Diavolo

xxiii

PRESLEY

        I was running. I didn't know where to or why but all I knew was I needed to run. The ghastly wind moved right through me, and the thin sweatshirt I was currently, chilling my bones to that of splintering ice.

        I glanced down at my feet and the lack of shoes thereof but they were moving in a fastened motion, operating on fight rather than logic.

        Where was I? Where was I going? Was I going somewhere?

        The howling of the wind brought tears to my eyes stinging as I continued running. Prick.

        The gritty sand crumbled beneath me, the sharp chilling sensation of a splinter wood went right through my feet, breaking through the skin.

        Despite the aching pain I waited for, I didn't feel anything.

        The only thing I could feel was the pounding of my chest, dun-dun, dun-dun, beating without rhythm or rhythm as I continued running.

        I forced my body to inhale air, inhale some form of oxygen when I'd reached a certain point. It seemed as if I would continue running forever without a certain destination in mind.

        I paused for a spilt second but it was more than enough time for the horror to creep around me like a form of comfort surrounding me.

       The pit in my stomach only grew deeper as I glanced around trying to identify the answer of it all.

         The sound of footsteps against the gritty sand perched my ears as if they were crushing the ground beneath them. The cracking of the sky above me, shattering from the color gray to a deep maroon red.

        The slight glow of the moon emanated from the sky and I heard the sound of liquid leaking. Drip. Drip. Drip.

        The bitter taste of fear lingered on the tip of my tongue as I slowly cracked my head to the side and came to face with the thing which mocked me.

        My eyes took in the paling complexion of a hooded figure with a stinking smile of despair and I jumped.

        My hands shot out pushing away the mere thought of the hooded figure getting close enough to hurt me and I stumbled backwards, stumbling upon a body and falling on my ass.

        I glanced down at my palms covered with crimson red, silky liquid, and my eyes flickered down to where the body laid. Realization dawned on me—the body on the ground was me—and a screeching sound blared out from my throat.

        I screamed for help, my voice fading with each attempt and my eyes opened like two flashlight beam wide open. "Presley." A gloved hand reached out to gently cup my face in his warm, gentle palm but I couldn't concentrate on his touch.

        My heart was pounding an erratic rhythm, my mind hyper fixated and unsteady as if an injection of adrenaline had been emptied into my carotid.

        It felt like everything was coursing through my veins as if fear had hitched a ride into my blood vessel and paralyzed my entire body.