Chapter Song: Time is Running Out by Muse
~~
“Alexander?” My voice echoes through the hallway I stood in. It looked very similar to the ones at school, except there wasn’t a single person in sight. The hallway seemed to go on forever, and Alexander was stood a long ways away from me.
He was looking in a different direction, staring at something that I couldn’t see. He didn’t look up or show any sign of recognition as I called out to him.
“Alexander!” I screamed again. I feel my legs begin walking towards him. I wasn’t sure what I was doing. I didn’t want to be in this hallway again. I wanted to leave, to go home. Except I couldn’t. My legs continued to walk forwards, against my will.
I watch as a grin forms on his face, and his head finally turns to face me. I realize then that he’s holding something in his hand… red drops are dripping from his fingertips.
My eyes move down to the object and a scream forms in my throat. A short knife is gripped in his fist, blood dripping down it. All I want to do is turn and run, to escape this scene. Instead, they continue on towards him, until I’m stood right next to him, staring up at his sinister eyes.
He grins at me before turning to look forward again. I follow his gaze, eager to see what he’d been staring at for so long. My eyes land on a frozen body, laying on cement with blood pooled out around it.
My heart began pounding, a gasp leaving my lips. I take a small step forward, peering around to see who it was. I take in the long, slim form, the cream skin and black hair. The male figure’s brown eyes were opened, staring off in the distance with a look of horror frozen to his beautiful face.
I could feel the screams leaving my throat, but no sound made it to my ears. All I could hear was the laugh coming from Alexander next to me. I turn to stare at the male next to me, my mouth hung open and eyes wide. “What did you do!” I screamed; no sound made it out.
Alexander smile at me, his hand lifting to cup his hear. “What was that?” He questions tauntingly.
“You killed him!” I yelled, trying to move towards Alexander. My feet stayed frozen in their spot, unable to move.
Alexander shakes his head, shrugging. “Wake up, Veronica.”
I look back at Zayn’s still figure, watching the blood seep out of the wound in his side. “Wake up.”
My eyes open then, my fingers clutching the bed sheets under me. I look down at my bed, realizing I’d kicked off the bed covers, leaving me in my pajama shorts and a tank top. I’d fallen asleep last night while studying for a test I had the next day. My book was flipped open beside me, a couple papers scattered around.
I yawn, moving to sit up in bed. What a terrible dream. I shuttered at the memory, trying to rid myself of the memory.
I hear a noise come from the chair across my room, and I instantly freeze. My eyes snap towards the chair and land on Alexander, who stares at me with a wicked smile.
“Sleep well?” He asks, his voice calm and soothing.
I gasp, knowing full well he’d put the dream into my head. He had the ability to manipulate a person’s mind. Not their thoughts exactly, but what they think they see. He could put images into one’s mind or make them believe they’re somewhere they aren’t, or feel something they don’t. I shudder.
I quickly jump out of bed, backing away from him and towards my door. I didn’t want him anywhere near Riley, or even Miranda and Scott for that matter. “What do you want?”
“Why do you believe I want something?” He asks immediately, tilting his head to the side.
“You need to go.” My voice is cold as I glare at him, and I realize my hands are shaking. Having him this close to Riley… Just one room over… I wanted to scream at him.
He stands up then, and begins walking towards me. “Don’t worry love, I we will be leaving any minute now.”
We? I scoff, “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He raises and eyebrow at me. In an instant he is standing in front of me, his hand flashing up and clasping over my mouth and nose, blocking my air. I try to move my head back, but his free hand reaches up to hold it still. I try to push him off of me, but my attempts came off weak.
My head was beginning to fog up, my lungs begging for air. I’m not sure how long we stood there, with me struggling against him. Twenty seconds? Forty? A minute?
Eventually, my vison began to dim as my head spun in circles. My lungs were aching for oxygen. My eyes widened in panic.
