Arachnid
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Chapter 3 . . It's....strange. The feeling of immense power. It courses through you, fueling everything you do. Imagine an adrenaline shot, hyped up by about a thousand times. But, when you transform unwillingly...you can't control it. Almost like a dream. you know what's going on, but you can't really control it. All of this power is completely wild, to do whatever it pleases. And right now, it felt like running. Imagine running through the woods, trees going past you faster than you can blink, smashing through the trees in your way, terrifying every living thing near you. That's what it's like. . . Running. The wild spirit of power was just running. Running from the huntresses that would end it. Or would they? The one named Syrena said not to kill me in this form. But...why? What was the sick joy of killing me when I could feel it? To make me feel the suffering that Luna felt? Were these the orders from Artemis? What cruel goddess can do that? And why? . . All of this went through my head as I kept running. Slowly-ever so slowly-I slowed down. Trees stopped passing my eyes at the mind bending speed, and I could focus on the shrubs and creatures. Eventually, I stopped at the edge of some sort of wall. It appeared to be a large hedge, but it was much too dark to tell. But why would it be...Ah. Slowly, I began to transform back to human. The moon had vanished once again. I finished transforming, and I was laying on the ground, stark naked. Slightly embarrassing, but I had no more clothes to put on. . . I could hear distant noises, the snapping of twigs, the rustle of leaves. Probably the huntresses. The only place I could go was into the hedge wall, and hope they couldn't find me. I walked up to the wall and stuck my arm through. Prickles from roses stuck into my skin, but I felt air on the other side. It would hurt going through, but I had no choice. I ran through the hedge wall, getting jabbed and scratched on my way through. I emerged on the other side to see...another hedge wall. . . But...there were two walls now, not including the one I had went through.It opened on one side into another section, this one with two directions leading from it. A maze. This was perfect. I could lose them through this maze...I hope. I began to enter the new room, and tried to pick the best choice. After some thinking, I chose the right direction, figuring going left would lead me closer to the huntresses. The next room had three branches from it, and I went forward. Another room. And another. And another. And another. . . An hour passed as I went through the maze. I estimated in my head that I must have been near the center of the maze. Left. Center. Left. Right. Finally, I entered a new chamber with but one way, the way I had entered. I had reached the center. There was nothing here, at least, not that I could see. Then a small object moved in the center. It was a white cloth, and it seemed to walk towards me. It walked closer and closer until it was but two feet from me, and I could make out what it was. It was a small girl. "Hello," she said. Her voice was strange. It was a whisper, and yet it echoed. I simply stood and stared at this small child, staring up at me with strange glowing eyes. "You need not be afraid of me, Saphire." "How do you know my name?" I asked quizzically. "I know everybody's name. I know everybody's past. Their future. I know yours." "How do you know this? You're just a little girl." She laughed at this, with a small tinkly laugh, which also echoed. "I may be little," she replied, "But that does not mean I am young." She reminded me of someone...it was the way she talked...but who? She frowned, and cocked her head like a bird. "You are upset about someone. About Luna." Ah. That's who she reminded me of. "You killed her, and you didn't mean to. You seek forgiveness from her..." "I don't want forgiveness," I snarled, "I just want to forget! Who are you to mock me?! You sound like her! Look like her! You even talk like her! WHO ARE YOU?!" . . She smiled at me and whispered: "I am the Nightmare Child." "I don't care who you are! I just want you to go! Stop making me think about her! About what I did!" She began to walk up to me. "GO AWAY!" I shouted. "You must remember...her pain. Her sadness... Her sense of betrayal..." "LEAVE ME ALONE!" I was crouching on the ground at this point, trying to stop the images of Luna's murder before me. "She thought you were a monster then... A horrible killer..." . . I screamed. The images were clearer, as if the little girl was pulling them from my mind and forcing me to see them. "LEAVE ME, SPIRIT! SHOW ME NO MORE!" I cried. "You must remember..." she whispered. The gently moved her hand to my face, and touched my forehead. A blinding light appeared, and I was back in time. . . It was that night...That terrible night. I was nothing but a figure