WARNING!!!!! THERE IS BLOOD, and a bit of detailed death. If you have a problem with murder I suggest you don't read this. Sorry! <3 Rachael
Chapter 23
An Ending for Them, A Beginning for Her
Alexa's POV
I was in school. Sitting in the back of the classroom with my iPod in my pocket, and my ear pieces hidden under my long, dark hair just as my lavender eyes were. The music helped me to leave the world I was trapped in, and give me a reason to relax and refocus myself. Though it only worked for so long, then reality would crash itself into my head causing a severe migraine of hate, sorrow, and longing. There was nothing left for me, and if nothing was there then my life was meaningless. I didn't care about anything anymore. Not school or my grades, not my appearance though it didn't matter anyways, not even my family who ignored the sheer fact that I existed. And I didn't care for...him. Damian....it hurt to say his name, made it very apparent that I wasn't important in his life, so he made the decision of taking me out of it, and not showing his face for three and a half weeks.
Though when I thought about it, it was his decision. He decided to leave, he decided that I couldn't transport anymore, he decided that I should live a normal life, he decided everything! Was there nothing that my decision made impact on anymore?
I didn't care what he had said, I was ready to make my own decisions, my own rules, and since he wasn't there to guide me he couldn't stop me either.
"Ms. Marter!" I heard in the nearby distance.
I gazed up from the lowliness of my desk to stare at Mr. Brady's reddened face.
"What... do you want?" I growled, making everyone who was around me gasp, and start whispering about the loner girl having an attitude.
"Excuse me? I've had enough of your distractions and personal problems; I'm giving you a detention."
And that's when I whispered loud enough for everyone to hear," Over my dead body."
Then I transported out of my seat, right in the middle of literature.
Whoops....sorry Damian. Did I not follow your rules? Not like you'd care anyways!
It felt good to finally break free, and release all the lust for the movement trapped inside of me. I hated the feeling of being restrained from what I really was, which was a feeling I never knew before a month ago. My eyes finally shot open when my feet reached a hard, snowy surface.
I was in the forest again, the one that was burned down. I examined everything around me noticing that most of the trees were a white, ashy color from the burning. Some of them fell down in piles other stood up, but were obviously dead. Pure, erratic destruction, and of course it was the work of Sage if anyone. I walked a bit aimlessly, knowing that the cabin was gone, and anywhere near home wasn't safe for me. People would be asking questions, asking how I just vanished out of my seat, and I would have no answer for them. To me, they didn't need one.
My feet crunched the hardened snow beneath me as I wondered what Damian would have said if he was there. He would probably start on how stupid, and childish that was, and how that would ruin everything my foster parents built for me, blah blah blah. I wouldn't have transported out of my classroom if he didn't tell me not to. He giving me instructions made it even more entertaining to disobey.
With that I trudged through the snow waiting for something to happen. I didn't know exactly what I was waiting for, but then again to me it didn't matter. I just needed to get away from the fakeness of it all. I wasn't human, so why was I on Earth? Why wasn't I in the Shadow Dimension like every other Shadow? Those were the things that were coursing my mind while my face turned numb from the bitter cold.
I eventually got tired since I was so out of shape; even though my looks would deceive that. I rested against a tree, and shut my eyes for a minute, though that minute was just enough time for Kairos to reenter my vulnerable head. At first I saw nothing, just a blank white space that hurt my eyes from the brightness. Then Kairos came up from behind me, looking young as ever.
"Hmmm....you should have listened to me Alexa..." his silky voice lured.
I was so attracted to his evil beauty that I didn't even notice what he was talking about.
"Whoa. What do you mean?" I asked.
He chuckled musically shedding his horrible outer shell of hatred, or so it seemed," My dear child, you were supposed to hand yourself to me. But you are too late now."
I raised an eyebrow," Too late for?"
Then he vanished, leaving me in a room with blood pooled from everywhere. Bodies were tossed all over the ground, and it smelled revolting. I gagged fiercely, and then shook from Kairos's mind grip.
I coughed hoarsely sucking in the cool, fresh air to ease my sickened stomach. Kairos was insane, even if he did look very good at eighteen. He was still a murderer, he still wanted me, and he said I was too late? What did he mean by that?
Who knew, and for some odd reason it felt as if I was about to find out. I got up from my slouched position on the tree, and decided to head back home to take whatever consequences came with it. They would eventually get over the fact that I randomly disappeared out of my desk, and everyone would just forget about. There was absolutely nothing to worry about, or at least that was I thought.
I transported back into my car, which was still in the school parking lot. I backed out, and headed towards home knowing that Lori, Mark, and Valerie should have been home by then since it was getting dark. I just had noticed that I had been within Kairos's control for about four hours, since I left school around two. My hands clenched the steering wheel tightly preparing for a lot of questioning from them, and my school. What was I supposed to say to them? I'm a Shadow and I have awesome powers that will let me go anywhere I want! Yeah, that wouldn't have gone down well.
