Sorry this upload has been loger than usual but i have been seriously busy and i hardly have aby time to write. This month is a hectic one so it might take a little longer to upload but i'll try my hardest.
Anyway, i quite like this chapter - even though i found it quite hard to write - and i hope you like it too.
Remember to vote comment ect...
it takes like two seconds and it means the world.
Paige.XOXO
8.
Rowan
The dream is just the tip of the iceberg. I'm on the floor, unmoving, unblinking, unfeeling.
If I could cry I would, but I cant. I just don't think I have any tears left.
If I could scream I would, but I cant. I just don't think my throat can take it.
If I could fight I would, but I cant. I just don't have the strength.
If I could I would... but I cant.
I cant do anything anymore. The worst part about it is that there is a part of me that doesn't want to anymore. It doesn't want to do anything. It wants to curl up in the corner and die. It came the moment I lost hope and has stayed ever since.
Depression is a funny thing - not literally, really it sucks - when you hear it you expect the sufferer to be sad, grave. Some one who mopes about with a face like they have just been slapped. You expect them to be, well, depressed. I'm not depressed though. I'm not sad or grave I'm just... here. Hopeless and empty and waiting. I'm not depressed, I'm not anything.
A gunshot.
I hear it, faint and distant through the thick concrete walls but I hear it all the same. It is the sharp bang you hear before you see the crimson blooming out of pale skin. It's the bang you hear before the world fades to black. Its the bang that is the last sound you'll ever hear. It's the bang you hear before you die. And I hear it.
The bang is followed with an almighty crash that shakes the foundations of the building. The crashes and bangs continue, an ever horrid symphony of destruction and all happening just above me.
"Oi you," a voice says from by the door. I don't look up but I know it is Faye. Her voice is more animated and alive at this moment but it still holds the same slither of hatred that everyone here adopts when addressing me and that undertone of dull monotone that is always present in her voice. "Get up now!" she orders and her voice is so urgent that my body responds without delay.
Faye comes in behind me to sheppard me out but I am reluctant to leave. I am used to the confines of my prison, I have excepted it. Why am I leaving?
Tyler comes into view flanked by Harry who is looking impatient. Tyler's blues eyes are wild and as wide as dinner plates. He doesn't look scared per se but he looks jarred and uneasy.
"Come on kid, get a move on," he says harshly. I know he addressed me as 'kid' not as a term of endearment or a loving nickname but simply because he doesn't know what else to call me. In the entire time I have been here he has never once said my name. Although he talked to me as little as possible. I doubt he would have spoken to me at all if he could have helped it.
"What? Where are you taking me?" I ask fighting against Fays insistent hands pushing me out the door.
"We're leaving," Harry answers and looks swiftly down the corridor, "Now!"
"Why? I don't understand."
"Now's not the time to explain," Faye says taking hold of my elbow wanting to trudge me along quicker. I yank my arm away and yell, "No! I'm not going anywhere with you."
"We really don't 'ave time for this," Harry growls.
"Come on," Tyler says and grabs my hand with vice-like strength.
"NO!" I repeat, pulling away with no results. "Why should I do anything you tell me?" Faye and Harry look irritated and anxious. With his free hand Tyler brushes at his hair and his firm grip squeezes agonisingly tight.
"If you want to see your friend again you'll do what we tell you to," he stares right at me, daring me to call his bluff. I can't, I wouldn't put it past him to kidnap us both.
"Beth," I whisper. I want sag against the wall because I'm suddenly devastatingly scared. Not just for me now, I'm scared for her too.
"Come on. Move!" Harry orders and I start walking. I need Beth to be safe.
We don't even make it down the corridor before they catch us.
Tyler
It's not true. We don't have her friend. We don't need her for anything and other than getting mixed up with the wrong people she is completely innocent. Rowan is the only one we want, her friend is safe.
I don't know why I say it. It just spews out of my mouth, the first thought that pops into my head. I shouldn't have said it. I don't pride myself on blackmail and when she figures out that I lied, she'll be even less likely to work with us. Damn it!
"Beth," she whispers, defeated and for the second time I realise I have taken away everything she has to live for. I feel it like a punch in the gut.
