Paila's Fairytale

“Release me.” An echoed voice growled through the shadows of a prison cell. Although bright it may be, even the lilac moonlight could not penetrate the blackness entombed in the cell. She reached her long slender fingers into the light and wrapped them around the bars, pulling herself closer to the illumination, but made sure to remain out of it. The light brilliantly glowed off her smouldering cream skin, the smoke swirling in the path of her breath.

“You know the condition of which you are captive.” The tall blonde man, who was examining his nails, spoke softly as he sat confidently in the darkness across the cell.

“I will not give in.”

The man smiled without a glance towards the imprisoned woman.

“Suit yourself.”

He motioned for two guards to advance towards the cell and followed them. The agile and swift soldiers slipped quickly through the doors and seized the woman, easily hauling her to her feet and slamming her into the iron rods of the cell.

“You will not hurt me.” She hissed. The man’s fluorescent white eyes gazed sharply into her as a smirk appeared on his face.

“You cannot hurt me.” Her tone grew in agitation as she continually resisted the guards’ firm grasp, her purple eyes ablaze through the obscurity. The man’s eyes widened and his grin slipped away, his eyes now changed to a piercing red.

“Your expression is calm but your heart is not.” He revealed his teeth as he spoke, showing the fearsome fangs that accompanied his gaze. She tried to lean away, aware of what his intentions may be. His eyes searched into her body, her heart pumping quicker and quicker and veins engorged.

“None’s as sweet as yours.” He caressed her face with the back of his hand.

“You can’t,” She eyed the thick bars that divided the two of them, “due to your own design.”

“Do you really think these bars could stop me?” His eyes flashed back to the glowing white as he looked at her with a sinister smile. The woman’s eyes gazed unmoving.

“I will ask you once more,” the man crossed his arms. “What is the anti-charm?”

“You think you deserve to know?” She scoffed at the man who then sighed out his growing frustration with her.

“Ila.” He gracefully placed himself before her and stared into her eyes. She quickly responded by spitting him in the face.

“Like all of your previous hostages, I’d rather die.”

“Granted.” The man’s eyes shined a cobalt blue as he plunged his hand into her chest, ripping her still-beating heart from its comfortable cage. She gasped at the sight of her heart sitting in the man’s hand. She was released from the grip of the soldiers, and instantly fell into a pool of her own blood. Her life ending in that moment.

Another woman flashed in his mind as he grasped the gleaming heart. The woman dropped to the floor clutching her chest. He blinked repeatedly and then gazed questioningly at the bloody organ, the vision pulsating in time with its beat.

****

A young woman’s green eyes looked out towards the sunset and the colors that accompanied it. Although she has seen these colors every day, they continued to inspire the greatest hopes in her. She especially loved the blues and pinks that would intermingle above her as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon. She let out a sigh and brought her hands to her arms with the chill that arrived with the darkness.

“You better hurry up and get inside. Dark falls quickly now.” A redheaded young man yelled from a side window of the house she had run out of minutes before. She turned around and responded playfully, “Yes, mother.” The cool green grass stuck up between her bare toes, tickling them as she strolled back towards the small townhouse.

****

“What do you want for supper?” The young man questioned as he opened a cupboard, examining its unfortunately bare contents.

“What you got?” The young woman lazed on the floor, staring at the stucco decorated ceiling.

“Um...” He hummed to himself. “I’ve got instant potatoes, canned beans, and...” He took out a small bottle with just a piece of tape on it describing what was inside. “Paprika?” He glared at it. “I don’t remember buying this.”

“Sounds like a meal to me.” She sat up and gave him the thumbs up with a smile.

“You make the potatoes.” He took out the can of beans and carefully placed it on the counter before looking for the can opener. “It’s in one of these drawers...” He mumbled to himself, searching through the various drawers.

“What a man, make the woman do the hard work.” The woman laughed and scurried to the cupboard.

