The Fate of Aurora

Chapter Four - The Passenger

The Fate of Aurora

Chapter 4 - The Passenger

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Leaves whipped the skin that was showing as I sprinted through the woods. The cold air was like a slap in the face, and caused tears to run down my cheeks like thick sheets of emotion. I had no time to dwell on the pain that danced in the balls of my feet- I didn’t care about the physical pain I caused myself. I just had to escape that prison. I couldn’t bear having to watch those four walls for days, again.

The trees and branches were nothing but a blur as I ran for my life, literally, but as I proceeded to sprint, my joints started to ache, and I started to shorten on breath. I was exhausted- and it was probably because of the lack of food. I should have eaten the damn meals.

I could hear a ‘whoosh’ near me. The sound of leaves crunching put me on edge. I stopped running, petrified. I spun in a circle, eyes wide and fresh tears spilling over. The realization that I wouldn’t win this fight, dawned on me. Maybe I had always known I would lose, and I wouldn’t escape. I was about to run in the direction I was facing when suddenly the stranger, the boy, appeared in front of me. His eyes were wide- livid. The colour mesmerized me but also put enough fear in me to put my teeth on edge, to make me surrender to the power they held over me. I couldn’t breathe, let alone try to escape this…predator.

Not being able to form so much as a word, I let the tears land on my cheeks, rolling down until they slowly reached my chin and dropped elsewhere. Somehow I knew this would be it for me, I wouldn’t escape another time, I wouldn’t even have a chance to breathe again. I choked as I cried and I cried as I choked. Gasping, gasping, and gasping! Trying to grasp onto anything, my arm wrapped desperately around the boys cold, stone-like wrist, pleading.

Abruptly, I could breathe again, and I was staring wide-eyed (matching the boy’s expression) through a blurry shield, while eating up the air that entered my lungs with ease. I fell to the floor, relief as well as confusion flooding me. For the first time since he’d been here to capture me, no doubt, the boy spoke.

“It’s true.” He whispered, his face dropping and his eyes reaching mine. The colour was back to its original colour. He took a step away from me, a horrified expression taking over his face.

“What’s true?” I panicked. “What’s going on?”

My knees ached dully from the twigs and hard, cold, forest floor. The boy just stared, like he was in a trance. Before I could scream and yell and demand an answer, an ear-splitting screech caused me to press my palms to my ears and squeeze my eyes shut. The screaming ignited a fire within me, it ignited fight. I watched as the boy dropped to the floor, blood pouring from his ears, his eyes blank and empty.

The blur that invaded my vision before, was gone and before I could comprehend my stupid, risky, actions, I was on the floor in a second and holding the side of the boy’s face, begging him to wake up. So much for the fight, huh. The sight of the blood running in a thin line from his ears reminded me too much of Caleb, and it only reminded me of how helpless I was and how I was unable to save him. And wonder why I came out unscathed. I didn’t want to feel any more guilt.

I pressed my right ear to his chest, for any reassurance that he was breathing, however, when I pulled away, I felt like falling apart. There was nothing. I grabbed his wrist, checking for a pulse but again, came up with nothing. I don’t know how long I sat there, with the painful screeching penetrating my ear drums and putting the hairs on the back of my neck standing up, but I was there until I heard the heavy thumping of footsteps.

The screeching stopped when I snapped my head up, it disappeared as if there wasn’t just a strange, alarming, screaming echoing through the forest. As nothing caused the boy to drop dead in front of me. Taking one last longing look at the face of the dead body, I wiped an unexpected tear and stood up. I could feel my feet sting as they met the rough forest floor once again. All I did was wince, as after all- I was responsible for the death of two people. I couldn't afford to complain about my sore feet.

“Where are you going, girl?” hissed a deep, croaky, voice. It came from behind me. I inhaled sharply as I faced the culprit of the voice. It was the boy’s father, and he looked ten times scarier than he did before. Behind him was at least fifteen men, all dressed in black straight-legged combat trousers, combat boots, leather jackets that came mid-thigh, which went over the top of their black turtle-necks. At the click of the man’s fingers, two of the guards came forward, their eyes glowing red and a smirk resting on their pale faces.

I was forcefully grabbed- one man pulled my arms behind my back as the other harshly pushed my head to one side, displaying my neck. The guard positioned himself hovering above my neck. I knew what was going to happen.

“Wait,” The man in charge commanded just before I was ravaged. “I want you to do it slowly. I want to see the pain on the girls face as you pierce her throbbing vein.”

Screaming never took the pain away, or lessened it in any way. It was just a stupid reflex.

But as I belted out the blood-curdling scream that made all the men wince in pain, I felt something pull from me. And unexpectedly, I was watching myself be drained, slowly and painfully. I was watching me. How that was possible, I had no idea.

I watched on as my limp body was carried away, back the way I ran before- I was there, but I wasn’t. I was a passenger- looking on, going along for the ride. And since it was obvious no one else could see me, I decided to follow.