"Come on. Move!" Harry commands and I feel Rowan start to walk. I don't even have to drag her. Harry has us practically jogging up the corridor. It is narrow only had one exit. My arm itches an I know before they even turn the corner that we're trapped.
Rowan
Five burley men step forth with wicked grins plastered on their faces. They're laughing but it is in no way a happy sound. At first I think they are some more of the people that kidnapped me. I have only met Tyler, Harry, Faye and the twins but I'm sure there are more of them lurking around. And then Tyler throws me behind him and the three stand in front of me like a human-barrier.
"Back off or I'll blow your brains out," Tyler calls to them and reaches into his jeans to pull out a glossy black gun. Was that there the whole time? I shudder to think.
"Give us the girl and we'll leave," one of the men bargains. All of the men look eerily similar with shaven heads and clad in an all black uniform of sorts. They are all built like bears and something about them gives me chills. They are unlike normal people that you pass in the street. The only thing that sets them apart are the small markings on their temples. They are too far away for me to get a good look at what the symbols are and there is no way I am getting closer to find out.
"Yeah right. After all of this we are just going to hand her over to you," Tyler scoffs sarcastically, still pointing the gun. Are they talking about me? This must be about what Tyler was saying about needing me for something but I really, really don't want to find out what.
"Fine," the spokesman of the group says, "We'll just have to take her."
Everything is a blur now. I'm being tossed further back, skittering across the floor and smashing against the wall with a thud. Colours swim in front of my eyes, blue, red, orange, brown and green. The freezing underground corridor becomes a boiling trap. My ears ring and I cant hear anything but I know there is screaming, I know there is yelling. I can feel the panic raise the hairs on my arms, it's in the air around me.
A strong gust of wind with the force of a hurricane throws me across the floor and stones travelling as fast as bullets penetrate the wall behind me, missing my face by millimetres. My heart pounds hard inside my chest and my hands begin to shake.
There are two bodies on the floor. Two corpses. I can see the bullet wound in the one nearest to me. One shot; right through the head. The others' eyes are still open, glazed and glassy. The water bottle lays empty, discarded and forgotten on the floor and the puddle of pink-tinged water is a distance away flowing beneath cold fingers.
One of the men has Faye pinned up against the wall with invisible hands. Another is stalking over to Harry, arms aglow with ruby light and another one has Tyler cornered. NO! I scream in my head because my lips are trembling so much I cant speak out loud.
I've wanted these people dead ever since I first stepped foot in my cell. I've imagined this moment (well maybe not this exact moment) in my head a hundred times. But right now all I can think is God no, please let them live! I need them to live because they have my best friend and only they know where she is. I need to help her.
I'm frightened. My whole body quivers in fear. Fear of dying. Fear of losing Beth. Every nerve quakes and reminds my of how scared I am. Faye is turning purple. Harry is scrunching his face up in pain. Tyler...
I close my eyes shut as tight as they will go. I fist my hands until my nails bite into my palms and leave little crescent moon imprints. My breathing quickens. I cant breathe! My hands fall to the flat on the floor.
Fright. Terror. Fear. Panic.
I feel the ground move under me and hear the concrete crackle and break. I keep my eyes firmly shut so that bright lights shimmer on my eyelids. There is so much noise. So much sound. Such a blaring racket. And then... silence.
Tyler
"Fine," one of them says smugly. I think he is an Ignis but I cant see for sure, "We'll just have to take her."
This should be easy, I think. Admittedly, yes, we are outnumbered five to three but we have weapons and unless one of them is an Aer, there is nothing down here for them. I hunch into a fighting stance and prepare myself for the attack, content in the thought that this will be an quick victory.
If only it were that easy.
I am naive to think that they would come unprepared. Quicker than a blink of an eye their hands are fishing inside concealed pockets on their clothes and bringing out their own artillery.
A bottle of water, Two handfuls of gravel and a small metal lighter is held, one in each hand. The scrawniest guy at the end holds nothing, just an empty hand cupping the air. It may not seem like much but in these hands these mundane, ordinary items are lethal.
