Chereads / The Belladonna / Chapter 5 - The Spanish Twins

Chapter 5 - The Spanish Twins

Present day

"Move your arm! For fucks sake Reyna." The twins have been inseparable since they were born except for the occasional bickering of their opposite personalities clashing. Carmen valued her personal space and Reyna had no such words in her vocabulary.

"Shush. They might hear you!" Reyna scolded her sister and rolled her eyes, while focusing back on her target.

The twins were hunting for food to bring back to their compound. They were the best hunters in the squad and always found a form of pride in their work.

In front of them were a heard of Lema, a medium sized mutated herbivore. They had the same stature as what was once known as deer, but their colouring, facial features and a few small minor details changed. Females were a light grey colouring with a white stripe running along their spines and the males were of a darker grey with a black stripe on their spine. Lemas had three eyes, with the one in the middle. That eye was only used at night for better vision which made them very difficult to hunt in the dark, especially since their colouring blended with the surrounding environments.

They had no tails and their legs seemed disproportionate compared to the rest of their bodies. Long and thin twigs is what they use for walking and running. The males' antlers were pitch black and the females were pure white. These creatures tended to be very beautiful and rarely hunted unless by other predators, but today the twins wanted a trophy to celebrate the graduation of new members.

Carmen raised her bow and aimed at a particularly large male a few metres in front of her. The donna's eyes lit up to Indigo and her left arm mimicking the colour of her gift. The arrow she is holding in her hand suddenly surrounded by it as she steadily positions it towards the creature's heart. As she focuses on her surroundings her ears start reshaping into that of an elf and her teeth sharpens. Her energy senses on high alert and her excitement brewing for the upcoming kill. Reyna's eyes turned to violet and along with it her right hand holding her spear. Reyna was aiming for another large male Lema and positioned herself, readying her throw. Her teeth and ears mirroring her sisters beside her.

Just as the twins drew back their weapons, aimed for the creatures in front of them, the whole forest went eerily quiet. Every insect, every critter and every leaf were frozen in its place. Even the Lema's seemed to be stuck in time. Both the sister's brows furrowed at the unusual occurrence happening in front of them.

The world around them went from a standstill to a slow motioned illustration in front of their eyes. Each and every Lema suddenly turned their heads in a hauntingly slow pace and stared directly into the indigo and violet eyes hidden in the trees. Confused at this bizarre event, Carmen aimed and fired at her target. Reyna only stared at the creatures before her who's eyes seemed to have turned a shade lighter. Carmen stood in her position stunned at the situation before her. Her target made no sound and fell to the ground dead and the rest of the Lema's made no effort to run away. A few slowly moved their eyes to the victim on the ground and turned straight back towards the two Flairs. As quickly as this event started the sounds of nature returned and the Lema's before them continued as if nothing was amyss. Reyna once again aimed for her target, piercing its heart. As it made a noise of pain, the rest of the creatures ran off into the trees.

The twins descended from their posts and steadily walked towards their hunt. Keeping their energy awake, they heard no movement out of place and saw no threat around them. Carmen collected her arrow and started tying up her victim for easy transport. Reyna ripped her spear from the Lema's corpse that was a few metres further than her sisters and immediately stopped when she heard a twig snap on her right. Reyna continued with her task, pretending the noise she heard was nonexistent. Whatever is in those woods would think Reyna is oblivious of her surroundings.

When the bullet came piercing through the air, Reyna simply held her hand up and the bullet stopped a few centimetres from her head. The bullet had no energy in it, meaning only one of two possibilities. The weapon is ordinary and was handled by someone without a gift or the person that used the bullet was not in control of their actions. Reyna stood from her position and dug her spear into the ground, making sure it is secure. Carmen hears her sisters warning through their bond and quickly disappeared into the trees, making sure they have a vantage point.

The twins not only shared blood, but also their gift. When the war occurred, they held on to one another for safety. They were alone at their house while their parents were at work. A usual day for the family. Although their father came home with barely any human features and their mother with eyes resembling that of an Amethyst. The family quickly learned the reasoning for their changes and the twins realised they shared a bond. Mind linking along with their shared gift. The colours of their energy were slightly different but their gift were two parts of the same.

Reyna stood casually next to her spear and waited for whoever is in those woods to make an appearance. Calmly taking her time to secure her boots and refastening her hair that seemed to be falling out of its braid.

Five figures approached the donna, each wearing self-made armour. Three Flairs and two Mars surrounded her, each of them having a far off look in their eyes. Almost as if they were looking at her but not really seeing her. Telepaths had the ability to enter the mind but not control it. This was something new and none of these Flairs were telepaths.

