Prometheus' Orb (Legends of the Dark Creatures Book 1)
Chapter Eight: The One I Can Never Lie To

It was all coming back...

That day...

Eighteen months ago...

It was dark... so dark the trees were beginning to take eerie creature-like forms and the violent whispers of their leaves made Ashley uneasy. Ashley stood by a ridge, underneath the moonless sky. She folded her hands against her chest as the cold of the harsh wind slithered through her body. She had received a text from Jacob, telling her to meet him there. Waiting for almost thirty minutes now, Ashley stared at the rapids thrashing against the rocks below. Back then she thought to herself why Jacob would want to meet her at a place like this and the answer to that question came in a form Ashley would soon never forget.

At first, she heard a loud snap—the sound of a twig breaking. It came from behind her. When Ashley turned, her legs immediately lost strength and the hairs on her body stood straight. Her mouth was trembling— trying to let out a scream— but it was as if the person walking towards her was choking Ashley’s neck with her wicked smile. Sharper than the gaze of her dark eyes was the large silver knife in her hand.

Panic— like a cluster of spark plugs— began to build up in Ashley’s abdomen. Thoughts inside her head began to accelerate inside her head, telling her there was no escape. Behind her was a deep ridge-- just another death waiting-- and the girl in a white dress was already so close that Ashley couldn’t run left or right.

Ashley couldn’t even move her fingers when the person she once called friend grabbed her by the collar and raised her knife into the air. It hung there for a moment and Ashley thought; how did it all come to this? How could Stacy Hill-- someone who always stood up for Ashley-- now look at her with such a burning rage; one Ashley never thought existed in humans. Stacy was also one of the few people who accepted Ashley for who she was so why was she looking at her with immerse disdain?

Tears began to flow uncontrollably out of Ashley’s eyes. She wanted to beg Stacy to stop but her mouth wouldn’t open. So all she did was watch as Stacy’s grip on the knife tightened, turning her knuckles white.

Raising the knife a little further in the air, Stacy finally uttered the same words she said on the day all this began:

“I cannot let you destroy us all.”

“Stacy!”

Ashley’s eyes shot wide open. She was breathing rapidly, her body felt like it was being baked in an oven and kept shaking uncontrollably as she slowly grasped the nature of her environment. Though had no idea of how she got there, she’d been in this room too many times to know that she was in the infirmary.

Running our hand across her eyes, Ashley tried to remember what had happened. Memories of the incident in the cafeteria came flooding back. Ashley remembered collapsing during the confusion and—

A presence...

Her right hand instinctively jolted to her left and Ashley found herself clasping another hand by the wrist. She turned and saw Sara. Sara’s big brown eyes displayed both shock and anguish, making Ashley realize just how firmly she gripped Sara’s hand.

“Oh God Sara... I’m so sorry,” Ashley cried, letting go of Sara’s wrist and leaving a red mark on the girl’s pale skin.

Sara was sitting on a chair next to the bed on which Ashley slept. With a warm smile on her face, Sara waved to Ashley, telling her that it was alright.

Ashley lay her head on the pillow and closed her eyes.

“How long have I been asleep?” she asked, staring into the darkness enveloping her.

Sara tapped her shoulders twice.

“Hours or days,” Ashley joked.

“Ow!” Ashley exclaimed and she opened her eyes when she felt Sara deliver a soft punch on her shin.

With a beautiful smile formed across her face, Sara began to make to sign with her hands.

“So then that happened huh? I really hoped it was all a bad dream.”

Ashley was referring to the incident that happened in the cafeteria.

Sara’s hands moved again.

“I see,” Ashley said. “So my mom will be here any second. Who else did you text?”

Sara narrowed her eyes, pursed her lips together, and made a dark, gloomy face.

Ashley couldn’t help but laugh, “Hey! Adrian looks nothing like that.”

The corners of Sara’s lips rose even further. For some reason, whenever Sara smiled Ashley always felt like everything would work out. She’d known Sara for about five years and always loved being around her. Sara was living proof that it was possible for someone to brighten anyone’s day even without saying a single word. Ashley would never forget the first day they met.

It was at Coley’s Diner— Ashley’s favorite diner in town and the place she was planning on working as a part-time employee.

That day she’d ordered her favorite strawberry ice cream and was just about to leave the counter when she bumped into a girl. The ice cream splashed over the girl’s black T-shirt, staining it with white and red. Ashley’s heart began to hit her chest, and she wanted to run, fearing that the person— like most of the kids around that time— would begin calling her names like weirdo, dreamer, and the one she’d grown to hate the most; Luna… which was just a sarcastic way of calling her a lunatic.

But Ashley learned that day that this girl wasn’t like the rest. When she tried to run, her hand was grabbed. Ashley closed her eyes and wished she could do the same for her ears. She then felt a pat on her shoulder and turned to be greeted by a smile. The girl pulled out a blue notebook-- small enough that she held in one hand-- and wrote something.

