The Zodiacs

50. Blistering Tension

Layla & Akil Above (what do you think?)

Layla sighed, letting her eyes peel open to glare up at the dark sky looming above them. Two hours. Two hours she'd been trying to force her exhausted mind to fall asleep by the image of her dying grandmother repetitively forcing themselves back into her thoughts, each one more terrifyingly detailed than the last.

She hadn't been able to save the only family she ever had. She'd clearly had the power to release herself and attack all the soldiers, but why couldn't she do it when her grandmother was still alive? The older lady would still be with her if she hadn't been so weak.

Now she was strong, but only because of the unjust murder of her relative. Layla still hated herself for it.

She hated everything.

Akil's leveled breathing became more distinct when he grumbled, turning onto his right side to face away from her. He'd been sleeping so soundly since they dropped onto the large sand dune a safe distance from Luxor and decided there was no other place to rest.

Not to mention, Layla's arms and legs had been run down after having to support the air sign's weight the entire time because his back was too injured to walk on his own. She'd expected to fall asleep as soon as she set her head down on the soft ground, but that clearly wasn't the case. Now she struggled with all the terrible, bloody images that continually forced themselves into her mind.

Layla glanced to the side at the sleeping Zodiac beside her, making sure he was asleep before lifting herself off the ground and stepping away from the air sign.

But her back was too him when Akil stirred at the sound of her footsteps, and Layla was oblivious to the way the boy's ear followed her.

Her green eyes slid over the black desert, illuminated only by the distant light of the shimmering diamonds in the sky above her. The lightly blowing wind danced through her red hair with a coolness that couldn't often be felt in Egypt when the sun was up. She pulled in a deep breath, glancing back at Akil's back one last time before she walked over the dune to peer out at the night ahead of them.

Just like that, she was left alone with the thoughts that were beginning to eat at her mind until the girl was sure the only thing left to do was to go mad. The hatred in her chest was too strong for herself, for the men who killed her grandmother, for the Zodiac sleeping just a few feet from her, for anyone.

A shaky breath left her lips as Layla realized the truth of her situation. She was now a wanted criminal for two more crimes than just being Zodiac --but to hell with that. What terrified her the most was the dark, lonely world she'd found herself in without her grandmother.

Slowly, the girl's feet slid against the dune until she dropped down weakly onto the ground beneath her with a hopeless gasp.

She was alone now... her parents died when she was young, but she'd had her grandmother. It was foolish, but Layla had never imagined that the old lady might some day leave her alone in the massive world. Now, that's exactly what she was.

"I'm sorry...," Layla whispered, lifting her head up toward the sky as if she'd see her grandmother's face amidst the stars. All she wanted to do was see the loving face just one more time... but she couldn't.

Tears blurred her vision, trailing down the girl's cheeks even as she tried to hold them back. But she released them with a stifled cry because Layla had no more strength to pretend like everything was okay, like every part of her body wasn't flooded with hatred and rage while a suffocating grief pulsed through her blood with every beat of her heart.

Layla was alone.

She'd lost her grandmother because of herself... because of what it was that she was. For a moment, the idea that it may have all been her fault settled on her mind with a terrifying guilt.