I know. I've seen it.
They cant have her. I wont let them because if they do everything is over. I throw her behind me briskly with all of my strength and at that same moment they pounce.
I cant spin back around fast enough and something smashes into my side knocking my on my backside. Gun drawn, I scramble back up to see that the thing that knocked me now has Faye up against the wall. She shoots at the guy standing in front of her but the bullet ricochets off the wall just shy of his shoulder.
I cant go and help her because a guy wielding a swirling transparent ball of liquid approaches. He chucks it from hand to hand, taunting me. His capable hands mould it into a sharp spike, a rippling knife. It waggles in the air before shifting back into a ball. Long fingers pull at the sides of the ball and it expands transforming from the size of a tennis ball to the size of a basket ball and getting bigger.
The ball is bigger than a dog now yet it still floats effortlessly, hovering just above his hands. He throws it onto the floor between us and as it hits the floor I expect it to burst like a bubble and splatter water on the floor. It doesn't.
It swells and waves race through it. Before my eyes can make sense of what is happening the ball has become a snarling, roaring lion. It's mane sways in pulsing ripples. Its sharp teeth sparkle and glimmer and I can see myself reflected in its pelt. A physical beast created of water.
Just water, it doesn't phase me. I'm good at what I do. This one's powerful but I've seen it all before. I'm a Hunter and it is just water.
The lion growls and the guy stands there, arms folded and smug. Stupid, I'm not going to give her up that easy. The big cat leans down on its front legs and pushes off the ground with its strong legs in a swift leap.
Just water.
I shoot and my bullet cuts right through the lions body. I see the satisfied smile on the guys face and I know what he is thinking. As if a mere bullet can stop me. Stupid. He realises a split second before the bullet penetrates the thin layer of skin on his forehead what is happening. I wasn't aiming for the lion.
Before his body even hits the floor the mighty predator, inches from my face, melts into a puddle, splashing on my shoes. Stupid.
After seeing what I've done to his partner, one of the men, who is juggling with stones the size of fists, forgets advancing on Rowan and turns on me. Not the wisest move but his face is a mix of surprise mingled with rage and I doubt he is in a rational state of mind.
This one doesn't adopt the arrogant, over-confident delusion of grandeur that his friend had, though his hands on approach is even less tactful. He charges at me like a raging bull, launching his floating arsenal of rocks straight at me.
I duck, just in time for the stony-bullets to fly past me. I punch my clenched fist into his abdomen, flick my leg out and swipe his from beneath him and then, without hesitation, I point my gun down at him and pull the trigger.
A hand clamps down on my shoulder and I whirl around so that we are face to face. He punches me so hard in the face I stagger backwards as lights dance in my eyes. Something wet drips onto my lips and I clutch at my nose to stop the bleeding. It is to no avail as it seeps through my fingers.
My gun is still a familiar and reassuring weight in my palm however by back is to the wall and he is blocking off my escape. Smaller pebbles than the last one hover in front of his face but I know that they could just as easily kill me as a giant boulder could crush me. He knows it to. I stand eyeing the fluttering stones and he stands examining my gun. We are caught in a stalemate. Neither of us is willing to move because if we do, we're both dead.
In the corner of my eye I can see that the others aren't doing too well themselves. Harry's fending off, unsuccessfully, the cocky guy who I am now certain is an Ignis. With the lighter in his hand he whispers to the flames and makes them flicker and lick at Harry's skin.
Faye hasn't moved far from where I first saw her. Her gun is now uselessly lying on the floor out of reach and she seems to be struggling even harder. She is scared I realise. This isn't an attack, it is an ambush. We weren't prepared and they were. End of story.
Harry and Fay glance helplessly in my direction as if I can offer them a way out of this mess. I have nothing to give. I drop their eyes and I know that they understand too. We're dead. They have won and now they have Rowan...
The ground shakes beneath me. I press my hand to the wall to steady myself because the violent tremor is making me unsteady. The floor is cracking open, a fracture in the smooth concrete tears open wider in the centre of the corridor. I look down into the dark abyss and think that it is a hell of a long way down.
