D£STRÕY M£
Destrõy Me - Episode 71 & 72
(Her•Heartless•Monster)
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Copyright © 2024
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She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe, she just stood there, lifelessly in the heavy rain.
Her legs felt too heavy to move, and her heart bled so much it almost got drowned in it's confinement.
The rain his her tears, and when her legs finally moved to walk, Uriel rushed over, wet from the rain too.
"Have you seen my boss?" He asked, breathing fast.
Twilight couldn't open her mouth to reply, so he ran past her, into the admin building.
Twilight dragged her legs towards her tower.
*
Miss Dora is still walking behind Slade in the long hallway that leads to the conference hall, and despite the space between them, she couldn't help but feel the heat rolling off him in waves.
It was affecting her, so she began blowing air out of her mouth as she tried to catch up with him.
"I've... never seen you that aggressive before. Everyone in this university is aware that you favor her, and she's close to you. Though she crossed the line by questioning me, but I feel you should have just told her the truth, that we were course mates when you were still a student here" she said.
Slade gave no answer to that, so she clamped her mouth shut, but the heat still persists.
Slade suddenly staggered, leaning on the wall.
"Mr. President, are you ok?" She quickly leaned forward.
"Do not touch me!" He said, the harshness still prevalent.
"Mr. President!" She gasped, her eyes widening when she saw his eyes.
They became redder than before, and it's times ten scarier like this.
"Mr.... Mr. President..." She tried touching him again, but he bolted into a washroom, slamming the door on her face.
"Mr. President!!" She banged the door repeatedly from outside, but Slade's head is too noisy to accommodate the noise too.
He backed the wall, going down like that. He sat on the floor, throwing his head back as the bleeding from his chest started again.
The blood spread on his shirt, and his skull boiled like it's gonna crack and explode.
Even as a lover of pains, that one was too much for him to bear, so a ear-piercing shriek escaped his throat, his eyes dazzling again.
"Boss!!" Uriel's voice came from outside. Seems he finally caught up.
"Mr. President!" Miss Dora shouted too, the several other voices which definitely belongs to Lord Vann and the other sponsors.
Slade's eyes went down, and his chin fell on his chest.
Soon, hard poundings landed on the door , and after about ten pounds, the door broke down, and everyone rushed in, looking shocked when they saw the scene.
Elijah is with them too.
"Boss!" Uriel ran to him.
"What's up with him? Where did the blood come from?" Lord Vann asked worriedly.
"Move" Elijah went forward, and Uriel moved aside.
Elijah checked Slade's temperature, then his pulse.
"Nothing medical is wrong with him" he muttered, and when he saw the ring is not on his finger, he sighed.
"Where is his ring? Could this be happening because of it? But even without his ring, he's physically strong" he said.
"When the ring power stops working, it'd drain his physical energy too" Elijah replied.
"But why would the ring suddenly stop working?" Uriel said, and Elijah looked at him.
Uriel's eyes widened.
"The moonslave? Her aliveness is making him lose his mind like this? He knew this would eventually happen so why is he sparing her life?" He said.
"Isn't it obvious? Even the strongest heart could melt at the sight of that stupid thing called feelings" Elijah replied, carrying Slade on his back.
"He'll be fine, he just needs to rest in seclusion." He said.
"Take him to the recuperation hall" Lord Vann said.
Elijah carried Slade out of the room, and Uriel quickly followed.
*
FIFTH TOWER*
Twilight was still shivering as she stepped in, water streaming out of her skirt down her shoes to the ground.
She was taking one step at a time, not even looking at where she's going. She just knows she's going towards the stairs.
"Come back to me, it's not too late" a voice said behind her suddenly, and she stopped, taking a long pause before turning around.
Tamlin is there, sitting gracefully on his wheelchair, staring at her.
"I knew it'd come to this. You actually think he's gonna feel something for you?" He scoffed.
"I've known him for seven years since the Arcade Home times, and I've never seen him really open his mind to anyone. What makes you think you'll be different?" He said.
Twilight folded her fists.
"I might not be as rich as he is, but at least... I've got few investments too, enough to take care of you for the rest of your life. Come to me, Twilight" he said.
Twilight looked at her feet, then she looked back up like she's gonna talk, but nothing happened.
She turned around and began climbing the stairs.
"Twilight!" Tamlin yelled.
She didn't turn back.
"Twilight! Twilight!!" He yelled out, still no reply from her.
He stood from his wheelchair and tried going after her, but he fell, hurting his elbows.
