"Hue, it"s time to wake up!" Emma hollered from down the stairs. She sounded further away instead of right down the stairs. My eyes slowly flickered open. They felt heavy, and it was hard to keep them open.
What was going on? Was it all just a dream?
"Sleeping Beauty, coffee"s getting cold!" Mimiku shouted.
Her voice was at the threshold of my room. I jerked my head to the doorway, but she wasn"t there. Strangely, I was at my house, in my room.
I"m home?
The covers were half on and off with hints that there had been someone else in the bed. I flung the covers off completely, and a sweatshirt popped into view. It was familiar; it was one of Emma"s.
Was she sleeping with me last night? Did I have another night-terror?
Emma"s laugh echoed throughout my room, yet, I gazed at the sweatshirt. I lifted a hand to my chest, where she had thrown her dagger. Visually, there wasn"t anything to be seen; physically, my fingers were touching something.
Something was off; the hand that touched my chest felt foreign, and when I made contact with the sweatshirt, it should have been soft, yet nothing. Another odd sensation that I couldn"t gather was that I couldn"t smell anything.
Nothing was making any sense to me. I got out of bed, needing to make to figure out what was going on. I tossed the shirt back on my, now, perfectly made bed.
I didn"t stay long in the room. I walked out into the hallway, noticing that the house was strangely lit. The entrance was dimmer than usual and looking down the stairs; it was all black.
What time is it?
My attention was drawn to the playful growls and yips of Mimiku and Nekko. They were coming from Mimiku"s room.
The two must be reuniting from their time being separated.
I approached her door, which was closed, and gave it three firm knocks.
The noises hushed and quieted, and the door creaked open. I leaned on the door frame expecting to see the two in Mimiku"s hammock covered by a sheet. To my surprise, the room was empty and dark, only being lit by the light the hallway gave.
Where are they?
I let out a whistle for her, or I thought that I did. I tried to make a whistling noise, but the silence was the only sound coming from my lips.
"My name is Eugene Dupeux," I stated.
I could say my name, but I couldn"t whistle.
All of this wasn"t making any sense.
I ventured back down the hallway, feeling a sense of fright weighing on my chest. I stop in front of the bathroom. Like the other rooms, it"s dark. I flipped the light switch, but the lights wouldn"t turn on.
I flipped the switch a few more times; nothing changed. Suddenly, I was downstairs in the living room looking at the television. A game show was on where you figured out the missing letters. The Category: Place, with two five-letter words with the letters E, M, _, T_ showing the first word and H, _, _, S, _ in the second.
I took a minute to think, then spoke, "Empty House?"
The missing letters filled in, and the crowd on the television applauded. In the blink of the eye, the television was off, and things were silent again. With the silence, crept an eerie presence.
The silence was broken with playful, happy cries and cheers that came from the back of the house. I ran to the back door and ripped it open. I wanted to see them; Mimiku, Nekko, and especially Emma!
When I opened the door, I thought I was going to be surprised, but a numbness filled me when there was nothing there to be found. My face was throbbing, my chest hurt, and my eyes filled with tears.
"You lied to me!"
I spun around at the booming voice. I was outside my house and in the back doorway stood Emma. Her eyes emotionless, and her body appeared dull. A joy swept over me; I could apologize, and things could get better.
"You lied to me, Hue," she scolded, sounding devastated.
The house began to dissolve and fade. I scream out to Emma, but she was fading too fast. I yelled for her to come back and that I was sorry.
An intense flash-back, I was with Emma in the woods, the soldiers on the ridge, me summoning the dead, and a dagger hitting my chest zipped by.
~~~
I jolted awake, my body shaking, and my eyes were streaming with tears. I couldn"t breathe as Emma"s words resound in my mind. My breath shuttered out.
The room that I was lying in filled with mournful sobs.
I lost everything. I didn"t know what lay ahead of me, and my best friend shot a dagger in my chest. After I got a hold of my crying, I sat up in a cot that creaked and moaned.
I was in a cramped jail cell with dark and hateful symbols above me and below me. They made sure that I couldn"t do any magic. Someone had changed my clothes to the orange jumpsuit.
Rubbing my eyes, wiping away my tears and sniffles, I took in my room; one cot, a sink, a toilet, and a desk by the cot. I look at my orange jumpsuit. There is a number on my left chest: 0013.
Curious, if Emma actually threw the dagger, I stuck my hand down my shirt to where I thought she hit. Sure enough, there was a bandage over the wound. If there was any more doubt in my mind, it was gone.
I was now a prisoner of Seventh State. I rub my forehead, feeling overwhelmed, and beaten. I couldn"t recall how long I have been here, but what I could remember, I was in this particular cell because the other inmate would beat me.
That"s where the other pain was coming from. The door to my cell slid open with a clank. I looked over, having two white armored guards enter and forcibly put my hands and feet in cuffs. They weren"t gentle about any it.
