Running From Time

Chapter 10

"I can feel his presence. He is very near." I shrank back slightly against the tree and shut my eyes tightly, praying that he wouldn't look in my direction. After a few minutes, Lydia spoke.

"Trust me. I will find him and bring him to you." She reassured him and I opened my eyes very slightly. He nodded reluctantly and they started to walk back the way they had come. Once I was sure that they were far enough away, I breathed a sigh of relief. Slowly but surely, I levitated myself down from the tree and landed softly on the grass below.

**********

"Thalia, wake up! We have to leave, now!" I exclaimed, bursting into our hotel room. Thalia's head popped up from the bedroom and her hair was all over the place.

"Wh - what? Why...?" She asked lethargically and I shook my head in desperation.

"There's no time! Serpius and Lydia are very close!" Thalia's eyes widened and she jumped out of bed, hurriedly pulling her clothes on.

"What do you mean? Did you see them?" She asked, putting her shoes on. I nodded quickly and Thalia grabbed my hand, pulling me from the room. We rushed down the stairs and both tripped multiple times, but eventually we both made it out of the hotel. Thalia ran towards the Range Rover and I followed, easily catching up with her. She jumped into the driver's seat before I had the chance to do so, and I rode shotgun.

"Are we gonna go back to the hotel at some point?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"No. Neither of us have unpacked very much so the hotel can send us our suitcases. But we can't go back or Serpius may find us. And we can't leave the country again because Serpius will stop us at the airport." I nodded in acceptance and felt the car speed up slightly.

"Lydia told Serpius that she tried to kill me a couple of times at the cinema yesterday." My voice cut through the silence and I realised that neither of us had spoken in about half an hour. She turned to me with a worried expression on her face.

"Oh, no..." Thalia suddenly turned to the front and I watched as a bead of sweat snaked its way down the side of her face.

"What?" I asked, slightly confused. She was well aware that something or someone had obviously been after me yesterday.

"My worst suspicions...they can't be true, can they?" Thalia was talking to herself in a scared tone and I frowned, even more puzzled now.

"Worst suspicions?" I asked, hoping to get an answer from her. She seemed to snap out of her trance all of a sudden and looked me directly in the eye.

"Don't worry. Trust me, you have too much on your plate right now without this as well."

"Tell me!" My eyes momentarily flashed red with anger. How could she keep something from me?

"I need more evidence first. When I am sure that my theory is correct, then I will tell you what it is. Unless, through an unfortunate turn of events you happen to find out." Unfortunate turn of events? This was getting very cryptic. I decided to drop the subject as I'd probably just get angrier and I knew that I wouldn't get an answer from Thalia.

A couple of hours passed and I started to wonder how long we would be driving for. It was early afternoon and my stomach was beginning to rumble.

"Hey, Thalia, can we stop here for a second?" I asked, gesturing to some fields either side of us and she did so. I had remembered something that I had packed in the boot of the car the previous day and smiled. Jumping out, I ran to the boot and opened it up, grinning when I saw the huge picnic basket. Thalia remained in the car and I rolled my eyes, chuckling to myself. Taking the basket from the car, I hid it behind my back and opened Thalia's door.

"Chris, I don't think we should stop here long or -" She started to say but stopped when I brought the basket out from behind me. A huge beam lit up her face and she hopped out happily, hugging me tightly.

"Aww you didn't have to do that, Chris! That's so sweet!" She exclaimed into my shoulder and pulled away from the hug. I smiled and she blushed, sending a warm feeling through me. For a second, I really took in every detail about her. The way her hair lightly fluttered in the wind and how it almost looked blonde as it caught the light. The way she looked down in slight embarrassment when people did or said nice things to her, almost as if she felt she didn't deserve it. Her long eyelashes danced a little as she looked into my eyes and my smile grew even wider. She was beautiful.

I snapped out of my trance and started to walk towards one of the fields, basket in hand. Thalia followed me and linked my arm, holding me close to her side. We found a good spot to sit and I opened up the picnic basket, laying its contents out on the picnic mat that I'd brought with me in the basket. Thalia started to eat and for a few minutes I just stared at her, happy that I finally had a real friend that I could chat to and spend time with. The sun shone high in the sky above us and I grinned. The day may have started badly, but I secretly hoped that the time I spent with Thalia never ended.

**********

Ms. X held a pile of ashes in her hands. Serpius was resting, none the wiser to what his 'servants' were doing. He was not one to rest, but she knew that there was a human side to him somewhere deep within. So he always had an hour nap at this time each week. But, she thought to herself, would it be enough time? She made her way towards Serpius' laboratory, still carrying the ashes, and headed to the furthest corner of the room. A strange machine lay there, one that hadn't been touched in years, but X knew what it could do. She had seen Serpius use it once, a long time ago, but it had had disastrous results. It had affected Serpius' life forever.

X poured the ashes into the machine and it whirred to life. Slowly, the ashes began to sizzle and change shape. She watched as they grew larger and knew that this was the next part of the process. Bringing out a large jar from underneath her cloak, she surveyed the contents. A knife covered in a strange green substance sat at the bottom and she fished it out quickly, tipping the green liquid into the machine. A small explosion came from the ashes as the green liquid mixed with them. Ms. X stepped back, looking pleased with herself as the machine did its job. She looked again into the jar and at the tiny leftover drops of green liquid within it.

"Chris' blood is the same colour as Serpius'...must be because of their powers." X said softly to herself, shrugging and turning her attention back to the machine. The process was nearly finished and her eyes gleamed with delight.

Why do you think Serpius wants to kill Chris so badly? And what is Lydia (Ms. X) creating? Please vote if you liked it and leave comments :)