"Twilight!!!" He yelled for the last time before she disappeared up the stairs.
"Pitiful" Molly said, coming out from below the stairs.
Tamlin didn't look at her, he just remained sitting on the ground, staring into space.
Isobel came into the tower, rushing to help Tamlin up.
She got him back on the wheelchair and began taking him out.
"You both and your sister are the same. Pitiful fossils" Molly said, going upstairs too.
She stood on the hallway, watching as Twilight opened the door to her room and entered.
On getting inside, she met everyone present, including Onyx who's still in her human form.
They ordered takeouts from the refectory again, and they've been waiting for her to have dinner together, but the moment they saw her wet from the water, they all stood.
"Twi-Twi" Rihannon muttered.
"Twilight" Damien blinked.
Onyx rushed to her, checking out her wet appearance.
"Twillie, why are you wet? You went out with umbrella why didn't you use it?" She asked, hugging her, but she gasped immediately.
"Your...your temperature!"
Rihannon came closer immediately, checking Twilight's skin temperature.
Despite the water, her body is so fuçking hot.
"She's developing a very high fever. Damien, get a set towel. Onyx, get dry clothes from her bag" she said.
"Sure!" Onyx and Damien rushed off, and Rihannon took Twilight to bed.
*
IMOGEN'S ROOM*
Imogen and Echo are busy dancing in one corner of the room while Ren is busy filming them with his phone, though he concentrated on Imogen alone.
As he filmed, notifications kept popping up from several groups, but he kept swiping them away so he could concentrate on filming.
At a point, his thumb mistakenly clicked one of the notifications, and when it came on full screen, his eyes widened.
"Shit!" He jumped down from the bed.
Imogen and Echo stopped dancing ti face him.
"What's going on?" They asked at the same time.
Before Ren could provide an answer, Posey barged in with the butter knife, fury steaming off her as she began running to Imogen.
"What has entered you?" Imogen shifted back.
"You stinking fool! You're f+çking my boyfriend? How dare you!!" Posey yelled, throwing the knife at Imogen.
Ren caught the knife before it could get to Imogen, and Posey swallowed, coming to a standstill.
"How could you? How could you betray me for this whore? We both know how many boys she f+çked in this university already, and now you? You??" She said disappointedly.
"So what? Are you the first girl to get cheated on in the world? I fell for her, is it that bad? And you better quit the thing with the knife cos if you hurt her, Lord Vann will kill you" Ren said.
"Kill me? As if she has the balls" Imogen said, stepping forward with a smile and her arms folded.
"Do you really think I befriended you because you're worth it? Let me tell you, I did it out of pity. Who's your father in this town? While mentioning the top 50, he won't be among. You living in this tower is because of my influence and you should appreciate it. So what if I stole your boyfriend? You should even be thankful cos this is the only way you can repay my kindness" she said.
Echo couldn't utter a word, she just watched the drama speechlessly.
Posey snickered, chuckling afterwards.
"I should have known it'd come to this. I should have cut my coat according to my size, and as for you... Ren. That huge secret you're struggling to keep, I hope it gets out very soon" she said.
"Come here baby" Imogen pulled Ren into a kiss, and Posey quickly packed her things into two big bags.
Twenty minutes later, she dragged the bags out of the room, slamming the door.
"Finally a breathe of fresh air" Imogen inhaled, and Ren grinned.
"That wasn't... right" Echo muttered, and they both faced her.
"You can follow her if you're tired of this tower" Imogen said.
"No...I don't mean in that way" Echo replied, and Imogen rolled eyes.
*
RECUPERATION HALL*
Slade us still unconscious, and his face just got paler every passing second.
Elijah just finished tucking him in bed and his currently watching him with Uriel beside him.
"So...what's next? Cos it's obvious he's never gonna kill the girl" Uriel said.
"We'll prepare for his burial" Elijah replied, and they both suddenly saw a shadow cross the wall, reflecting from outside.
Without waiting, they went after it, barging out the door and running after the shadow.
Uriel took left and Elijah took right, both deciding to corner the shadow at the backspace of the building.
Two minutes later, they all met at the backspace for real.
Elijah, Uriel, and the shadow who's now visual. It's the hoodie guy.
"Who the hell are you?" Elijah questioned.
No answer.
"Who are you?" Uriel repeated the question, and when no answer came again, they both leapt forward at once, but that instant, the hoodie guy threw his palm forward, pouring something on their faces .
"F+cker!" Elijah curses, rubbing his eyes and trying to stop the sting, same as Uriel.
