Sixty Two:

I didn't need to open my eyes to know where I was. Yet I opened them anyways, dragging my gaze across the green landscape. Giant red clouds shaped like roses drifted lazily across the blue sky and in the distance a tea table sat. I sighed softly, not understanding why I was brought here.

My gaze dropped to my body – I wore a long, beautiful blue dress. My light hair had been pulled back with a silky soft ribbon and my hands wore silk red gloves. Despite the luxurious outfit, my feet were bare. I could feel my toes digging into the soft grass and dirt.

"Where are you?" I asked, my voice echoing through the land, "I don't want to play games."

Nothing. No responds and no virus.

Frowning, I walked towards the table. Set upon the wooden surface sat a pink porcelain tea pot and two tea cups. My fingers hovered over the pot – warm steam licked across my palm. I pulled away, sitting on one of the two chairs and waited.

For whatever game she'd drag me into.

"I've lost everything," I laughed bitterly, "And even then you want to laugh at me? What do you want? Why do you keep doing this? I just don't understand you."

"Erin," the gruff voice had my heart frozen.

I turned my head, my eyes falling on the man who stood in front of me. His heavy green eyes watched me carefully, his facial hair just as rough and long as I remembered. Despite the grey hair – he hadn't aged a day since I had last saw him. Tears welted in my eyes before falling down my face.

Rage and sorrow and pain filled me as I looked at him.

"You're not real," I whispered, my fists balling, "Y-You're her aren't you? W-Why? Why are you doing this to me?"

My dad – the imposter just looked at me. Those dark green eyes sad. I could only scream – scream until my throat burned like sand paper, and cry until I had no tears left. And yet he did nothing. My knees gave out as I grasped the grass like it could melt away at any moment.

"W-Why him?" I demanded, raising my face, "Why now?"

He got down on one knee, his face tilting, "Because you need him right now to survive."

"I-I don't understand," I whispered, my voice quivering.

He nodded, "You haven't yet and up to now that was fine. Now it is imperative that you grow up Erin. You need to realize this world you're trying to save starts with you saving yourself."

I could only blink at him, and he sighed.

"I know you ask why then – why did I appear when you finally found others. It is simple: I did not. This place inside your head was not created by me – I am nothing but a virus inside you. You decided you needed to see me. It was you who decided what I looked like and what this place was. And now you need to answer why," he said sternly, "You need to answer those questions you locked away deep within yourself."

"I-I don't know what you mean," I cried scrambling away from him.

He shook his head patiently, "Yes you do. The same reason you decided the face of your father was the one who needed to reveal this. First you needed a twin, a different side of yourself to show you the strength you held, now you need your father to show you the knowledge you have. What do you know about the Lyssasolanum? What specifically about subject zero? About the truth."

My mind was beginning to whirl as my palms rose to cup my face. In the distance something inside throbbed. Something I was missing – what was I missing? I shut my eyes tightly, my breath becoming more and more of a challenge.

"Daddy!" A scream of a child.

My eyes flew open as I looked up. My imposter father stood beside me, his arm outstretched behind me. I stood, turning to follow his pointed finger. Confusion filled me as I now noticed the tea set gone, and in it's place a pile of children's drawings. There were so many they flooded off the table and onto the grass.

"I remember those," I murmured looking at the scribbles of landscapes with roses in the sky and a bald little girl standing in an Alice-In-Wonderland style dress. She sat at a table with a woman – a drawing of what she thought she'd look like when she was older.

"That's it," Dad said.

I turned to face him but his lips didn't move, no, the noise was coming from the space itself.

"Draw your happy place. The strong woman you'll be when you're older."

His voice brought new tears to my eyes as I remembered. He used to make me draw those silly drawings while at his office. My mom had been obsessed with the story book, and so in turn so was I – this was my haven.

"Will she be my friend?" I asked him brightly.

He'd chuckle, "She is you – how could she be your friend too?"

"Because without her I'd be lonely."

I turned my face back to the virus, but instead when I turned my imposter father was no longer there. In his place stood a deathly pale little girl with no hair, wearing a hospital gown and fuzzy pink slippers. Her bright green eyes stared at me, despite how young she looked there was wisdom in her eyes.

"You needed a friend when you knew you were different," she whispered.

I nodded, realization hitting me, "So I created you for when I needed to be reminded, I was strong, when I needed to be taught what I already knew, and now..."

Those bright eyes blinked, "And now?"

I rolled my eyes, looking away, "And now I need a damn dramatic scene to accept the virus that had been apart of me all along and bla bla bla. This doesn't change anything – so why now? Why pick now to do this?"

She smiled a toothy grin, "I don't know, why did you?"

I looked down at my palms as if that would tell me the answers. I was fucking insane – this was insane. Anyone else would be horrified to learn they had a virus: I made mine into my goddamn imaginary friend. I rubbed my face hard, looking back to her – to Zero, I would name her.

"I need to save them, I need to save my friends," I told her.

She giggled, "How will you do that?"

My teeth tugged at my lip as my brain worked over-time to answer her question. How the fuck would I save them if I couldn't even save myself? I needed to save myself, I realized quickly, and to do so I needed to admit the part I had been trying to hide.

I needed to accept the monster inside.

My legs moved to squat down to her size as I held out my hand, "Will you help me?"

And like any good horror story, a true monster was born.

She smiled, the child in front of me melting away into the form I had grown used to only this time it was her who looked like the infected and not me. As she gripped my hand, the black veins melted from my skin onto hers, her eyes flashed red before fading to green, and finally a blush danced across my skin.

"I think I'll keep these eyes," she told me with a wide grin, "as a token of our bond."

I opened my mouth – but she cut me off, her form melting into a new one once more. Blue eyes, red hair – freckles. She had taken the form of Cerci, a sob blocked my throat as determination filled me. Zero was reminding me why I couldn't give up.

Why I wouldn't give up.

She giggled, "Give 'em hell bestie."

Then, my haven melted around me and I submerged into darkness with a new fight and a renewed vow. Maxwell ruined my life and made me a monster – now I'll show him why that would be the biggest mistake of his goddamn life.      

*** 

One chapter left of Season two!!!

Contest coming soon

OML I hope you're ready for what is to come and for the final chapter of Season Two!

SEASON THREE coming this MARCH 2020!