“Now I’m hallucinating,” I panted, walking my hands up the tree trunk, feeling for the next branch but not daring to look. Ididn’t let myself look down, either, fixing my attention on the trunk in front of me. I was stable, I was safe, I was definitely not eight feet aboveground.
The light bobbed closer, throwing every whorl and knot of the tree into sharp relief. My stomach pitched. I shook there, unable to take another step, climb another branch.
“I can’t,” I rasped.
Lioness, come back…
I rubbed my eye with a knuckle, my hand shaking. Iwantedto go back. I wanted to be with my husbands, safe, with no Cruelty or Violence, no games, no threats. But that was a dream, not reality. And I didn’t even know how to get back to reality, let alone how to make the dream real.
The white light zipped around my head and up to the skull key, but I ignored it. I was so, so tired. My legs were too heavy to pick up, my chest too heavy to take many more breaths.
One more,the gleaming light said. Female and husky, like a voice that had blown out after hours of screaming.
“I don’t want to,” I said miserably, panting, shaking,
Tough shit,the light snapped, which wasn’t a very moon-goddess, saintly-light thing to say.Get your ass up.
I groaned, fumbling over my head for the next branch, sucking in a sharp, dizzying breath when my eyes dropped to the ground below before I could stop them.
“Oh god, oh god, oh god…”
I shook harder, my whole body quaking, knees knocking together.
Climb, bitch!
This glowy moon spirit lady wasn’t very nice. I told her as much, even as I stretched onto my tiptoes, hooked myself over the branch above me, and finally, my entire body fluttering like a leaf in a storm, flopped over the higher branch.
I squeezed my eyes shut so I couldn’t see how far up I was, breathing fast and shallow, my teeth chattering. I wanted to go home.
Don’t have a mental breakdown, just get the key. You’re running out of time.
“You’re rude.”
Says the bitch who murdered me.
My eyes flew open, and I stared at the moon-bright orb. You’ve got to be fuckingkiddingme. “Darya?”
Took you long enough notice.
I was definitely going mad. No way would Darya help me; she hated me.
I was mind-fucked by Nightmare into hating you,she snapped.Less brooding, more grabbing the key and getting out of here.
“You can read my mind…”
You said that out loud, you dumb fuck. Get the key. Come on, be brave.
I sensed she was trying to encourage me, but the words scraped through gritted teeth. A tiny laugh rustled its way out of my chest. Yeah, that was Darya alright. But why was I hallucinating that she’d help me?
“Why are you helping me?” I voiced my suspicion as I wrapped all my limbs around the branch, darting my hand out to snatch the key from the string, and shaking so badly I missed.
Because you’re a pawn in this game, just like me. And dying gave me a little fucking clarity. You were never my enemy; all these god pricks are.
“Notmygod pricks,” I complained, my hand shaking as I made another grab for the key. But fear had its hooks in me now, and I pulled my arm back before I’d even got close to touching the gold string.
Come on, Cat. Put your big girl pants on and get the key. It’s not going to kill you.
“A fall from this height will!”
