Tessa
•••
We were walking back to the cabin, our clothes soaked and the winter breeze gave me goosebumps. The only thing I could hear was the treading of my feet, the cracking twigs and leaves underfoot. I wished Eden had told me before we left that we would be diving in cold water so that I could have at least taken an extra set of clothing.
"How did you know about the waterfall, Eden?" I asked the question that had been gnawing at the corners of my mind.
Eden inclined his head and gave me a closed-lip smile. "You're not the only one who likes to go out into the forest alone." He ran his hands through his wet blonde hair, pushing it back off of his forehead.
There was rustling in the bush and I turned around but there was nobody there. I could feel someone's eyes on me and there was another rustling, but this time faster and closer. I shook my head slowly and decided to ignore it and reluctantly continued to walk with Eden.
The rustling became louder and it was as though something was following us. I came to a halt and the rustling stopped. "Eden, did you hear that?" I asked as I strained my eyes, trying to listen for the sound that was following us.
Eden turned to me with furrowed brows and shook his head slowly. He looked around and bit his lip. "No...there's nobody here," he muttered, unsure of himself as his eyes focused on a place in the forest and he clenched his jaw. I looked in the direction he stared in, but there was no one there.
"Let's just go, " Eden said and looked at me, his brown eyes widened as he gasped. "You're bleeding again."
Eden ran over to me and I touched my temples lightly. The blood had trickled down my forehead and was now plummeting on the forest floor with a loud thud.
"We need to leave now!" Eden said as he glanced back in the forest in the same direction and he scowled. Eden grabbed my arm and we sped through the forest and towards the cabin, all the while the blood from my head dripped down my head, never-ending.
We reached the cabin and Eden ran up the stoop frantically, banging on the door and screaming for Cassia to open up.
I heard muffled footsteps from behind me and spun around on my heels. Two jade green eyes stared back at me wearily.
His clothes were still torn and ragged like before. He clutched his side where a large crimson mark had formed and his face was twisted in pain.
"Heath," I whispered as I approached him. He took a step back and held his hand that wasn't clutching his side out, telling me to stop
"It's not safe for you here." He muttered frantically. "You need to leave, Tessa."
I wanted to ask him how he knew my name but I opened my mouth and no words seemed to escape. I just stared at him in silence and awe.
"Just listen to me, " Heath said carefully and he clutched his side tighter. His knees buckled and he fell to the floor, screaming in agony from the pain.
I ran to Heath, who was now crawled in a foetal position and his eyes were screwed tightly from the pain, and I bent down. I removed Heath's hand and lifted up his top, examining his wound.
The wound was slowly bleeding and it was stitched poorly, the stitches coming loose with every move Heath made. I touched the wound gently, like the first time, and Heath began screaming. The wound was now glowing a bright red and I could feel the heat radiating off from it.
"Let me help you." I urged Heath and he shook his head slowly, unable to talk from the pain. His body twisted as he let out another ear-splitting scream. I looked back at Eden through the trees, who was still banging on the door, calling out for Cassia.
"He must not see me, please," Heath whispered as he clutched onto my arm. I nodded my head slowly. "Why?" I asked him, forcing eye contact with his green orbs.
Heath inhaled deeply, trying to control his trembling body. "He knows." Heath spoke so low that I had to lean in closer to hear him. "He knows about the Magalactic world. He knows about me. He...he's one of them."
I scowled and tried to figure out what Heath was saying. None of that made sense and I wondered if he was just saying these things as to his condition.
"Tessa!" Eden's voice instantly pulled me out of my thoughts and I turned to go look at him. He began searching the forest for me with his light brown eyes, but the tall trees blocked me from his view.
Heath gripped my arm and I turned to him. "Be careful, " he said before he vanished.
I got up and looked frantically around me, but I couldn't find any sign of Heath.
Suddenly, sharp pain lanced through my head and colourful spots flashed in front of my eyes. I felt dizzy and my head pounded, but still, I carried on walking to Eden.
