Ashes Trapped within a Locket

Dan gritted his teeth and held together his buttonless jacket in an effort to shelter himself from the bitter cold as he left the local convenience store. Tucked under his arm was the latest newspaper. A quick glance at the headline earlier had brought him little comfort.

Dan could remember using television and radios as news sources as a child. But they were banned now. They could be easily intercepted by enemy territories and were avoided at all costs.

A gold chain caught Dan’s eyes in the grass. It was dangerous to spend any more time than absolutely necessary outside, especially this late at night, but something compelled Dan to walk towards it. As he got closer, he realized the heavy gold chains surrounded a small heart-shaped locket like a snake protecting its egg.

Without thinking, Dan reached his hand out towards the locket. In his peripheral vision, Dan saw a car rush by him. Dan snapped his head up in paranoia and watched the car drive around the corner. He spared the locket another glance before shoving his hand back into his pocket to resist the odd temptation to pick up the unknown object.

He ran back to the house he lived in with his hands clenched in his pocket. Dan sometimes wondered what would happen if someday someone would show up and claim the house as theirs, but that was unlikely. The home’s former owners had likely been killed.

He pushed open the door with his foot to the house he didn’t own a key for. That’s when Dan saw it, laying there. The locket. Dan’s newspaper landed with a thud at his feet. He spread his feet wide with his arms ready.

“Show yourself,” Dan demanded as calmly as he could manage.

He received no answer. The eerie silence was not at all comforting. Dan spun around to locate the culprit. Eventually, his eyes fixated back on the golden locket. The way it gleamed even in the darkness of his home was enchanting. It seemed closer to Dan now, but perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him.

His legs moved on their own accord and before he could register what was happening Dan had picked up the locket in one swift motion. Dan examined the locket that laid heavy in his palm. It had strange engravings that looked vaguely familiar. But it was strange; Dan couldn’t identify where he recognized the engravings from. Something wasn’t right.

Dan released his grip from the locket but was dumbfounded when he realized that the thick gold chains had somehow tightened around his wrist and slithered up towards his elbow. Dan pried the chains off his arm and threw the locket to the floor in uneasiness. Dan stared at the locket he had thrown; it seemed to illuminate the dark room. His inexplicable attraction to the locket was comparable to the fatal attraction moths have with light.

A strong gust of wind hit Dan. Dan tore his eyes away from the locket, though it took strain to do so.

“Who’s there,” Dan tried again, more feebly this time.

A strange fog appeared in the open doorway. Dan stared at the fog in fear wondering if it was poisonous gas. But before he could contemplate further, the fog grew darker until Dan could no longer see the porch behind it. It looked almost like a shadow. A strange humming grew louder as the shadow neared where he was standing.

Hello, young one.

“What are you?” Dan hissed.

What am I? I am the past. The shadow seemed to whisper in his ear though it appeared to be in front of him.

“Get out of my house.” Dan was still cautious, but not as petrified now. He suspected the shadow was some sort of government surveillance tool.

Is that how you treat a guest? The shadow shifted into the shape of a human, a woman. Her arms reached out towards Dan. She dragged her nails down his neck slowly. Dan froze in shock. He felt her cold nails. It wasn’t possible. Dan looked down towards his neck to find red blood dripping down from where the shadow had grazed him.

The sight of his own blood set Dan running towards the back door. He tried the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. Dan stumbled to the kitchen and grabbed the vase sitting on the counter. He held it up with a shaking hand and swung at the shadow. The lamp passed through the shadow effortlessly. It regenerated its shape almost instantly.

“My parents will be home soon. They’re in the military.” A bluff. Dan was betting on the shadow being afraid of the government.

Lies. Don’t play games with me, young one. The shadow seemed certain in her claim that Dan was lying.

“Do you want money? I have money.” Dan frantically pulled his crumpled 100 Lemos bill from his pocket. Dan knew better than to keep cash on him. He had been robbed too many times to be that foolish.

