meliora | victoria sutherland

three

the chase
"i should've listened"

_____

althea tore a piece off the last victim's shirt to wipe her mouth clean, not wanting any blood on her own clothes. she felt much better now, less irritated as she enjoyed her time away from the cullens.

fleeing the scene, she didn't particularly want to go back to the residence just yet. the warnings from alice enticed her adventurous nature further, the opposite of its initial purpose. a slight smirk appeared on her lips, and her lipstick has slightly faded into a deep pink colour now.

her eyes met the forest she came from, last time hungry and slowly losing control. off towards her right was the slight peek of the new day's sun, orange and peach coloured splatters now accompanied the medium blue sky, creating a picture-perfect moment.

it signified the direction of east, of course, the sun sets in the west and rises in the east. precisely ninety degrees to the left was where north sat, the bearing almost encouraging her to continue the course.

she had to travel that path to an extent anyway, seeing as she had proceeded south just as the seer assigned her to do. what could happen if she just continued that journey? what if she just lost her way back.

althea stepped foot back into the woods, the familiar crunch of twigs and leaves fell underneath her boots. she probably needs to get a new pair considering those were made for office work, rather than running through nature.

the girl ran straight ahead, still tossing up between whether she should end her adventure here, or continue. she was nearing the cullen residence, slowing her tracks down to not get another surprise stay.

the small break she initiated turned into a much longer one, and it was only a matter of luck none of the others paid her a visit.

the air was still, almost too still for a time of the morning. dawn had just passed, the fullness of the sun was now visible. the girl was in the territory where she travelled the day before, although was not more recognisable than previously.

the wind slightly picked up, not bothering the glass-like texture that appeared as the skin on vampires. the cool weather was unnoticeable to althea, but she couldn't help but feel the atmosphere become darker.

her red eyes scanned the area, everything looked normal. branches swaying in the wind as some leaves fell to the ground. morning birds creating their calls to those around them, wings flapping as they received a response.

suddenly, there was a large thud behind her, followed by inhuman footsteps. the girl whipped around, the trees behind her looking as ordinary as ever.

they became louder and louder, althea only taking weary steps behind herself. that was no way to outrun this potential threat.

"run, run, run!" a voice shouted within her mind, a common-sense gesture from any sane person.

although, it was strange, it appeared her feet were glued to the ground. she was in danger, it was obvious, but the presence now stood right in front of her.

"well, well, well. who do we have here?"

a blink brought the girl back to reality, along the same longitude before she took this break.

a vision, what an interesting occurrence. it wasn't expected for her to connect with alice's vision, and she wondered how it even happened. did she have one too at the same time? or was it because a serious event was coming up?

a decision she was to make would seem stupid to any watching her, understanding her situation. she didn't quite get why she followed her heart in this instance, instead of the logical choice her brain concluded to return to the cullen residence.