The Runaway

Chapter 35

He shook his head. "We already tried that. We can't digest it properly."

In the middle of their conversation, the lady noticed them watching and quickly scurried away.

"Well there goes one," Aiden mumbled.

Colette nodded her head towards the direction of the old lady. "We still have time to follow."

Violet had no desire to go any further, but the gnawing feeling in her stomach left her no choice but to follow the group towards the widow. Until she drank blood again to confirm it, she didn't want to consider herself as one of them...at least not yet.

Colette was leading them now with the tranquilizer hidden in her palm. "Act natural." The lady didn't get far and was now in front of them. She jumped in surprise at their sudden arrival.

"May I help you guys?" she croaked.

Colette stepped forward with calmness. "Yes. Why don't you relax for us?"

The woman eyed her with confusion. "Excuse me?"

Violet looked away when Colette injected the tranquilizer into the lady's arm. It was so quick that the woman had no time to react and dropped to her knees. Delsin assisted Colton in carrying her to a secluded area where they would start the killing.

"This is your chance to turn around and close your eyes," Aiden advised her. She did exactly that and waited.

A few grunts were heard from the others. Terror cut through her when suddenly her senses went wild. They were now heightened at their best capability and she could feel, taste and smell everything at once. A sweet aroma rose to her nostrils leaving her in awe. What was going on? She heard footsteps coming from behind and waited for whoever it was to reveal themselves. The scent was growing stronger as the footsteps approached.

"Do you want to turn around?" Colton whispered from behind.

She gulped and shrugged. "Is it bad?"

"It's a bit messy."

Violet didn't wait and spun around herself. The smell...why did it catch her attention so much? Suddenly without realizing, she stepped closer to the limp body covered in red as everyone watched. The sight of it made her want to gag but oddly, she didn't. Instead she closed her eyes and did what she feared the most.

Nobody spoke and focused intently on her every move. She closed her eyes and allowed her body to move itself.

"Violet! That's enough," someone yelled.

Violet opened her eyes and took two steps back in shock of her actions. The corpse was drained on the floor, empty of color. She stared at it to make sure it was real and then shut her eyes once more. She had consumed all of it; there was not a drop wasted. Petrified, she knew she was now one of them. Though from the feared looks on everyone's faces, she realized she was much worse.

The next few minutes were a blur. All she could recall were flashes of Colton's cry and Aiden's face before she started running. The trees became a string of green as she flew past them. Running and running and running, it appeared endless.

Her life was shattered in that very moment.

There was no point anymore.

There was no way in hell she could ever return home.

What would Rena think of her? What would her parents do?

What did Colton think?

It didn't matter.

Her eyes darted around the scenery but her vision was blurry. There were no defined pathways and Violet had no idea how to navigate but she kept going without a care. No matter how long it took, she needed the heaviness in her heart to disappear. As if it would help, she ran until she couldn't get a chance to breathe. Running with such intense speed, her legs eventually gave out until she dropped to the ground. She sat there with her chest pounding and the leaves around her rustled, reminding her it wasn't over. The chase for freedom had only begun.

"Violet," a raspy voice whispered.

She didn't look up.

"Violet."

No answer.

"Come on Violet, get ahold of yourself," the voice continued.

Finally, her eyes averted to the speaker but to her surprise, it was Riley.

"Yep, it's me," Riley said. She offered her hand out. "Come on. Let's get back to the others."

Aiden was careful not to make things awkward in the car. He started up the radio as Violet stared off into the distance. At a sharp turn, he made an announcement, "Colton found us a new sanctuary so we'll be there in a bit. Hang in there, okay?" He squeezed her hand tightly before placing it back on the wheel. 

"Thanks," she whispered. 

When they arrived at the new building, Phoebe was standing at the entrance. It was another old, abandoned structure that held a similar appearance to their previous habitat, which made it more welcoming. Violet could feel Phoebe's stare as she got out of the car and slammed the door shut. 

"Happy birthday dear," she greeted Violet with a smile. Unsure how to respond, Violet only nodded. As Phoebe cleared her throat, she declared to the entire group, "I've got new plans and this time you all have to listen very closely." Her smile vanished in an instant. "We're going to war."