“You add butter and milk. That is hard.” He smirked and let out an “A-hah!” when he discovered the can opener.

“I also have to heat it and mix it together. I’ll break a sweat just thinking about it.” The woman threw the box onto the counter and began to search for a bowl large enough for the proper portions.

“Be careful with that!” The man’s neck spun around nervously, nearly spilling the can of beans he was currently pouring into a pot. “It could open and explode everywhere.”

“Sorry, mom.”

She reached for a large ceramic mixing bowl that seemed to weigh a thousand pounds; the woman had trouble lifting it.

“Woah,” She huffed. “What is this made of – lead?”

The man looked back at her and scoffed as he walked over to her.

“It helps if you take out the other bowls.” He picked out two other ceramic bowls from inside and placed them back into the counter. She looked at him with a playful scowl, trying to play off her embarrassment.

“Hush you.” She snarled at the back of his head. A rush of pain exploded through the woman’s arm suddenly, causing her to scream and fall to the ground.

“Paila!” The man spun around and dropped the pot of beans onto the floor as he rushed to her. She clutched her chest and gasped for air, robbed of her voice to speak.

Her lungs wheezed each breath. He stood up and ran to the phone, dialling 9-1-1 as fast as he could.

****

“She’s going into cardiac arrest!” A young paramedic screamed as he and his older colleague rolled the young woman towards the ambulance on the gurney. Though the road was smooth, a faulty wheel made sure that the ride was not.

“Hurry.” The young EMT jumped inside and picked her up into the ambulance. The gurney folded quickly and slid into the vehicle with ease.

“Will she be alright?” The redhead pleaded with tears in his eyes as he looked in.

“We’ll do what we can.” The older EMT spoke quickly and closed the doors as the vehicle sped away, leaving the lanky redhead behind.

The two paramedics attached heart monitoring pads onto her chest to find there was hardly a beat to monitor.

“She’s dying.” The young paramedic hastily picked up the defibrillator and began attempting to shock her heart back to life. The ambulance screamed through the bustling nightlife of the large city that lay just beyond the small townhouse, it's sirens wailing; a sombre attention upon its presence. Each shock gave the heart a jump, but that’s all the heart received – a jump.

“Come on, damnit!” He tried again and again, but each time failing to restart her heart. The monitor slowed in rhythm and silence slowly filled the truck as the two struggled to keep the young woman conscious. She slipped into darkness just as the beat slowed. And slowed. And stopped.

“No, no, no, no.” He mumbled anxiously.

“She’s gone, kid.” The older EMT laid a hand on his shoulder. Ultimately, they were unable to save her.

“God damnit.” The young one sighed in both anger and sadness.

“What’s the time?” He stared blankly at the lifeless body. The other one checked the clock and answered him solemnly,

“8:26pm.”

He let out a deep sigh that released his sorrow and frustration, sitting back on the seats that lined the wall.

“You tried.” The older one spoke softly as the young paramedic wiped his face.

They covered her with a blanket, making sure to cover her face, and then switched off the ceiling light. The older man collapsed heavily into the passenger seat, sighing away his frustration.

“How is she?” The driver questioned as if he was completely unaware of what had transpired. The young EMT's grim expression deepened when he overheard that simple question.

“She didn’t make it.” The older man spoke quickly and shook his head. For the next few minutes, the ambulance was hushed in sound as the two of them contemplated yet another death on their hands. The young man took this especially hard as this was his first night in the field. A death on his first try.

****

The night air was still; not a cloud in sight and a large full moon loomed in the sky. Only one soul stopped and gazed at the moon that shone brightly. The moonlight gleamed in her violet eyes as she slowly disappeared into a wisp of air.

****

Inside the ambulance, a familiar and shocking noise appeared on the monitor. The noise appeared again, and again, and again, until it was constant and strong. A heartbeat. The two EMTs were flabbergasted.

The overhead clock read 8:29pm - a full two minutes before brain death would have occurred.