Out Of The Ordinary

Chapter 27

Not too bad... I know it's short but hey, yet another update early AND there's a twist in here... :P
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Everything was fine until the explosion. From there, it all went haywire.

            Most of Jared's men had scattered, those who weren't caught in the explosion. A large mushroom cloud appeared in the distance, just over where the men had made camp. I could only assume Travis and Kade had done their duty.

            "Kiera, c'mon, we need to go," Alex pestered me. I just stared off. They were dead. I'd gotten both of them mixed into this and now they were dead. It was worse a feeling than knowing we might possibly lose. 

            In the end, Alex just grabbed my hand and pulled me away. In too much of a daze to protest, I went along with it. Alex would get me out of here.

            Suddenly everyone was running, pushing and shoving past us in a frenzy. Distantly I heard Alex say something but then there was fire in front of us and we were both down. The last thing I remember was Alex's hand being ripped from mine.

*     *     *

            Chuckling woke me up. It wasn't the funny, ha ha kind of chuckle. No, it was more the sadistic kind. The thing that really shook me was that it sounded… familiar.

            I kept my eyes shut, hoping the person would go away while I assessed what was wrong. There'd been another explosion, one quite close to Alex and I. I had no clue where he was, whether he was okay or not, but all I knew was that I was fine. Sure, the rocky ground wasn't the best, but I'd manage.

            But for now I just had to find out who was in front of me. It was eating at me, like there was something in the back of my min that was  just scratching to get out,

            So I opened my eyes. My curiosity was too much. For a second I didn't see anyone… but then he stepped through the dust and rocks. He was all I could focus on while I tried to make out who he was.

            And then I gasped. There were rumors that he really was here, that he would come into battle, but I never thought those rumors were true. For a second I was too stunned to do anything but then, as he came closer, I stood up. Who knows what he would do to me if I was that vulnerable. Assuming he was on Jared's side of course.

            And then I spoke, my voice completely void of emotion. "You're alive," I stated plainly, giving him a once over. He hadn't changed a bit, still the same old light brown hair, shining blue eyes, everything.

            Except Matt's eyes had gone dark. There was no more spark. That's when I knew that I was just talking to one of Jared's minions, not my brother.

            With a smirk, Matt opened his mouth. "Yeah, sorry, had to get into this the hard way. Do you know how difficult it is to fake your own death?" I grimaced at that and he noticed.

            With every step he took towards me, I took one back, my eyes never leaving his. Finally he just jumped forward and grabbed me by the shoulders so I couldn't move.

            And suddenly we were back to the day of my parents' funeral. We had stood in this exactly position while I cried into his shoulder. I was just a little kid, and he had seemed just as heartbroken as me, his face blank as he looked at the grave. Only this time, his expression was more sadistic, dangerous. I seemed to still be the scared little girl but he'd completely changed…