They lead me out into the long white hallway, one in the front and the other in the rear. They weren"t worried that I could use my necromancy. I whispered a spell, but nothing appeared. This prison was specially made to counter magic. The cuffs also helped counter my abilities.
The walking was difficult; for every step they took, I was restricted in the length of stride. I had to take three to four steps to match them. By the time we got to the destination, I was a bit winded.
This was the interrogation room. It was another small room with a large mirror, a table the was bolted down, four chairs, not bolted down, and a creepy-looking doctor with a needle. My heart began to race. I knew what the needle held, a truth serum.
Not realizing that I was beginning to struggle against the guards, a baton was stabbed in my gut to persuade me to obey. Into a chair, they forced me down and locked the foot cuffs into the floor and the hands to the table. The doctor moved in, grabbed a hand full of my hair, and exposed my neck.
A sharp p.r.i.c.k in my neck and the injection was complete. The effects were instant. I could feel that I was physically here in this room, but my mind was having an out of body experience.
I felt drunk.
The door to the room swiftly opened. The Director and his right hand entered.
"Didn"t you guys already get what you wanted out of me?" I asked.
The Director waved for the doctor and guards to leave. They both took their seats. The Director placed his hands on the table and interconnected his fingers.
"Who else knows that you are a necromancer?" the Director started with.
I had to try my hardest to control my outbursts.
"Mimiku was the only one that knew, but now everyone," I answered.
d.a.m.nit.
"Why did you summon the demon?"
I burst out laughing.
"Is something funny?" the Director asked.
"She"s a devil, not a demon," I chuckled.
The Director gave a worrisome look to his bodyguard. She looked forward to me, I could only a.s.sume.
"Why did you summon her?" the Director continued, folding his hands across his chest.
"I didn"t summon her, well, directly." I corrected myself.
"You didn"t, but she knew what you are and even pointed you out?" the Director pointed out.
"That"s because I was led into the forest, and I discovered her hiding there. She knew what I was because my blood was used to summon her. A dangerous side effect of using blood summons," I ranted.
"And she tried to kill me, but then said that I a fool," I chuckled.
"A fool for what?"
"For thinking that if my secret got out that I could place my faith in you," I lowered my voice
Silence filled the room.
"Did Agent Winters know that you were a necromancer?"
This question came from the Right Hand. There was a hint that voice was female that was covered with a robotic sound.
My mind knew that I was looking at her chest, but my body and eyes were locked on the Right Hand"s b.r.e.a.s.t.s. When she stood, I keep my eyes on her chest. A hand is gently placed on the back of my head and then is promptly smashed into the table.
Ma.s.sive amounts of pain registered in my face, specifically in my nose. I tried to cover my nose to comfort it, but my hands were brought short. I began to taste copper in my mouth, my vision was blurred, and red droplets splatted on the table and floor.
"Answer the question," she ordered.
"No, no, no," I shouted back, groaning.
"I never told her. I didn"t want to tell her. I take that back, I wanted to tell her," I groaned, "I wanted to ask her out on a date but never did!"
I paused, staring at the black blood on the table.
"I wanted to tell her everything," I whispered.
From my bleeding nose to the fact that I didn"t tell my best friend, my body slumped. I wanted to rewind time and tell Emma everything. Maybe it could have changed the outcome?
But I was far too scared to tell her?
"Tell me about June Mimiku?" the Director questioned?
"She"s my kitsune of chaos," I answered truthfully.
"A Kitsune of chaos? How many tails does she have?"
"Nine," I said with a proud smile.
"She, she"s a nine-tail," the Director asked.
"Yes," I confirmed.
"How is that possible?" Emma"s sister asked.
"She can fuse her tails together and hide them. Where is my kitsune?"
"She"s been apprehended, and thankfully, she"s been collared," the Director replied.
"collared?"
"Yes, we had broken your bond with her and have collared her. She"ll serve the Seventh against this devil."
"You can"t do that," I started.
"We can and will do this. She"s a nine-tail of chaos; eventually, she would have turned on us," the Director spoke.
"She"s harmless!"
"Yes, now she is. Have a look."
The Director motioned off to the door. It opened and in staggered Mimiku with a thick black collar around her neck. Mimiku wore a grey dress you"d see insane people in. Her eyes were blank and fur dull.
"Mimiku?" I spoke.
She didn"t respond.
"Mimiku, take a seat next to the inmate."
Mimiku"s ears twitched, and she followed her orders to the letter.
"With the bond between you and her broken and the aid of the collar, she"ll serve us. With her power, this kitsune will obliterate the devil threat.
"Mimiku," I tried.
"Mimiku, it"s me, Eugene."
Nothing penetrated. My lower lip began to quiver, and anger started to rise up. I began to jerk at my restraints and growl and shout to get out.
"Mimiku!"
Two guards came in and zapped me. I immediately went lip and was dragged back to my cell.