.” my tone was firm and I meant every word of it. Still squinting at the scroll in front of me, uselessly trying to decipher it.

“It’s too late for that. Your future has already been decided. You are meant to be Victor’s but I don’t think that would end well for you at least.” I shuddered at his last words, the thought of Vic hurting me seemed impossible but he already had. I caught him in the act of kissing another man, one who hated me. Was that all apart of some plan?

“Why doesn’t he love me?” I asked in a sad tone and the question caught him off guard. His face turned from confidence to confusion and then to rage.

“He’s a selfish destructive asshole, Kellin! I’m the best you’ll ever get. Now take the deal before I send you back to that monster.” wrath over took his tone and I noticed his eyes glowing red. His threat and sudden outburst surprised and terrified me. This wasn’t the Justin i thought I knew.

“Maybe you should because you’re scaring me right now.” I said and I didn’t know where this new found confidence came from. As badly as I didn’t want to see Vic in this moment, I also didn’t want to be around Justin when he acts like this.

“I’m sorry, Kellin. I just want what’s best for you.” he spoke softer now and his eyes turned back to brown.

I stared at the paper in front of me. If I did this, I’d be agreeing to never see Vic again. I’d be signing my life away. Spending the rest of eternity with Justin didn’t seem as logical as I thought it was earlier. The more I looked at the ink, the more confused I became. I couldn’t understand a word of what it read. I contemplated for a moment, questioning if I was making a mistake.

“Poor Kellin. Victor wouldn’t treat you like I would. No, he’d simply take your innocence then dispose of you. He doesn’t really care about you.” Justin whispered the malicious words in my ear and I gasped at his hot breath on my skin.

I was about to tell Justin to knock it off. I knew what he was doing. He was using a manipulation tactic to persuade me to sign the deal. I went to let him know that I wanted some space but that was before he opened his mouth and spoke once more. This time the problem was that I knew his words were true.

“I mean, just look at the evidence. You being distraught over his overprotectiveness, having a valid reason to be upset. Then he turns it on you, making you believe you were in the wrong. So, when you go to apologize. What do you see? Your “soulmate” passionately kissing someone else.” his words stung and I felt something inside me starting to collapse. Tears sprung up at my eyes and I let them fall. It was a quiet kind of crying, I just stared at the wall and thought about tonight’s events.

“Poor soul. The worst of it is that he liked the kiss. Couldn’t you tell by the way he grabbed at Jaime? He never really wanted you. I think you know it as well as I do.” Justin said the words smoothly into my ear, playing with a piece of my hair.

That collapsing in me turned into a break and I began to let my feelings get the best of me. I quickly grabbed the ball point pen out of Justin’s hand. I snatched it away and without a second thought, I found myself signing the bottom in large print. My hand was shaking and the signature was all over the place. When it was done, I looked down at the paper and began sobbing. I fell to the tiles and screamed out to no one in particular as to why Vic didn’t want me. My cries halted when I heard a sound coming from above me, I looked up to see Justin howling in a fit of laughter.

“Stop crying, mortal! Tears are not allowed here.” his voice changed back into that deep and threatening tone. I wiped the last of the wet tears from my face, doing what he said.

“Good. Now stand up.” he ordered me and I wasn’t in the mood to fight. I got to my feet and he looked down at me in amusement.

“Good boy. Looks like training will be easy for you.” he said and ruffled my hair. I looked at him with wide eyes.

“Training?! What training?! That wasn’t part of the deal!” I yelled at him and looked for an exit but there was nothing. No windows or doors, just walls and nothing else.

“Looks like someone didn’t read the contract. You shouldn’t sign off on things you know nothing about.” he mocked me and stepped closer, his lips start touching my neck and I pushed him off.

“You said that-” I spoke in terror but was cut off by an annoyed groan.

“I say a lot of things. I said that Victor was Jack the ripper too.” he spoke coldly and a smile twitched at the corner of my lips. My eyes widened in terror as I put the pieces together and the wheels began to turn.

