Valeria Sartori
Waking up felt like drowning in molasses. My mouth was dry as sandpaper. My whole body ached like I'd been run over by a train, dragged a few miles, then left for dead.
Maybe I had been.
I slowly turned my head. The sharp stink of burning cigarettes and blood jammed itself up my nose.
I stumbled my way back onto my feet. I placed a hand against my throbbing skull. The screams hadn't stopped since I woke up.
"You have to save them!" An unfamiliar voice chanted.
I maneuvered my way out of the alley. I stopped dead in my tracks when I found myself in the middle of an empty sidewalk. Someone bumped into my shoulder and my back hit a streetlight.
I curiously took in my surroundings. The whole area leaned into the night. The windows glinted like teeth under the streetlights.
Loud honking made me jump away from the streetlight. A car sped past me, leaving an icy gust of wind behind. My heart rate spiked at the thought of being run over after being shot.
I checked my chest again and the gunshot wound was still nowhere to be found. I could've sworn he shot me.
Aurelio shot me. My own fiancé.
I slowly turned toward the window beside me. However, my reflection wasn't there. Instead, a scared girl, dressed in a stained sweatsuit stared back at me. I must be going crazy.
I carefully raised my arm and gasped in shock. I touched my face in horror and the girl in the window mirrored my reflections.
I must be going crazy. This had to be some kind of sick joke.
"None of this is a joke. Your soul entered my body after you died."
I swung around, searching the street but I was completely alone. "Who said that?"
"The person whose body you stole." The voice inside my head answered and my eyes widened in shock.
"Who are you and why can't I see you?" I questioned in confusion.
"You can't see me because I'm inside your head."
"I asked who are you?" I seethed through my teeth, I was slowly starting to lose my patience.
"Inara Storm." She pointedly stated.
"What the hell is going on, Inara Storm?"
"Your soul has temporarily entered my body. We need to work together to make this work. To make it go away." She explained.
"No. First explain to me how this is even possible. How... did my soul enter your body? What's the science behind this?" I asked while staring at my reflection.
"There's no science behind it. All the women in my family experiences this at least once in their lives." She tiredly explained.
"All the women in your family. What the hell do I have to do with your family? Why am I involved in your generational curse!" I angrily snapped at the girl inside the window.
"Don't yell at me. People will think you're crazy." She whispered out. "How about you sit down for a while and gather your thoughts."
"Gather my thoughts?" I scoffed. "My body. What about my body? If we're both inside your body. Then that means my body is empty. We have to find my body before they bury me."
"Where do you live?" She curiously questioned.
"Better question, where the hell are we?" I mumbled before looking the surrounding buildings.
"The Pit." She murmured and my eyes widened.
I clenched my jaw as anger started rising inside me. "Do you have any money so we can take a cab to my place?"
"I don't have any money." She softly stated.
"Of course you don't." I shook my head in disbelief.
"But I know where we can find some." She uttered.
A light frown rested on my forehead. "Where?"
"Well... at my house." She murmured.
"Why does that sound like a bad idea?"
"You'll see when we get there. Now start walking. I'll give you directions." She commanded and I sucked in a frustrated breath before following her directions.
My soul shifted into the body of a pitiful girl from The Pit. This was hell on earth. Too many deaths in a day occur here, too many crimes to count. So the cops just stopped patrolling the area. They stopped coming around and stopped protecting the people of The Pit. It's been like this for years.
"Right here. I live right here." Inara stopped me and I slowly came to halt in front of a small town house.
"Here?" I asked in utter disbelief.
"Go inside." She told me and I slowly walked up to the frontdoor that looked like it had fallen off its hinges a couple of times before.
I kicked the door open and found a woman with a black eye, cradling a seven year old boy.
"Nara!" The boy excitedly yelled before wrapping his arms around my waist.
"Oliver. But I call him Ollie." Inara informed me. I nodded in understanding before ruffling up the little boy's hair.
I looked at the woman, sitting at the empty dinner table.
"That's my mom. Just call her Mom, so she doesn't become suspicious." She whispered as if someone might hear her.
I tilted my head before narrowing my eyes on Inara's mom. "Why do you have a black eye, Mom?"
Her eyes shot open so wide it looked like they might pop out of their sockets. "Not so loud." She whispered in fear.
"Why? Are scared someone might hear us?" I asked in confusion.
I quietly looked around the room. "That's a nice baseball bat."
"You bought it for me." Oliver muttered before narrowing his eyes on me in suspicion.
"Who the fuck is making all this noise in my house?!" A tall, muscled man entered the kitchen.
"My stepdad, Mark." Inara explained in a hushed tone.
I slowly raked my eyes over him. His knuckles were bruised, sweat dripped off his forehead like he just came back from running a marathon. He reeked of alcohol and his eyes were bloodshot red.
He's had one too many. That makes my job a whole lot easier.
"That would be. Why? Am I not allowed to speak inside my own house?" I asked before taking a deliberate step toward him.
I've dealt with guys like him before. They think raising their hands to women and children makes them a man.
"There's only one way to deal with scum like you." I seethed through my teeth.
"What did you just say to me?" He scoffed in disbelief.
"What the hell are you doing?" Inara questioned but I shut her out, completely. And her screams went silent.
"I said I'm gonna make you my bitch."
I grabbed the baseball bat before swinging it into the side of his head. I sent another blow to his forehead and he stumbled backwards.
Before I could land another hit, he caught the bat in his fist. He snatched the weapon from my hand with ease before tossing it aside.
This new body was weak, I couldn't even hold a baseball bat properly.
Mark slammed his hand down against my cheek and my head snapped back. "Don't bark if you can't fucking bite, Inara!"
My back hit the wall, I angrily balled my hands into fists.
"Stop. You'll only make it worse. I'd never win a fight against Mark. He's too strong for me." Inara pleaded with me.
"You underestimate yourself," I muttered before looking down at Inara's small fists. I looked up at her stepdad. "Let's make this a fair fight, shall we?" I smirked at him and he stormed at me in anger.