The shadowed woman laughed. It was a sinister laugh. Dan didn’t understand what was so funny, but he stayed quiet.

After a pause, she spoke again. You have over 500 000 stolen Lemos hidden in your damaged ventilation system. But you won’t offer me more than 100 in exchange for your life? The shadow sounded amused as though she were playing a game.

Dan felt sick. How did this shadow know where he hid his money? "How-"

I know many things about you, child. The shadow was quiet but Dan could hear every word clearly.

To his disappointment, Dan’s voice quivered when he spoke. “How do you know so much about me?”

I was you. The three words were enough to radiate immense regret and bitterness.

For a brief moment, Dan was reminded of his mother. She had been killed in the war when Dan was only eight years old. His mother had been a ruthless woman. She had never been kind to Dan, he could remember that much. Dan knew he took after her. Dan shut the memories out and his vulnerability quickly vanished.

I took the Original Serum.

Dan stared at the women engulfed in a blanket of darkness in realization. The Original Serum was created more than ten years ago by researchers who were experimenting with creating an invincible human. Back then, many died after taking the Original Serum. Others went mad or disappeared. But few survived and became incredibly strong.

The Original Serum was soon prohibited from use due to its risks and uncertainty. Succeeding the Original Serum were several improved versions of the serum. Dan had booked an appointment to take the Serum when he turned 18 in a few days.

“So I’m assuming it worked then. You’re invincible,” Dan stated in awe.

This body can withstand bombs, gunshots, every natural disaster you could think of-.

“Incredible,” Dan breathed.

But the person I was, died the day I took the serum. All that remains are my ashes trapped within that cursed locket.

Sorrow laced her words. Dan felt her pain though he was confused. The woman had been fortunate enough to live through the Serum’s side effects, yet she seemed miserable. He needed answers.

“Why are you here?”

I will not allow you to make the same mistake I made. Hindsight is a powerful tool, Dan, one that you do not have the luxury of having.

Dan felt anger arise in him. “I don’t need your advice.”

The Serum will strengthen your body but it will change you in ways you cannot begin to understand, she begged, willing Dan to accept what she was saying.

But Dan still didn’t get it. “I am aware of the risks. I don’t care what happens to my body.”

It’s not about what happens to your body. It’s about what happens to your soul, what happens in your head. The serum makes you evil, Child.

Dan watched the woman's silhouette pull at her hair. She seemed nervous now. She was an entirely new person from the woman who had stuck Dan with her nails a few minutes earlier.

It makes you do things you don’t want to do. It makes you hungry for others’ pain and suffering. It makes you hurt people you care about. I hurt my own husband and my family-. She let out a strangled sob.

Dan didn't know what to say. He had never been good at comforting others.

Your existence will be gone. And there's no escape; you won’t be able to kill yourself even if you wanted to. I’ve tried, countless times.

“How can you be so selfish? I could end wars with the Serum. I could save everyone. What happens to me doesn't matter.”

A childish thought. Power doesn’t end any wars. It ignites dozens more. You don’t want the Serum to end wars. You want the Serum because you’re afraid.

Dan pushed his anger down. “Yes, I’m afraid. I’ve lived in fear my entire life. I’m tired of fear.”

Fear is what makes you human. You’ll grow to appreciate the human in you.

Dan could have laughed if he wasn’t so terrified of the woman's powers. “You know nothing of me. I am not you.”

After a long pause, the woman whispered, Your parents would’ve wanted better for you.

“Why would I care what my parents would’ve wanted? They’re dead. I’m done talking to you. Get out. Get out now,” Dan said in a cold rage.

To Dan’s surprise, the woman obliged. She sank into the shadows of the walls and disappeared.

Hours later, Dan started to doubt if he even had any visitors that night, if he had imagined it all. But a locket laid in the living room. It was no ordinary locket; it was motionless, yet alive. As Dan considered the locket, a jarring thought occurred to him, the Original Serum had been created the same year his mother had supposedly died.