in the memory. I saw myself and Luna walking and talking under the cloudy night sky. She turned her head to look at me, the real me. I got a good look at her face. She looked just like the Nightmare Child. It was a trick by the spirit. To mock me about her death, she tried to look just like her. She turned her head to look at the past me, commenting about the strange noises in the woods. Being just a figure in the memory...I could feel the trust in her words. The love in her voice. . . They kept walking and talking, until the night sky lit up with the light of the full moon. My past self went stiff, and Luna stared at the moon. "It's quite a lovely night isn't it? I'm very lucky to spend it with you. I-" she turned to look back at my past self, which was glaring at her with hunger. "Saphire?" she said with fear in her voice, "What's wrong?" A growl came from the throat of my past self. And everything went horrible. . . It was the fastest transformation that ever happened. The skin had exploded off of my body, and I had burst into the shape of the hideous Lycan beast. Luna screamed. The beast jumped on her, and opened it's jaw wide, teeth glistening, saliva dripping. The image froze. The shimmering form of the Nightmare Child walked from behind me. Tears began to drip down my face. I had never cried. Not since...That night. The Child looked at me and frowned. "It was not your fault. You had no control over yourself. It was your curse. You had no way of knowing-" "SILENCE!" I shouted at her, tears streaming down my face, "WHY DID YOU BRING ME HEAR, IF ALL YOU WERE GOIGN TO DO WAS SHOW ME WHAT I DID?!" . . Her face contorted into that of a beast. "You needed to remember what happened." "I NEVER FORGOT! LEAVE ME, SPIRIT! LET ME GO FROM THIS WRETCHED PLACE! I HATE IT! I HATE YOU!" . . She was silent. She began to fade, with her words, "You must remember." The image started again. I watched that hideous scene...My beast form ripping into the poor girls skin...Blood everywhere...Her organs ripped from her body...Her heart burst...It was at that moment when she finally stopped screaming. The moon retreated behind the clouds, and I morphed back. The look on my face...It was of hatred. "WHY?!" I had shouted, "WHAT DEMON GODS DO THIS?! WHY BRING THE MOON FOR ONLY THIS TIME?! WHY?!" . . Something happened that I didn't remember. A bright light flashed, and the form of a woman appeared. She was the most beautiful woman in the galaxy. Beautiful without makeup, without even trying. Aphrodite. "Calm yourself, little one. It was not us." "THEN WHO WAS IT?1 I WILL RENDER THEIR HEAD FROM THEIR BODIES! I SHALL RIP THEIR ENTRAILS OUT AND STUFF THEM DOWN THEIR VERY THROAT! TELL ME, WHO?!" "I do not know." "THEN YOU ARE NOTHING BUT AN UGLY PILE OF FILTH TO ME!" . . Her eyes glowed red with anger. "Do not make me your enemy, mortal. You do not-" "SHUT UP! I HATE YOU! I HATE THE GODS!" . . My body glowed as Aphrodite's eyes ignited. The glow was pink, and it seemed to flow into my mouth. Suddenly, the glows subsided. "You bear my curse now, mortal. Your voice will bring love from all males...But none of it will be true. You have made an enemy of the Gods. Know this." And she disappeared. The image froze once more. . . The Nightmare Child appeared again, a cautious look on her face. "So that's why...my voice..." I murmured. "You see? You needed to remember...That's why you are being hunted. Not for what happened to Luna." . . Somehow, this calmed me. I felt...better. Was this happiness? I turned to look for the Child, but she was nowhere to be found. I looked around, and the image around me got darker and darker, until it was pitch black, and it shattered upon me. . . I woke up in the maze, at the Nightmare Child's feet. I was wearing some sort of armor...and it was pink. I bolted up, and got to my feet. I looked at myself, looking at the armor on my chest, arms, and legs. There was a faint glowing heart over where my true heart was. "Wha...what is this?" I asked in amazement. . . She smiled. "It's the Love Weaver. I made it for you. It helps you fight your curse. You can manipulate the love others feel for you. You can now weave hate or love into your enemies and friends, but use it wisely." My mouth was agape. She giggled at my expression. "Won't the Gods punish you for helping me?" "You think I am not already punished? I am called the Nightmare Child for a reason. I sleep often, and I always have nightmares. Terrible things that would drive anybody mad." "...You're not mad, are you?" . . She laughed. "Not as much as some would think. I will see you soon. The huntresses are closer, and you must go." "Thank you. For everything." She smiled, and walked up to me. I thought she was going to trigger another memory, (which I did NOT need) but she hugged me. "I will always love you, Saphire. Like a sister." And she vanished.
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