Alpha's Angel

Chapter One

I could see it in the distance, a prize to urge me on out of the monsters grasp.

I pushed harder, my legs nearly collapsing underneath me from exhaustion. My lungs burned, begging for me to slow down as I forced more oxygen into them with deep breaths.

I could feel his dark aura still pulling me back, but with every step I took, the connection grew weaker and weaker.

You're almost there. You've nearly done it.

I encouraged myself on, refusing to give up now. I wasn't going to stop for anything, leaving what little of my life I had left behind.

I slammed into the car with a thud from the force I was running at, finally reaching the prize l'd been running towards. My hands shook as I ripped the door open, throwing myself into the driver's seat.

Finding the keys in the glove compartment, rushing to get them in the ignition, I brought the engine to life.

The tires screeched as I put my foot down on the gas without hesitation.

I didn't look back. Not for my friends. Not for my career. Not for the life I once had.

I didn't look back just like he told me to.

*******

I leaned my head on the steering wheel, sighing against the aged leather.

New town. New home. New me.

But I didn't want a new me. I wanted to be the person I was and to have all the things that surrounded that person. Their family and friends, their memories and hard work. All of it gone.

The only thing left to remember her by was my reflection in the mirror.

Squinting one eye open, I let it gaze upon my new home.

This wasn't home.

The varnish of the wall peeled from the splintering, wooden planks; no doubt woodlice roaming around beneath them. The paint was hanging on by a thread to the dated shutters, which were swaying back and forth in the hot breeze. The porch had holes in it, one wrong step and you'd twist your ankle on the way down. The railing which surrounded the porch was splintering, each piece sticking out at odd angles.

The whole house looked like it was about to collapse under the weight of the slanted roof.

This is my house now.  Just like the place before this and the one after it. But they'd never be home.

Climbing out of the truck, I made sure to not touch the side with my leg as the red metal was sizzling with the heat from the sun. Popping the boot open, I lifted the tarpaulin to reveal the boxes beneath.

This was it, the entirety of everything I owned, packed neatly in a few cardboard containers. The depressing thought had me sighing out load again. I mentally scorned myself for my bad attitude. Things could be worse, I reminded myself, I could be dead.

I began ferrying my small collection of belongings into the bungalow, dropping them in the front room. I wiped the small line of sweat that had began to form along my brow, glaring up to the sweltering sun which had been watching me struggle underneath it's strong rays.

I used to love the sun. It was a rarity where I used to live to ever see the beam of light that hid behind murky looking clouds.

But now it was a reminder of that place. Taunting me with the fact I could never go back there and I'd been stuck under it's fiery heat for as long as I wanted to live.