Run. [on hold]

VIII

Hayden's POV
..
Silence fell over the group like a heavy sheet. Tatum's five words echoed through everyone's thoughts, as we each tried to digest this newly acquired information,

"They—they stole half of it?" I repeated, "how?" Disbelief laced through my voice. Tatum looked up at me, her eyes filled with seriousness,

"Do you really think I know?" She spoke raising her voice, "you don't have to believe me but ask the other two, it don't work anymore."

"Where does it work then?" Sage spoke up. The others glanced at with confused looks before she continued, "You said earlier that it doesn't work here, so where does it?" The brunette looked at her sharply before sighing,

"It only works," she stopped and looked at her sister, "it only works when I'm in the forests." Tatum ended, her voice getting quieter the more she went on. I made eye contact with Sage before looking back at Tatum,

"How do you know? How do you know that it only works in the forest?"

"Because we were running from the Void," she replied, her usually clear brown eyes clouded with something that I couldn't quite decipher, "and we were hiding in the forests, but I couldn't shake this feeling. Like there was something drawing me deeper in. I didn't know what it was, but, by the time Tillie and Isaac realised, it was too late. I was already gone."

"Gone?" Sage's voice broke the static in the air. My hair, tied back in a low ponytail, was itching my neck, as beads of slick sweat ran between my shoulders.

"Yes. Gone. That's my alteration. It's like an 'alter-ego' takes over my body. Once it happens I can't control myself anymore. I don't know where I am or what I'm doing. All of a sudden it'll feel as though cold water is being splashed over my face and I-I can't remember anything that happened."
Her voice was filled with raw emotion. My hairs stand on their tips as I digest the new information. All I feel is the cold from the stone step underneath me seeping through my bones as I think of the possibilities that could occur because of this. Because of her alteration. Hugo stood, his eyes challenging Tatum's. He looked at Tillie and Isaac, speaking slowly,

"So what happens when her 'alter-ego' takes over?" The pair look at each other, recalling the events from a few days prior,

"We were running. Really fast. And, we thought we were safe from the Void." Tillie began, "so we stopped. Isaac and I, we were resting against a tree, catching our breath, but Tatum she—she was just standing there, looking into the woods. When we asked her what was wrong she didn't say anything."

«
(flashback—3rd person)

The brunette's spine straightened as she looked out over the dying greenery. Her unblinking eyes frozen on an unknown point in the distance,
"Tatum?" Tillie spoke, "what's going on?"
Tatum took a step towards where she was staring, her movements rigid and robotic. Tillie nudged Isaac, pointing at the girl. He frowned, before taking cautious steps in her direction. A twig snapped beneath his feet as her head snapped to him their eyes making contact. She raised her right palm towards him as he felt the group beneath him beginning to sway.

"What—what are you—" he looked at her with scared eyes, "what are you doing Tatum?" A heaviness began to come over him, his vains  burning as they turned to lead. Each breath was harder to get then the last. He opened his mouth to release a scream but it never made that far.

"Tatum! Stop!" Tillie's voice snapped her attention from the withering boy, as he dropped to the group gasping for breaths.
The brunette stared at the younger girl before turning her head sharply back in front of her, her eyes open and alert. Crossing the open area, she began to run into the maze of trees in front of her. Her eyes flicking to Isaac's briefly, he gave a firm nod, telling Tillie to follow her sister.

The snapped branches cut at Tillie's arms and legs as she ran as fast as her legs would go through the dying forest, following the trail of crushed leaves and sticks her sister had left in her wake. She could feel the humid air making her clothes stick to her thin body, trickles of sweat dripping down her back. Finally, she caught sight of brown hair in front of her before it disappeared behind a tree.

"Tatum!" She called, her voice cracking from lack of breath, "Stop!" She continued around the tree she saw her disappear behind, but was forced to a stop at the scene in front of her. There, Tatum stood, both her arms outstretched in front of her, palms facing a young girl and her mother. The mother had her arms around the little girl, both shaking in fear of the teenager in front of them. Taking slow steps out of the trees and into the opening of dying grass, Tillie raised a shaking arm,

"Tatum," she breathed, "Tatum, you have got to stop." The brunette stood, unmoving though Tillie was sure she had heard what she said. By now, she had almost reached her sister. Just as Tillie was within an arms reach of the girl, Tatum spun with unexpected speed, keeping one palm facing the mother and her daughter, the other at her younger sister.

"Do not interfere. This is for the best. They are traitors." Her voice, usually smooth was jolted and forced, as if it wasn't her own words being said. Looking into her eyes, Tillie saw that they were almost dead-like, their usual spark no where to be seen.

And just like that, she turned with both palms to the pair of shaking females. With her face remaining expressionless the ground beneath them began to shake, and the mother and her daughter, turned to stone.

.....
A/N
hey guys me again, i'm sorry i haven't updated in so long but i had just lost inspiration for this book as i started writing a different one, but! i plan on updating this one again more frequently :)

hope you liked this 😊