My 'One and Only' : Matthew Espinosa

Chapter 15: Happy? Thoughts

THALIA'S POV

I feel as if I'm in a maze. Confused. Lost. Scared. But I guess that's just how life is. I've never viewed it this way before. The thought just came into my head. But like everything else, it's probably pointless, useless. But it was just put there; like an endless mind game. It controls you, contains your thoughts, just like they're enclosed in a sealed bottle, waiting to be opened and set free into the mysterious world around them. Seldom do we know if these thoughts are important or pointless. You just have to wait and see where fate takes you. Because everything in life is destiny; now it's time to make your own...

Thoughts rush in and out of my head. I can't control them. They're taking over my brain slowly, powerfully.

I tilt my head slightly so that my face brushes against the cold, glass window. Opening my eyes, I see little white specks falling down the sides of the car that cover the front window. Squinting to see through the blur of snow, I make out a few pine trees, glazed with frost, and two black cars along each side of our vehicle.

I glance over at Dustin who faces forward, concentrated on the road ahead of him. Every so often, his neck twitches and his eyes fill with pain, anger. Confused, I speak up.

"Dustin?"

No response.

"Um, where are we going?"

This time he turns his head to face me, black filling his naturally blue eyes, which almost instantly fade away.

"You'll discover the path soon enough," he speaks with an inhumanly deep voice, not of his own.

Shocked, I turn to face the front of the car, afraid to move. I need to know where we are going. I check the clock, 4:30. We've been driving for two hours? To...?

"Are you okay?" The words quickly blurt out of my mouth without warning. And yet again, no response. Sighing, I turn my gaze back outside the window and shut my eyes, continuing with my thoughts.

Destiny. What's the meaning of that? Is it the events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future? The hidden power believed to control what will happen in the future; fate? Or is it something else... Something undefined. Like an algebraic math problem. It's unsolvable; 0; null-

"Get out." The voice returns, along with a quick jolt of a stopped car. My eyes automatically open as I view out of the car. Powdered snow surrounds us around every side, as well as a giant boulder that lays directly in front of our truck.

"I said get out."

I shoot my head over to see Dustin's dark and malignant eyes staring intently into my mind. With a quick gulp, I crack open the door to reveal a burst of frosty air against my face, pushing back my bangs.

My foot slowly sinks into the ground as I take a step onto the soft bed of snow below me. Dustin already stands in front of a small cave entrance, ahead of the car with hands resting on hips. Slamming the door, I slowly trudge over to the spot where he stands, my fingers and toes already becoming numb.

I reach him with hands around my arms, searching for warmth. He quickly pulls out a small flashlight, grabs my arm, and drags my inside the cool and moist cave.

"Hey! Let. Me. Go!" I struggle to free from his tight grip on my forearm.

"Shut up! They'll hear us!" He loudly whispers, clamping his hand over my mouth. Deciding to just go with the flow, I cease to escape. We walk a little in silence, until we reach what looks like the end of the dreadful, damp hole in the side of the rock.

A bright, flickering lantern and a figure in a dark cloak await at our destination as we continue to slowly make our way. I stop in my tracks, for fear of what lies ahead, but my monster of a brother hauls me closer. Teeth chattering, we approach the individual.

"Master, I brought the girl." The deep voice from Dustin speaks as he pushes me to the feet of the man.

"Very good." A familiar-but raspy-voice returns. "You have not failed me-young one," He continues. "You are free."

At once, a shadowy, dark silhouette divulges from the body of my brother, and floats to the side of the figure ahead of me. Dustin's limp form drops to the floor with a thud, as an eerie echo of snickers come from the dark demon.

"Who are you?!" I demand, rising to my feet.

"Ah ah ah," he motions standing up. "You may not want to rush things," he strikes pulling off his hood, "Sweetheart."