Storytime

Chapter 19- While The World Let Go

The pain is numbing. The light is blinding. The fighting is pointless and yet it continues on in a desperate attempt to survive. There is nothing left of the life I know and I can't face what it has become. I strain to open my eyes. Though it would probably be safer to keep them closed, I can't let him win. There are no familiar faces that I wake to-only the bloodshed my so-called dad caused. I look round at all the innocent faces of people who most likely had their whole lives ahead of them. And then I look down at the bodies of two people I can only feel remorse for. One has his hair slicked back and with the pale iciness of his face, he almost looks like a member of the supernatural. I've never believed in anything much before but right now, I want to believe there's some better place up there where they could now be residing but no one really knows. They should never have had to face this either way. Tears jump into my eyes and as I slide out from under the covers, I realise how truly broken I am. My legs fall out from underneath me and the cries pour out from my mouth. My fingers run through Ryan's hair. He was the brother I'd never known, the only real family I'd ever had. I didn't even know he existed and now he's gone. There's one thing I've learnt from this place. Life is cruel. It brings you tragedy, success, failure, heartbreak. But if you live life right, you can move on from that and you can find where you belong. My dad acts out of spite, out of pure hatred. The roots of his hatred are still unknown to me but that's what drives him. If hatred can make you that evil, just imagine what you could do if you were driven by love. I never realised how much I'd lost myself but, despite all the things that they've done to me, despite losing almost everything I've known, I've finally found where I belong. I belong right by Josie's side. So much so that I don't care what happens to me now. If I die, at least I'll have eternity with her. I have to believe in something, right?

Soon enough, I'm over the pain. I don't feel the burning or the aching anymore. All I feel is the sickening numbness that eminates from a broken heart. That's all I'm left with. A broken body, an emotionless mind and a broken heart. How can anybody live like that? My mind is empty. I know that I've lost everything but there is still that hope there. I didn't read much but I read enough to know that every story has a hero and a villain. I may not know who my hero is but my story hasn't ended yet. I just know there has to be a happy ending. There has to be. Even in the saddest of stories, the character/s come to a resolution, they're peaceful, they're almost happy, if not entirely happy. My happiness hasn't been taken away-yet.

"Illeya? Illeya? Are you here?" There's a voice. One I vaguely recognise. Even though the recognition is only faint, it's comforting seeing as the only voice I've been tortured with for days is my own or my dad's. The voice is soft, a whisper on the wind. I know it's a girl but there's no one I know that knows my name and would come for me except Josie, and she's dead.

"Illeya? Please, tell me you're here." The voice becomes desperate, hinting at some form of urgency.

"I'm here." I whisper, my throat burning as I say it. There is no sound for a long time and, just as my hope dies, I see a shadow pass the corner and then a pair of dark brown eyes fix on me, shimmering.

"Thank god you're okay!" They yell, running towards me. They throw themselves at me, their arms around my shoulders. I cried out, the pain becoming noticeable again.

"I'm sorry... I just... I'm so glad you're okay I thought you were dead I thought..." They mutter it into my shoulder and start sobbing. As they release me, I raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Who...?" She steps into a beam of light that is flecked with dust behind her. Her face becomes visible to me and my lip trembles. She's the only one that was ever there for me before this shit began. She was the first person to show me the truth about society. She was almost the hardest part of this new reality. She was my best friend.