OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST - LONG LISTED
Safety was never an option.
She has nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. Nowhere safe to reside. No matter how far she runs or how quiet she hides, they always find her. She will never be free of her hunters. Theresa k...
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"Save them and come home."
Braven and the goddess' face have become one now; they are the same in voice too. Everything is drowning in a thick fog. Creo's presence is all she can feel.
"Where am I?" Her words come out wrong; disjointed and frozen in her throat.
Theresa squints, pressing a hand against her forehead. It aches. Why does it ache?
Creo appears in front of her, clearer now. "You are a monster, my fawn." The screams of the dying guards echo. She shuts her eyes. "The monster who will save them, and come home."
"Theresa." Braven's face morphs with the goddess'. "Theresa," he repeats.
She tries to open her mouth, but nothing comes. Frozen.
His lips part, anger fuelled in his eyes. "THERESA!"
➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶
"Theresa?"
Meline stares at her, face pulled with worry. Theresa blinks several times, pushing away the haziness of her dream. Her head is pounding; her hand presses against it. Where is she? How long was she asleep?
"How long?"
"What?" Meline's frown deepens.
"How long was I sleep?" she asks.
"You should say 'asleep' or 'sleeping'," Meline quickly corrects. "And only for a day. We didn't want to disturb you."
She blinks. "A day?"
Meline nods. "We've arrived now. But we thought it best you rest. You've lost a lot of blood."
"Rest..."
"Yes, but we're here now. And you're awake! Do you think you can move?"
The eagerness in her features is compelling, almost enough to say yes. But can she move? The screams of the guards grow louder in her head again.
"You're still feeling terrible," Meline mutters.
Theresa doesn't respond.
"We must get you to our healer. They'll take care of you. Come on now." Meline's hands move closer. "Up you get."
She flinches away. "Do not touch." Her eyes dart.
"Theresa, you need help getting up."
"Do not touch," she repeats through gritted teeth. A breath hisses between her teeth as she struggles to sit up. Now everything comes into view, and the noise hits her like a stone.
People everywhere, bustling about in the rain that still pours. Someone coughs, another sings. She can't see who. There's laughter. What is this place? Tents are strung up, baring the rain and the wind like it is nothing. Someone walks past, their eyes dragging over her and Meline; a human. But this human doesn't shout and scream and run or point the end of a blade at her. They keep going. What is this place?
