White

Prologue

The walls shook and the air smelled of the decades of dust that fell in plumes to the ornate rugs that lined the marble hallways. Ironically, this is what I would remember most from this day. I wouldn't quite remember the exact size of the russet bloodstains on the antique carpet, or the exact pattern that the moon cast upon the white stone walls through the red spattered stained glass windows. I'd forget the cold touch of the floor after I am thrown to it by people rushing past and knocking into me. Thunder reigned louder than the screams of the panicked as various people ran past in different states of disarray and blurs of color. 

What was going on?

The brilliant halls of yesterday seemed like a dream now as I lay on the floor and tried to make myself so small I wouldn't get trampled. Confusion tore away any willingness to take action or to even get up and follow the swarm of people headed towards the door. Suddenly, a dark face with shockingly wild, curly hair filled my view with eyes as brilliantly white as I had ever seen and a hand grips onto my arm, yanking me somewhat painfully onto my feet. 

"Livian? What are you doing just laying here for? They'll get you too."

"Who's they!" I had called to my sudden guide as I allowed him to drag me along the swarm. 

"The Fallen! They've found their way inside!"

Uh. Excuse me? The Fallen?

I didn't have time to ask what that meant, however, as my foot suddenly snagged on a wrinkle in the red, paisley carpets with a rather unbecoming yelp of pain as I let go of his hand and caught the landing with my elbows. For a moment, the boy stopped to look at me, confliction wavering in his expression. Was he really going to leave me here? I would remember how awfully my gut twisted and how I reached with desperate fingers for help. curling my fingers into the side of the rug before pulling myself onto my knees, blonde ringlets hanging at the sides of my face. A twitch of motion had me whip my head up to see he had hurried back over to me. Thank the heavens. Rather than offer me a hand, however, he grabbed the sides of my head. "If you get away go here" he stated regretfully. Then an image burned into my brain, one of a paint chipped green bench on a busy street corner and in front of a large glass window with green and gold lettering behind it that I couldn't quite make out. When the image had faded from my mind, I could just see his heels round the corner.What? Are you kidding me? He really was just leaving!

"What, no wait!" I cried out as I scrambled to my feet. A shock of pain buzzed up my foot and through my leg the second I attempted to place any weight on it and for a moment, panic clawed at my chest and a lump too big to swallow appeared in my throat. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I took a step forward. No, come on. At this rate I'd never get out of here and potentially deck the guy who just left me here. A sickening crack suddenly split the air and agonizing pain like someone had buried a knife in my calf shocked through my system. I opened my mouth, a screech tearing through my throat as I fell right back to the floor.

Another sickening crack and everything faded to black.