I think one of us is hiding something [Closed]

The day was a rather still one. The wind wasn’t flowing through the tree, or knocking off any of the different color leaves that dotted to the slowly fading trees. The sun shone brightly above. Clouds were scattered about but sat rather unmoving. If a couple hours passed then it would only look like the clouds moved a little bit. The grass that covered the ground was slowly turning brown, signifying autumn was in full swing. The various colored leaves also littered the ground, and didn’t move anywhere until a pair of legs disturbed them in some way.

Magic walked along in the forest his hands were shoved into his jacket pockets. His legs stirred up some leaves as he passed. A jacket was loosely hanging off of his shoulders, slightly showing the top of the t-shirt he wore underneath. He also wore jeans, and some simple shoes. It was a rather cool day. He could survive without the jacket but he prefered to have it.

Anyway today was a rather unusual one. Well it would be. If anyone passed by the winter prefect they would simply believe he was going on a walk, but if they looked closer they would notice something rather strange. The boy looking kind of scared at the moment, and the expression he held was rather blank, except for the wide eyes and the slightly open mouth that was curved into a small frown. His whole expression was a mix between fear, and something rather neutral. It was kind of hard to notice seeing how he kept his eyes on the ground in front of him rather than the space in front of him.

Finally the boy made it to the forest line, just the place he wanted to be. The last few days he had spent holed up in his room. After the events that had unfolding in the studios, Magic thought it would be best to stay there rather than go out.. The days passed, and the nights came and went without a significant amount of sleep. Anytime the boy had fallen asleep he was quickly awoken by the screams of people.. and a fish? He didn’t know. It was mostly the screams of people. All of those people he had killed.. just because he couldn’t control himself.. He was so ashamed.. He didn’t like living with the feeling of killing so many innocent people.. nor did he like the fact that Lamia tried to heal them all.. and the fact that she kept healing him.. he wasn’t worth the trouble.. no.. He was just a stupid idiot that can’t get a control of his anger.

Hands that were shoved into pockets curled into fists. The boy picked up his pace, and the trees were passing more frequently now, but no too much. As the days passed Mason found that the fuzziness was coming more frequently than it did the first couple days it started. It seemed that every day brought more fuzzy spells as he called them. As the sun passed his building overhead, Magic spent curled up on his bed, staring across his room observing how he would be in complete control over everything in his body, and his limbs. When he was having a crazy moment he could feel himself getting far away from everything even though he hadn’t moved at all. Anytime he came out of a moment like that he found himself with a crooked grin.

A good ways into the forest Magic had to stop. The boy placed a hand on a tree to support himself. He closed his eyes tightly as he started to feel himself drift away. He needed to fight it.. He still had a good ways to go.. He needed to get away from the school.. He needed to get away from all these people.. But as the boy would soon find out, he wouldn’t make it.

Soon the feeling faded. He was free to continue on his path through the forest, and to get away from everyone. He moved along the path stumbling occasionally. He didn’t have that much energy. The lack of sleep really hurt him. One good look and anyone would be able to tell he hadn’t been getting much sleep.. But when got to where he was going he could finally get sleep, and wouldn’t be much of a bother to anyone else.

The winter stumbled forward slightly. His hands reached out to a tree, to stop himself from falling. As soon as he regained his balance, he moved forward only to have his foot caught by a root, sending him onto the ground. Mason made an ‘oof’ sound as he landed face first into the ground. But instead of getting back up, he laid there unmoving.

After a moment of not moving, the boy placed his hands next to his shoulders palms down and pushed himself up off the ground. He was on his hands and knees now. A cut on his face dripped blood slightly. Hair now shielded the boy’s face from outside view, but on his face grew a rather creepy grin. The winter let out a small creepy laugh before, standing up fully. His hands stretched out a little bit. Gray-green eyes looked around a bit wildly, glancing around from one thing to another. A small amount of laughter filled the air, and soon grew louder. But then abruptly stopped.

The winter’s eyes looked up at the various tree branches. He sat there listening to the birds chirping. After a little bit he decided he didn’t like the noise they were creating, and opened his mouth. Instead of a kind of normal noise leaving him, a loud high pitch screech left him causing the birds in the area to leave, which left him with what he wanted. Silence except for the occasional leaf falling to the ground. The sound he created would probably be heard back at the school. Maybe people would show up here because of it.

