The Man Inside the Helmet

"ALESSA!" Warden banged on the door before grabbing the handle and trying to open it. "MOTHER! OPEN THE DOOR!" He pulled on it harder. He backed up and looked up at the large building. He clenched his teeth a moment before moving back to the door and tried to kick it in. "ALESSA!" He cried again. He knew what they where doing to his sister. How could his mother allow this to happen. How could his mother condone such?

"ALESSA!!!!" He cried again. He heard her scream from inside, the sound fueling his anger more. He kicked the door harder but it wouldn't budge. His words from the other day rang in his head. 'I will always protect you. I promise.'

He had to get to her. He had too!

"NO!! NO!!" He heard Dhalia screaming on the other side of the door. "ALEESA!!" She cried through tears as her daughter screamed in agony.

"Mother!" He cried out to her. Begging her to let him in.

By the time it was put to a stop and Warden was let in. It was too late. He stood in shock, anger and fear as Thomas Gucci walked by him with his sister, dying in his arms.

"Warden!" Dhalia cried as the towns folk released her. She ran to him and buried herself against his chest. "My little girl....look what they've done to her!!" She cried beating her fists against his chest lightly.

Warden stared blankly as they put his little baby sister into an ambulance. He didn't even bother to stop his mother from hitting him. He couldn't do anything. 'I promised to protect her. And I failed.'

Dhalia continued to cry against him as the ambulance sped off down the road towards the hospital. "They'll pay..." She murmured. "All of them...they'll pay for this..."

"Pay for it? You're the reason it happened." Warden said pulling away from her.

"W-what?" She stared in shock at him and recoiled.

"You're the one who brought her here." He said angrily. "You're... moment of weakness?" He asked. "You condemned your own daughter to this!" He had never raised his voice to his mother before but this... this pushed him far beyond anything he's ever experienced.

"She said she would help her!!" She countered, tears flowing down her cheeks. "I thought she was going to help her!!" Dhalia covered her face and fell to her knees.

"You knew EXACTLY what was happening." He said. "If you didn't why else would you be dressed like that?" He asked looking at her funeral style dress. He turned away from her not even able to look at her. "I'm going to the hospital. I swear if she dies..." He left the threat open allowing his mother to fill in the rest.

"Oh...god..." Dhalia choked into her hands. "What ...have I done?"

Warden looked over to see Christabella standing in the window glaring down at him. He looked up at her a moment before turning away from her and hopping into his car.

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Aleesa laid in her bed, a veil of plastic all around her. She stared blankly up at the ceiling as she listened to her heart barely beating upon they machine. She was alone, alone there to die. She was burned over sixty percent of her body, there was nothing the doctors would do except watch her wither away slowly.

She hated them. She wanted them all to suffer like she had suffered. Then she caught a glimpse of a nurse in her room. Her eyes snapped to her as the blonde woman stared mortified and quickly ran out.

"Alessa?" She could faintly hear her name being called. That voice... was... Warden?

"Alessa?" He asked again. "Can you hear me?" She wanted to answer him. Wanted to speak to him. 'Don't leave me.' She silently begged him. She could see him, peering in through the little window slot. He moved away slightly and she could faintly see his silhouette against the white plastic. She could tell by his movements he was upset. He was shaking his head.

"I'm so sorry." He said. "I promised you I'd protect you. And I couldn't."

'No.' She said. 'You did protect me.' She thought. 'You did. But not then. From everyone else you protected me, but from this you couldn't. Don't leave me now.'

He stood there for what seemed like forever to Alessa. He heard him mumble "I'm sorry" once more before he quickly left the room.

'...Warden...come back...' She thought as she felt her heart beginning to beat slower and slower. 'No...I won't die...I'll never die...never!'

Alessa saw another silhouette and for a moment she though Warden had come back. She slowly looked over and saw a small girl that looked very much like she had standing there looking at her through the small plastic window.

She blinked slowly, staring at the small silhouette intently. 'Who?' She questioned in mind. 'Are you?'

'I'm the one who's going to bring this town to it's knees. Condemn the people who did this too you.' The girl said.

Aleesa wanted to smile but it was far to painful. 'Y-you can hear me?' She thought.

'Of course I can.' The girl said. She put her hand up to the plastic and a strange black substance began to flow over it spreading to the floor. Normally any girl Alessa's age would be terrified of this. But Alessa felt oddly... calmed.

'What are you doing?' Aleesa asked as she watched the black ooze creep along the plastic.

'This town is yours now Alessa.' She said. 'I'm just making it happen.'

'Good.' Aleesa chuckled slightly as the room began to rot before her. "They all will pay."

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter but this is more of a plot advance chapter than anything....