It cant be the man who is standing - actually stumbling - before me. This man is wild and unsteady, too out of control not to mention the fact that no way is he capable of tearing open concrete, it isn't a natural ore. I don't know what is happening but at the rate the floor is collapsing, I won't have to worry for much longer anyway.
Bit by bit the floor is being consumed by the black hole sucking it up. The first to fall is Faye's attacker and I sigh in relief when it stops just before her toes. Harry's foe is next, he tries to grab onto Harry's leg as the floor is ripped from beneath him but Harry kicks him off and he falls into the darkness. Again just before the floor crumbles beneath Harry, it stops. The destruction heads in my direction and my pest tries to outsmart it. He gathers all of his stones and crushes them together to create a makeshift platform that hovers in the air.
The force that is tearing up the ground isn't fooled though and as the floor caves in, the earth keeping him suspended, disintegrates and the hand of gravity drags him down.
I cringe back, still expecting to be the next to fall, but instead of diving towards my immanent death, my feet stay firmly planted on solid ground. Instead of collapsing the floor is now mending itself, knitting together again to close the abyss.
All three of us stare, flabbergasted and speechless at the now restored floor which moments ago was a gaping black hole. My heart pounds hard in my chest, a persistent thump in the stunned silence. I glance over to the only thing that can explain what has just happened. Rowan.
She sits on the floor, huddled up as small as she can get herself with her hands placed flat on the floor. Her face is pale and frightened and is scrunched up where she is closing her eyes shut so tight. Her whole body quivers and shakes.
I stare at her, stuck between horrified and awestruck. She looks so harmless and yet she has the power to literally make the ground collapse beneath her. I settle on horrified, no one should be able to wield that much power and it is extremely unnerving, especially considering that she isn't even aware that she is doing it.
One of the other stone-throwing-freaks might have been able to have parted the ground had we been on earth like grass or mud, but we weren't. We were on concrete and she shouldn't have been able to do anything like that with concrete.
"Come on," Harry says, snapping me back to reality. "There are most likely more of them outside and besides one of them down there is a Terra, I'm sure he'll find a way out eventually."
What Harry means is that we aren't out of the deep end yet so we'd better get a move on unless we want to drown. I am with him there, so I go over to Faye and put an arm around her waist to steady her. She is rattled and confused but she smiles gratefully at me and lets me guide her to the exit.
"Get up kid, we're leaving." I tell Rowan who is looking around in amazement. She is probably thinking what the rest of us are thinking. How the hell did we manage to get out of that one? I walk on without looking back. I know she will follow, if not because she is so confused it is the only thing she knows how to do or because she wont just leave her friend with us.
God. I'm screwed when she finds out we haven't actually got her friend after all. I think this as we head towards the car and when I sink into the backseat with Faye and as sleep weighs heavily on my eyelids my last thought before I drift into a well needed nap is, Well, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. I just hope that it isn't too broken to cross.
Rowan
I don't burn up nor does my skin resemble a wrinkly raisin after I step out into the blazing sunlight. It does however take a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to the brightness of non-artificial light.
I want to stand there and soak up the world an the incredible sensation of being outside. After being cooped up like a battery hen, feeling something as simple as the sharp chill of the breeze feels remarkable.
I'm not free; not yet. I'm still a captive, a prisoner. I'm still scared and confused. But somehow, the prospect of being outside in the open gives me a sense of liberation that restores some of my hope.
Harry leads us to a monster jeep that is parked alone by a small concrete building. This is probably the car they brought me here in but I'm sure that this time they wont tie me up. I hope...
I climb into the passenger seat next to Harry who has taken on the role of designated driver. I want to know where we are going but I cant find it within myself to speak. I'm being compliant for one reason only. Beth.
If it weren't for her I would definitely not be this unproblematic or obedient. In fact I probably would have set off running as soon as I saw the first ray of sunlight. As Harry turns the key in the ignition and the engine roars to life I promise myself one thing. I am going to save Beth no matter what it takes.
So what do you think? Who are the real bad guys?? Oh and i nkow there are a few names/words in there that you wont understand right now but it will make sense later.xxx
Dont forget to vote if you liked it!!!