He continued a bit ways but instead of heading away from the school he was heading back. ”Badum Badum, that’s the sound of a chase Badum Badum, that’s the sound that it makes Badum Badum, then a fatal mistake and Badum Ba- and the dum never comes.” He sang softly warping his voice to sound creepy and distorted adding to the effect of what he sang.

Barry, still haunted by the events at the mansion, had been walking through the forest to clear his head a bit when he heard creepy singing. At first, he thought it was something Halloween related, as Beata tends to go all out with holidays. But as he was listening, he realized that it was something else entirely. He tried to follow the noise, but he couldn't pinpoint the location of the noise. It seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. If he were at full strength, he would be scanning the forest using his speed.

The Autumn had still been barely eating, only when absolutely necessary or when people made him to. His eyes had dark circles underneath them and the appeared sunken in. His face as a whole was very gaunt. He had lost at least 25, maybe 30 pounds. He was unhealthily skinny, especially with his accelerated metabolism. He continued to wander the forest, hands in his sweatshirt pockets. His sweatshirt had the Flash logo on the front of it. He always enjoyed the fact that his gift mirrored his favorite superhero. But lately, he hasn't really noticed nor has he cared.

As he walked, the music began to get louder, so he figured he was close. He tried his best to follow the omnipresent sound, changing direction whenever he noticed a change in the volume. Soon, he spotted an all too familiar figure. Magic. He didn't really want him to see him like this, and the Winter had been pretty testy lately. He put his right hand into the front pocket of his jeans and felt his custom made escrima stick. Ever since the mansion, he had carried them everywhere with him. He didn't feel safe without them, after the helplessness he felt. He approached the prefect, but stayed a distance away in case Magic started anything. "Hello Magic." Barry said weakly.

It was a bright, cold autumn day and the clocks had struck twelve, a distant bell ringing like those at church as the hours were counted, one by one. Class wasn't over yet. They still had another thirty minutes until everyone would be dismissed for lunch. A few students lingered outside, gossiping, and if she paid attention enough, it would be about the demon that wrecked the hallways or the cicada day or truth or dare or the school's residential ghost or whatever stupid thing. One or two may have mentioned a certain Winter disappearing in and out without leaving his room, as though he had completely vanished off the face of the earth. Day in and day out, there wasn't a trace of the taller, dark-haired boy. Whenever the faculty asked her, she waved it off, saying he was simply sick or too tired to come out with a small smile before taking whatever prefect tasks they had assigned him and doing it herself. He wasn't attending classes either. Her notebooks were completely filled, two sets of notes for each class scrawled onto the papers. Something was wrong. She knew that. So why didn't she try and go help?

She knew the answer already. And she was too scared to admit it, too scared to tell someone. For some time, she thought about writing home, to ask for advice or any kind of help. Soft footsteps sounded in the hallways, resonating within and echoing back in an eerie silence, the windows open as a chilly breeze blew in, the bitter temperatures biting into the cores of others. Her hair flew back, fingers clutching the books at her chest, her bag hanging loosely. The stairs seemed to loom in front of her, the seconds ticking by in a countdown for her doom, whatever demise she held. Slowly and clumsily, she made her way down, one hand reaching for the railing as she neared the entrance, foggy golden eyes glancing around. There were a scarce number of students all clumped together, and her appearance down received no attention. Her presence was weak.

Everything about her was weak. She was half-tempted to stop looking, to tear her eyes away from her surroundings, but it only seemed to be worse. The floor was always pooled in blood, her hands seemingly sticky with red, stained without end. This idea... it was stupid. She shouldn't try and go over there, especially if he was sheltering himself in. It meant something was wrong. It meant that he couldn't control himself. That's what Laine said back then, didn't he? No, it means you were a selfish jerk. Of course, it was her fault in the end. She told him how she felt, told him what was on her mind. Nothing good ever came out of that. It was in the spur of the moment, she wanted to tell herself that it as an accident, that she slipped up out of panic. That wasn't the truth at all. She'd done it on purpose, after bottling everything up. He didn't want to see her. Not after all of that.

Haunted mansion... Evaluation... emptiness. The scenes were all a blur, the most vivid were the cycled deaths and murders being repeated as though someone had mashed the replay button in all of their sadism, getting a good laugh out of her failures. All of the happy memories were washed away, filtered out like the light blocked by the trees above, towering in the skies. Her eyes fluttered closed for a few moments, and her mind began to count up, the counter clashing with her own internal clock. She had to do this didn't she? She had to. It wouldn't be fair to leave him alone like that, completely helpless. It wouldn't be fair for her to get close.