Searing fiery bursts pulsated around the wound in my forehead, intensifying with each dragging step, jarring and brutal. With each step, the pain amplified and my consciousness ebbed. Black mist swirled at the edges of my mind, drawing me into sweet oblivion, that even the arms that had now gripped me, wasn't strong enough to pull me out from under
•••
I was standing in a clearing, the tall, dry grass singing with the breeze. There was a tall wall before me that stretched as far as the eye could see. Crunching up the gravel road caused me to turn my head and meet Noah's green eyes. Noah smiled at me, but it did not reach his eyes. His hands and clothes were drenched in blood and there were dark circles underneath his eyes. Noah cleared his throat and avoided making eye contact with me.
"They killed him. Our father, he's gone." His hoarse voice pierced my ears.
I shook my head furiously in denial. Noah is lying. He must be lying.
Noah bent down in front of me and I glanced the unshed tears before he blinked them away. "He is Teddy. Our father died trying to save us. He died a hero. Our hero."
The tears ran down my face and I wiped them away furiously. "It isn't fair, Noah! It isn't fair." I squealed as I felt the loneliness creep into me.
It was so hard to believe. Daddy wasn't supposed to die. Daddy was supposed to stay. Daddy was supposed to protect us and help get us out of here. Daddy was supposed to start a new life with us. And now he's gone. They took Daddy away from me. It hurt.
The tears that Noah tried so hard to keep in had now escaped and rolled down his round cheeks.
Noah began packing his bag and got up, beckoning for me to follow him.
I ran over to him and gripped onto his leg tightly. "Noah, I'm scared." My bottom lip quivered and I gripped onto his leg tighter.
There was a deafening sound that drew me out of my thoughts and I turned my head slowly to the right.
The army moved as one, a sea of black, as if there were just one brain instead of many. The right legs moved in unison and then the left legs. With each step, the sound of the boots on the cold tarmac was like the warning thunder of a coming storm. Each face was grim against the frigid wind and on every hand was a black glove. Within seconds, we were surrounded by them with nowhere to fled.
Noah pushed me behind him, trying to cover me with his tiny figure.
"Leave us alone!" Noah shouted at the men.
One of the men pointed their finger towards Noah and began whispering incantations. I felt Noah's body go still and his limbs began twisting. His eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the floor, blood trickling down the corner of his mouth.
"Stop it! You're hurting Noah! Stop!" I began yelling at them and tried to stop Noah's body from trembling. Suddenly, Noah disappeared and I was left alone in the middle of the army.
"Bring him back," I growled at the army and they chuckled.
The anger stirred within me like an impossible build-up of steam, burning me on the way out, burning the one on the receiving end. At that moment, I was blinded by the rage that tasted bitter, yet surprisingly satisfying. My eyes burnt with tears but I inhaled deeply and held them in, I had to be strong. I screwed my eyes shut and let the boiling take over my entire body and we became one. My hands clenched into fists, I could see the man's head snapping in my mind and it felt good. I could feel my fist smashing into their noses, splattering crimson blood everywhere. I let the war that raged within me out and imagined the whole army defeated, laying in a pool of blood, flesh and bones.
I felt hands grip my shoulder and someone me shook violently, pulling me out of the depths of my mind. My eyes darted open and my eyes met large hazel ones.
"Tessa, you can't do that!" Tristan's voice was laced with anger and irritation. "You can't let your anger take control of you like that!"
I looked around me and my eyes widened in shock. It was as if my mind had materialized in front of me. The army was now sprawled on the floor in a puddle of blood, flesh and bone.
"What do I say about killing?" Tristan's gruff voice continued. "It's okay to kill, but it has to stop at some extent. We kill to warn, not to show a point, neither do we do it for satisfaction. As soon as satisfaction fills us after killing something, we stop! Or else, the anger will just take control of us and drown us to a point that we will never be able to find ourselves."
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Hey guys!
I know I ended this chapter badly, but don't worry, all your questions will be answered soon. Maybe not all, just some. Hehe😈😈
If there are any errors, please let me know.
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