Cassandra

Barry laid in bed, the entire room around him was made of threads, the closet, the door, the walls, his own hands, everything was threads, even Edward, who only appeared for a split second, days passed like seconds. He was unable to talk, unable to move, even keeping his eyes open took a lot of effort.

Time would only flow normally when Klara was in the room, she laid next to Barry the entire time, her ice-cold breath against his ear, her fingers spun circles with his hair, her “I love you.” Rung in his head.

The days went by in seconds, time with her persisted for days, her hands broke into the threads of Barry’s body, his memories replayed in his mind, each and every one of them invaded by Klara. As he did his exams, as he brushed his teeth, as he showered, as he went to sleep, as he laid in bed. In every single memory she stood there, she watched, she studied, she waited, she whispered, “I. Love. You.”.

She would only be gone for a few seconds, the hands of the clock in front of him spun wildly and just like that, eight hours would pass and Klara would be back in the room. A plate with Barry’s breakfast in one hand, a fork or spoon with the other, and she would feed him.

“Shame what happened to Sasha.” She said while brushing Barry’s hair, “Fake or not you were the closest to her. Is there anything you want to do to honor her memory?”.

Barry’s dry lips quivered, he closed his eyes and put all the energy into his voice, “Dye.” He mumbled.

“You’re not allowed to die.”.

“My Hair..”.

“Ah I see.. It would be a shame to ruin such beautiful, natural color. But, if you wish to.”

It took a split second for Klara to be back, she held a few boxes small, “this is my favorite brand! Now now pick a color!”

There were a few options, Blue, White, Purple, and Black.

Black.

Black hair fluttered by, a shade of black that laid in front of him, on the box of hair dye.

He closed his eyes, time flew by again, he looked at himself in the mirror, his hair now white, the same color as Klara’s. He felt her hands play with his hair, he saw her own smile in the mirror, he stared at her reflection, and imagined her with black hair.

Barry closed his eyes again, his lips curved to a smile, a new wave of energy washed over his muscles, “Cassandra.” He muttered.

Klara’s pupils thinned, like a cat, “Now who might that be?”.

“Shut up.” Barry’s fingers twitched, his weight shifted on the seat, he glared at Klara through the mirror and repeated her name, her real name, “Cassandra…. When you said I am your type… You meant blood type didn’t you? When I was hospitalized… You… You put your blood in me…”.

Cassandra’s entire body tensed up, her expression blanked for a moment, she looked tired, Barry could see age on her paradoxical face. But she recovered fast, and she laughed, and for the first time since he knew her, she let her emotions spill, her laugh full of genuine joy, she laughed and laughed and laughed, she laughed so hard that tears ran down her face, “Finally.” She cried in joy, “Finally.” She put a hand on Barry’s cheek and kissed him on the cheek, her tongue turned into threads, they crept into his body through his ear, Barry’s mind traveled back to the time after the car accident, how she sat across his bed, how she took notes, pictures and videos, as she studied him, as she studied her own blood in Barry’s body.

Through the mirror, the two stared at one another, strings of white and black extruded everywhere from their bodies, “Two long years. I waited.”.

“Well wait more..” his eyes narrowed, “I have no fucking idea what you did to me that day but you’re not going to win...”.

Cassandra grinned, all her teeth visible, “Oh Barry… Oh poor Barry… Oh Naïve, stupid, pathetic Barry.” She stood up, her face no longer reflected in the mirror, “I already did.”.

A month has passed since Sasha’s death, Barry’s bed-ridden days were compensated as a work-related injury, yet even with the money he did not quit, he continued to deliver the packages, he had reunited with Edward, neither spoke a word to the other, they did their job and left, they did not talk in their shared room, they did not look at one another.

And then, it finally happened, a driving mission.
“Can I request extra fuel?” Barry asked, “Last time we were stuck in time fluctuation.”.

The clerk looked at him and adjusted her hot pink sunglasses, “Very well, I’ll print the form.”.

“Hey Ed.” Barry finally broke the unofficial pact of silence, “As a sign of goodwill I’ll drive today, you’ve been working quite hard, please, take some rest.”

Ed eyed him suspiciously, but he did not give it much thought, he did not perceive Barry as anything more than an errand boy, “Sure.” took his sleep aid and closed his eyes.

When those eyes opened a wave of fear washed over him, he rubbed his eyes, slapped himself in the face, pinched himself, anything to assure this was not a nightmare, “No… no no no..” He grabbed his gun and kicked open the car’s door, “What are you doing?!” flames roared as they engulfed the entire building, Barry’s back was turned to the red and yellow fire, an empty canister of Gasoline in his hand, a wide smile on his face.

“You’ve gone insane.. You’re insane!” Ed did not hesitate. If he was not terrified he would have been excited, he aimed the gun at Barry and fired immediately, the bullets passed right through Barry’s body, the areas shot at simply moved out of the way in thin threads. Edward continued to fire over and over and over, “Stay away! Stay away!” Ed moved backwards, Barry continued to move forwards, his grin had gotten wider, a look of pure ecstasy on his face.

“Mission complete!” Barry cheered, “Come on Ed. Let’s go back.”.

“Go back?! What the fuck do you mean go back?! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!” Ed clenched his fists, “Do you have any idea what they will do to me?!”

“Why should I care?” Barry chuckled, “You’re not real… none of this… is real... It’s all part of her sick game.. Fuck her, fuck everything, I will burn it all! I will burn all her hard work away! The buildings… The nature… The people..”.

Without another word Ed ran away, no matter how far he went he could still feel the heat on his back, he could still feel Barry’s grin, carved into his mind, he could still feel his heart screaming in his chest.