One.

The Winter dorm hallway was nearing, the school campus spiraling in a never-ending puzzle, the maze seemingly getting more complex as everything zoomed in and out. A great wind blew, some of her papers slipping out of her grasp, flying distantly into the sky, her arm outstretched as she tried to reach for them. None of the students outside seemed to notice too much, only one or two handing her back some of the sheets that slid away. Her only reply was a thank you with a tiny, mousy smile. The final paper was just a little away from the school's grand conservatory, lurking over her and blocking the light out. The shadows were tall, sneaking into the floor without any thought. Her fingers slowly clasped around the thin sheet, a crinkling noise appearing as she used more strength than she had assumed. She just couldn't do this, could she? Too hard to control herself without being able to feel anything around.

Two.

A boy and girl standing outside in the sun were clutching one another in a hug, and her heart fell a bit. Green envy filled her mind, the idea of being cherished by another person outside your family. Did her mother and Kearn still care about her? She didn't know. She was too scared to find out. Lamia was about to break off into a brisk walk until the words reached her, and she stopped for a moment. The two gave a small wave to one another, and the boy began speaking after he adjusted the color of his uniform. "Hey, did you hear?" There was an outstretched silence, and it gnawed at her, mild curiosity biting her. She hated eavesdropping. She didn't want to hear about this. "About what?"

Three.

"About the Winter Prefect. Someone says he's going insane and needs help." It was just a rumor... baseless rumors. There wasn't anyway that he would just go crazy, psychologically messed up. Magic was reasonable. He could control himself well enough. He was trying. He was. She knew that. She saw that.  He was doing his best, he wouldn't just go insane for no reason. Did something happen? Lamia wanted to leave, to head to his room and ask if he was alright, to ask him if she could do something to help. Yet, she was frozen stuck, waiting to hear the end of it all. Another quiet still held over the atmosphere. "Him? The school would assign someone with mental issues?"

"I dunno, sorry sweetie. That's all there is to it."

Four.

Her teeth bit into her lip, and she wanted to bite something back, to tell them that there was absolutely wrong with Magic. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it tight before anything happened. Whenever she defended him, it always wound up being worst. There was no way that he would appreciate it. There was no way that his troubles were overtaking him. He wouldn't have held it all in... would he? He trusted her enough to say something. Or was she oblivious, ignoring all the warning signs? No, she had been avoiding him. Casting a glance behind her, the Winter dorm entrance only seemed to be inviting her in, tempting her and asking her in the voice of a schoolmaster to open up and find the answer for herself. "Eh..." The color drained out of her skin, and she dropped her books and bags, a loud thud! sounding on the floor and the boy and girl glanced over at her as she clutched the wall for support. They gave her odd looks before disregarding it, the words "Probably a gift mishap, let's go" being the only thing she could make out before they left.

Five.

It couldn't be...

Lamia bent down, picking up her belongings, clutching onto the notebooks tighter, her entire body shaken with apprehension. One hand came up to the side of her head, holding it as she tried to think, her fingers nervously beginning to dig themselves in. It wasn't leaving her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about it. What had Magic been doing all this time? What had he been doing while she had been a selfish idiot who avoided them just because a few nightmares plagued her mind? Her arm slowly slipped back on top of her books, holding them as she walked towards the hallway, entering as the door creaked. I've been too distracted by myself... She didn't want to be.

Six.

A gentle knock on the door, and she stood there apprehensively, a bead of sweat trickling down as she waited. One minute passed. Five minutes. Maybe he knew she was the one outside, which was why he wouldn't open up. Was that why? Or was he annoyed that she might faint again in his room and cause more trouble? He didn't want to see her after all... Her expression turned downcast, and the bell rang, students beginning to flood into the courtyards and cafeteria for lunch. She glanced back at the door, half-expecting him to open it and tell her that she was joking and that she could come in, but he wasn't that kind of person. Shaking her head, Lamia spun on her heels before leaving the hallway. Just as she exited, a high pitched screech emitted into the air, and her mind left her.

Seven.