“NO! That’s not fair! I have to see Vic. I made a mistake!” I screamed and started convulsing, I was having a panic attack

The anxiety didn’t last very long as I felt a cold hand sharply meet my cheek and my head whipped back from the assault. I stood there for a moment until the pain set in. I put a hand to my burning cheek and felt liquid running from my mouth. I was no longer frantic, I was just studden by the sudden action.

“You’re not seeing him ever again. You’re staying here. You already agreed.” he announced sharply and I just nodded, not wanting to be hit again.

“Good. Get some rest. You’ll meet the others tomorrow.” he kissed my forehead and a tear left my eye at his touch.

He smoothly walked over to the wall and snapped his fingers, a door appeared. He walked through it and before I could run, the door was gone. I laid on the cold hard floor and used my shirt to wipe up the blood. I didn’t feel like crying or scream. I didn’t feel anything at this moment.

I thought about Vic and Justin. Could Justin have been lying about everything? If he was then why did Vic enjoy kissing Jaime? Nothing made sense to me at this moment. Vic is good or supposed to be. But he kissed someone else.

The longer I thought about it, the more I hated myself for going with Justin. I should have talked to Vic about it. I should have asked him in the first place about the murders. Why didn’t I just confront him sooner? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

I sat in self pity and anger for a few hours. I ran the entire situation over and over again in my mind. If Justin had made up that memory then did he make up the other one too? But then again, Vic had admitted to killing people. He even told me he went through a hard time when Mike and Tony were together. What have I been kept in the dark about? I don’t know what’s true and what’s a lie anymore.