Three minutes later when they were able to open their eyes, the hoodie guy is already gone.
"It's camphor, no wonder my ring power couldn't dispell it" Elijah groaned, looking at the camphor powder on his palm.
"Who's he?" Uriel asked.
"Stay with Slade. If any harm comes to my brother while I'm away, I'll kill you" Elijah replied, and he immediately left with the wind.
Uriel breathed out.
*
LUTHERS ISLAND, AIMEE'S ROOM*
Aimee looks calm as she sat in front of her mirror, tending to the scald on her face with a wet cotton.
She'd have to cut her hair at this rate and regrow it since the git damaged by the fire.
She sighed, dropping the tissue with her before picking another tissue to start wiping with again.
A knock sounded at the door, but she didn't answer it since it's obvious who it is
A minute later, Grandpa Cedric came in.
"I don't have any spare time for your pep talk right now" she said without glancing at him.
The man came closer.
"I know you're mad at me for giving Twilight the special treatment,but trust me...I did it because I pity her. She didn't chose to be born this way" he said.
Aimee stood.
"Pitying her was your first mistake. You think you can pity her? I'm saying this again and again, that girl is not to be trusted. Y'all think I'm barking?" She glared.
A sudden force came clashing with the window, and the glasses broke as Elijah dashed in, hitting her in the face so hard.
Aimee flew to the bedside, landing hard on the ground.
"You have a knack for breaking my window, and it's not funny" she said, jumping back to her feet.
"And you think it's funny to toy with Slade's life?" Elijah roared.
"What are you talking about? I only made him chase me around town, and he set me on fire, but thanks to the rain and bridge, I was saved" she replied.
"What is wrong with you? He's supposed to be conserving his powers. His ring power was starting to go down, but you had to force him to use the remaining ounce of power on you, and now the ring is powerless, and he's fuçking unconscious!" Elijah shouted.
"What!" Grandpa Cedric gasped.
"He was still conscious when I left him in the forest" Aimee said.
"Unlink Twilight and Isobel, at least" Elijah replied.
"The blood link has my heart as the anchor, so unless I die, no way" she said.
"Aimee!!" Elijah yelled.
"Elijah what? What!!" She yelled back stubbornly.
"I need to go see him as fast as possible" Grandpa Cedric rushed out of the room.
"I always thought Slade was worse, but you don't have to kill birds and butterflies before becoming the worse. You're way worse" Elijah said and started exiting too.
"I thought we were a team?" Aimee said.
"I'll team with you over anything to save or support him, but I'll never do what Slade is against." He replied, finally leaving.
Aimee lifted her vanity table, smashing it on the wall angrily.
*
UNKNOWN HOUSE*
White entered the house, and he wasn't surprised when he met Owen trying to write again as usual.
She's getting better. At least she can sit up now and eat few solid foods.
"Told you to give up" he said, and she dropped the pen with her, looking up.
"I visited the university, and I spied on Slade. His ring power is completely gone, even his physical strength is dropping, and he has fallen unconscious." He said.
Owen stood immediately.
"At this rate, they might wanna push him to kill Twilight when he wakes up so he'll have his strength back, but trust me when I say he doesn't have to kill Twilight to get his strength back. He doesn't have to kill her to lift his curse too" he said.
Owen looks confused, so White stood too.
"I saw something earlier when he passed out in the washroom. He was bleeding from the chest despite the fact that he wasn't wounded." He continued, walking around.
"Monsters have gone extinct in this world, and the only remaining one I know of is The Emperor who rules the moonclan. I never knew there's still a monster in the surface of the earth" he said.
Owen sat back.
"Monsters have their hearts frozen since birth, and that's why they don't have feelings, but once feelings start seeping in, the ice on their heart starts breaking and defrosting, causing the chest bleeding like the one Slade is currently experiencing" he said, sitting back too.
Owen blinked.
"Slade Luther is a powerful monster, but his monster powers were probably sealed off by Greg. Slade can be free from his curse if he unlocks the powers, but the problem is...how?" He said.
*
UOG, DAYBREAK~MOLLY'S ROOM*
Waking up with a loud yawn and feeling better than yesterday, Molly sat up in bed, but she screamed and fell off when she saw someone else with her in bed.
She retrieved her hidden knife and lifted the covers from the person, ready to stab her, but she was shocked to see Posey.
"What the hell are you doing in my room? On my bed?" She lowered her hand, and Posey's eyes opened slowly.
"Stop shouting, it was just a night" she muttered.
