*****MELANIE*****

There was no explanation as to what had occurred between me and Axle, yet, the evidence of the broken window couldn't lie. It had happened and now Axle had vanished.

    My chest felt like it was being compressed by guilt, shock, fear, and disgust at myself.

The confusion had me sit in a lonely corner of my room and cry my eyes off. What was I supposed to do? How would I explain everything to my brothers without sounding insane?
   I was sure they would make me see a psychologist, or in a worse scenario, send me to a mental hospital.

This only had me crying even harder.

   I needed to run away. To return only when I knew I wasn't going insane.

After stuffing some random clothes in my backpack, I bolted out of the house before any nosy neighbor could spot the damaged window and call the cops.
But before I left, I did write Castor a note, asking him to forgive me for the disappearance and that I'd be back soon.
  
I also made sure to text my best friends, Phil and Aggie, telling them I was running away but would find my way back when the time was right.

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The sky had grown dark as a charred kettle when the night set in fully, not even a single star in sight. Yet it looked beautiful, calming.

I sighed staring at its perfection and a wild thought crossed my mind; did heaven experience nights as well?
     
  After traveling to the outskirts of San Eagle City, I booked a motel. It was simple, affordable, and would be efficient to lay low. The bed was quite cosy though a bit small.
The room had a great view of the city lights from its window. A sight I found myself staring at for about half an hour as I munched on the crisps. My serene bubble was interrupted when I reached into the bag of Takis and couldn't feel any left.

   With a bit of anger, I tossed the empty bag away, caring not where it fell(I'd pick it up later).

    "You're officially a typical brat," Aldric spoke.

I didn't bother to trace his voice after concluding that he wasn't there and it was all in my head.

  "Not the worst one yet," I replied sulking at the parking right in front of the motel.
How nice it would be if I wasn't running mad. Maybe I could finally tell Leo(my crush) how I felt about him. But, my time was running short if my mind had gone as far as to imagine Aldric's presence.

The scent of burnt cherry wood filled my nostrils as Aldric walked to stand next to my chair. I didn't bother looking up at him, but from the corner of my eye, he wasn't looking at me either. His attention was outside.

      "Why are you running?" Aldric asked.

I huffed, was he a reflection of my conscious? Maybe I needed to answer myself the question.

"I'm going insane."

He laughed.

"Aren't all humans insane?"

Did I really think we were all lunatics?

   "Maybe. But Aldric is the most insane of us all."

"Oo!"

My head turned and I glanced up with a grin. "I wonder why you as my conscious would manifest in his form! Am I really thinking about him?"

   "Why do you think I'm your conscious?"

"Because ever since I met him, I've been feeling like everything is a dream. Or is he the illusional character?"

Aldric didn't answer, or even blink. He stared at me blankly, before looking back at the dark room. With a snap of his fingers, the cheap bulb hanging from the ceiling lit up.

      "Do you believe in gods?" He asked walking towards the bed. Only now did I notice what he was wearing, a dark red cloak with its hood hanging on the back.
How silly was I to imagine Aldric in such a cloth? But it did look cool, radiating mystery vibes as the real Aldric.

   "Er...gods?"

He halted in front of the bed and then turned around to face me. "Gods." Aldric restated.

  "I only believe in one God."

Aldric chuckled pulling on the hood to cover his white hair. The action irritated me so much that I got off the chair and rushed to stand in front of him.
    His eyes widened slightly when I boldly pulled down the hood. "I want to see it. The real Aldric is one cold bastard... And it's weird calling you his name."

    "You can call me Hades." My 'conscious' voted.

I raised a brow at him. "What an odd name. I'm sure I've never thought of such."

  "I'm your conscious, remember?"

I took a minute to maul over everything. "Then why can I see you?"

   Hades leaned down and leveled his eyes with mine. "I'm like one of those imaginary friends humans create. You're so depressed that I've become real."

This was the end for me. I had officially gone insane. What was next, see flying pigs?

"Does it mean I can change how you look?"

   Hades straightened. "What do you want me to look like?"

I wide grin formed on my lips and my heart fluttered. "Like Leo. Can you copy him?"

   "No!" Hades gave a stern reply, shuttering all the cheer that had been in my chest.

"But why?"

"He's ugly."

"No, he's not. Aldric is the one that's-"
Hades quickly grabbed my chin as rage consumed his eyes.

  "If he was ugly, you wouldn't have manifested his image. You like him."

I pushed him back with all my might, making him tumble on the bed. Like a wounded cat, I jumped on him, straddling his midriff to compensate for my height.
    When he wanted to get up, I pushed him down and tried to pin his hands above his head.

  "You're my servant or whatever the fuck this awkward and unbelievable scene is. If you dare act like him, I'll... I'll..."

    What would I do?

Hades chuckled. "How do you want me to act, Master?" He whispered the last word, poking the flustering nerve. How powerful I'd feel if the real Aldric was the one calling me Master. I'd make him a real slave and do all sorts of embarrassing chores just for revenge.

   But why not use this version of Aldric right beneath me?

      "Like a servant," I whispered.

Hades frowned.

  "What do I get in return?"

"Um...I won't get rid of you."

He laughed slyly. "You cannot get rid of me now."

It was my turn to grab his chin and lift it, just as Aldric did to me. "Don't be so cocky. You're only a part of my conscious."

   "One kiss per day." He whispered staring firmly into my eyes.
I felt a chill rush through my body but ignored it since this wasn't Aldric.

  "Only if you earn it."
There was no harm in indulging my imagination, right?
And it wouldn't be counted as kissing since he wasn't real anyway.

     "Fine." I breathed, before concentrating on his hair.
Finally, I could satisfy my burning urge to touch it.

Letting my childish side take control, I let go of his big wrists which I had barely grasped fully, and grabbed handfuls of his hair.
There was a lingering sensation in my soul as I played with it, smelling it.

  All that while, Hades lay quietly, staring at me with a creeped-out expression.

   "What? I've been dying to do this in like forever." I admitted taking a deep sniff of its scent. The same burnt cherry fragrance I smelled a while ago.

    "You're one strange little troll." Hades insulted.

"I'm not a troll."

Hades' hands came to cup my shoulders with slight strength. "You're shorter than average humans. You're not a dwarf or a fairy."

I dropped his hair, intentionally blinding him with it before sliding off of him.

   "Don't talk to me." I fumed turning my back at him.

There was an amused laugh from Hades, then he asked; "Where do I sleep?"

   "I don't care."

It was quiet a few seconds before something came covering me. I pulled it closer to my face to examine it, noting it wasn't the motel's bedding. This was a high-quality purple duvet.

Taken aback, I rolled around to question Hades how he had done it. But he was gone.

     "Hades?" I yelled sitting up.

There was no one else in the room, just me and my confused brain in a delusional world.

But was it delusional if I had proof? The duvet.