She tore off the paper and handed it to Ashley.

‘You really are a clumsy one aren’t you?’ was what was written on the note and Ashley bit her lower lip— trying to suppress a giggle— when she saw a smiley face drawn next to the message. A warmth rose in Ashley’s chest and the tension in her muscles began to fade. The girl wrote in her notebook again. It didn’t take Ashley long to realize that her acquaintance couldn’t speak.

‘My name is Sara, What’s yours?’ said the note Sara gave Ashley.

“Ashley”

Ashley and Sara chatted near the counter like they’d known each other all their lives. Five minutes passed and Sara was called by who Ashley assumed to be her parents. They sat at the table near the far end of the diner and asked Sara what happened to her shirt. Sara made some hand signs at them and they both laughed. She smiled at Ashley, waved, and just before she left, Ashley— looking in the direction of Sara’s parents asked:

“What did you tell them?”

Sara scribbled in her small notebook, though this time her expressions her even more cheerful. She quickly gave the note to Ashley and ran to her parents.

Immediately, Ashley’s eyes gazed upon the words written on the paper her heart skipped a beat.

‘I just told them that my new friend is the probably clumsiest person in the world.’

Ashley sighed happily. Just thinking about that day was enough to make Ashley forget the horrible dream she’d just had about Stacy.

A thought suddenly crossed her mind.

“That’s right Sara,” Ashley said. “Earlier you said you wanted to meet with me after school right? What did you wanna talk about?”

Suddenly Sara’s pretty smile disappeared. It was as if she’d been reminded of something awful. She rose from her chair, paced a few times around the room, and finally looked at Ashley. She may not have been able to talk but at that moment Sara looked like someone trying to replace the right words to say.

“You can tell me, Sara,” Ashley said in a comforting tone.

Sara was about to make her hand signs when the door suddenly flew open.

“Ashy!” a seven-year-old girl with black hair, brown eyes, and wearing a gorgeous pale blue dress exclaimed as she ran towards Ashley. The girl climbed on the bed and wrapped her little hands around Ashley.

“L... Leah... Can’t... breathe...” Ashley tried saying.

“Leah Morgan,” another voice said. “Is that any way to treat your sick sister?”

It was Ashley’s mother. Both relief and worry filled her brown eyes. Her mother walked into the room. She was formally dressed, black trousers, a black jacket, and a white shirt.

“It must have been quite a shock huh?” her mother said.

“It was,” Ashley replied. She held her sister Leah in her hands. Actually, Leah was Ashley’s adopted sister but Ashley had never once thought of her as just that.

“I wonder how Luke is doing,” Ashley continued.

“No you don’t,” Leah said. “Well you do... but that is not the only thing on your mind.”

She was doing it again, Ashley thought. From a glance, Leah could tell if someone was lying or hiding something... even what they truly feel. At first, Ashley thought it strange but now she was used to it... everyone was.

“So Ashley,” her mom asked with very questioning eyes. “What is it that’s on your mind? Remember, you can’t lie in front of our little girl here.”

Ashley sent a disapproving look towards Leah. The little beauty simply stuck out her tongue teasingly.

“Anyway,” her mother. “How did you get here? Doctor Stevens told me she is at the hospital with the woman that was in the car earlier.”

“Someone must have brought me here,” Ashley said, unsure herself. “By the way, how is the woman from the car?”

“All Doctor Stevens said was that she will live and that we can take you home. So come along now.”

It took about half an hour for Ashley to get ready. Leah held her hand as they walked through the corridors. Throughout that time, Leah kept giving Ashley a very suspicious look. The little girl knew something wasn’t right.

They reached their old black Sadan and Ashley’s mother opened the door. When everyone was inside and the engine started running, Leah began to speak.

“Mom, Ms. Davis had a message for you yesterday,” she said.

“That’s funny,” her mother said. “I met her at work today and she didn’t say anything.”

“Well,” Leah continued. “Her exact words were, ‘Tell Rina Morgan that item X23-5 went missing’.”

Ashley’s mother was quiet for over a minute. Ashley could see her grip tightening on the steering wheel. She tried to ask what was going on but she felt Leah’s hand touch her wrist. She turned to her sister and saw her just nodding her head.

There was an almost deafening silence throughout the rest of the ride. Ashley would occasionally stare at her mother, wondering what it was about Ms. Davis’ message that made her look so worried. Leah was asleep and had her head pressed on Ashley’s lap. Ashley’s fingers continually played with Leah’s brown hair and she was taken back to the first day they meant.

It was four years ago. Ashley had run away from home... again. Ashley didn’t even remember why. Back then Ashley was struggling to distinguish between what was real and what wasn’t. Almost everyone around her treated her like an outcast. That day Ashley run into the woods as she usually did.

