CHAPTER FOUR
SHE HAD TWO CHOICES: JUMP OR DIE. Or, another very possible idea, jump and die or just die. She was certain that she was going to die no matter what she chose, but she knew she had a brief moment to weigh both of her options. She could either jump into the unknown, a sliver of a chance that she'd make it out alive, and face whatever would come from that. Or, she could fight demons past. She could face all the people that she was running from, all of the people that haunted her dreams. The faces she was far too familiar with, and wanted nothing more than to hide from. A hoard - more like a stampede - of people that she loathed. Despised, even.
Now, these people had never done anything particularly horrid to her. In fact, a majority of them had never even talked to her. That ignorance toward her wasn't even where her utter hatred blossomed, but it was the cherry on top to her hatred.
She glanced over her shoulder, gazing at their hands. They were finely stocked up on weaponry. They were their own personal arsenals. Armed with blades that glistened under the moonlight, machetes strapped on their backs, and switchblades concealed under their sleeves. Maybe if it was the barrel of a gun she was faced with, she wouldn't be as terrified. It was different though, with the array of blades. She could see them glint, she was able to imagine all the ways they'd be able to torture. She shuddered, practically feeling the edge of a knife dig into her temple, and slowly run along the tender flesh of her face. She could nearly feel the blood drip down her face like rain drops, as if she were caught in a hurricane. There was a new sense of fear that came about when she spotted the blades.
On top of that, it didn't help that the people with said weapons had the faces of people she despised. The faces of her classmates - or as she liked to call them, her competition. These were the same people who were in all of her AP classes, all of the same people who strived for excellence, and all of the same people who were applying to the colleges she desperately wanted admittance to.
These were the people she had to beat, the people who brought out her insecurities the most. High school wasn't a place where she tried to be popular. She couldn't give two shits about where she stood socially, what she cared about was being the best academically. She strived to be better than everyone around her, and so far, she was. She was valedictorian of her damn class, and she was so terrified of slipping from that position. Everything she did was to be on top. She wanted perfection, and perfection was what she had.
Right now though, she realized that her competitive nature would be what got her killed. In fact, she wasn't entirely sure how she found herself in this situation. Her memory was rather fuzzy. Actually, she didn't remember anything from the past twenty four hours. She didn't even understand how anything she did would be able to escalate to something like this.
Realizing that the first option may have been the most painful one, she gazed beneath her. She was at the edge of a cliff, and she had absolutely no idea how she had gotten here. All she knew was that it was almost as if she was standing at the top of the world, the wind screaming from all around her, blowing her blonde - nearly golden - hair all around her.
The only thing was that when she gazed out, there weren't grassy hills at the bottom of the cliff. Not a sea of shimmering water, or a rocky coastline beneath her. It wasn't anything natural. It was a pool of molten gold, shinning brighter than a star. She had to shield her eyes, the brightness blinding her. There was no seeing through it or knowing if there was a bottom. Hell, she had no idea if it would kill her just to the touch. It was unnatural, and could very possibly be lethal. The light within it seemed to pulse, almost as if it had a heartbeat. Like it was a living thing, but it was haunting at the same time. The sight of it sent a series of shivers down her spine, chilling her to the bone.
She knew that she had two choices: jump or face the murderous rampage behind her. She glanced back once more, and at the sight, she realized she didn't have much time left to think. This was new territory for her, for every decision she made, she calculated it. Whatever she did next would lead to an unknown outcome, and she felt like she was going to vomit.
It was either die brutally, or experience ten seconds of terror with an unknown outcome. For the first time in her entire life, the unknown seemed like the safest idea. Usually when she couldn't predict and outcome, she would go running as if her ass was on fire.
She gazed down the edge of the cliff, her eyes transfixed on the molten gold. Fear was instilled within her once more when she stared at it, making her feel panicky. The tips of her fingers felt numb, and she knew that panic was beginning to settle in. This was a panic attack, and she had never had one of these before. All because she was staring at the unknown.