I pulled into my driveway, and took the keys out of the ignition slowly. I knew I would loathe the minute that I walked into the living room. Lori would be yelling up a storm, and Mark would just glare and agree with her. Then Valerie most likely would be up in her room trying to sleep, but hearing every single word that was coming out of their mouths.
I got out of my car, and procrastinated to get to the front door, though something felt...wrong. I took my keys out and tried to put them in the door, but it was already open. I walked in examining the living room around me. It seemed normal to me. Then a loud crash came from the kitchen, and a blood curdling scream from upstairs.
This is what Kairos meant, he was after my family.
I sprinted to the kitchen without a moment's hesitation to find Lori in a bloody fetal position. I could tell by standing a distance from her that most of her bones must have been broken to curl into that position. I dropped onto my knees next to her hardly breathing, and unraveled her body. I checked her neck for a simple pulse yet found not the slightest beat. Lori, my only known mother was lying dead in my own arms, because of me.
My cheeks dripped salty tears as I held her close to me, and rocked her asking why all of this had to happen to me. Why I was tortured like this. I screamed in agony, I wanted her back so badly I would have killed myself for her. I brushed Lori's bloody auburn hair out of her face, and laid her back down to the ice cold tile of the kitchen floor.
Then the scream came again from upstairs. I was too much in a daze to even move let alone figure that that voice was Valerie's, and she was still alive. My body finally must have realized what had happened and made my stomach nauseated. I gagged, and heaved up everything that I had eaten that day. There was so much blood, and I couldn't stand it. The whole house smelled like rotting corpses already.
I got up off the ground, and registered that Valerie could be saved. I could save her, and at least I would have her. I rushed back through the living room, finding Mark's body over a pool of crimson that looked to have been sliced from his neck. I held my stomach and turned my head away. This was too much for one person to bear.
I took a deep breath, and raced up the staircase in search of my little sister. Her shrieks were what I followed, and they were coming from her room. Just as I got up to the top step Zeke transported in front of me, and cut me off.
"You really should have thought this one out darling."
I tried to respond but was interrupted by a hard kick in the abdomen, throwing me down the stairs. I tumbled down feeling every step that I hit as if I were being shot. I did a somersault and landed hitting my head on the wall. I tried to open my eyes, but no movement came to me, just sheer pain. My ribs were giving me the most pain, so I figured that some of them were broken. I crawled away from the wall focusing my eyes so that I would be able to see again. It eventually worked, and Zeke wasn't on top of the stairs anymore. He must have went back to get Valerie.
I wouldn't let that happen if it killed me.
I winced as I got up, but ignored the pain that was hammering my left side. I raced up the stairs again, this time getting to the top. I ran into Valerie's room finding her, and another woman. She was pale like most of the Shadows, and was maybe in her late twenties. Her hair resembled a raven, though the silver streak in her hair made her look older than her body looked. The woman's eyes blazed maroon that was a mix between dark purple, and red. She smiled, as she held a dagger up to Valerie's neck as it just touched her neck. Valerie was already passed out in the Shadow's arms, so she wasn't screaming.
I held my one side that itched with pain," Let her go."
The woman slyly chuckled pressing the knife harder against Valerie's skin," And what makes you think I would ever do that? This is too much fun!"
I growled under my breath," I know what you are here for, so take me. Just leave her alone. Please."
The woman held her heart as she mocked me," Aw, how touching. So much love towards such a weak and harmless creature. Yet, I'm not one for sympathy."
She was just about to plunge Valerie in the heart when I had a rush of adrenaline, and tackled her to the floor. My sister, and the dagger went flying, as the woman and I went crashing into the wall. I grabbed her neck, and smashed her into the floor hoping she would be knocked out. My wishing didn't do much though since she transported behind me, and punched her hard in the face. The wetness from the blood tripping down from my nose was a bit uncomfortable, but at that time it didn't matter. I jumped high in the air as Damian had taught me that one day, and threw myself to the ground with the woman right underneath me. We both transported into the wooden boards, yet when I examined the darkness around me I didn't see the woman anywhere. I gazed in the darkness, and received another blow to the face which was an uppercut that was so powerful it actually sent me back up into the real world.
I hoarsely coughed up blood, and turned back to face the woman standing above me. She kicked my side that was already broken as I cried in pain. I felt my bones dangle from inside of my body as if they were being held my strings bumping into my organs. My body would not physically let me move, though Valerie was on the other side of the room open to the woman. Despite the severe suffering I was in, I couldn't let my sister get hurt because of me, and what I was. So I attempted to hold myself up from the ground, and prayed that I would be able to stay up for at least a minute. The room was spinning by then, and I couldn't make out where the woman even was.
