Hiding in the Shadows - Old Version (Other one is new one)

Chapter 4: Broken (OLD)

I just didn't understand it. Here I was, sitting against a wall, with only a few planks of wood supporting me from a thousand foot fall. So much had happened in the last few days, and I'm almost certain that most of it was for the worse. I was sat there, huddled in a ball for hours on end. By the time that Dave had finally found me; my eyes bloodshot and my arms scratched by my own fear.

But the look on his face lifted me up. As he stood over me, staring at me with a clear concern for me, he asked, "What happened? Are you ok?"

As I sat there my mouth open, but not managing to squeeze a word out. I was stunned into speechlessness; speechless that someone who had just met me actually cared for me enough to ask. I wasn't sure how to take it, my tears of fear and guilt turning into ones of happiness and joy.

"I don't know... there was a guy, he..." I took a deep breath. "He was being tortured. And he was looking at me as if I was the last thing he would see. Like he was about to die..." My head fell and my back slumped as I yet again thought of the man in that room.

Dave didn't know how to respond. He just stared at me.

"You'll be fine. You just, well...."

"Have to get used to it?" I interrupted, almost shouting "Like you all have? Just forget that he's a human?"

I broke off seeing the expression on Dave's face. He was grimacing at me, almost as if he hated being here as much as me.

"Sorry," I muttered as I stood and started walking. "It's just that I'm about hit my breaking point."

He nodded, not entirely over what I had said. I felt almost bad for saying it, regretting being the cause of this look. It was a while before we got back to Ashe's house, all the amazing views I had seen before seemingly turning to grey. I still hounded myself, taking each and every opportunity to look back at what a foolish mistake I had made by agreeing to come here. By this point, I was so far into my own thoughts that everything faded to a blur. Walking into Ashe's house. Ignoring his calls as I walked. Straight to the ladder that lead to my room. I traversed the small room in two steps, already falling into a deep sleep before I had even made contact with my bed.

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

I held a knife all too similar to that of butchers in my right hand. On my first glance It was clear that it was stained with red, with blood. Looking up, I saw him again. The man tied to the chair screamed.

"Demon! I will tell you nothing" he spat through his tears. I find my body uncontrollably moving forward, the hand holding the knife tenses and draws back. Looking on with no control, the man let out one last scream. But this one was different. It was higher pitched, more feminine. It was the voice of my sister.

I grew faint at the voice, my body heating up.

"Demon." Was all she said, eyes looking back at me just as my sister had the night she was killed..

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

July 25th, 1845 at 10AM

"We are all here for a special occasion. We are all here to see this group," Ashe said, letting his hand drift through the air in the direction of the motley group of kids and young adults that stood around me, "We are here to begin the indoctrination of our new members..."

I didn't pay much attention to the speech as I stood there, just staring off into the distance. A few of the adults standing to the sides of Ashe's podium occasionally cheered or gave a round of applause, but none of them ever seemed to look at us. My heart came to a standstill as Ashe spoke his final words; leaving me in shock.

"A fight to the death. One winner. One recruit."