Only did she hear people screaming or mumbling around to one another did she start realizing something was happening. A younger student had tugged on her sleeve and quietly asked, "Is something happening out there...?" Lamia didn't respond, her eyes widening a bit. She knew that voice. What was that...? People were only noticing her now because she was a prefect, there was a problem, and they wanted her to do something. Everyone was closing in... She couldn't leave. Taking a deep breath, Lamia closed her eyes, forcing her heart to calm itself with everything in her body, before slipping her books into her bag and sprinting into the woods. He would be there. He was always there. She knew that, didn't she? Something was screaming at her to get a move on.

Eight.

The forest was dark, eerily quiet, haunted. Maybe it was the spirit of Halloween. She didn't know, nor did she care. Adrenaline rushed through, telling her to get somewhere, to try and help. Without paying attention to her surroundings, she tripped over a rock, falling face first. No pain filled her body, no aching, only coughs and wincing. Her stupid fucking - dammit dammit dammit - why the hell was she so weak? Her hand grasped towards a branch, pulling herself up, a small red slit in her uniform's sleeve open and black shone through, blinking. This was the greatest time for fate to decide that her secret had to be given away. He wouldn't pay attention. He definitely wouldn't pay attention to that. If he questioned it, she'd say it was a bad injury from gift mastery class.

Nine.

She found him, and only now did she hear the singing. What was this...? She turned to an even paler shade, her eyes growing dull as they widened, her mouth agape as she tried to find the words to speak. What happened? Who had...? You did this. Feel proud of yourself? The bag around her shoulder slipped off and slumped onto the floor. One hand reached out, dangling awkwardly in the air before she withdrew it back to her chest. Her mind found itself traveling back to that day... The same day. She had caused everything to fall apart.

"What was I supposed to do? Let him kill you? Let him take you away? Let him do whatever he wanted with you? Like hell that was going to happen!" Yes. He should've let Warren kill her back then. He wouldn't have any problems now. "Don't go throwing you life away like no one would care! Because I care and that's not going to change!" Everyone said the same thing until they realized how much of a burden she was. Those words kept ringing in her mind like torture. How was she supposed to make it stop?

Ten.

She hadn't been very fair to him. She didn't think about how he felt... How he felt? What was there to feel about her? Nothing. She was a piece of trash, garbage, easily disposable like a tissue. Even though he said that to her, it wasn't something she could take to heart. He knew the problems with her well enough. And now she made this happen. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to think that she didn't understand back then, that she had been stupid and selfish. He wanted to be forgiven. For what? He'd done nothing wrong.

It was her fault.

Something was wrong.

A small smile crept up her face, and softly, she began to hum, the tiny vibrations filling the air amidst the corrupted sounds. A gentle melody in a world of darkness, decay, and corruption. This wasn't the domain for the weak. "A-a-are y-you uhm... A-alright?"

Magic didn't even notice Barry in the moment or the fact that Lamia was around. He heard them both but his brain didn't register it. He kept his crooked grin, and repeated the same verse he sang just moments before. "Badum Badum, that’s the sound of a chase. Badum Badum, that’s the sound that it makes. Badum Badum, then a fatal mistake and Badum Ba- the dum never comes." He sang loud enough for both of them to hear. But this time as he sang his voice became more warped, and darker. Making the whole thing seem more creepier than it seemed.

The boy turned around as he finished that part. His smile faded as soon as he saw Barry. Dull gray green eyes studied the boy before the grin returned. "One of us is gonna die, one of us is gonna die-ie." The boy said his voice being somewhat normal this time around. As he sang his grin grew wider, and he moved slightly closer to Barry. His weakened state from earlier seems to have disappeared completely.

Barry wasn't sure what was going on. Magic's singing became creepier and he had a crazy look in his eyes. He pulled out his Escrima sticks. "Magic, don't. Please." He said tiredly. Barry hardly acknowledged Lamia's presence because he was too focused on Magic, making sure he wasn't going to do anything stupid. "What is going on? What are you doing?" He asked the prefect. He had no idea what was going on. Was this what was going on while he was shut in his dorm?

Was he alright? That was a stupid as hell question in every way possible. The forest would've been in a silent hush had it not been that the sinister voice had sounded throughout, the world filled with almost a faint dream-like mist. A chilly breath went through her spine, the hairs on her neck rising, and she tried to take a step back. She couldn't move. As though God had decided that she had to witness it all, the once blissful terrain had rooted her to the ground, her entire body shaking. One of them would die. A part of her believed that she should've expected this - he had warned her multiple times to stay away, didn't he? But now that she was seeing it all at once was a hard shock, like the sudden realization that you had injured yourself without thinking after you went through with whatever stupid thing you had done. The worst part was, she had completely been under the delusion that she'd be able to help him fix it all. And all she did in the end was stay away in her own selfish self-pity.

