Diabolus: The Lethal Hunt

Chapter Seven

BEVERLY WOODS

How to get happiness back?

    Safety?

    The feeling of peace?

    As I kneel down to pick up the shard of broken glass, the moonlight streaming through the window cast a silvery glow upon its jagged edges. I hold it delicately in my hand, examining each facet as if it were a precious gem, yet somehow resisting the urge to peer outside.

    The night is still and quiet, and the only sounds are the faint rustling of the leaves in the trees and the gentle creaking of the old wooden floors beneath me. With each turn of the glass, a new glimmer of light catches my eye, dazzling me with its brilliance.

    Despite the urge to glance outside, I remain transfixed on the glass, as if it holds some kind of secret, some hidden message that only I could decipher. And at that moment, I felt a sense of connection to the brokenness around me, as if the sharp edges of the glass mirrored the pain and uncertainty in my own life.

    "What the hell is happening, Bev?" Lexi crushes the glass underneath her shoe, distracting me from the thoughts that give me nothing but anxiety. "Who was here?"

    "The twins." I make myself stand up and take a glance into the night, where two menacing figures disappeared. I can't stop myself but notice that stars in the sky are nonexistent tonight, as between us arose the puffs of gray. Those balls of cotton, seen during the day, shift into streams of gray, the color of ash and soot. They cover the sky, hiding the full moon in its full glory behind them. But the moon fights, oh, how bravely it fights, to shine its light on the earth. But the clouds stretch over the sky, giving it a hazy ominous feel.

    The sky above us is a canvas of blues and purples, the hues of the sunset gradually fading into the deepening night. But as I gaze up, something feels different. It's as if the sky itself is alive, pulsing with an energy that was both exhilarating and terrifying.

    Or maybe it isn't the sky at all. Maybe it's something else, something big that's coming. My heart begins to race as I consider the possibilities.

Could this be the start of our end?

    "What are you talking about?" Lexi tilts her head to the side like a curious puppy, her eyes glowing under the night lights.

    Suddenly, more footsteps approach the bedroom as others come to look at the mess I've made. A sigh escapes my lips as I watch Brooklyn's scared eyes, Aaron's lips, pursed in anger, and Avery, shaking her head as if she was shaking off a bad feeling.

    "I could swear it was them. The other day, when I was at the park with Kevin, I saw them watching me." I curl my fingers around the piece of glass, carefully enough not to cut myself; before I throw it out the window, somewhere in the darkness to swallow it. "They probably followed us back here. God, we should've been more careful."

    "Okay, what do they want?" Kevin takes a few steps towards me, his eyes examining the mess on the floor, as well as checking for injuries on my body. "Could they want to hurt you because of Kai?"

    "Everything happens because of Kai."

    Before I can realize it, my mind shifts back to the past. How funny; there once was a past, a past that now is called "Before Kai". When the only problem was my father. My stepfather, if you would. And the marriage he arranged, to the person that raped me, almost destroyed me. No deaths. No torture. Nothing criminal. No fear, that someone's purpose is to stop my heart from beating.

    No feelings at all, also.

    No passion. No unwavering, unbreakable, and unparalleled fondness and devotion for someone. Someone that you can't stop thinking about. That someone, that you could risk your life for.