On The Run ( Safe and Sound Trilogy: Book 1 )

Chapter 23: Violet_Battling a Dream

It was the dead of night when I woke up from another strange dream. I couldn't help but think about it as I sat up in the grass, picking at the colorful flower I had plucked from the ground. I was in a castle of all black, like in a horror movie, but it wasn't scary. Just dark. In the dream, I knew where I was going, like I'd been there before, like I knew why I was there. I went up the stairs into a room where a King sat. Suddenly I was in front of the King, and he was saying to me: Die! Die like you were never meant to live! But the strangest part was that he randomly held his head and began to scream in pain. Then he begged for me to kill him. I asked him why, and he said, "I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to! Oh, kill me! Have mercy, Erileth!" And then I woke up. Who is Erileth?

Confusion from over-thinking and anger from not having my powers yet and not knowing the meaning of my dream were going to overwhelm me. I got up, after picking a dandelion, and I walked into the forest next to the little field we were laying in. I twirled the stem of the dandelion between my index finger, middle finger, and my thumb. When you think about it, a human and a dandelion may metaphorically have things in common. A seed, a baby. White wisps, a wishes and unchased dreams. The slight blow of a child's spirit, the slight push of determination.  A weed whacker, death. It's weird to think about, but sometimes thinking is just my specialty. 

The dandelion was not a strong enough distraction before my usual train of thought began to dock back in.  I was useless. What are my powers? Knowing me, I didn't have any - or I had and extremely weak one. I was smart, I guess. But I've always been a confused child. I always saw things that weren't there, remembered things that never happened, heard things that were always silent. I was teased for it a lot.It's gotten better, but now look at me. Still confused. Still useless.

Just like they always said.

My feet crunched the leaves below me. The twigs, probably moss, amusingly bugs. A slight breeze whistled thought the leaves of the towering trees, almost like music. The night sky's stars and the gleam of the moon trying to shine through, just hardly making an appearance. I stopped when I came to a spot where the grass had a hard time growing, where it was just dirt, old footprints, and dead flowers. I dropped my dandelion and became angry again.

What was wrong with me? Why did Kris already have his powers, and why didn't I yet? Or maybe mine was something stupid like the ability to talk. I know I kept repeating the same annoying question in my head, but it was the only thing I could think about, feel about, be so angry about that I boiled to the top and I just couldn't keep it inside of me anymore.

"Raaah!" I screamed, and I punched the nearest tree. Tears welled up in my eyes from frustration. And, that kind of hurt. I purposely inflicted pain upon myself so I could feel something other than anger. It didn't work.

I felt dizzy. For a second, it felt like the weight of the world was pushing down on me, a ringing in my ears, and everything was spinning like I was a little kid again, twirling in an office chair. Then, a loud crack sounded in front of me, and I knew what was about to happen. I didn't believe it, but it only made sense when it cracked again, and again, and then the tree that I punched fell the the ground, echoing. Did I find my power? Is it strength?

As if me tipping over a tree with only the wrath of my fist wasn't enough, I began to hear footsteps. I begged in my mind for them to gradually cease, but the only thing they were gradually doing was becoming louder. Finally, I got my feet to move, and I hid behind a tree.

Three men and two women all dressed in complete black with various glowing, electric blue weapons stepped in front of me. My heart began to beat fast and rapidly as one man walked a little bit ahead of the group, clenching his fists, in one hand he had a sword drawn.

"Where is she?" He screamed, rage surging through his loud and powerful voice, stomping his foot on the ground out of frustration.

After a minute of me hardly breathing, (could they be here for me?) and them searching around, the woman in front of me said, "Zeke, face it. She's not here." She flipped her firey red curls over her shoulder and put her hand on her hip. 

Zeke walked slowly over to a bush next to a tree in front of him, and he drew his sword back right as I started to wonder why they were there and what they wanted. He sliced the bush and nothing happened. He walked back in front of the group, but when he turned around, his eyes glowed blue like his sword, electric. He growled with anger.

"Face it!" the red-headed woman said. "Mira was wrong."

"No!" Zeke yelled, loud enough where I thought that Kris might actually wake up. "Never! Mira is never wrong!"

"Come on Shayla, we hardly even looked." The other woman says, blond strands hanging around her face, no lower than her jawline. "We have to have a little bit of hope. What will our Lord do if we come back with no body to prove we succeeded? Burn us, maybe, if we're lucky. Have hope, Shayla."

"Hope." Shayla spat the word like it was poison. "Now?"

The blond's glowing blue eyes set with Shayla's. "Always."

I felt dizzy again. The world spun, and it felt like gravity was trying to push me into the ground, perhaps maybe six feet under. It stopped suddenly, and I felt like I had every single ounce of courage in the world in me. I jumped up, grabbed the sword from the closest person, and jumped in front of all five of them as if they had no chance against a small girl like me, but they did. And it was a good one.

"Found her." Said the blond. 

"Shut up, Vi." Shayla said, and stepped forward, drawing out her glowing blue sword, glaring at me with they same eyes as everyone else: the eyes that matched their swords, right down to the glowing part of it.

Shayla drew back her hand and her sword clashed with mine, echoing throughout the forest. I never knew I could fight as good as I was fighting before this. When she tried to slice me again, I ducked, and cut her arm, then rolled behind her.

"Gah!" Shayla exclaimed. "Zeke! Vi! John and George! You cowards!"

Suddenly, something cold and deadly sharp hit my arm and pulled it down. I knew it was one of those swords before I knew what I was going to do next. 

"AAAH!" I yelled out in pain, my hand flying to my arm. I took my sword, drew it back, and when Zeke tried to hit me again, I blocked it by putting my sword up horizontally, and his sword hitting mine. He tried as hard as he could to push back, but for some reason I can hold him off.

Then, everyone disappears, and five skinny people are in front of me, staring at me with wide eyes. They look exactly the same as Shayla, Zeke, Vi, and the two other men who were apparently called John and George. But they weren't attacking me. They just stared at me, glowing eyes, glowing weapons.

 "You're coming with us." the man with a black fohawk says, his smirk evolving into an evil grin.

But I didn't fight. I didn't even have the courage to talk. I was so scared because I didn't know what happened, but when I got scared like that, (not enough to paralyse me but enough to make me bawl) I just run. So I ran. And ran. And I didn't even care where I ended up, as long as I was away from them. Away from who I knew had to be nothing but The Masked Lord's Bounty Collectors.