Immortal

25. Truth

Alaric folded his wings along his spine. He didn't look me in the eyes, my mind felt overwhelmed. I didn't need family dysfunction here in Silvas. All sorts of thoughts and feelings swirled making my head pound uncomfortably. I felt my footing sway unable to understand the disconnection of emotion both of my brothers seemed to be able to do.

Eliam was about to shove a branch through my skull before Alaric interrupted him. I kinda wished he had. The look of resentment cut deeper than if he had stabbed me. I would have taken the branch far easier, over his expression. You ruin everything. Why can't you do as you're told! The words rang in my head. I squeezed my eyes shut to make them subside. I wondered if he would kill me if he was ever given the option to do so? "Albino twink?" I repeated to break the silence and Alaric's serious expression softened. I heard his stomach growl.

"Really?" I muttered, I saw him grin before I heard the wave of bullets.

I jumped forward hearing a few whiz past my ear and pulled Alaric flat to the ground. He was alarmed at first but then started hearing the rapid fire. Guns. Firearms weren't issued to the common public. They were only issued to Keepers. This sector didn't have many Keepers. For someone outside of a Keeper to have a weapon of this degree was uncommon. I didn't underestimate Silvas and the kind of firepower they may have to themselves but I had never seen any guns. Only the explosives I helped Scraps build. Most Keepers were hardly taken seriously in these parts.

They were supposed to be law enforcement but most of them didn't care much and usually were easily going or lax in this District. Of course, I was wrong. It wasn't a keeper. It was an Art form. Several of them. It had weapons issued to it. They were the source of the bullets. I could see it from the distance. It had markings on its body, and wore almost no clothing. "We need to get into some kind of cover." I whispered to Alaric.

Alaric stared at the clearing. He didn't seem to have intentions to leave me behind. I had also never seen art forms this far out into the forest border. They were almost in Silvas turf. How did they know it was here? "When I move, you go." I said to Alaric quietly. I made the mental choice to be a diversion. I knew more about the functions of an art form than he did. I could take my chances even with a well trained one.

I stood up making myself an obvious target in the darkness. I began to run in the direction of the art form dodging bullets that were fired, just barely. For a moment I wondered if I could have existed peacefully here had my brothers not interfered. Could I have made a life of my own choosing? The thought of it is foolish. I dismiss it. "Run!" I yelled back at Alaric, but he didn't. I felt a cold gush and the temperature dropped a few degrees. The target I was running toward froze in front of me, I looked back at Alaric and his eyes were glowing. More bullets rained in my direction. He could cast Ice? I let out a shaky breath and ducked again. There was too many Art forms. More than I thought, I saw Alaric take flight.

I watched as the bullets fell to the ground upon firing, frozen. I watched the layer of ice that covered the greenery outside of Silvas. Things froze were he passed over head in seconds. An unnatural freeze that although powerful still didn't fully stop the swarm of art forms. By this point Silvas had begun reacting to the noise. Everyone was shouting I could see movement, Alaric was still overhead freezing everything that came near me.

"Alaric stop!" I tried yelling but he couldn't hear me. I was tackled sideways by an art form, we tumbled over rocks and landed hard. My head began to spin slightly from the rough impact. She was choking me, her steely grip on my neck. I recognized her, she was one of Claire's art forms.
She was shy, hid behind others. She wore a pink hoodie, and never made eye contact with anyone. She used to cower in the masses. I couldn't recall her name off the top of my head.

"You were the reason so many of us died." She spat in my face in a low tone. "It was your fault!" Her eyes had a look of craze, I resisted trying to break her grip. "I'll kill you." She whispered and began to laugh. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" She screamed. I didn't know what the situation had been at Claire's facility since the last visit I had there. "I was happy." She said quietly. "I had a family." I didn't want to hear this. "YOU TOOK THEM ALL AWAY!" She shrieked, and I swore I heard my eardrums pop slightly.

I was struggling to take a breath at this point. Her grip was only tightening, her knees pressed my arms down she was using all her weight to keep me pinned. My mind wasn't coming up with any solutions, she was staring right into my eyes. Her eyes burning with desire to see mine fade like she had seen other's light fade. I didn't know what happened but it made sense that she would blame me. It was my fault. She had every right. I could empathize with her pain. Unfortunately, I wasn't going to die here. The only thing that would happen is that I would lose consciousness. I would wake up in the next half hour or so after she thought she'd killed me and I would be fine. Oxygen deprivation didn't cause us much damage. It didn't kill us.

I couldn't pass out. I had to keep fighting. My heart stopped when a branch went through her skull. I could see the way a portion of her head had exploded, similar to a water balloon popping. I could make out the tip of the sharp end of the stick coming out of her eye socket. Her eyes reflected some surprise and her thick heated artificial blood splattered in thick amounts all over my face and inside my mouth. Her grip loosened and I gulped in air and blood. My lungs fighting to keep me awake. The rust like flavor filling my senses and making me gag and move sideways. "You should have died." Where her final words as the artificial light dimmed from her eyes. She collapsed onto me, her heavy weight and blood oozing all over.

The branch that was in her skull had to have been placed there with considerable force. Eliam was standing a few feet from me, he had slight beads sweat on his brow and he kicked the art form off me. Behind him, there was a trail of bodies shrouded in the dark. "Sorry, I tried to get to you as fast as I could." He breathed. Bodies of art forms shrouded in the dark shadows, of the night.

"We need to get out of sight." He said coldly. The blood flavor lingered in my mouth. I wanted to puke, but I knew it was wise to listen to him this time. Puking could wait for a later time. High power Bullets where still being fired in different directions.
I ran, following the white contrast of my brothers snow white wings in the darkness. While bullets rained from the skies.