All That Remains

07. Jaelynn

The bloodcurdling screech of someone in severe agony pierced Jaelynn's skin like needles, stabbing her again and again until she was sure she would die from heartbreak.

"Jae, listen to me." Lloyd's grief-stricken face sat inches from her own as her mother's dying screams faded into the background. "You have to run. Get away from here. Now."

"I won't leave you," Jaelynn sniffled, the trauma of witnessing her mother die still fresh in her mind.

But the sentiment was useless, as The Risen who had cornered them in the small room had finally finished with her mother, tossing her limp body aside like a sack of potatoes. Lloyd turned his back on Jaelynn as the Risen turned towards them, his grip on her hand loosening before he finally let her go completely.

"Over here." He moved to the left, goading The Risen and drawing its attention towards him. The Risen's head snapped to the sound, as Lloyd circled it from the other side, leaving the door, mercifully, unblocked.

Still, Jae hesitated, knowing that her father was sacrificing himself so that she could survive. She couldn't just leave him to his fate. She would rather die than let him be killed for her. Instead of heading for the door, she took a step towards him, only stopping when she saw him frantically shaking his head.

"Run, Jae. Please," he begged, as The Risen reached him, wrapping its hands firmly around his neck. Jaelynn finally listened, regret weighing her down as she made her way towards freedom. She stopped at the doorway, just in time to see her father's panicked eyes.

A loud crack echoed through the small room as The Risen snapped Lloyd's neck and the panic slowly drained, turning them lifeless.

Jaelynn woke with a start, the horrors of her nightmares dragging her back to reality.

She sat up in the unfamiliar bed; the dingy, pale green walls looked even uglier in the daylight than they had the night before. Sunlight streamed past the open curtains, highlighting the dust particles that danced in the air.

Her skin was coated in sweat, her breathing ragged and her heartbeat erratic. She did her best to shake off the nightmare, hating her mind for remembering the worst day of her life in such vivid detail. Guilt enveloped her as bile rose up her throat.

She had always hated herself for leaving when her father told her to. She should have tried to save him, even if that meant she would have died alongside her parents.

"You're a survivor, Jae," her father had once told her. "That's what the name Jaelynn means."

But was it worth being a survivor if she had to live without them?

Taking deep breaths to calm herself down, she pushed away the dark thoughts and tried to focus on the day ahead. She reached underneath her pillow to retrieve her dagger that she had placed there last night, before getting off the bed and picking up her heavy backpack. Keenan would be pleased with the haul she managed to gather from this outing. But first, she would have to carry it all the way back.

Wandering through to the living room, she spotted Elias sleeping peacefully on the couch. His dark hair stood up in tufts, his chest rising and falling with each steady breath. His lips were slightly parted, a string of drool making its way down his round chin. Seeing him reminded her of the revelations of last night. She would have to tell Keenan about them when she got back.

He was not going to be pleased.

Elias shifted in his sleep and Jaelynn resisted the urge to sweep his hair off his forehead. His apology through the door had been sweet, but then, in her cloud of anger, she hadn't been ready to hear it. Now that she had cooled off, she was ready to think rationally.