Novels2Search
The Dark Before The Light
Chapter 7 ~Kill or be Killed~ I

Chapter 7 ~Kill or be Killed~ I

"What do you want, Celeste?" Zephyra gritted out and stepped forward. The woman clasped her hands together, she has long black hair with gold eyes. Her blue dress fluttered with her movements. The dress has two thigh slits with long sleeves and a black pants underneath. There were a total of three people behind her dressed in a similar fashion.

"Oh, stop looking at me like that. I just found out you found a new member and I couldn't hold in my curiosity." Celeste had a very soothing voice, if only her intentions were as soothing. Acacia stiffened at the mention of her and the woman suddenly walked towards her and held her hands.

"Oh! She is so pretty!" Celeste gasped and leaned her face closer, making Acacia move her head away. "Would you like to join my kin group instead?"

"No thanks, I'm good." Acacia tried to remove her hands from her grip but found it very difficult to do so. She tried pulling her hands harder from her grip but Celeste's hands didn't budge, if anything, it grew tighter and caused her to wince.

Kel raised his right hand and clenched his fist and it blazed with fire, a crackling, orange bloom as the light danced in his eyes. "Remove your hands before I burn them."

"What a bore, I was expecting the new girl to be similar to Belle but she is weaker than expected." Celeste huffed and removed her grip on Acacia's hands, turning her attention to Zephyra. Acacia rubbed her hands to soothe it and the fire on Kel's fist disappeared

"My name is Bella." Bella spoke out in an annoyed tone.

"Same thing." Celeste waved her hand dismissively and turned her attention to Zephyra. "The other kin groups have been at each other's throats. Everyone wants to jump high in the rankings and they raise their kill count.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Zephyra asked.

"....To give you a heads up, so that you don't think it's unfair when I come for your head." Celeste was quiet for a few moments and stretched her arms up in the air as she walked away with her group."See you around."

"Let us go home." Zephyra muttered out with an unreadable expression on her face. The rest of the walk home had an uncomfortable silence.

They reached the building, the barrier no obstacle for them. Bella knocked on the metal door and it groaned open. They stepped through and the door creaked shut.

"Finally, I was starving." Edwin groaned in relief and grabbed Kel by the arm and dragged him towards the kitchen. Zephyra laid down on the couch with her arm covering her face.

Bella put her hand on Acacia's shoulder and spoke. "Let's talk."

"Sure?" Acacia was puzzled and felt Bella remove her hand from her shoulder. She walked up the stairs towards the girls room with Acacia following her behind her. Once they were alone, Bella locked the door.

"I know you have been here for a day but you cannot survive here." Bella said in a stern voice.

"Why do you think that?" Acacia asked with furrowed brows.

"Have you killed anyone before? Stain your hands with blood or strangle a person to death, slowly feel their heartbeat stop." Bella asked and ignored her question.

"....no." Acacia hesitated as the image of the man's face that was battered by her hands flashed in her mind.

"Just as I thought, you can't survive here. No one's hands are clean here, everyone downstairs has taken a life more than once. We don't need baggage, we need strength and if you cannot provide that then you should leave. The world isn't the same, it's either you kill or be killed." Bella said and glared down at Acacia. She brought out a piece of paper from her pant pocket and shoved it in Acacia's hands. "It's a map to Flow, your chances of survival are higher there."

Bella left the room and Acacia looked down at the folded paper and unfolded it. Taking in the rough drawings and inspecting it. 'How did she even get this?'

'Are you going to go?' Daemonis suddenly asked in her head.

'I don't know.' She replied in her head and leaned against the wall. Her mind and heart felt conflicted, on one hand she will stay but have to harm people and on the other hand, she can live a new life at Flow and forget about her past.

'I should just forget about everything and live a peaceful life. Forget about Christine, Mirkil, father, mother and Lucian.'

'That should be easy but I cannot forget that day. My heart starts to burn every time I think about it, like a reminder of the pain it went through. The sight of his retreating figure and the smile on his face makes my skin itch, I want to get rid of it, destroy his pride and everything he holds dear. Some moments, I regret that he wasn't the one I hit with the pipe even though it's wrong, it's very wrong.' Acacia placed her hand on her beating heart, her hands clenched the fabric of her hoodie.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

'Why is it so important for you to appear moral, even if it's not genuine? You say you want to hurt him but you also say it's wrong. Did your brother think it was wrong when he killed you?' Daemonis asked.

'I didn't ask for your opinion.' Acacia replied in her head in an annoyed tone while a little part of her, struggles to disagree with him.

'Tsk, the longer you ignore it, the more the darkness in your soul will consume you and you will eventually stop this facade.' Daemonis clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Acacia wished there was a switch off button in her head to shut him up. She soon left the room and went for dinner downstairs. She noticed that Bella was ignoring her but she didn't care. She went to sleep that night with a lot in her mind before drifting off to sleep.