So, in order to alleviate some of her fear, she turned around. She stared at the faces of her classmates and competitors. She saw their snarls painted on their lips, their rage blazing within their eyes.
And then, she made a decision.
Her fingers curled into tiny fists, the ends of her fingernails digging into the flesh of her palm. It was one of the ways she learned to control her anger - and she happened to have a lot of it. She allowed herself to feel the pricks of pain that her nails caused, and she allowed her eyelids to flutter shut for a brief moment. Silently, within her head, she counted to five, and then counted down from five. Then, she opened her eyes.
In front of her, Xavier Ocosta grinned. He wore his familiar shit eating grin, the very grin that made her want to claw his eyes out like a deranged animal. He was always fond of pissing her off to the highest extent, always trying to get under her skin. And much to her dismay, it worked. Xavier was a sexist prick, and she wasn't having it. In fact, she never put up with it. She and Xavier had been battling it out for valedictorian for as long as she could remember, and they were currently at the end of their junior year. Not only that, but at their final debate. The both of them were on the debate team, but despite being on the same team, he still seemed to want to tear her down. Her success reflected on not only the school, but him as well.
He just hated that there was someone better than him, and that person was her.
"You're cute when you're angry," Xavier mused, and she found herself hissing in disgust. She didn't mean to be rude, she just had a reflex whenever she heard a piece of complete shit speak. "Oh, come on, babe, you should just give up now. We all know you can't handle the pressure."
She wouldn't be shocked if she was red in the face as of right now. For the past few weeks, she had been agonizing over her next debate (which happened to start in twenty minutes). Not only that, but she was discussing a certain controversial topic - abortion. It didn't help that her sparring partner happened to be a boy who believed women didn't deserved to choose what happened to their bodies, and quite honestly, just the thought of the upcoming debate made her blood boil. The last thing she wanted was to spend the next hour with a boy who claimed that a girl had no say over what happened to their body.
It drove her absolutely wild.
She had spent weeks preparing her points of discussion and prepping for any counter argument, but she had a feeling she knew how this would go. It would turn into a boy trying to make a fool out of her, just like always. It happened at every debate. There were the rare few, but it appeared that most boys couldn't handle the idea of a woman being just as - if not more - intelligent than they were.
And quite frankly, she was fucking brilliant.
"Talk to me again and I will personally tear out your spleen and shove it down your throat," she snapped, pushing herself off of the bench she was seated on in hopes of walking away.
Instead, Xavier felt the need to place his hands atop of her shoulders and push her back down. She nearly growled. She didn't even know a sound like that could come out of her, but then again, Xavier was the only one who could bring that out of her. He constantly treated her like a lesser person just because she was a girl, and it made her livid. She couldn't wait to become valedictorian just so she could rub it in his face.
"Kinky," he mused, and rolled her eyes.
She rolled her shoulders back, nearly wrenching herself out of his grip. She knew there was no getting up though; where she lacked muscle, he had.
"Why are you so hellbent on pissing me off?" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Because it's fun," he mused, reaching to her side and plucking her notebook from beside her. Her face paled, and a yelp escaped her lips. It was her notebook with all of her notes and debate points, and he now had it in his hands. She shot up instantly, fires blazing in her irises.
"Give it back," she demanded, moving to reach for it only for Xavier to hold it up higher.
She was a measly five foot two, she couldn't reach it compared to his six foot one figure.
He hummed in thought, musing, "How about I don't?" He then craned his neck, beginning to look through her bullet points. "So, you think women should be able to get abortions if they're raped?" He snorted. "God, you're such a liberal feminazi."
Rage boiled deep within her blood.
"You fuckwad," she spit out, wanting to strangle him. He was such a dense piece of shit, and all she wanted was to tear off his manhood and shove it down the garbage disposal. He talked straight out of his ass, saying the most derogatory things he could think of. He was a piece of Donald Trump loving trash.
