Walking in the Dark [Down Draft]

Part Eight

Sorry it took forever, but here, at long last, is the story:

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Schuyler's POV

I woke up to heaven. I saw my best friend sitting in a chair across the bed. I'd missed her so much! I cried and while I cried, I heard her move to sit on the bed next to me and she held me as I had held her for comfort when we were kids. It felt good to be comforted.

"Sky, I was so worried. Now both our of families are gone and all we have left now are each other...and your brother. You have him too."

I looked up at her, beyond my tears, and saw something. I couldn't put my finger on it, and maybe it was just nothing, but she had someone else too.

"And, Kay, you have Markus." I just needed to see he reaction in that, and that would tell it all. And I had a good reaction.

"Markus!?" She laughed, sounding like herself again. "Just because he brought me here doesn't mean a thing, Sky. Sure he's cute, and amazingly so, but he's like, I don't know. How do I put this? Um...sofisticated. No, that's not it. Well, he is to serious, that's for sure."

"Um, serious? He doesn't even know what the word means!" Then I had that feeling.

"Well, he--"

"Shhh...!"

"Huh? Why?"

There it was again. That faint but raspy breath. At first thought it was coming from behind the door, on the other side. But then I listened closer.

Shit! Shit shit shit shit shit shit! Maybe that was too many, but because we were in danger, I didn't care! I mean, who would, right?

It was coming from outside the oversized window. And there it was again!

Slowly, I coiled into a pounce position, one I had no idea where it came from. I coiled on the bed, tensing up, waiting.

I can't wait! I screamed at myself. Kay's in here!

I grabbed her hand and sprinted through the large room, and not soon after, the glass window broke with a chilling screech. I didn't know much after that. I was going intirely by instinct here. Run this way, then that way, hide here, stop, wait, run some more. I was spiraling through the mansion--I'd figured out by now that that was what it was--like I knew the place, had lived there my while life. I was still hanging on to Kay's arm like she would slip away.

I could faintly hear those raspy breaths again, not far behind us, along with footsteps. And though hey were light, they were still there.

A little further, I was aware of Kay's own gasps for breath. She wasn't as fit as me. I need to do something, and fast. And suddenly I found a solution. I was vaguely aware that we'd gone in a complete circle, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that there was a large door at the end, probably a library or something. I ran that way because it would probably lock, in case of emergencies and this was sure one of those times.

Even though Kay never complained, I knew she was at her limit. I knew those things about her.

"Kay!" I screamed while running. "I know it's going to be hard, but we need to sprint to that door there!" All she did was nod. She was running out of breath to even speak. "On my count! One, two...three!" we sprinted like we'd never done before.

It took us a few seconds to reach that door and I slung her inside while, I was correct, it locked. And I locked it, it was an extremely heavy lock, one that was obviously made for security. Locking it, though, proved a rather difficult job in itself.