The Mountains of Mourning

Book 2 - Chapter 1 - Giselle // Re-read if read before 19-11-2021!

"Mom, wake-up!"

She didn't want to open her eyes. Life was so much better in the dark. When she couldn't see what happened, it couldn't be happening, right?

The voice... she remembered the voice. Mom. That word sent a jolt of fear through her. As much as she wanted to hide from the world, from the reality she knew she lived in, she had to wake up now.

"Petal?"

Her voice cracked, her mouth too dry, her lips chapped and swollen from the abuse she had received. Raising her head was a chore almost too heavy for her to accomplish, but she struggled to do it, to open her eyes and find the source of that panicked voice.

"Petal? Where—Where am I? How did you get here?"

Once she started talking, it became easier, though her throat hurt, bruised as it was. She wanted to talk, to ask questions. Talking was almost as good as keeping herself in the dark, because as long as she talked, nobody could answer. And as long as she was talking, she didn't have to think.

Small hands took hold of hers. She winced but forced herself to keep them still, not to pull them back.

Don't let her know how much you're hurt! Don't let her see.

"They took us, mom. They took all of us and put us in this room with the other people—"

"Oh baby, are you OK? Where's your little sister? Did they... did they hurt you?"

"I'm fine. We're fine. They just put us here and left us. I don't know for how long. Days."

Someone pushed her to one side, then another. She almost screamed in pain as Petal tightened her grip on her hands in order not to lose her.

"Please, get up, mom. Something's... Something's happening."

Another shove. Only the contact with her daughter kept her up. She was on her feet, wasn't she?

Bodies pressed against her on all sides now and her befuddled senses finally picked up on the frantic babble around her. People. So many people! They were all around her, packed into this room with her.

Her breathing quickened, and she squeezed her eyes closed again.

Too many people! There were—She couldn't think, couldn't breathe, too many!

"Mom!"

Petal yelled it in her ear and she wanted to slap it away; the noise, the pressure, it was too much. But before she could react, Petal's hands were torn from hers, pulled away with the press of bodies.

No!

She was on her knees, she could feel that now, the rough concrete scraping her knees with every movement of the crowd. She knew Petal was right; she had to get up. If she fell, these people would trample her. They kept moving and moving, dragging her with them...

Petal! Xandra! Where were they?

The thought shocked her onto her feet, paying no attention to the toes she stepped on. She cast around, trying to see in this murky darkness, the darkness that had been her friend until so recently.

"Petal? Xandra?"

"I'm here!" she heard, but the sound moved away from her, going with the mass of people, to... to where? What was going on?

Even standing on her feet, the crowd around her towered over her, blocking most of her sight. It was so hard to breathe, with that wall of people surrounding her, but she had to. She couldn't afford to have a panic attack here.