The Other One

Chapter Fifthteen

My heart turns to stone and falls to my stomach. I try to sprint to her, but I can't pick up my legs. I try to scream but I can't open my mouth. I try to raise my gun, but my arms sit in the sturdy position I had them in while I was running.

I can't move.

The last thing I see before I black out are the Erudite trucks pulling away from Amity, and my dead sister, who lay limp in the grass.

The smell of thick mud conveys my body into a black room, where I see nothing but darkness. The room shifts from temperatures below zero to above scorching, and I cannot decide which of the feelings comforts me more than the other. Without warning, a bright figure appears in front of me screaming. The scream sounds distant, even though the one screaming is so close. I walk towards the figure and extend my hand to their shoulder, in hopes of settling them. I turn to face them and see a distorted version of Kay and Dove combined. Their scream has become so loud, and the room has become so hot, that the figure's face begins to melt. Their scream turns into a terrifying and disturbing gurgle, which tortures me until brightness consumes the darkness and I see the inside of my eyelids.

I awake covered in sweat, but mostly mud. I am in the same spot that I fainted in, only it's morning instead of nighttime. I pick myself up and straighten my back, which is as stiff as my neck. The memories from last night cloud my thoughts and sit on the top of my heart. Why couldn't I have saved them? Why couldn't I have saved Kay? I begin to cry - no, in this case, I would be lying if I said I was crying. I begin to sob. I could have shot the guards. I could have ran to her, and they would have killed me instead. Why couldn't it have been me?
I run to where she died, but her body is gone. I am too devastated to be confused. I am too devastated to feel anything other than searing, sharp, and utterly dreadful pain. I fall on my knees to the wet grass, and continue to sob uncontrollably. I could've saved her, but instead, I watched as she was murdered. In this case, Erudite aren't the murderers. No - in this case, I am the murderer.

I must save the others. I need to. Before anyone else dies, and before any one else gets hurt. I pick myself up, and follow the truck's tracks in the mud back to the city. Kay would want me to keep moving, so thats exactly what I'll do.