Lamia let her hand fall limply to her side, silently absorbing every strained lyric. The pain, insanity, brokenness, despair, corruption. She didn't want to hear it. If she did something, would the nightmare come true? Did she want the same old melancholy rushing at her once again? Why was she always holding onto her regret like a fool? She was granted a happy ending back then. Why could she only remember the bad things while everything else was smeared away? Her lips thinned, gold eyes obscured by uneven bangs. Another voice processed in her mind, and dully, she looked up. Had Barry been there the entire time? He looked so weak, gaunt and hollow in figure, like a walking corpse. Like a zombie with a dumb face that knew nothing. Or did they choose to not know anything? What the hell had her friends been doing?

Balance. That was what the world acted on. When something pleasant happened, something terrible had to take place in order to balance it out. Sun and moon. Fire and water. Yin and Yang. Light and darkness. Life and death. Everything was a balance. So this was the punishment she was receiving? Her payment for a higher power's mercy for once? Stop thinking. It was unnecessary to mull on this too long. Her own internal silence gnawed at her, practically begging her to say something, to do something useful. Was she supposed to act on instinct?

This isn't like you, Magic.

Those words lingered in the air. They didn't have to be said. They all knew that much. Why was she always overthinking everything? Why couldn't anything be simple - just for once? That was the problem with her. She didn't know. Should she try and say something? Should she warn him? Should she try to run? Hide? Leave and forget about it? All of the choices were sold at too high a price to pay. It wasn't enough, having only one chance. If you chose the wrong one, you can't cross the bridge to try again. Once it was done, it was done and you couldn't take it back. Lamia couldn't pick, completely lost, skin ashen white. Her mouth slowly opened themselves in an attempt to say something, but no words came out.

Magic took a step closer to Barry not caring about the weapons he now carried. Another step, and the grin grew wider, another step and everything seemed to freeze in the moment. The grin faded once again, replaced with an open frown. Hands that were once by his side shot up to his head to hold it. The boy clenched his teeth and held his head tightly his fingers digging into his scalp. The boy opened his mouth and a loud pain filled scream filled the air.

The boy closed his mouth, and stepped back a little bit clutching his head. A sharp intake breath could be heard from the winter prefect. His eyes were wide and his teeth were clenched. It seemed like he was fighting himself, which he was. "T-this.. isn-n't.. m-me..." He shook his head, his fingers digging deeper in his head. "Thi-is.. ca-an't be r-real.." When he spoke his voice was normal, but it seemed like he struggled to speak, like something was preventing him from doing so.

After a moment of the struggle, he dropped his hands letting them hang at his side once again. His expression returned to normal. The boy stood up straight. This time he saw Lamia, he saw both of them this time instead of just Barry. The grin he bore before returned, and he laughed a little bit. "You both have something I want." Another laugh. "It's your deaths~" He said in a distorted voice, then shot forward aiming a punch for Barry's face.

Had Barry been at full strength, he could've easily avoided that punch. But in the state he was in, he took the punch square on the jaw. His body spun almost 180 degrees and he crumpled to the ground. He was unconcious for only a few moments, but it was enough to piss him off. He got up, and sped around Magic, and swung his escrima sticks down on his head using all the speed he could muster. Nothing was going to stop his pent up rage. Magic wasn't the only one not in control right now.

Why was it that nobody seemed to be okay right now?

It was petty of her to think so, stupid, maybe more than a little bit pathetic. This was already not going to be a happy moment, crumpling and seeping into complete darkness. The skies overhead began to gray, casting clouds as shadows ambushed the light. Nothing filtered through the canopy of the dense forest, falling into a world of black and white. For a few moments, she had snapped her head up, hearing the voice of anguish and torment rushing through the air like a tidal wave surging into a cliff, reaching a complete dead end. At first, she thought about reaching out to him, to see if she could do something - anything - to stop that pain. Immediately, she backed away, shrinking into contours of the world when he spoke.

He was still sane.

Wait... No. Stop it. He had been fine in the first place, right? He had to be. What the hell was she fucking implying? How could anyone be okay after everything he had to go through? She still didn't even know the full story, the bits and pieces she gathered coming from what she had seen before. A part of her knew that Magic had cut out the more violent details, the more cruel parts of what happened with him. Because she was a pacifist who couldn't handle it. Her eyes clenched shut once she heard his next words.