~~~
When I my eyes opened again, the first thing I noticed was the pain in my shoulders from my arms. They were tied behind me in something that felt like rope. I had a strange urge to itch my wrists surrounding the rope tying them.
I glance at the room surrounding me. It looked like a shitty hotel room that had been out of business for at least five years. I shuddered- it looked like one of those rooms in a horror movie that the serial killer hides the kidnapped girl right before he raped and killed her. Although I feel like I could safely say I wouldn’t be raped tonight, I couldn’t say the same for the second part.
I close my eyes and imagine the first place that came to mind- Zayn’s apartment. After a few seconds I open my eyes, only to see I was still in the hotel room. That was weird. I’d gotten good enough at jumping that it became instantaneous. I hardly ever messed up.
I try a couple more times, adding a few different locations. Every time I reopened my eyes, I remained in the ratty hotel room.
My pulse began to race as I screamed out in frustration. I watched as a few various items in the room began flying around. I threw them against the wall in frustration.
“ALEXANDR!” I screamed, struggling against the rope tied around my wrists. I needed to get free of these. I had to get out of here. Right now.
I jumped when Alexander’s form suddenly appeared in front of me, a huge grin spread on his face as he looked down at me. He sighs, the smile disappearing. “You continue to disappoint me, little sister.”
I ignore him and continue to struggle with the ropes. I clench my eyes shut and imagine Angela’s house, her office, the store, my room, Zayn’s house, the school, anything. I open my eyes to see Alexander smirking at me and I yell out in frustration. “Why can’t I leave?”
He points down at the ropes, “They’re dipped in poison ivy… Who would have thought that ivy is the trick to us? The stuff is true poison; keeps us from jumping.”
A noise similar to a growl escapes my throat. That explained the itching.
“Why am I here? I thought you wanted to be a true brother? You were trying to gain my trust?” I ask, my voice coming out in a whine.
He shrugged, “I was. But you refused to work with me, Ronnie. So I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands.” He pauses, thinking through his words. “You’ll never be with me while he’s around.”
“Who? Zayn?” I roll my eyes, “He’s already gone, problem solved. Now can I go home?” I beg.
He looks at me pointedly and my gaze moves down to the long knife in his hand. It was almost long enough to be a short sword. I rethink his words… ‘while he’s around’… Obviously by now he knew Zayn wasn’t around. ‘Derick’ had been at school with me for two weeks now. He meant something more than simply taking me away from him.
I gasp, my head shaking back and forth frantically. I struggle with the ropes, despite the blood I began to feel at the surface of my skin. “No!” I scream out at him, “Please, no, you can’t!”
He smiles at me, pleased that I’d figured it out. “Oh but I can. I believe I gave you a preview this morning in your dreams?” He grins at the panicked look on my face.
I take a deep breath, shaking my head. “You’ll never find him. I’ve tried, but Zayn’s good.” I say confidently, a small flood of relief filling me.
“Hmmm.” Alexander taps his chin, “You’re right about that. I’d never find him on my own.”
I sigh in relief.
“But, Veronica. You forget how old I am, and how much power I’ve got. You know, your power strengthens with age.” He grins at me, “I can make him believe you’re in danger. He’ll think you’re dying.”
And just like that the horror is back. All Alexander had to do was put the image of where I was at, dying, in Zayn’s mind and he’d be there in an instant. He’d draw Zayn to him. “I’ll kill you.” I scream, “If you hurt him, I swear I’ll kill you!” I scream, knowing how pathetic my threats sounded.
Alexander laughed at me, shaking his head. “I’d love to see you try, sis.”
My whole body was trembling now, and for a brief second I felt like I could explode. I didn’t even notice the loose items spinning in circles in the air, spinning faster and faster as my heart quickened. My focus was on Alexander, my eyes narrowing at him.
He looked up, glancing at the storm I was creating. He grinned at me, “Well, I guess that’s my hint to leave.” He reaches down, his hand briefly patting my hand. “I’ve got a test to take with Mr. Malik.” With one last smile, he was gone.