Past the trees and across the clearing, Ashley found herself standing by the one place she felt safe... the cliff. From there she always felt time froze. She watched the waves rushing below, wishing her troubles would be carried by them. Tears went down the side of her cheeks and an ache rose in her heart. Perhaps it wasn’t just her troubles that had to disappear... perhaps it was...

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a small voice said.

Startled, Ashley turned only to replace herself standing face to face with a young girl. The girl was wearing damp light blue jeans and a white shirt stained with mud. Her brown hair was all messy and drenched. The poor child was cold; her body was as shaky as her voice and she had her arms wrapped around herself... trying to keep warm.

“Excuse me?” Ashley replied.

“I... I said... I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the girl said, her lips shaking. “You were planning on jumping right?”

“No I wasn’t going to jump,” Ashley replied in a stern and almost angry voice.

“Liar!!!” the girl shouted. She held her hands against her temples and anger dawned across her face. “You all lie!!! Why do you all lie? I could see it on your face... I could see it on their...”

Suddenly, the girl lost consciousness and feel to the ground. Ashley carried the girl in her arms and quickly run out of the woods. There were scarcely any cars passing by that day so Ashley called her mom and together they drove to the nearest hospital she could replace. After some hours the doctor said that the girl collapsed due to hypothermia and dehydration but she was alright.

Ashley and her mother were allowed to see the girl and it was during that time that they learned that they found out that the child had no memory of who she was. She could even remember her meeting with Ashley on the cliff. Ashley’s mother decided to take the girl in until someone came looking for her.

The was something about the girl that everyone, including Ashley, found strange; her ability to spot out liars. Like what she told Ashley on the cliff, she could sometimes tell what people were thinking. Eventually, Ashley’s mother began to call the girl Leah, after Ashley’s aunt... a detective working in New York at the time.

For almost a month, Ashley and her mother waited for someone to come looking for Leah... but no one came. So, they decided that Leah should stay, and seeing how happy Leah was Ashley’s mother adopted Leah and Ashley had herself someone to call sister. Leah was six years old back then.

Finally, the car pulled over. Ashley slowly moved to her right, trying not to wake Leah up. She opened the door next to her, got out, held Leah, and lifted her, feeling her warm breaths against her neck.

“Why don’t you guys go ahead,” her mother said, her hands still on the steering wheel. “There is something I have to take care of at the office.”

Item X2... something, Ashley thought, cursing her poor memory when it came to numbers. She wanted to ask what it was about but for now, she also had her on mystery to solve.

“Alright mom,” Ashley said.

“I love you both,” her mother said.

“We love you too,” Ashley said.

The car drove away. Ashley walked over the short, neatly cut green grass and arrived at the door of the one place she felt safe... the one place she called home. She placed Leah on the bench set on the veranda, pulled a set of keys from her bag, and opened the door.

She lifted Leah and walked into the house. The lights were still on. To her immediate right was the door that led to the kitchen and straight ahead was the living room. Memories of her, Samantha, Claire, and Sara running around the house began to flood her mind. Why was she getting nostalgic all of a sudden?

She took the flight of stairs, made a right, and opened the door to Leah’s room. Ashley would always wonder who between her and Leah was in high school whenever she entered this room. Unlike most children, Leah’s room was stacked with books upon books. Most of them were on psychology but she also had a few based on geography and mythology. The room was always arranged perfectly... always clean and tidy.

“Even your slight change in breathing can tell me that you’re admiring my room,” Leah gently whispered.

Ashley simply smiled and placed Leah on her bed and took off her shoes.

“Today,” Leah said in a sleepy voice. “You were thinking about Jacob.”

“How did you...”

Leah opened her eyes and smirked.

“Of course you knew,” Ashley said.

“I can’t help it, Ashley,” Leah said. “I observe things and they tell me what I need to know... sometimes even when I don’t want to.”

“I know Leah...” Ashley said, caressing her sister’s cheek. “But can Jacob wait until later... I promise I will tell you everything.”

“Okay big sister,” Leah said, her eyes closing once again.

Ashley landed a gentle kiss on her sister’s cheek.

You are the only one I can never lie to Leah, Ashley thought. It wasn’t just because Leah could tell if she was lying. No... It was because Ashley had sworn that she would never lie to Leah... especially not after what happened the last time she lied to her little sister.

Ashley got up and stared at the window. She now had time to think. She stared at the quaint and lonely street. Ashley still wasn’t sure if it was Jacob she saw in the woods that day but one thing was certain... her past was catching up to her. First, it was the man on the road that appeared out of nowhere... a man that only she could see. Then the incident at the cafeteria…

No... Ashley thought, the tips of her fingers digging into her palms. She had worked so hard to reach where she was right now and nothing was going to take her back to who she once was... no... not who. Nothing was going to take her back into being what she once was.

***

Thank you for reading this far guys