Unravel Part 1

"Will you help me, Lillith?"
"If this is what you want, then I can do it."
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. You will never see us and your home again..."
"I am fully aware of that. I still want you to proceed."
"Alright then. You will have no future guidance, no support."
"I know, Lillith. Just... do it."
"Okay... close your eyes, this will feel very uncomfortable. Like your body is being-."
"I can handle it."
"Very well then. I wish you all the best in the future, Blake."
"You too... Thanks, again."


"Ow," Lyn squealed as her father applied the elixir to her hair which fell down to her waist.
"Shut up, and stop squirming. The less you fight it, the easier it will be," her father said as he stood back. Lyn bit her tongue as the feeling of her scalp singing settled in. Slowly, Lyn's dark blue hair transformed into light blond.
"There, be grateful," her father mumbled as he trudged to the chair that was half eaten with mould.
"Why does it have to hurt so much?" Lyn asked as she carefully prodded her new artificially coloured hair.
"Be glad that this cheap shit from the black market gets the job done. The folk here have a strong grudge against you Irarum. If they see that blue hair of yours, they would go bad shit crazy and kill you on the spot." He examined Lyn, who sat there motionlessly. Her sunken cheeks lingered above her long jawline. Eyes evenly spaced apart mirrored her once dark blue hair, with thin eyebrows just above them, bending down into a meek frown. Thin lips above her long chin only added to her frown. A smug expression dimly shone from her face, resonating throughout her body.
"You're just like your mother... a lying freak in disguise of a petite woman. A crazy bitch with psycho powers only allowed to exist in fantasies. If only I would have known what she was sooner... This whole mess wouldn't have happened."
"Then why are you doing all this?" Lyn asked, already used to the verbal abuse.
"We're in the same boat on this. I don't make you disguised, people will find out quickly. Unfortunate incidents here involving the Irarum in the past will make others hunt you, and me since I am your father, down. They know how one looks like too well, so it's not worth the risk. Do you understand me?"
"Yes father," Lyn replied. She balled her fists as she was forced to gaze upon the man's face. His round head sat lazily on his broad shoulders, the top of his head concealed underneath a buzz cut. A large nose was stapled between his two wide eyes. His stunted double chin, along with a short mandible, lingered underneath his pursed lips. A black bushy beard covered his mouth, contrasting his white skin.
"Go to your room and get ready for tomorrow. Do your homework, make your food, you know the drill," Lyn's father beckoned. Lyn nodded as she strolled up to her room.
"And don't forget not to use that weird wind magic anytime soon!" He yelled after her.
Her room could be more closely related to an abandoned attic riddled with mice. It was barren, dark, and circular. Cobwebs hung throughout the room. A wooden slab with an old blanket and pillow acted as her bed. A broken lamp stood weakly on the rotting table, a couple of papers situated next to it. An equally unstable chair was pushed under it. Lyn pulled it out, brushed the new cobwebs off, and sat on it. It creaked uneasily as she shifted her full weight onto it. Scanning over the various pages, she soon threw them away and slammed her fists on the table. A few tears fell onto the table, dampening the wood.

"Lyn Leruma..." The teacher called out. Lyn slowly ascended, directly in front of the plump, blond woman with square glasses. Wrinkles covered her whole face.
"Please read the next paragraph for us." Lyn's heart quickened.
"Miss... I canno-"
"Please continue reading," the woman cut her off in a chilling tone.
"But I really cannot-"
"Your excuses do not bother me! You have a mouth and eyes, you can read this." Lyn sat down and eyed the words. They kept swimming in her vision. Struggling, she began trying to read the mess.
"T-the I...Ira...Irarum ha-have been a-around for sever-sever-several de-dec-decuj-"
"Decades," the teacher corrected. Lyn felt the twenty sets of eyes on her, all silent gazing. She thought she heard a quiet chuckle in the distance. Lyn tried ignoring it and continue.
"Th-they a-are nop... Mod... Modee-Podigied-"
"Modified." The teacher sighed. "For heaven's sake Lyn, don't mess with me and my time. I value it much, and I won't let it go to waste just because you are a blundering idiot. Fine then, that's enough for now," she said she pointed at another student who started reading clearly.
Lyn 's heart didn't slow down. Embarrassed, she dropped her head, no longer pay attention. Someone leaned closer and whispered something.
"See? She called you a blundering idiot too. You should start believing it, idiot girl."
"Shut up," she whispered back angrily. Her fists were clenched hard. The person snickered as they leaned back into their chair.

"Idiot girl," the children chanted outside as they repeatedly pulled Lyn's hair. Lyn yelped, tears forming in her eyes.
"You shouldn't even be here, dumb girl!"
"Stop... Please," Lyn whispered.
"Nobody even wants to be your friend!"
"Stop..."
"Idiot!"
Something inside Lyn snapped. She felt lighter than usual. Her mind was for once clear. Lyn outstretched her palm instinctively. A moment later, the boy holding her hair flew backwards. He landed, hard, instantly wailing upon impact. Lyn withdrew her hand as her heart raced.
This shouldn't have happened... This cannot be happening... Nobody saw it right?
She scanned the crowd. Everyone backed away slowly. Panic was sewed onto every face.
"Monster!" Someone yelled out as they rushed to the teacher. She looked up at Lyn and the fallen boy, frowning.

"I'm telling you, I will punish Lyn back at our house. It was clearly an act of violence that must be treated," Lyn's father repeatedly explained. The teacher looked grimly at Lyn.
"You better control that attitude, lady. Violence is not something befit for a woman. Do you understand me?"
"But he started it," Lyn moaned.
"That is no excuse to punch him back. This is your first and final warning. I do not want to see you repeating that act again."
"Yes ma'am," Lyn replied. Her father sighed as he gripped her arm.
"You may now go Mr. Leruma. This issue is now over," the teacher said as she waved her hand. The two stood up and approached the door.