She was sick and tired of feeling like a fool by him, especially when she knew he was a thickheaded moron. She couldn't believe someone so intelligent book wise could be so unbelievably stupid in every other aspect. He had such an elitist persona, it made her want to vomit. He thought he was a damn saint, that he could do no wrong.
With is free hand, he reached down, hand resting upon her butt cheek before squeezing it tightly. Her breath hitched in her throat, her entire body going rigid with disgust. She jerked to move away, but his grip only tightened, causing her to feel a burst of pain on her backside.
"What are you gonna do now, doll?" he taunted, grinning like a fiend. She was terrified. He always managed to do that, he made her feel inferior and constantly made her feel nervous about walking down a hallway. There was nothing she could do about it. Every time she went to someone over his harassment, they laughed it off. They told her that boys would be boys, and she had learn how to humor them a little. That's all she ever heard, and she was so, so tired of it. "Cry rape?"
She opened her mouth to refute, ready to spew insult after insult, when a soft, feminine voice cut in.
"Hi, excuse me," a young woman cut in, and she and Xavier glanced over. She was instantly hit by the girl's beauty, the girl practically glowing. As if sunlight had wrapped itself around her, tightly coiling around her figure. She was sunlight itself, reflecting off of her bright blonde hair. She nearly saw the ocean reflected in her irises. She was mesmerized.
Xavier gulped nervously, and she could practically hear is heart hammering from their close - and entirely uncomfortable - proximity. She was about to tell the girl to go running and never look back. To not even think about looking back.
Xavier's hand fell off of her ass, and he took a step back. Her notebook was still in his hand, and was point five seconds away from lunging and taking it.
"Hi," he choked, completely entranced under her spell.
"I couldn't help but notice what was going on here," she began, noticing the way Xavier was nearly drooling over her. She had a goddess like beauty to her, it was able to be seen by anyone with any sort of vision. "I find it rather troubling that someone with such an ugly, distasteful personality thought it was remotely okay to so much as even speak to this girl here. Such foul things are shameful, really, and quite honestly, horrific."
At that, Xavier was completely taken aback, realizing that the girl he was going to try and hit on had just insulted him. No one had ever insulted him before. Well, no one except for his debate teammate, but she was a different story. She was out of her mind, in his opinion. She was such a prude to him, and he thought he was just teaching her how to loosen up.
There were reasons why she hated Xavier with such a burning passion.
"Wh - what?"
"Give me the notebook," she demanded, her words seeming to have a sense of compulsion to them. Xavier had never acted like this, not even thinking before handing it to her. It was like she had complete and total control over her, that he couldn't control his own body. It was as if her words were law, and the penalty for breaking it was unspeakably horrific. "Now get lost before I decide to take something else." Her eyes gazed down toward his crotch, and then she began to gaze at her nails. Nails that were nearly as sharp as small blades. She grinned a feral one.
Xavier sputtered, unable to formulate a sentence. He began to back away, sweating nervously. There was something so off about this strikingly beautiful young woman, and no one could put their finger on it. She held such an air of authority and confidence that it could turn anyone to stone.
She spun to face her, and she found herself gulping nervously. She held the notebook out to her, and she took it. "Thank - thank you," she murmured, a sense of relief filling her since she was no reunited with her notebook.
"It was a pleasure," she assured, holding her hand out for her to shake. "Hemera."
Her hand clasped with Hemera's, introducing, "Rowan."
An electricity seemed to buzz between the two of them, Rowan's heart singing.
There was something more than just an acquaintance being built here, something that would go down in history.
Rowan found herself becoming at peace with what was bound to happen. She scanned the faces of the people that had grown up with her, the people that she loathed wholly. She found herself almost happy, knowing that she would at least die a decent human being. There was something dark and twisted and ugly that lived within the hearts of those around her, and she would remain a girl carved from gold.
