La Recoleto

5

Purple

I expected her to go for the dagger. I didn't expect her to run to the right before she got to me. I now watch as she disappears into the forest. Laughing to myself, I walk over to the dagger and pick it up. I hold it up to the light and examine it carefully. The curve and the sharpness of the blade are so beautiful.

"This will come in handy." I look back to the forest. Whistling a cheerful tune, I follow her, walking of course. I have all the time in the world. As I enter the forest, I feel a sense of comfort. I am entering into my own territory. My hunting ground. I am the cheetah that chases down the gazelle. I am the falcon that swoops down to get the slithering snake. I am the wolf that comes for the lamb.

**

Gabri

I keep running. Trees on both sides blur past me. I finally see a bright light glaring through the trees. It must be a clearing! I push myself, putting my muscles in overdrive. When I reach the light, I see that I have come to a clearing. From what I can see, waist-deep grass surrounds the entire clearing. Good. I have a place to hide if I need it. I wade through the grass when I find that midway through, the grass gradually becomes shorter.

I also find him. He is lying on the ground, waiting. His hands are locked together under his head. One of his legs is crossed over the other. He is humming a tune with his eyes closed, his foot bounces to the beat in the air.

"So, you came."

"How did-"

"I get here so quickly? Do you really want to know that answer?" I clamp my mouth shut. He beckons me with his finger. "Come here. I want to show you something." Hesitantly, I walk towards him. My mind screams at me to turn around and run. Danger is radiating off of him like a potent smell.

"What?"

"Arm."

"Why?"

"Why ruin the surprise?" I slowly extend my arm towards him. He takes it and runs a knife along my skin.

"Is that?"

"Yours? Indeed it is." He tightens his grip on my arm and slices it with the blade. Automatically, blood flows from a deep gash in my arm.

"I told you. It's too easy, " He says standing up, still holding my arm. "All I have to do is wait, and my patience ends up rewarding me." He leans down and whispers in my ear, "Run." Then, he releases my arm, and I bolt out of there. I clutch my arm, trying to stop the waterfall of blood pouring down my arm. When I feel too woozy, I stop and hide behind a tree. Moments later, I hear footsteps delicately making their way through the forest.

"Playing hide-and-seek, are we? Fine by me. Ready or not, here I come!"

I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths, attempting to calm my heartbeat.

"Tell me, my Cordera, what draws you to me? Is it the darkness that attracts you, or are you just curious?"

I open my eyes and look around at my surroundings. I need to find a way to clean out and bandage my arm. Rocks, twigs, and roots are scattered all around on the forest floor.

"Oh, is it because you think you can still save me?" Laughter bounces off the trees and echoes all around me. "If it is that one, please do share your thoughts. I would love to hear how that is going to play out."

I spot a familiar plant on the far left. I need to make my way to that. I needed to move anyways, because I could hear Purple gradually get closer and closer. Slowly, I lower myself to the ground. Trying to not make a sound, I army crawl over to the plant.

"No, it's something else, isn't it?"

I reach the plant and prop my back up against the tree that stood next to it.

"It's because I act like HIM. You still think he is still here, don't you?"

I bite my lower lip, suppressing a gasp. Is he talking about...? There is no way Purple knows about him. Staying quiet, I touch one of the plant's leaves. The top is smooth while the underbelly is fuzzy.

"It is because you think I act like him," Purple declares triumphantly.

My hand wraps around the stem of the leaf, and I rip it off like I am ripping off a Band-Aid. A plunk sounds loud and clear. I freeze. In reality, it made little noise, but my heart keeps saying "He heard, he heard" with every beat.

"You think I act like Cole?!" Purple resumes, sounding disgusted. He says "Cole" like it's a bad taste in his mouth.

I balance the leaf on my arm.

"How do you think I act like him?"

I take a twig from the ground and put it in my mouth. The thing about this plant is when it is hot, it will wrap around its victim and teeth-like spikes on the underside will appear. These "teeth" will then proceed to sink into the flesh and release a self-cleaning enzyme that will neutralize infection. However, it will burn ten times worse than hydrogen peroxide, hence the twig. I hear Cole's voice in my mind when he taught me about this plant a long time ago, "There is quite a history behind this plant, Gabri. In past generations, there used to be contests to see who could last the longest. This plant's antitoxin is so painful that not one person so far has yet to use this plant without screaming out loud in pain." Now, I would have to accomplish the impossible. I take a deep breath and summon fire in my other hand. I put it next to the leaf. Almost instantly, the leaf wraps around my arm. The teeth sinking into my skin feels like a pinch. It's the disinfectant that make me feel like hell is living under my skin. I grab a root on each side of me and squeeze tightly, my knuckles becoming white. The taste of dirt and damp wood fills my mouth. Then, it hits me. It has been silent this whole time.

Purple has not said a single word. I look around me. He is nowhere near me. Next, I carefully check behind the tree. I don't see any trace of him. He must have moved on. Sighing in relief, I slump back into my spot.

"Don't stop on my account." I look up to see Purple just hanging out in the tree above me. He is on one of the branches, his back against the tree. His foot is just swinging playfully in the air. "You know, you really need to get better at hide-and-seek." I spit out the piece of wood in my mouth. It serves no purpose to me anymore, not to mention that I can't stand the taste of it. It is almost like I have a slug in my mouth.

"How did you find me?"

"Isn't that the number one question today?" He drops down from the tree and he points to something red on the forest floor. Blood. "You left a trail, Little Lamb. It lead me straight to you." He casually leans up against a huge rock that is behind him. "I am actually quite impressed. Not many can withstand the pain of Flos sanitatem." "It's called Flos sanitatem, or Healing Flower," Cole's voice echoes in my head. "It's Latin."

"The worst part hasn't come yet," I comment.

"No doubt."

"Just kill me."

"And ruin the fun? No thanks. I would love to see the show." I grit my teeth together.

"Screw it! This timeline is going nowhere." I spring up and jump towards Purple. I strike him with my hand, fire rekindling in my palm. He catches my hand. His hand is now engulfed in a dark pink flame.

"On the contrary, I like how this timeline is shaping up. By the way, do you like my new party trick?"

Staring at his flame in amazement, I whisper, "That's not possible."

"I think you will find that many impossible things become possible today." I roundhouse kick him, making him lose his balance. I break away and start to run. He grabbed me from behind and whispers in my ear, "I think I know why you were so compliant from before. You must have been in shock. Pity." He drags me back to the rock and flings me onto the top of it, my back making contact with the sharp point. I cry out in pain. "You're not done yet. We have just barely begun." He stands over me and summons his dark pink fire again. Instead of holding it next to the leaf, he put his whole hand on top of it. The fire seeps into the leaf, in turn, making the leaf dig deeper into my skin and release more of the antiseptic. Nothing comes at first, but then a fire roars through my body. Is it fire or venom? I can't tell at this point. Tears stream down my face, and I can feel it. I can feel them changing. My eyes gradually move away from brown and shift into a bright crimson. Purple leans down and says softly, "I want you to remember this the next time you see them. I want you to remember and make them suffer." Noticing my eye color change, he adds, "Your anger is rising. Good." Heat runs up and down my veins, but it just isn't heat. There is this burning that licks its way through my entire body with its fiery tongue. It dawns on me that it is not just the antiseptic that contributes to this burning. Don't get me wrong. My arm burns like there is both fire and poison in it, but that burning stays within my arm. This other burning is coming from Purple's fire.