She woke up the next morning, her eyes blinking a few times as she took in the familiar sight of the old ceiling. She turned her head to see Zephyra and Bella fast asleep. Her gaze lingered on Bella for a moment before she gently sat up on the bed and walked towards the window. The first hint of dawn bleeds across the inky canvas of the pre-dawn sky, a subtle lightening along the eastern horizon. It's not quite light yet, but the darkness feels thinner, less absolute. The stars, which blazed with fierce intensity just moments ago, began to dim, their light fading in the face of the approaching day.

Acacia was distracted by the sight until she heard the sounds of footsteps and the crunch of dry leaves. Her gaze flickered down and saw the sight of a hooded figure. The figure walked in a cautious gait and disappeared from her sight.

'Who the hell is that?' She thought to herself and raised a brow at the sight. She turned her head and looked at Zephyra's sleeping form, pondering if she should say something when suddenly the image of Zephyra's stressed expression from earlier made her hesitate. 'I will just take a small peek, if it gets dangerous. I'll just come back.'

'Sneaking out? How naughty.' Daemonis snickered.

Acacia's left index twitched but she ignored him for words and quietly wore her hoodie. She walked towards the window in a soft manner.

'Are you going to jump?' Daemonis asked with amusement.

'Yes, the metal door downstairs makes too much noise.' She responded and gently climbed the window, she rested her bare feet on the cemented brick attached to the wall. Her gaze was on the ground and she tried to move. 'How do I get-'

Her thought cut off as the brick broke underneath her feet, she fell and hit the ground in a harsh thud. The smell of dust filled her nostrils and the dried leaves crunched underneath her movements as she sat up. She looked up at the window and was thankful it wasn't that high. She got up on her feet and dusted her clothes from the dirt, her gaze turned towards the direction the hooded man passed through earlier.

She followed the direction and soon left the barrier that protected the building. Her gaze on the abandoned buildings, it felt a bit surreal to her. That people used to litter the streets and the once lively city was a shell of its former self. She shook her head to forget about that and focus on where the hooded figure went. She didn't know which direction he went and tilted her head trying to guess as she walked down the street.

Acacia walked for five minutes and was about to give up when she heard a voice inside an abandoned coffee shop. She hunched her figure and walked slowly towards the coffee shop. She peeked from the window and saw the hooded figure speaking to a transparent blue man but she couldn't see his face clearly since he was blocked by the hooded figure.

'Hologram?' Acacia questioned and tried to listen to what was being said but it was difficult since they were speaking in a low tone.

"- but I need more time, commander." The hooded figure spoke in a quiet but firm voice.

"How much more? The data we have received is sufficient and the purification process needs to begin." The hologram replied in a direct and imperative tone.

".... There is new research to be discovered that would give us an advantage. Give me more time and the purification process will go as planned." The hooded figure responded with a hint of desperation.

"Your stay will be prolonged, any further delay will not be welcomed. Dismissed." The hologram figure replied and disappeared.

The hooded figure was silent for a whole minute before he finally spoke in a low tone. "I need to find the orb of wishes." The hooded figure disappeared into thin air.

Acacia stood up from her hiding spot and crossed her arms. 'What was that all about?'

'I am not sure but I am aware of the orb of wishes. It can grant a single wish but at a costly price, it is usually not considered worth it because the consequences or conditions were too great.' Daemonis explained.

'Can it bring people back from the dead?' Acacia thought while thinking of Mirkil and Christine's happy faces.

'Yes but you might need to sacrifice a life instead and there's no telling if the people you bring back will be the same.' Daemonis said in a warning tone as he could sense why she asked.

'I see,' Acacia sighed and turned around. ' I wonder why he came from our side. There's no road there just some bushes and trees.'

"Hah! Found another one!" A male voice rang out and he pointed at Acacia. She looked at him with a puzzled expression when her body was suddenly tightened forcefully. A hissing sound filled her ears, and she struggled as the scales scratched her skin. The double headed, green scaled snake stared down at her.

'When did the snake even appear?' Acacia groaned and felt the bones of her arm crack from the right grip of the snake.

"Let's go, pet." The green haired man gestured to the snake as he walked away. The snake quickly followed him while dragging Acacia.

'A domesticated monster? Is that even possible?' Acacia thought while groaning, her movements stilled.

'Of course it is, you humans were just too afraid to try but it seems not everyone was afraid to try.' Daemonis marvelled.

Acacia closed her eyes as she was dragged away towards the middle of the road where she was thrown on the road. She struggled to stand up and looked at the three people infront of her. A young man and an elderly woman with a young girl around ten years old.