Trail of the Dead

Chapter 1

I hadn't intended to be the villain. I was the descendant of the hero's, the granddaughter of the woman who destroyed the heart of the darkest parasite, the daughter of the couple who fought against darkness until their very last breath, but I was different. No one had suffered the way I had, no one understood what it was like to relive unbearable pain every time you let your mind wander or closed your eyes. No one.

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"Got your backpack?" a frantic voice called.

"Yeah" I responded lazily. My mum rushed about the house, dropping half the things in her arms. We were late, too late. The sun had set and the first troops of the storm invaded the sky.

"Hurry up Andy" my father yelled from the front door.

"I am!" she was annoyed now, muttering something about "I'm the only one who does anything around here".

I sleepily strolled to the car where my father buckled me in. Next to me, my older brother had already begun examining the contents of his backpack pulling out a bar of chocolate.

"Ready?" chorused dad, a nod and a few cheers had us on our way.

The journey was never-ending but I slept through most of it, letting the quiet music lead my dreams. I was awoken by an abrupt stop that had me hurling towards the back of my dad's seat. Squinting through my sleep I asked "what's wrong mum?". Worried whispers engulfed the car before a decisive one ended them and my dad opened his car door to get out. My chest felt heavy and a sickening feeling took root in my stomach. Minutes went by before my mum turned around.

"Wait in the car, no matter what happens DO NOT get out. Do you understand me?"

Me and my brother nodded.

"I love you both" she whispered smiling. Then she got out the car shutting the door inaudibly behind her.

I bit my lip for the next eternity which was cut short when Xavier remarked, "If you keep biting, you won't have any lips left".

I glared at him but then he whispered, "you don't have to be scared. Mum and dad are really strong, it's in the Hoffman blood. You have it too, you just have to... find it."

"No I don't." I squeaked.

"Yes you do silly!" he chuckled.

I couldn't continue arguing with him with the whirlwind in my stomach rising every second. Mum had been gone a while, we couldn't just sit here, what if she needed our help? A deafening scream awoke me from my thoughts, I glanced at Xavier. He was afraid, I could see it in his eyes. Undoing my belt, I turned around, the wet glass made it impossible to see through. I opened the door and climbed out the car but Xavier grabbed my arm.

"What are you doing? Get back in here." He grunted.

"What if they need our help?" A tear escaped my eye.

He just looked at me for a while, contemplating. Then he followed me out and we walked towards the direction our parents had gone. The weight on my chest was making it difficult to breathe, the air evoked goosebumps on every naked surface of my body. Ignoring the chill going down my spine, I tried to make out different shapes in the distance. A muffled grunt turned me around; my eyes revealed a horrific sight. A sinister figure confined Xavier with one arm and held a serrated blade in another. It wore a dauntingly faceless mask, that was on it's own enough to rip the hope from people's lives. It's physique towered over me, immobilizing my body.

"RUN ENYA" Xavier pleaded.

The blade tore through his skin; over and over. I watched the pool of blood that formed beneath him and that pure light fading from his eyes. I watched it all, just watched. I didn't scream, I didn't so much as breathe. I just witnessed it drain the life out of my brother, helplessly. It dropped the limp body onto the floor, kicking it out of it's way as it stalked towards me. It was worse than the devil. I looked into it's merciless eyes, blacker and colder than anything I had ever seen in my life. Colours danced of the blade as it punctured me. I screamed and begged as it tore me limb from limb, but not because it hurt; because of everything I had just seen. Physical pain was nothing compared to that. The last thing I saw was the bodies of my parents, and their glazed eyes.

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