Phantom Hearts

Prologue 1- Arrow

It was happening again.

Memories of before sprang forth once more making them bolt up in bed and clutch their side.

They weren’t entirely in their bedroom nor in the memories, just sitting in the between realities, trying to figure out which one was real.

The barrel of the gun staring them down, like it was debating whether to fulfill its designed purpose. Their screams lodged itself in their throat. They were just a child.

Why was this happening? They’d never get that answer as things went south. The police had showed up earlier than planned, leading the gunman to panic. Several people were shot down before the gun was aimed at them but the gunman was hesitant.

“Arrow….” Their brother said from beside them on the floor. The gunman moved the gun away to point it at him. “You’re going to get through this ok, we both are.”

Arrow gave a small nod, but that only brought the attention back to them. They didn’t want to lose anyone else that they loved, especially not today. The gunman turns his attention away, he focuses on the lady behind the counter.

“Give me the Key.” His voice was steady, despite the panic in his gaze.

“The police are already here.” The Lady warns, her voice was quiet but steady.

The man just grins, “that’s the plan.” He seems way too calm to be surrounded by the authorities.

Arrow and their brother notice the man being cocky. The two of them glanced at each other and decided to make a stand. The authorities were already there, what could possibly go wrong.

And it was that thought that was the problem. Two kids decided to become those heroes that they hear about in the bedtime stories that their parents tell them.

The two of them waited for the man to be distracted. He started yelling at the Lady again, trying to get her to tell him where the door to the next floor was.

All thoughts are gone, only the adrenaline there to guide their actions. Arrow went for the gun, their brother for the legs. The man was caught off guard by the attack, but the children were at a disadvantage. The man had a gun, and they were just two small children.

“I should’ve finished you off sooner.” The man growls.

The two of them keep their holds tight, throwing the man’s balance off and he falls. Arrow’s brother let's go but Arrow keeps a hold of the arm, they land on top of the man.

Arrow and the man make eye contact, but then both look at the gun. Arrow tries to pry his fingers away from the weapon, but he only grasps tighter. The two fight over the weapon for a bit before Arrow narrows their eyes at the man, they bite his hand making him release the gun. They get off of him, kicking it away from his grasp. The man recovers too quickly and grabs for Arrow, their brother pulling them out of the way.

The two kids know they have angered the man greatly and take off running. The man follows them.

“Did you grab it?” Arrow asks their brother. They can’t stop as they run to think what happened with the gun. That is before they hear it go off behind them. The shot misses them. The kids circle back to the desk where the Lady is. They duck behind the desk with her as they wait for the man. Things happen way too quickly after that. The Lady gave them the Key, and took off in a different direction. The kids managed to get a head start down the stairs to the main level before the man caught up with them.

“This way!” Arrow grabs their brother and pulls him into a doorway that leads to an alley. A mistake. There isn’t an exit and they are cornered now.

The door barely gets a chance to close before it’s pushed open again. All they can see is the gun. Arrow pushed her brother out of the way as it went off.

They barely feel the pain, as they take advantage of the confusion. Their only concern is to keep their brother safe. The gun is on the ground, the man finally coming to his senses that these are just two kids and that he shot the one. This barely registers though before he sees the barrel of the gun himself, he didn’t realize he fell to his knees. He glances above it to see the smaller of the kids staring at him. Their eyes seemly glazed over but there was a hint of coloured flames,before the man could blink the vision away he felt something. He looks down, his eyes widen, he coughs slightly.

Arrow’s brother lightly touches their arm, lowering the gun to point at the ground. Arrow barely registers what is happening before the man crumples to the ground. He lays there not moving, scarlet liquid pooling around him. That’s what everyone else would see. Arrow however sees a dark grey shadow figure, he looks just like the man. His red eyes stare at Arrow as is trying to get to their soul.

“This won’t be the last time. I’m sorry it had to come to this.” It says before it flies towards them, passing right through but knocking Arrow over. Their brother catches them before they hit the ground, the gun dropping from their hands.

“Over here!”Someone yells as they run up, the sound of footsteps follow but Arrow is no longer there. The world collapsed after that spirit passed through them, something life changing was activated. They killed a man, something like that doesn’t disappear no matter how it gets covered up by the media or the records.

They grasp their side, the place where they had been shot. A phantom feeling of the pain still there, a reminder to never forget. They get out of bed and head to the living room of their dorm.

Unlike if they were at home there isn’t a familiar person waiting for them, so they have to make their own tea. After they go and sit on the couch, the hot tea in front of them. They stare out the window and wait for the sun to rise so they don’t have to think. They want to forget the way the man looked, more so how dark coloured his spirit had been before it disappeared, the way his voice sounded as he made that threatening sounding remark. They wanted to forget….they shake their head, trying to clear it, it only works briefly. They wish their usual nighttime friend was there to keep them company before the two of them decide to head back to their rooms to try and sleep, both having a secret understanding that they were both up due to similar reasons.

“Ophie?” They hear their roommate ask.

Something about the soft voice brings them back to the reality where there are no guns pointed at them, no blood, no sirens or dark ghosts. They were in their dorm living room on the couch with their roommate sittin in front of them.

They were safe, but there was still a feeling left of them being alone. Only they knew what truely happened the night that they’d become a murderer.

They felt arms wrap around them, and they couldn’t help but return the gesture. They felt safe.

Without any words the two of them went back to the bedroom, leaving the tea to get cold on the table.

Now finally calm enough to differentiate between realities, they pull out a notebook and write about their dream. When they are done they sit by their roommates bed closing their eyes but afraid to fall asleep. It suddenly reminds them about how truly alone they are in this world. Despite their friends, despite their family, and all the people that love them. They know that anything that is precious to them won’t last long. Which is why they don’t get too attached. Surrounded by people that will one day become strangers, haunted by the spirits of those who have passed and that memory….

That she is a murderer.