I banged my head on the wall. I was driving myself mad with all these thoughts and theories. My head hurt, my eyes were red from crying. My heart hurt from seeing Vic kiss Jaime. Everything ached. I tired myself out from trying to decode everything in one night. Eventually, I fell asleep from exhaustion.

~~~~~

“Good morning, Kellin.” i was greeted with a cheery voice, one I was dying to hear.

I opened my eyes and then closed them again. I continued to blink in astonishment. Kneeling next to me was Vic. My heart swell with the sight of him. I jumped on top of him and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Oh god, Vic! I am so sorry. I just- you hurt me, Vic. I don’t understand. Why did you kiss him?” my voice broke and my grip tightened. He pulled me back and looked into my eyes. He smiled slightly and rubbed my bruised cheek.

“Oh, Kellin. Can’t you see? It’s because I’m a selfish destructive asshole.” I flinched at his words and backed away from him.

The memory of Justin and I’s conversation came back to me. Vic’s fake body started to twitch and he morphed back into Justin. He laughed coldly at me and I buried my hands in my face. Please let this end. Please.

“You actually believed I was Vic?” he laughed harder and I felt humiliated and heart broken all over again.

“I wonder..” he pondered and a devious grin played on his face.

I felt hands removing mine and forcing me to see. When I looked back up I saw the false Vic once again. I pushed away from him immediately. Why is he torturing me? Vic’s realistic hands roamed my body. Touching me from my face to my chest and then down to my pants. He moved to my neck and sucked on it. I stifled a moan, the pleasure felt physically good but I didn’t want Justin touching me, especially not when he looks like Vic.

“So, you’ll let him touch you like this, huh?” Justin questioned using his own voice, instead of Vic’s. I pushed his hands away from my lap and turned my head away from his lips.

“No- I- Vic. I want the real Vic.” I told him in a pathetic tone. My eyes looked down to see him quickly shapeshift into his own body. I felt a hand squeeze around my throat and I began struggling for breath.

“No, you don’t. No more, Vic!” he screamed and I tried to pull his hands away from me. My ears popped and I was finding it hard to stay awake with his grip. I was near passing out before I felt the hand remove from my neck and I desperately filled my lungs with air.

“Oh please! Don’t do that. Please!” I begged him and coughed some more. I was doubled over on the floor and gripping my throat, it burned.

“Get up. We’ve got a lot of work to do.” he spoke in that same disgusted tone.

I rose to my feet and followed him, he made another door appear and we stepped through it. The corridor was completely silent and I wondered where these “others” were. It was hard to see so I kept one hand on the wall, making sure I wouldn’t fall over.

He led me into another room that was much colder than the one I had slept in. I looked around and saw my answer. About five other boys around my age were there. They were all locked away in cages. They seemed utterly miserable. There was something strange. Their eyes were completely black and their skin was as white as paper. I felt fear run through me. They looked up as Justin began to speak.

“Boys, we have a special guest. I present Kellin Quinn. He will be a nice addition to our family. Make him feel right at home.” he told them and none of them replied. I felt the heat radiate off of Justin.

“If you want to act moody then I guess we’ll just have to call Sir.” Justin threatened and they instantly protested with loud no’s. They all straightened up and look directly at Justin, he smiled and then turned to me.

“I’m going to set up preparations. You enjoy your new friends. I will be back soon.” he said and I was horrified to know what preparations were.

He exited the room and I put my ear to the door. When I heard his foot steps disappear, I gripped the handle of the door tightly and pulled. The door wouldn’t budge. This only made me try harder. I continued to pull and felt my hands getting warm from the rubbing of the metal on my skin. I squeezed my eyes closed and focused on my powers. Nothing happened so I tried opening it once more.

“It’s no use. It’s locked and only he has the key” one of the souls spoke to me pitifully. I looked over to see one of the bloody boys looking at me with sad eyes.

“There has to be some way out.” I argued and desperately continued trying with no result.

“We were all like you once. Wanting to get free and go back but there is no way back. Once you sign the contract, you belong to him.” the same boy spoke and kept his eyes on the floor.

“What’s going on? Who are all of you? Why is he doing this?” the questions spilled from my mouth and I sat on the floor with my back against the door, sighing in defeat.

“What’s going on is the daily activities. He comes in to mess with us a little and then leaves all day. Occasionally he’ll take one of us with him but that’s never a good thing.” a different soul with short black and blond hair told me.

“We are his souls. We were once humans too, Kellin Quinn. Now, we’re dead and trapped here.” the first one told me, continuing to keep his head down.

“I’m Jack. That’s Alex” the man with skunk like hair told me then gestured to the one who warned me about the door.

“The others are Brendon, Zack and Jessi. Although they never speak, haven’t heard a word from any of them in the past twenty years. Except when Justin talks. Not replying ends in punishment.” Jack explained and I looked at the other souls.

I couldn’t tell who was who. One of them had short black hair with the side of his head shave. He had his knees up to his chest and his eyes squeezed shut. The other had longer black hair and was lying on his side, facing the wall. The last one was curled into a fetal position in his cell.

“What happened to you? How long have you been here?” I asked in a terrified voice and my eyes wandered around the room for any open but came up empty.

“We were manipulated. Justin had tricked us into thinking if we signed the contract we would be happy. Alex had abusive parents. I struggled with depression. Zack’s boyfriend was killed in an accident. Brendon had a drug problem. Jessi- well, no one is too sure. I’m not sure how long it’s been. The years seem to run in to each other.” Jack told me and his hand rested lightly on the bars, afraid to reach past them.

“What did he do after the contract was formed..?” my voice was small and quiet, I wanted to know but I expected the answer to be horrible. Jack and Alex looked at each other, having a silent conversation. Both of their coal black eyes stared at me in sympathy. My nerves were rattled and I focused on breathing.

“First, he looks into your memories. Sees what scares you most. He’ll try and break you until you beg him for death.” I felt the fear rush into me and I sat there, shaking and wide eyed.

“Then he’ll take whatever humanity and innocence you have left and..” Jack trailed off and bit his lip. Unable to speak of the horrific acts. The panic rised in me because I knew what to expect but didn’t want to hear it.

“Then he kills you and collects your soul. Then you’re his forever.” Alex finished for him.

I sat there for a moment, trying to collect myself. I couldn’t though. I wasn’t ready to die! I clawed at the wooden door and screamed for help. My fingers started bleeding but I was determined not to quit. I stopped shouting for help to catch my breath when I heard it. Foot steps. I ran from the door and backed in the corner. I closed my eyes tightly but could still see light coming in from the door. He was here and he was coming for me.