"Fûck. I never let my guard down so what happened last night?" Molly muttered, dragging her down from the bed.
"Molly!!" Posey gasped.
"Get out of my room, or I'm gonna wound you, and you'll bleed!" She commanded.
"I'm not gonna disturb your peace, just let me stay till the end of this semester" Posey replied.
"You must think I'm joking" Molly said, pushing her out
Posey staggered to the door, and Molly shut the door on her face.
"Molly!!" Posey slammed her palms on the door from outside, and Molly held her forehead, walking around the room.
"How did I wake up to total bad luck this morning?" She muttered.
*
TAMLIN'S ROOM*
Tamlin's eyes are heavy, and his hand is occupied with another cup of juice.
He has been drinking it like hell since he returned from the hospital, mainly because it's Twilight's favorite drink.
He was reminiscing about last night's saga, and his mind refused to leave how she turned her back on him and went upstairs without looking back.
If worse comes to worse, he might just have to visit Greg again without minding another backlash.
Isobel came in, and he briefly looked at her.
"The news is all-over the school, Slade is seriously sick" she said.
"That's new. So... heartless people get sick too" he smiled slightly.
"And this is probably my chance to punish Twilight. Don't you think?" She said.
"Don't hurt yourself just to hurt her. I won't sit still" he replied.
"Then an I supposed to sit and watch her?" She said.
"Just don't do anything, await my orders" he replied, giving her a warning look.
Isobel left the room with a grubt.
*
The university atmosphere turned festive this morning, and it's obviously because of the posters on the bulletin boards.
Posters about the upcoming founder's day in two weeks and the scheduled programmes. It's a whole lot, and auditions for the beauty contest is starting today too.
Students could be seen gushing over the posters and snapping pictures of the last Mr and Miss UOG for keepsake.
Twilight and her friends emerged from the hallway end, and one look at her, one will know she's still feverish.
Lips pale, body wrapped in sweater, joggers and head warmer too, even mittens and socks.
She looks lost.
"Are you sure you're strong enough to attend classes?" Damien asked.
"I'm fine" she replied.
"Heard the president is sick" a passing student said.
"Sick? Slade Luther? That's strange" another one replied.
"Mr. President is sick?" Rihannon said surprisingly.
"His luck" Twilight replied, walking away.
Rihannon and Damien looked at each other.
"I knew something was wrong" Damien said.
"Can they just be stable? They're messing with my heart" Rihannon muttered.
"It'll be fine. By the way, don't you think Onyx will be lonely alone in the dorm?" Damien asked.
"She's back in her cat form so she should rest" Rihannon shrugged.
They both left, and Ruslan appeared from a corner afterwards.
"Cat form? She's really Mr. President's cat?" He said.
"Interesting" he pocketed his hands, leaving the hall.
*
RECUPERATION HALL, 7PM*
Grandpa Cedric has been here since last night. He didn't sleep at all, and he hasn't stepped out for once too.
He stayed beside Slade throughout while Uriel left to take care of the presidential office.
Cedric is currently making a call, but he was hanging up when Elijah entered the hall.
"He hit four people during his race with Aimee last night, and they all landed in hospitals. I had to start calling their families one by one to talk to" Cedric said.
"I don't care, it's your headache to cure" Elijah replied with a squint.
"Are you gonna keep this up forever?" Grandpa Cedric said.
"Can we not do this today?" Elijah told him off, and Timothy came in next, then Uriel.
"He's not awake yet?" Timothy asked.
"As you can see" Grandpa Cedric said.
"Why do I feel like your presence here is delaying his awakening?" Elijah said, and a deep groan from Slade's bedside alerted them, making them turn at once.
His eyes are open, and he sat up in bed on his own, though he's still as pale and sickly as fûck, and his eyes look sicker.
"Slade!" Grandpa Cedric rushed to him first, but he ignored him as he got down from the bed, groaning again.
"Who did I meet last night?" He asked Uriel.
"What's he saying?" Elijah frowned.
"On his way back from the forest, he called me to come for him, he said he wasn't in his right senses" Uriel replied.
"Answer me!!" Slade snapped impatiently.
"You met Miss Dora, and... Twilight" Uriel replied.
"And what did I say to Twilight?" Slade asked, holding his chest.
"You don't remember?" Uriel blinked surprisingly.
"Just tell me!" Slade grabbed his throat.
"You were pretty harsh. You called her a slave, and you threatened her with death. It was unpleasant" Miss Dora replied, coming in
Slade threw Uriel down, grabbing his phone from the bedstand.
