#essance

She opened the door and barely took two steps into the darkness before a voice sounded from the darkness. “Get out.”

It was calm and monotone—a voice she’d only ever heard in her mind, only ever seen on a screen. A voice she created, but never expected to meet.

“Rhodes?” she asked, feeling around the wall for a switch.

As light flooded the room, she was met with not one pair of eyes, but four. They were her characters—her greatest accomplishments—but they didn’t look like something to be proud of in this moment. They bore scars and bruises, bloodied wounds and grim expressions.

“What happened to you guys?”

“You happened to us,” Chania spat. Her bronze skin was stained with dirt and blood, the dark patches evidence of the girl’s crimes against her.

She didn’t know what to say. Her own creations surrounded her, eyes like lasers burning through paper. Confusion hazed over her eyes. “You’re not like how I remember…”

“What do you remember?” Rhodes was sat in the corner of the room, stare directed at the ground. “Do you remember what we were before you started torturing us? Or have you forgotten all you’ve put us through?”

“No, I—”

“You get a kick out of all this, don’t you?” Kallithea stood to rival her. “You find some sort of sick joy in treating us the way you do. Do you have any idea what it’s like to go through everything you’ve put me through? The—"

“Shut up! They don’t know about all of that yet.” She gestured to the others in the room, but Kallithea was unfazed.

“Who cares? You’re probably about to kill them all anyway. That’s why you’re in here, isn’t it?”

“She’s here by chance, if you can believe it.” Chopart spun the dagger around his fingers, a smile tweaking his lips. “You can attack her all you like—scream and shout if it’ll make you feel better—but it won’t change anything. She doesn’t care. A heartless species, authors are.”

“Maybe you should’ve been an author,” Rhodes offered, but Chopart only laughed.

“I’m more skilled with a knife than a quill. A more stimulating use of time, I think.” He glanced at V.J. across the room, then to the girls surrounding her. “You shouldn’t swarm her like that. You wouldn’t want our baby Satan to kill any of you, would you?”

She diverted her gaze, staring at the floor as she scratched a hand to the back of her neck. About that.

Chopart giggled. “It seems she has that in mind, anyway. Tell me, who’s first? Is it poor Thea who you’ve damaged so much already? Perhaps it’s Rhodes, after all the time you spent perfecting his personality. Would be a shame, don’t you think?”

She flicked her eyes from Kallithea to Rhodes, eyeing their glares with an apologetic smile. Rhodes shook his head. “She needs us to finish the series.”

“I wouldn’t place bets. However, maybe it’ll be me.” Chopart kicked off the wall and made his way towards her, charming grin on his face as he bent down to her height. “But it’s not. I have too much to offer, too much entertainment to bring your boring plot.”

“Does he talk to all of you like this?” she asked the group around her. They all nodded, but their glares pierced through her.

“You created him, jackass,” Kallithea stated. “Don’t fucking complain when you made him that way.”

“He’s not as twisted as I made him.”

The sadistic man’s laugh resonated with her as he withdrew from her space and returned to the wall. “Even the most twisted things about me don’t compare to the things in your mind. After all, I’m just your worst thoughts brought into reality.”

She didn’t know what to say to that.

“I never thought there’d be anyone worse than Chopart, but I guess there’s always an exception to the rule, isn’t there?” Rhodes sighed. “You call me the character you’re the proudest of, and you still put me through so much hell. Why?”

“Don’t you all get it?” She struck their attention with that, and finally they allowed her to speak—to explain herself. “I have and will put you through so much, but you’re functioning fine. I know I’m awful to you, but I’m so fucking proud of you for that.”

Chania took a deep breath, shaking her head. “Your pride doesn’t take away the pain though, does it? You can flaunt us to everyone, you could make us famous, but it’ll never redeem you after all of this.”

She stared each of them in the eyes and spoke. “I’m so sorry, guys. I didn’t realise how much all of this has really hurt you.”

“But it won’t change anything, will it?” Kozani wasn’t believing a word from her mouth, and with good reason.

“No, probably not.” A smile broke onto her lips, more sadistic than she expected. “I’m the god of your world. I control all of you. You’d all be nothing without me.”

“It seems our baby Satan knows her place well.” Chopart chuckled.

She took a few steps backwards and felt for the doorhandle. “I’m going to head off now, but if I’m still welcome here, we can continue this conversation another time.”

“Bold of you to assume you were ever welcome here.” Kallithea narrowed her eyes as she opened the door.

Chopart smiled and gave a quick wave. “Give me a creative death, won’t you? I’d like to die the same way I lived.”

“Brutally sadistic and fucked up? Got it.”

Rhodes waved a hand towards her, as if trying to brush her out of the room. “I’ll say it one more time. Get out.”

She nodded and closed the door behind her. She chuckled, but it was quick to grow into hysterics. Her maniacal laughter shook the walls around her.