Her eyes fell upon Xavier, staring at the long machete in his hand, gleaming against the moonlight. She saw the utter hatred in his eyes as he stared her down, she grinned brightly.
And then, she fell backwards.
Down . . .
Down . . .
Down.
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For as long as she could remember, she had always wanted to stop time. To grab the hands of time, take their watch, and press the stop button. To hit paused, to go back and rewind. To hold a power that changed and morphed time to her own choosing, allowing her to make the most of a moment, fix a mistake, or relive her fondest memories. It was an idea that had always fascinated her, and she wondered what it would be like to hold such a high sense of control.
Her life had always felt as if it was moving too fast or too slow. The moments she wanted to bask in slipped through her fingers like sand. She couldn't hold onto it, the seconds too small to keep close. There was always the intrigue of being able to take a step into the future, to see what it held. The idea of time travel, to go to the past or the future, or stay where one was. The intrigue of holding the hands of time, to choose how fast or slow the seconds pass by. A sense of control over everyone that was unfathomable.
The idea always made her feeling a spark inside, imaging such power. A girl like her would eat away at a power and let it corrupt their soul without thinking twice. A girl like her wouldn't even mind the blackening of her heart, just as long as she was in control.
All she had ever wanted was to be in control.
But control was a tricky thing. Control came in different forms, in power, and lust, and vanity. Different people held the ability to be in control of certain things, bodies and minds designed to play a certain game. She had always felt that she didn't have a mind crafted to be the one in control, always feeling as if she thought in a more understated way. She was calculating, but she always thought long term rather than short, she had never seen results come about.
She always planned out for long increments of time, always planning for the future. Of course, only being sixteen meant that she had yet to have a glimpse of that future, and making her feel like an utter failure. It was one of the reasons why she was so intrigued by the concept of time, the idea of being able to make sure that her plans would work the way she intended.
And now - now - she got to experience that sensation.
It was like peering through a glass. She knew that she was no apart of the situation that she was watching, but she felt as if she was there. Like a body inserted, an outside observer. As if she were invisible, a ghost to everything happening around her.
She walked quickly, trying to keep up with the figure in front of her. She recognized it to be herself, no hesitation in that assumption. She could pick her out just by the hair of the thirty some year old woman in front of her. The bright orange hair that couldn't be tamed, wild curls somehow tamed for the day. She weaved through the traffic of the people on the streets, following her future self through the streets of New York City.
Her future self had become the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company, building it up from the ground with her own bare hands. The exact thing that she had always dreamed of being, right there before her eyes. Her heart soared as she watched the woman walked, decked out in a classy and professional suit. She looked like a power hungry woman who took no prisoners, a woman who didn't let anyone stand in her path. The very thing she had strived to be. What she had always known she would be; knowing that if she wanted to go somewhere in life, she'd have to do it all on her own. And she did, causing a weight to lift off of her chest.
She watched as her older self began to walk down the street, one hand holding a phone to her ear, the other one flying around wildly. The woman was so engrossed with the call she was in, she didn't pay attention to her surroundings.
It was only a matter of seconds before a wild taxi car came around the corner, a scream erupting from the teenage girl's lips.
She stood there, frozen. She watched as her older self heard a horn go off, whirling around only to see a car flying toward her. A speed that couldn't stop, smacking right into her petite frame. A crack and a shatter was heard, blood splattering across the street upon impact.
And there her current self stood, watching her death happen so vividly and clearly. Watching as the blood poured out of her skull and onto the black tar.
No one around her could hear the blood curdling screams being emitted from her lips.
Today she felt beautiful.
Well, she felt beautiful everyday, but today she felt exceptionally beautiful. She had bought a new dress last weekend, and she felt extraordinarily adorable. She had always been a beautiful girl, that much she knew. Despite the fact that her hair nearly resembled a carrot, she felt gorgeous. Besides, she believed that her hair made her stand out. It was as bright as fire, especially when the sun glinted off of it.