He checked the GPS app and detected her location easily, then he staggered out of the room.
Timothy made to follow him, but Elijah blocked him.
"Daddy do you have a death wish?"
*
WOODS, SWIMMING HOLE*
Twilight's clothes are off on the waterside, and with just her bra and short elastic skirt, she stepped into the pool.
Her cold hasn't subsided at all, but she doesn't even want it to leave.
She had to sneak out on Rihannon and Damien to come here since it's the only serene place she could think of to embrace her heart.
She got to the middle of the water and skin-dipped, then she surfaced two minutes later, releasing hard, deep breaths.
Slade's words stabbed her in the heart again, and she nearly bursted into tears, but she decided to go underwater again.
The subtle bursting of burbles suddenly alerted her of the entry of another person into the water
She turned around swiftly, and she wasn't expecting what she experienced next.
She was held in the most possessive way ever, the fingers of the person almost digging into her sensitive skin, but before she could think about that, her lips was captured.
Her eyes widened, and she started pushing at the chest of the freak, trying to get him off, but as she pushed, the lips felt familiar.
It molded perfectly against hers, and the scent too...
She finally plucked him away from herself, and her eyes widened again when she saw the face.
Slade.
She moved back, trying to get out of the water, but he grabbed her and kissed her again, harder and deeper this time.
She began the pushing struggle again, her head throbbing with headache and unspoken trauma.
A tear ran down her right eye, and she but his lip, making him bleed.
He let go of her, and she bursted into tears.
"What else do you want? My life? Then take it since it's yours anyways! Kill me! Just kill me! Today, you're talking about how you'll protect me and kill death for me, then the next day you'll start reminding me of how I'm a slave and how you'll kill me and send me to where I come from! You'll promise to text but you never do that and when I text you never reply me! Am I irritating? I know I went overboard by confronting Miss Dora but I have emotions. I might be a moonslave but I'm built like a human with emotions! I'm not like you emotionless monster who hurts whoever without remorse! Last night you were all about how I should never question anything about you again and now you're back to kissing...
"I wasn't in my right senses last night. It's just like when Greg hacked my head, but the difference is...no one hacked me this time, it was because of my weakness" he muttered, his lips bleeding as a result of her bite.
"What!" She sniffled.
"And you're not a slave, Twilight. You've never been. You're my salvation, you're where my sanity starts. I fuçking need you" he said, and another tear ran down her eyes.
"I...I still hate you...I hate you" she stammered, shaking her head and turning around to leave again.
Slade went after her and wrapped his arms on her, hugging her from behind and kissing her neck deeply at the same time.
"I hate you so much" she sobbed.
"I promise to worship the ground you'll walk on from now on, baby" he whispered, kissing her neck again.
Twilight folded into him.
From the opposite side of the water, Tamlin is on his wheelchair, watching with Isobel behind him.
They both look dumbfounded with that they're watching.
"Baby?" Isobel said unbelievably, gritting her teeth.
From the other side, an hidden female figure is watching them too.
She turned her back on them suddenly, removing her glasses before dialling a number saved as 'Father'
*
GREG'S COTTAGE*
Greg left his herb room, coming to the outer one to pick his ringing phone on the table.
'Daughter' is on screen
He swiped green happily.
"Hello daughter?"
"They made up faster than expected, but the good news now is that he's weak without his ring power and the physical energy" she said.
"Good. The plan is going as we want. Keep being the rival, daughter. I bet they don't even know you're closer than they expect" he laughed.
"It's been a while since I had my midnight killing, thinking of resuming tonight" she said.
"Do what you like, daughter" Greg replied, hanging up.
He dropped the phone, and he rested his palms on the table, thinking...
FLASHBACK, 27YRS AGO (After the birth of the triplets)*
Greg and Timothy took the triplets to the car, then they came back inside to take Stella the mother.
They tucked her into the car too.
Since she gave birth last night, she has been in the cottage receiving care.
"Come monthly for her tonic" Greg said.
"I understand. Thanks, Greg" Timothy replied, driving off.
Greg rushed back into the cottage, going into his secluded wall room which he opened slowly, revealing another baby in a black shawl.
She's silent, moving gently in her small space
Greg smiled widely.
Actually, Stella gave birth to four babies... Two boys and two girls.
BACK TO THE PRESENT*
Greg sat slowly, grinning.
"I raised her as my daughter, the midnight killer, the spy, and the rival. She's my weapon, meant to end her siblings in the future. Aren't I so meticulous?" He said.
His evil grin widened.
TBC.
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