The Outsiders

The Outsiders: Chapter Thirty-One

Khristopher De Caldwick

Time was a notion I had not the will to think of.

Looking out of the ruby windows, I could only watch the wind away and bellow as the trees shifted and the blades of crimson-hued grass drifted off into the solemn spring. For years of my youth, I thought the grass was always a reddened tone. Broken were my thoughts when I read my first picture book and took my first steps from Caldwick's grim facade. Though the thought could have brought a smile to my face, the pulsing scorn that rampaged any form of joy severed its horrid brand on my heart.

Taking my hand, I could only caress my pallid skin, only growing weaker with the lack of food that I was given. Never had I realized how weakened I would be. If I had, I wouldn't have made the decision so rashly. With a small breath, I stared through the windows intently, before my eyes widened.

Tall purple Snatchers carried my one and only love through the thick field. My heart stopped, slumping in my chest as I pressed my palms to the window. Blood dripped from Soum's lip as the Snatcher's carried him. With a rough breath, I slapped the window, hoping to break it. Hysterics broke through the glum of my chamber as I slammed my hands against the window with tears in my eyes.

"N-no! Please! Not Soum, n-no!"

I did this to protect him, so why would he sacrifice himself?

Sobbing I slapped the window until my palms burned and my eye blurred to the point of unreason. Rushing to the door, I turned to doorknob, forgetting everything just to get to Soum. As I kicked and punched at the door, my tears only grew, falling to the polished floor.

Soum would die before I would see him again because of the Soul Shard. He won't make it. I won't make it, none of us will.

            Even as I slid to the floor, my hurt was deeper than any coffin.

            Head-spinning heartache loomed over my heart, slowing it's tread to a sickly tap. Drained: drained was the only word to describe what it felt to be trapped in the same four walls. Sick: sick was the only feeling to describe the feeling of impending doom over your lover and your loved ones. Pain: the only concept that only half-heartedly described the lone and hunger for console. I tried everything to escape the desolate thump of my ache — hitting the red windows with my entire body weight, pummeling the door with my sickly frame, whispering incantations I thought would aid my quest — but I failed.

             As a mate, I left Soum defenseless. As a dad, I left Ocmjai with a pack that didn't even trust me. As a Vampire, I disgraced my kind with my actions. As a human, I broke morals i didn't know I had.

            Tears blurred my vision as I stared at the grim roofing over my bed. Sovereign swirls of sickly cement created a picturesque view of nothing. There were only shapes of white, swirling into each other as they interspersed through the hollow ceiling. So beautiful, so poetic, so utterly useless.

Oh, how I yearned to feel Soum's lips on my own, his warmth — his tender, loving warmth — his skin on mine. Never had I craved one so, even with my time away from my own brother. My skin tinged all around just at the thought of him, making my sadness only grow. Shutting my eyes, I grazed my hands over my Macula, reminiscent of one of our last intimate times together. I gently grazed my hands over my torso much like how Soum had, feeling every curve of my own body as if it was Soum doing it.