Her tight fitting black dress made her hair stand out even more, and her blue irises pop. She had curled her hair into small, light curls, which was a rare feat for her considering that it was usually an unruly mess. Since her hair had decided to cooperate, she assumed that today was going to be a damn good day.
Despite the fact that she was prisoner in hell - or, it's more respected term, high school - she believed today would shine more than the others. She was currently seated in her AP Government class, seated beside two of her closest friends Melanie and Nehemiah. As of current, she tapped the eraser of her pencil against the table in boredom.
The entire class had been waiting for the past five minutes, their teacher still having yet to show up. She didn't mind, she wasn't in the mood to work on anything that required much effort today. Then again, she was never really in the mood to being with.
"You know," Nehemiah began, "we can leave if she doesn't show up in ten more minutes."
Melanie snorted. "Yeah, because we'd be lucky enough to escape the she devil for a day."
"Don't kill my dreams," Nehemiah retorted, releasing a huff.
She chuckled lightly, amused by her friends' bantering. With a sigh, she mused, "She's probably just running late. Must've gotten caught up with eating the hopes and dreams of little kids."
"I know that's supposed to be a joke, but I feel like there's some truth to it," Melanie murmured, eyes wide in horror. She wouldn't be surprised if Melanie was actually considering the idea.
Nehemiah opened her mouth to comment, but her mouth fell shut the moment the door opened. A grumble was heard from across the room, annoyance falling upon all of them. The last thing they wanted was to spend a whole forty five minutes with the Wicked Witch of the West. Or, well, more correctly, The Wicked Witch of Breighton, New Hampshire.
Of course, all of their annoyance fluttered away when a lean, fit young man entered the room instead. He was young, and she assumed he must have been freshly out of college. He wore a button up shirt and a tie, slacks and loafers. His dark black hair was pushed back, mused messily. She grinned devilishly.
Nehemiah gaped, staring toward her friends with complete awe. They had really hit the jackpot, a new level of luck being sprinkled upon them. This may have been the most attractive substitute teacher in the history of substitute teaches.
Today was most definitely a good day. She found herself subconsciously fixing her hair quickly, putting on a seductive smile when he gazed toward the class after setting down a stack of papers.
His eyes landed on her as he introduced, "Hello, class. Mrs. Crawford's out today - "
He was cut off when someone mused, "Thank the lord for that."
Their substitute shot the boy a glare, his face turning ever so slightly. She felt herself become a bit wet between the legs when she noticed his sharp cheekbones, rough and harsh.
"I'll be here to sub in for today's lesson," he explained, gazing across the classroom. She was able to see the striking emerald color of his eyes. "You can call me Mr. Chronos."
From beside her, Melanie snorted in amusement. "Isn't that an interesting name."
He grinned at her, musing, "I've been told it's like the Greek god."
She couldn't help but believed he held the grace of a god as well.
When class ended, she had a bit more pep in her step. She slowly gathered her items once the bell rang, lingered a little longer than necessary. What could she say? She couldn't control her hormones. She, Melanie, and Nehemiah began to make their way toward the door, but she paused when Chronos spoke.
"Miss Duvall," he said, and she found herself spinning to face him. She raised an inquisitive brow, motioning for her friends to go on without her.
It wasn't everyday that a panty dropping sub came to Breighton High. "
Call me Soph," she offered, grinning wickedly. It was obvious that she was trying to cross a line that should never be crossed, but he wasn't shutting her down . . .
He smiled, testing her name out on his lips. "Soph."
The edges of Sophia's lips twitched into a small grin, the red head questioning, "How can I help you, Mr. C?"
"I need to make some copies, but I can't seem to find where the school printer is," he explained, but there seemed to be a hidden message in his words. As if he was carrying out a conversation with Sophia through is eyes, his words meaning nothing in comparison.