"What the hell did I tell you about your fucking wind powers?" Her father muttered through clenched teeth.
"I didn't use it, I just shoved him back. I'm-"
"Bullshit," her father exclaimed. "You could not have shoved a person that far even if you tried with your entire tiny stature.”
“I… I did not…” She broke into a sob. Her father was still fuming.
“I’m sick of all this sci-fi bullshit you present me with. Fucking wind powers… How is that even possible?” He shook his head.
“Father,” Lyn snivelled.
“Oh well, lessons must be taught,” he said as he grabbed a handful of jagged stones and chucked it on the floor. The rocks flew everywhere.
“Kneel on it,” he commanded. Lyn remained unmoving.
“I said kneel, goddammit!” he yelled, at which Lyn finally obeyed.
Her already bloody knees grazed the rocks. A grunt escaped Lyn’s mouth.
“Fucking psychopath,” her father muttered under his breath as he paced around the room.
“Why do you do this?” Lyn asked painfully.
“You monsters deserve it,” he scoffed. “I don’t care that you are my daughter by blood, or that you are still a young girl just entering adolescence.”
“So then why didn’t you just leave me on the streets? You obviously don’t care about me. You only care about your own fat ass. Why won’t you just leave me somewhere in the wilderness?” She cried, the pain spiking towards her brain.
The father remained silent.
“Father, why?”
“Forget it,” he mumbled. “I have no intention of telling you.”
“My knees…” Lyn grunted as she tried shifting her weight. Her father noticed, and shoved her back into the previous position.
“Lessons are meant to be learned, not ignored, you dumb bitch.”
Hot tears ran down Lyn’s face. A burning sensation emanated from within her body.
“Fuck you,” she whispered.
“What did you say?”
“Fuck you,” Lyn yelled as she faced her father with fiery eyes. “It’s not my goddamn fault that I’m stupid! It’s not my fault I cannot read, it’s not my fault I have trouble learning, it’s not my fucking fault I fuck up at everything I try! You make my life hell, my peers make my life hell, everyone hates me! I never had friends, and never will. I’m so alone, and all you people do is kick me around.”
The air around the two quickly began to spin. Bristles resonated throughout their hollow house.
“So, fuck you,” Lyn said as the air materialised before her as a large green blade. An instance later, his arm lay on the floor beside him. Blood sprayed from the father’s gaping wound. He howled as he firmly gripped it, though to no avail.
Lyn stood grandly above her father who was thrashing around. Tears streamed down Lyn’s cheeks as she delivered the swift final blow. The decapitated body slumped down while the eyes remained open, fear embedded into them.
Somewhere in the distance something fell. Lyn turned and saw the door open, a woman staring at the scene. Her jaw dropped as she brought her finger up slowly at Lyn. Lyn’s heart jumped as she lunged herself at the woman. Before any noise was heard, deep gashes etched themselves into the woman’s body. Blood slowly oozed out of their broken shack.
Lyn teetered around, holding the wall for support. Her vision blurred the shades of red before her eyes. Her eyelids gained weight, desperately wanting to clamp shut. Groggy, she fell down. Her body hit the cold cement. A faint wisp of air escaped her lungs. Blue hair enveloped her eyes. Lyn ignored it at first, then slowly realised.
She jostled herself upright but not before a kid observed her unnatural hair. He yelled out loud, notifying everyone. Several adults peered out, their eyes widening at the sight of Lyn’s hair and the pools of red nearby. She cursed silently as she brought herself to her legs. Her stomach tossed. Lyn wavered, before a gunshot was heard behind her. Lyn’s body instinctively moved, the bullet just barely missing her.
“Dammit,” the one with the gun said as he reloaded. “How the fuck did I miss?”
Lyn quickly spun around and dashed forwards. Her legs managed to keep up, though she could feel the callous pain covering them.
Yells with feet stomping resonated behind her. A few loud bangs all off target. The streets criss-crossed, the small grey buildings all sombrely gazing at the running girl. A distant greenery came into view. Lyn’s eyes led her feet towards the location, hoping for an asylum deep in the woods.
More people dashed after her, but Lyn’s energy was depleting. Her legs slowly dragged themselves behind her body. Her sides ached as they desperately contracted, groping for the air she didn’t have.
An entrance to the woods appeared and Lyn dashed towards it. The sound of crashing water became more clear. She didn’t hesitate to barge into the greenery. Twigs slapped her face, multiple bruises etching themselves into her soft flesh.
“Irarum!” Someone shouted. “Get back here you filth! Let us burn your bones, the same way you burned our families.”
Lyn didn’t stop. The heat hindered her breaths. She sprinted on, the volume of the crashing water amplifying. Her foot reached a ledge and she stopped. A large, crystal clear waterfall stood in front of her, a gap separating the two. Her mind, infused with panic, began frantically looking for answers. She looked down and wobbled slightly.
Footsteps grew. She didn’t have time. Lyn quickly jumped.

Lyn plummeted through the air at a breathtaking speed. Her ears popped. She felt her skin stretch against the wind. Mustering the last of her strength, she held out her palm. A ball of wind formed and shot out with extreme speed. The resultant force slowed her fall down, but the impact of landing on water resonated throughout her whole body.
She let out an underwater yelp. Water drained down her throat, her lungs in distress. A chilling numbness covered her entire body. Lyn kicked frantically against the water. The surface seemed so close, but her mind has passed through ages when she finally emerged her head out. Her hand lashed out and gripped a log that was halfway on the ground. Lyn pulled herself out and started choking violently. Water spewed out with another red liquid. A bright crimson pool remained in front of her face. A foul taste remained in her mouth as she collapsed on the ground.