Every Broken Part (Series)

Chapter Eight.

D E V I N

When I was a little girl, I would often wake up from a dream and have no idea where I was. It would take me a few minutes to realize I was in the safety of my own bedroom. This would happen often. Today, I woke up with that same feeling. Only difference is I was not in the safety of my own bedroom. My ankle was being dragged, my body scraping along the forest ground. Blood was pouring from my head, leaving a trail of red liquid behind it.

"We have to save her."

The familiar voice above me was repeating these words over and over as they dragged me farther and farther into the forest. I know that voice. My head was too much in a haze to put a name to it. It took me a few minutes to regain my strength as I kicked my feet wildly, fighting against the hand around my ankle.

"We have to save her. We have to save her. We have to save her."

The words were pounding at my ears, drilling into my brain. My eyes snapped open as I recognized the voice.

"Ryker! Ryker it's me! It's Devin."

He instantly dropped my ankle. He turned to face me, his eyes bloodshot. He dropped to his knees, pulling me into his arms. I flinched. I was unaware of the state he was in. Ryker sobbed into me as he held my head in his hands.

"Y-You're alive. You're alive."

His arms held me so tight I thought my bones were going to break. Ryker couldn't seem to catch his breath as he repeated the same words over and over in my ear. I looked around me, the cabin nowhere in sight. The only thing that surrounded us was the forest, not a light in sight.

"I was pretending to be asleep, in my chains." Ryker quickly spat out as he pulled away from me. "As soon as Graizen wasn't looking I broke out of them. I had to get to you, I needed you. You're the only one who can keep me sane right now. A-And then there was someone in your room, someone from Inferno, throwing you out of the window. I ran after them and killed them within seconds. Your head had hit a rock, blood was everywhere. I thought you were dead. I thought you were dead."

I shook my head as I pulled Ryker against me. I calmed my brother as I held him in my arms. He was speaking a mile a minute. The state he was in was off the charts. For all I know, he could've been hallucinating the entire thing. The only thing that matters to me right now is getting back to the cabin. Being out here with Ryker in these woods is the worst scenario I could be in right now.

"I'm alive, it's okay." I assured him. "We have to go back to the cabin, okay?"

Ryker nodded as he began walking in the opposite direction we were facing. He didn't say a word as he took long strides through the woods. As we made our way through the woods, the familiar pain in my chest kicked in. I stopped in place, dropping to my knees. It was happening again. The unexplainable pain in my chest, the burning running through my body. My vision went black as I waited for the pain to stop. As the pain went away, my vision slowly started to return. Ryker was holding my shoulders, shaking them wildly as I came back to reality.

"Dev, what the hell was that?"

Tell him. I can't hide this forever.

"Ever since I've been using my powers, I've had these random pains in my chest. I haven't told anyone yet. I've figured they're just growing pains?"

Ryker didn't speak. He stared off into space, as his eyes looked as if he were calculating something with his mind. We stood in silence as I let Ryker escape into his mind.