Sophia found herself shutting the door, taking a step farther into the classroom. She smirked when she felt his emerald green eyes begin to rake up the length of her body, taking in the slight curves that shaped her slender body.
As she took another step forward, she questioned, "Are you sure there's nothing else I can help you with?"
He grinned.
"You can help me out more than you think."
When she opened her eyes once again, she found herself in the driver's seat of a car. Her right foot was pressed atop the gas of a car, and when she tried to raise it, it felt as if it was a block of cement. She had no control over her body, feeling her fingers curl tightly around the steering wheel in front of her.
She felt her breath go from a calm rhythm to a fast and choppy beat.
A chuckled sounded from beside her, Sophia's head whipping to the side to see Chronos. Chronos, who she thought was her substitute teacher, but was actually an immortal Greek god. She felt her teeth grit in blind rage, realizing that he was the one who put her in this situation to begin with.
"What the fu - "
"Let's stop with that naughty language, Soph," he mused, grinning devilishly. It only grew when her eyes narrowed in annoyance.
Sophia released a hiss in annoyance, demanding, "What's happening?"
Chronos cocked his head to the side in amusement, raising a brow, "If I told you, that'd ruin all the fun."
She'd love nothing more than the opportunity to run him over with this car. She felt her brows then knit together, wondering what she was doing in this car to begin with. One minute she was watching herself get hit, and then she blinked. Then, she ended up here, in this car, next to the one person - or god - she hated most.
Sophia felt her foot press down on the gas harder, making her go faster. "Why can't I control myself?"
"Just wait for it, love."
She gritted her teeth harshly, annoyance coursing through her veins. Sophia forced herself to analyze the scenery around her, noticing that she was still in the city. The same skyscrapers and street signs, people pushing their way down the streets. She forced herself to glance around the car, noticing the divider in the middle, blocking her and Chronos from the back seats.
They were in a taxi.
She was driving a taxi.
Her future self had just been hit - and killed on impact - by a taxi.
Fear caused her entire body to shudder, Sophia barely choking out, "Ch - Chronos?"
He grinned wickedly, and suddenly, her hands were acting for her. She was accelerating even faster now, whipping to the left. The taxi went flying, and a shriek of terror escaped her lips. Her heart hammered within her ribcage, pure and blinding fear grasping hold of her body. Every muscle within her tightened, and she hadn't realized she was sobbing until she felt the hot, wet tears begin to drip down her cheeks.
She knew exactly what he was doing. Chronos was making her watch her own death through the eyes of her killer.
"Stop!" she screamed, watching as her figure came into view. She was stepping off the sidewalk, making her way toward the crosswalk. "Chronos, make it stop!"
He was laughing maniacally, watching with all too much amusement. Watching her scream and sob in fear was more entertaining to him than he could ever explain.
Sophia struggled to gain control of her body. Doing anything she possibly could to get herself to hit the break, or to let go of the wheel. There was nothing she could do.
She knew it was only seconds before impact, and she found herself able to control her left arm for a very brief moment. In that time, she smacked her hand against the horn, screaming as loudly as she could. Sophia was trying to make herself turn around before she got hit.
It was too late by then.
The taxi came to a stop after smacking against a body, Sophia seeing a flash of orange before a head smacked against the windshield. The glass shattered, and she watched as her own forehead split open. Blood poured profusely out of the wound, and her own eyes rolled into the back of her head.
She watched herself die for a second time that day.
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not edited.
i'm so so so sorry for the late update. i've had work every night and for some reason i signed up for summer pe so i'm there for five hours. it gets me out of pe for the school year okay it sounded like a good idea at the time. anyway, i really hope you guys enjoyed this update! it's a little shorter than usual, but hopefully you all still liked it all the same. only one more chapter like this - which'll introduce kye and leo!! then i can start act ii, which i'm really excited for! be sure to let me know what you thought it you did like it! xx