Deaths. Violence. Blood. Red. Murder. Nightmare. Monster. Insane. Cruel. Heartless. Subconsciously, she shook her head, pulling her arms in closer, seeking whatever warmth could be there. Nothing, absolutely nothing. The kindred feeling of touch could not help her or him or any of them. Completely lost, aimlessly, unable to follow the guideposts that led them in the right direction. Could they be considered happy at this point? No. A pile of leaves were disturbed as a body fell sickeningly with a thud to the floor, and she was scared to look up. Barry had fallen unconscious, knocked out by one blow. And he retaliated the moment he lurched back onto his feet.

Fuckfuckfuck... She buried her face into her hands, unwilling to listen to everything, unwilling to take a glance at what would happen. In her vulnerable state, in her uselessness, she didn't know what to do at this point. All she could do was try to block out all the noise, holding her hands over her ears. It was useless to run away. They would catch up to her without any problems. It was just another chore to figure out what to say next, what to do. What should she say now? Were there even any words that could help here? Anything that she could remember? Anything at all? If she didn't do something, anything, they'd kill each other. What the hell would she tell the sch-- No. That wasn't happening. It couldn't. It just... couldn't. I can't... Can't what? Stop being useless? ...let that happen. Not again.

But what could she do? Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm the rapid beating of her heart in its frenzy, unable to stop its rhythm. Should she think? What should she do? Lamia kept her eyes closed, her hands covering her ears, and without realizing it, she spoke up. "Pl-pl-please stop... D-don't hurt e-each o-o-other..." That was as eloquently as she could put it right now.

The darkness was crushing her.

How much time did she have until there was no hope left?

Magic watched as Barry got up and speed around him with his weapons. Magic found it easier to follow the boy seeing how he was a good bit slower than usual. When the autumn swung down with his weapons, Magic raised his arms effectively stopping the weapons despite the stinging pain he felt in his arms. After all they were just sticks they would only cause blunt damage. Magic took the chance and grasped both sticks in one hand. The winter shifted his stance, and pulled down on the sticks taking Barry off balance with it. Magic at the same time as pulling the autumn off balance swept the boy's legs out from under him sending Barry to the ground.

Magic was finally saw how skinny and frail Barry was, but it didn't really bother the prefect any. He kept that crazed look on his face. Magic placed a foot on one of Barry's forearms crushing it, but didn't push it past it's breaking point. He wanted to hear Barry scream first. He couldn't do anything about the other girl yet but he would get to her as soon as he was done dealing with Barry. To Magic it looked like Lamia wasn't going anywhere for a while. But... It would be good to hear both of them scream.

Magic looked over to Lamia, and opened his mouth. Soon a distorted loud sound came from him sending harmful sound waves over to the girl. Their screams wouldn't be as great as all of the screams from the airport but it would be good enough until he could get to somewhere else. He was clearly stronger than both of them, but even so it still was pretty fun. It would be ever better if he had a knife or some sharp object he could use to draw blood or something..

Barry let out a soft grunt as he fell to the ground after having his legs swept out from underneath him. When Magic stomped on his forearm, it hurt like hell. But, him in his adrenalized state, merely grated his teeth and let out a throaty yell. His mind was only focused on getting at Magic. But, try as he might, he couldn't move without causing further damage to his arm. He could faintly hear a yelling and turned his head just in time to see Lamia. He finally registered the fact that she was here. But she was about to be hurt, and he was unable to do anything. This just made him angrier. He struggled more, yelling and screaming. "Magic, you bastard! What the fuck do you think you're doing? Look at me! Look at me! Do it!" He screamed at him, not caring if it made his throat sore.

There were a hundred things she could've said, each one not helping much compared to the other, but her voice died in the moment as she heard a pain-splitting scream. Her fingers curled in more, as though it would work as a barricade to hearing anything else, the rattled sounds increasing in volume through gritted teeth. And then it suddenly disappeared. Hesitantly, she looked up. Hysteric emotions were stretched wide across Magic's face, his foot crushing Barry's arm like a pillar falling through the sky and threatening to jut right through your chest. The other boy looked so much weaker and less lively than he had normally been, the attacker bordering on the line between insane and downright lunatic. Every piercing scream and word twisted in her mind, blurred out and deafened to the point where it was nothing more than cotton grazing the surface.