"Valerie did nothing to you! She doesn't deserve this!" I rasped, really feeling the burning sensation in my chest.
The Shadow chuckled," She might have done nothing to me, but sweetie it's my job. I get you, kill her, and keep my life get it?"
"It's not fair she's an innocent...human she doesn't need to die. Just take me, leave her alone."
Then I heard another voice," Nia! Get the girl and let's go! Everyone in this house is dead except the blonde human child. Hurry it up!"
Nia, the Shadow who still had Valerie, scoffed," It's not a race Sage, I can take all the time I need in torturing this little bastard who calls herself a Shadow."
I heard Sage whine, while another person's footsteps entered the room, and I still lied on the floor slightly regaining my sight.
"This is boring and pointless. Kill the child, get Alexa, and let's get the hell out of here so I can get some sleep in my own bed tonight," a man, who I recognized as Zeke fake yawned.
Nia picked up Valerie by the neck," Fine, but grab Alexa, before she gets away like she did with you two idiots."
Sage and Zeke both sneered as all three of them faced me showing their beading red eyes in unison. It petrified me to know that this could be the end of me, and my sister. I started to hyperventilate, but kept it to myself instead of seeming weaker than I really was.
Sage ripped me from the security of my position on the ground, which just reopened the burning pain in my side. I contained another scream, as both Sage and Zeke tied my arms behind my back, and constricted my feet together. As if I was going to go anywhere with my sister still alive. They finished tying me, and Nia held Valerie up to me with the dagger again. I turned my head away, but Zeke pushed it towards the dagger. I wanted to die with her at that very moment, and get out of the worst that I was about to have to deal with. I closed my eyes, and let the tears run free. I couldn't bear to see such an innocent life be taken away from the world, because of pure selfishness.
Then a stinging chill overflowed the room causing every one of us to turn in the direction of the window. Though nothing was present, and I was certain that that chill was a transporting chill. He was here, and everyone especially Zeke whose expression had turned mild, knew it was Damian. We just didn't know where he was, yet I was just glad he was there. As Zeke gazed at me, I was thrown out of his hold, and across the room. Though when I was flying across Valerie's room bound to smash into the wall I caught a glimpse of Damian. It made my heart go wild even though the aching overpowered everything at moment, except the feeling when I saw him. It was like no one else was there aside from Damian and me. Through all my tears and suffering all I needed was to see his face and feel the slightest bit of comfort.
So when I did fly into the wall crushing the cold plaster against my already shattered body, and losing all consciousness of the whole situation around me, I was at ease. For some reason when my world was lost in obscurity I didn't think about Lori, Mark, or Valerie. Only Damian, with his crystal mesmerizing eyes, and perfectly sculpted body, was left in my head.
Luckily that image suppressed some of the suffering I was going to have to wake up from, though I was happy it was him.
Nia's 3rd POV
Nia was staring into Alexa's painful, lavender eyes and saw herself when she was that age. She saw a heartbroken girl who had no one left, who suffered an unbearable pain that she had not quite comprehended yet. But she would when she snapped out of the shock and adrenaline. Alexa would always feel a deep hole where her love for her foster parents used to fit.
Just like Nia did.
She was only seventeen when her house was lynched with fire. Inside were her father, and little brother, though they never came out of the house. Nia had got into an argument with her father earlier that day, and into the woods. She wasn't there when the house, and family were aflame; though all she wanted was to have died with them.
Nia stared at the girl's face, and felt something that she didn't believe possible. She had sympathy for the girl as much as she detested to admit it. The dagger that was clasped in her hand was shaking tremendously towards the human.
There was no way that she could take away the child's life as much as she despised the human race. Nia then gazed at Zeke who had turned around in the direction of the window. A chill swept through the room, and she knew that someone else was there. By the expression that was planted on Zeke she figured it was his brother, and prepared herself.
Another Shadow, a younger man transported in the middle of Nia, and Alexa. He resembled a less harsh, and cruel Zeke though had his own personality. He grabbed Alexa out of their grip, and tried to transport with her, but she was sent flying across the room. The boy fought Sage, and Zeke dodging every ball of fire that Sage was throwing at him, but never kept his worried eyes off the unconscious Alexa.
Nia needed to get out of there quickly, so she grabbed the human by her hair and held the dagger up once more. She gazed at the young creature, and put the dagger up to her throat.
"I hope I'm doing the right thing..." she thought panicky.
And then with an icy, quick movement Nia did what she had to, and transported back to the Shadow Dimension feeling a little better about herself.
This is probably the quickest I ever uploaded!!!! I'm so excited. Comment and vote! Hope you liked it!