Both Reyna and Carmen were a type of telepath and could easily identify gifts from Flairs. The three that stood staring at Reyna had simple gifts, nothing too dangerous. The girl behind the donna had immense strength and durability, the girl on Reyna's left had speed and agility. As for the girl in front, she was a siren. She wasn't a very powerful siren but could still stun you long enough to kill you.

The two Mars were not particularly large, but still had enough muscle for a good fight. The one on Reyna's right had canine teeth expanding just past his chin with snake eyes, no ears but rather the holes of where it should be and scale like skin on his bald head. The one next to the girl in front had the bottom half of a goat, horns protruding from his head and a flat nose. He is a Faun.

Reyna's eyes turned into violet slits, resembled that of the Mars with snake eyes. Her smile wicked and baring her sharp teeth as she awaits the fight before her. In an instant the Flair with speed ran forward in attempt to take Reyna down, but instead ran into her 'friend' opposite her. Where Reyna once stood was now an empty spot, only her spear still in its place. Reyna and Carmen fought mostly by playing with their victims, not using their weapons. Those were only for hunting creatures; this fight is easy and won't need the power of simple munitions.

Reyna was still standing in the middle of the group but only Carmen would see where her sister is moving. Still smiling at the situation, Reyna moved to stand next to the girl who tried attacking her. The whole groups eyes frantically searching. Their bodies still standing in place. Even the girl who ran into the other Flair only stood up and searched around for her target.

"You shouldn't trip on your feet little girl. You could hurt someone with that." Reyna whispered in the girl's ear. The girl frantically swung her arms to catch nothing but air. Suddenly the girl was falling, deep into a black abyss. Carmen laughed and made the girl stop midair. The rest of the group only saw the girl standing with terror on her face, but in her eyes, she was being tortured from the inside.

"What shall we do with quicksilver here? Make her run into a tree? Off a cliff? Or do you want to run into the pits of hell?" Carmen laughed menacingly. The girl was still hovering and her tears started falling from her face. Carmen knew the girl was being controlled but she wasn't going to hurt her. She is hurting whoever is inside her head.

While Carmen is searching the girl's thoughts for answers, Reyna took it upon herself to tease the rest of the group. Reyna appeared behind the Mars that resembled a Faun and tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around swinging an axe, aiming directly for Reyna's head. Reyna simply bended backwards while the axe swiftly passed above her. She abruptly stood up and forced her palm on his face making him fall backwards. For the outside world he simply fell on the ground, but for him he fell through water, then rocks and then trees. He continued falling through every possible material and surface, an endless loop of falling and landing on your back.

The rest of the group stormed towards Reyna with the intent on killing her. Reyna did not want to end any lives if it meant they were not aware of what they were doing. But if it came to surviving and ensuring her sisters safety, she would gladly gift them with death. While Reyna was dodging and punching to stall the inevitable, Carmen was trying to free the groups minds from their turmoil. She could see that their thoughts and feelings were trapped in a cage. Their true self banging on the bars trying to break free.

"We need to wrap this up Carmen! We don't know how much longer they can take. They could have been under for hours." Reyna spoke through the fight. A person's mind can take only so much before it crumbles and dies.

"I know, but this source is strong. I don't think it's a Flair, or even a person for that matter. The girl has marks on her temples. A small circle, almost like a puncture wound." Carmen spoke while towering over the girl hovering midair before her. "Try and see if any of the others have similar marks."

Reyna quickly disappears from her attackers and went over to the continuous falling Mars Faun. She stops him and lays him down. She stands over him and see the markings Carmen described in the sides of his head. She quickly reappears again and make the rest of the group stop in their tracks, entering their minds. For them they are in a dark abyss, and Reyna quickly examines them while they stand frozen. Each bared the same markings.

"They all have them. It seems there's not much we can do. This is surgical work not anything we can stop unfortunately." Reyna said sadly and appeared to the regular world again. Carmen did the same and stood next to her sister while they both stared at the group before them. Each quite literally in their own world.

"We have one thing to do for them. Let's just remember to tell the others when we get to the compound. We have to ensure this end. This is just cruel." Reyna sighs sadly. "We can't even give them the chance to except their deaths."

For a person or creature to be mind-controlled like this would mean they are in great pain. A foreign force entering your head is not painless. An endless headache of pressure and in time the brain gives up and the heart along with it.

"We will have to do that for them. This is work of animals. Foolish animals who play with toys they do not understand." Carmen said through gritted teeth.

The sisters made the symbol of respect and fate for the group before them, their fingers resting on their eyes. Carmen's eyes once again shone Indigo and each person's eyes before her and her sister, turned to the back of their head. The whites of their eyes visible as Carmen killed them. She simply went inside their heads and made sure they died in the visions her gift is represented with. The death is quick and painless, and the bodies of each of them fall to the ground. It was a humanely death for a cruel fate.