Pursuit (Book Two in the VENOM Series)/ON HOLD

Chapter 14

David

I used to think breezes were good. Soft wind on my face during a hot summer day...This was different. The wind seemed like it would tear off my face. It was so strong, and i felt so small. Falling. Falling nowhere. Nowhere but the sky, the grass below. Where am I? Greece.

Suddenly I saw them. The towering, modern buildings and ancient ruins, all at once, like a time lapse. I waited a second longer, and then yanked on the string, releasing the parachute. It was like a car crash, the air bag exploding. All my momentum forced down and then...stop. Everything stopped.

I was still falling, but now it seemed intentional. The breeze returned, but now it was nice again, and I could hear the noises below clearly. I didn't know something could change so fast, but the difference between the falling, and the gliding was drastic. Now I could think and move and breath without the second thought of "what if I never get it open?" It was a terrible thought, but saved for another day. I was safe now. Sort of.

The strange new landscape still lay beneath me, and I had absolutely no idea what to do. So I waited for my feet to hit the ground, and I collapsed with a sigh. Who knew falling could be so exhausting?

I scoped out my surroundings. I was in the middle of a field, probably somewhere out in the country. There was a shack up ahead about three hundred yards, and absolutely nothing else. So be it. I started to walk.

When I reached the shack, it was evening, and the first light of the moon was beginning to appear. The stars were hidden behind a thick layer of clouds, and I could barely see the steps as I snuck up them. The third was completely broken, and I was forced to hop over it, cutting my ankle on the jagged concrete. I winced, but kept moving forward.

The door was unlocked, and I was able to slip through unnoticed.

"Hello?" I shouted into the dark space. "Hello?"

No answer.

"Anyone home?"

I tip-toed into the kitchen. The pots and pans, plates and dishes,were scattered everywhere, turned over and unwashed. This house looked like it had been abandoned, like someone had fled from it, only stopping for a second to grab a few valuable items. Or else the house had been ransacked.

The bedroom door was open, and I stared, exhausted, at the soft warm bed. I was so tired, and I felt like I would collapse at any second. I ran to the bed and lied down, sinking into the soft sheets. It was perfect.

Looking over to the nightstand, I saw a silver bracelet. I couldn't see the pendant, but the cold my metal collared my blistering hands. And that's how I fell asleep, the bracelet in my hand and all the world at my fingertips.

************

"Freeze right there."

It seemed like I had just fallen asleep, but already she was standing there, pointing the shotgun to my head. A girl with a bloody face and black hair tumbling over her shoulders. A girl I knew all to well.