He was looking right at her. This wasn't her friend, was it? It was a stranger who simply looked like him. She didn't know who it was, stealing the face of someone she was close to. No.. She knew who it was. She wanted to deny it. Her face darkened, and her eyes widened. Could he hear how fast her heart was racing? How shallow were her breaths? One leg shifted, and half of her wanted to run and save herself; the other half told her to stay, that she could fix this. Which one was right? Why couldn't she make up her mind? Through heavy labored breaths, her tiny voice uttered out one word.

"M-Magic...?"

A sudden wave passed by her, and a silent gasp escaped past her lips as she was suddenly thrown back, the blast of air forcing her straight into the rough tree trunk behind her. The bark splintered upon impact, breaking as some shards dug into her back before she bent over, her own weight keeping her to the floor. Trembling, she tried to stand up, biting her lip to keep any screams or sounds of pain from leaving her throat. What scared her more was that she couldn't feel a thing, her body numbed like anyone would be in the bitter winds of winter. Except it wasn't that cold. She was frozen, trapped, and any effort to think she could make an excruciating injury tangible was impossible.

What was stopping her from getting up? Why the hell was she so weak? Stop focusing on that. You're going to pass out. What? Lamia only barely realized that her eyes were fluttering to a close, and everything had blackened to nothing. Slowly, she forced herself to take a deep breath, clinging onto the tiny thread that kept her conscious. Focus. Don't panic. It's going to be alright. Don't panic... Easier said than done.

Magic didn't even look over at Lamia the satisfying crack of tree bark splitting was good enough for him. Magic looked back down to Barry who was only glaring at him in return. It seemed Barry was trying to spit harsh words, but Magic wasn't affected. A small laugh escaped the winter boy. Magic slowly shifted his weight to the leg that was standing on Barry's fore arm. Magic's crazed look grew as he stared down at Barry, until he heard a satisfying pop come from to boy's arm signifying the arm was broken. It would cause a great amount of the pain for the boy. He was satisfied for now that Barry wouldn't go anywhere. His eyes shifted over to Lamia.

He walked over to Lamia keeping the same grin that was probably getting boring to look at by now. The girl was in a daze which was perfect for him. One of his hands reached forward and grasped the girls throat. Mason then picked up the girl hoping for her to struggle. After all she was being held be her throat, though he didn't know he was in danger by just touching her. Her gift was most likely active and ready to do damage to anything that touched the girl, but he didn't know that. He didn't even know what her gift was.

Barry let out a loud yelp as he heard a pop and his arm was in more pain than it was before. As soon as Magic moved away from him, he began cradling his arm, holding it tight to his body, barely able to do anything but sit there. He noticed Lamia lying on the ground. The boy picked up Lamia by her throat and held her up. "Are you really that far gone, Mason? Where you'd murder the only person you've ever cared for? I thought you were better than this." He said hoarsely, still angry.

Fuck.

It took her a few moments to process that his hands were wrapped around her throat through her half-closed eyes in a vice-like grip. The crazed look in his eyes kept her breath trapped in her throat, her heart constraining with every forced pump to keep her going, like a snake tightening around its victim before dealing the killing blow. She suddenly stopped breathing before another rush passed through her. Stay calm. Don't panic. Don't panic. Those words kept ringing in her mind. If she didn't fucking control herself now, she'd hurt him. Deep breaths... Deep breaths. Instinctively, her fingers reached up, trying to loosen his unyielding grip. Lamia couldn't feel the burn in her lungs from lack of oxygen, the dark spots beginning to litter her vision was enough. Her voice came out scarcely louder than a whisper, and she became more frantic as her pulse became to drum more loudly, more out of control. "L-let... g-go..." Was he that lost in himself that he had stopped responding?

The air was leaving. It was getting harder to breath. Her face contorted into pain as he continued to strangle her, her legs dangling in the air helplessly. Dully, golden eyes turned blue and in her trance-like state, with the energy slipping away, Lamia forced herself to keep some control over her gift. She wasn't stealing from him for her own benefit. She had to trust him enough that he would listen, right? Magic kept telling her that he trusted her enough... And she never returned the favor. Slowly, ever so slowly, she tried to get another intake of air all for a fruitless effort. Don't pass out. Don't panic. Stay calm.

He'd let go of her... He wouldn't just... Barry's words were vivid in her mind. Murder? Did he seriously think...?