The Light Of Aren (Wattys 2014)

Chapter 4 Dakota

February 15, 2016

  The morning came and the place was eerie silent. Dakota woke up with a start and looked around. The metal was biting into her wrists and ankles and since the morning light shone, she found something new in her chains. Blood stains smeared across the metal, dried and tainted them red. She was sure it wasn’t hers since her wrists weren't blistered to the point they would bleed. Now as she thought about it, where did Cedd find these shackles? The thought scared her. Finding them in that house where she was bitten only meant that that was a dangerous place and if he had them from the start that only meant that Cedd was not to be trusted. She looked around startled and found Cedd staring off through the window. He had been whispering and tossing around in his sleep last night and he did so frequently that she somehow managed to sleep through it, half of the night. In her subconscious state she felt startled as to find her surroundings so calm. When Cedd would wake up in the middle of the night he would look around and find Dakota sleeping. He was ever sure she was awake. He would keep watch for a while and make sure her chains were tight. Last thing he would want is for a human girl to throttle him in his sleep. He managed to tie the chains in the kitchen to the wall hinges.

  “You know the area?”

  “A bit”

  “Let’s move then”, he tore the hinges with ease and the chains dropped on the ground. He pulled her out. They left the house with empty stomachs. No water, no food and body aching full of tiredness. Cedd seemed not fazed but she could see the tiredness and paleness in his face.

  “Lead the way”, he pushed her in front through the way as they walked.

  “Tell me where we are headed. Last thing we want is for you to get killed because of the blood pact”. The idea was unpleasant. Dakota had never felt so lost in her life. She cursed herself and though that getting out of the colony was indeed a bad idea. Although it wasn’t any of her choice since they had their drill. It was just a food gathering going wrong with half of her companions getting killed and her separating from the rest of the group. ‘The Great Dakota Matthews’ getting lost, funny as it sounded, she was disappointed in her fate.

  “We must head south”, Cedd muttered.

  “What’s there in south?” She turned to ask.

  “I don’t know, sanctuary perhaps”, Cedd shrugged. Dakota snorted ungracefully.

  “Sanctuary is a good bedtime story for three year olds, not even my cousin Sasha who is seven, believes in it”, she says. They kept walking but Dakota didn’t faze.

  “So I’ll ask again. What’s there in south?”

  “Maybe it isn’t a sanctuary for you, for me it might be”.

  “Believe me, even if i wanted to get you killed, I wouldn’t take you south. It’s gets worse as we head south. That’s where we dwell. A group of thousand of humans would be dangerous for one...”, she trailed off as she studied his whole body.

  “Whatever you are”, she finished.

  “South we go. No more questions, no more sass mouthing human remarks. For a Matthews, you are weak”, Cedd smirked.

  “How do you?” She was pissed. Almost launching at him, note it- almost, somehow her body had refused to obey this ‘Dominant’.

  “Word of your family spreads far in the North”, he studied the dirt road. They were nearing the exit of the small town.

  “Oh yes, Vampires! We are famous for that”, by mentioning her family, it left a sour taste in her mouth.

  “Who is Alexander Matthews?”