Never ownED myself

Chapter 11 - Explanation

Our reactions are tainted
By our emotions and our past.
MJ1

Annie walked through the cold halls made of rock and dirt with only her footsteps to keep her from the darkness lurking inside her. Everyone had been left behind in the aftermath of her departure.

Leah's cries fueled Annie's heartache. Annie's love for her siblings ran deep and her heart was broken without repair when she learned that her mother had erased her existence from their memories. Just like hers, Leah's heart was shattered. Annie knew this feeling all too well. The dark thoughts, the feeling of being an automated person. It was like she was sentenced to death without a trial. Until she found a new purpose, a new hope. To find her father.

"He was hostile to me, he looked down on me. He doesn't see me as his equal." Leah repeated over and over.

"Don't worry Leah, at least he lost his stupid smile. He understands who we are." Annie hoped it would give her some comfort. A whiff of fresh air caught her nose. Leah was in synchronicity with her, heightening her senses. Annie followed the scent.

"Why did you have to stop me from smashing his face? He deserved it!"

"Because I can't live in a world where he isn't." Leah whimpered.
Annie's anger washed away. She could pretend to be strong, but the reality was that she was hurting, too. Leah's feelings echoed hers. Her heart ached.

"Well he deserved every bit of it," she added still convinced that he needed a lesson.

After all, Tom had chosen the worst weapon against her: her family. It was his choice. A deliberate choice! He meant to hurt her. To ridicule her. Annie took a deep breath and let the smell of the pines soothe her senses. She had made it out, the moon shining between the clouds, the air was fresh and was already making her feel less suffocated. Annie relented her body to the wolf morphing into a was working quicker than she had ever done before. Leah ran like she had never done before. Hitting tree trunks or getting her feet caught in the wild vegetation didn't slow her down. Leah just wanted to get far away.

Annie's mind dwells in the past carving deeper into her wounds and festering them. She had lost her father. He had disappeared, no he was taken from them, but her mother made her believe that he had abandoned them. Her heart twitched. Leah resonated her feelings screaming into the night.

Later her mother abandoned them. She excused herself by saying that she was working, but the fact was that she had emotionally abandoned them until she finally discarded her sending her away.

Her mother had taken her memories and made her the puppet she wanted until...

"I came," Leah told her.

"No until Tom." Leah whimpered in response. "He got rid of my inhaler, the magical potion meant to erase you. Without him. We..."

"He broke us free.." Leah stated in a monotonous tone. Leah paced back and forward.

"He did. He helped us then. He helped us get to the resistance, but now..."  Annie's voice broke.

Tom had seen her suffering when she learned about her mother's betrayal. He knew she was lingering in the hopes of finding her father who she knew would make her mother see reason and reunite the family as it once was.

Just like Leah couldn't live without Tom, Annie couldn't live in a world where she couldn't get back to her family.

Her figure lost its height. Annie's knees buckled. She fell to her knees, a root beneath her crushing her bone and sending a sharp jolt of pain through her body. Annie rolled to the ground and moaned aloud for the first time. She lay there for a moment, crying and gasping for air. When she tried to get up, her knees were shaking. Leah had left her alone.