All I could feel was a stretch of red that swept around me like oil stains and made the place even more alien. The air was unbreathable, the oxygen was defeated, and what little was left of it kept me from falling unconscious in the moment. I missed my breath and I felt my lungs ache but at that juncture my suffering was superfluous, unable to take my eyes from the horror that surrounded me. The cobalt-blue curtains were so blackened that no trace of the original colour remained and in some places the fabric had been left to tear. What was left of the hanging portraits was something disturbing. The oil painting had melted like melted butter, and the faces now looked like demons from the worst nightmares. That terrible vision reminded me of what I had just done. In that hellish place, that only the day before I called "home" there was no trace of recognition and the fault was only mine.
«FIND HER!»
I swallowed loudly as the air became increasingly stuffy. That situation of stasis was totally broken when I heard the muffled voices that were looking for me. I had to go away and as soon as possible. With uncertainty I ran to the only escape route. Feet somehow managed to follow my directives. Around me the flames began to rise, I had to concentrate all my energy to hurry to reach the corridor to the east, towards the second exit to the forest. I came to a room, my room, and a twinge hit me in the chest. It seemed like a shadow compared to what was in my memories. The yellow and warm walls, the window that I opened every morning, beandomi of light and fresh air of the first hours. The small pale pink sofa, above which I spent every free moment reading, immersing myself in the most subtle stories. At that moment, an image of me appeared with him as we read the "Count of Monte Cristo". Every day was dedicated to reading two chapters. We could no longer continue it. A rebellious tear slipped from my eyes. I had to hurry. I went to the secrétaire, which I used in the past to write letters and sometimes as a toilet, and looked at the small closed drawers. I lifted the small vase of flowers, leaning on the outer corner and discovered the key I kept protected. With feverish hands he opened the last drawer and I tried not to linger on the letters that I jealously guarded there. Underneath them, there was the object I wanted to take with me in my escape. The ring was beautifully crafted. In yellow gold, it was decorated with a rhomboid acanthus sprinkled with small diamonds that followed the shapes of the pattern. In the center a beautiful ruby. I brushed it with my fingers, like a slight caress before wearing it. New tears streaked through my face.
Behind me, the steps were getting louder and louder. Fearful I looked back and noticed with horror that the light of the torches illuminated the wall of the corridor. It was at that moment that, anxious to be captured, I slammed on the small mirror hovering on the furniture. I wide my eyes terrified but it was too late. I watched him fall to the ground without being able to emit any breath. It broke into a thousand pieces like a grim representation of my heart.
My eyes slipped back again and a shiver ran through me as they crossed a pair of hysterical fury.
«There she is! » shouted the man « LET NOT ESCAPE! »
Scared and overcome by adrenaline, she starts running, forcing me to concentrate all my energy to activate. I ran and quickly passed by the second door of my room that led into the corridor, closer to the forest. I had no other escape route, although there, I probably would have been in danger anyway.
I could feel them behind me, stalking me relentlessly. Never before could I understand how deer escaping hunters felt. What was certain, that those proud animals, were much more fit than me. I was panting. The rush and the little oxygen I had left was destabilizing me, and if they hadn't killed me, I'd certainly be asphyxiated. I quickly went down the stairs and into the basement. The kitchen had never been so quiet and empty, I ignored the lump in my throat and finally found the door that gave access to my freedom. It was a warm brown, and the wood, saved itself from the fire but not from the signs of time. I opened it and in front of me, passed the small field, I could see a few meters the beginning of the forest. I turned again, looking back at my pursuers. A shiver passed me. They were just over there, and they were gonna catch up.
I strained my leg muscles and continued to run more vigorously than before. The trees seemed a difficult barrier to overcome, yet, despite everything, they seemed comfortable compared to what I found in that house.
The full moon shone in the sky creating some light on that dark night. I had no idea where I was going and in my mind I had only one thought to find him, without stopping a second to run. Where was he?
The voices behind me grew farther and farther away until the only noise I could hear was my breathless breath and the wind shaking the branches of the trees. I stopped with my chest aching as I tried to catch my breath. Tears ran down my cheeks when I remembered what had happened the previous hours. It was all my fault if he...
A howl came between my thoughts abruptly, freezing my blood. I looked around with my heart pounding. I knew that besides the darkness of the forest there was something else hiding there. More than fire, more than the angry crowd, I was afraid of Them: the monsters of the night. The howl repeated itself and I followed with the look that direction, expecting from moment to moment that it went out ready to kill me. I swallowed and a trickle of sweat slipped from my forehead.
«You are looking the wrong way » whispered a persuasive voice in my ear.
I turned suddenly but it was too late: I was in the arms of death itself. His clear face looked even paler in that moonlight making him even scarier. Her blond hair was carefully brought back in stark contrast to the blood staining her mouth and chin. The fleshy lips were bent in an amused grin giving display of canines longer than normal.
«A-A-AD ... » I stuttered.
She laid a finger on that dirty mouth and called me to silence. I gasped frightened. He stared at me for a few seconds in silence with that amused expression when a dull pain hit me all over my back. It was as if I had been burned or ejected from a layer of skin with strength. I screamed and collapsed. Blood imposed my robes like a scarlet sea. A little satisfied smile formed on his face. He was not alone.
She bent down, kneeling, holding still on her heels as she stared at me satisfied.
«Don't you try to rebel? » he asked me with a touch of admiration.
I cried again when I felt teeth clenching my flesh followed by a snap. Adrian was there, in front of me, perfectly still as if the scene unfolding before his eyes was something totally normal. Behind my back, the sound of teeth in the making made me freeze from fear. It was my fault they had become like this. Adrian seemed to be reading my mind because he threw his jaw stiff.
«You disgust me and you will have to pay for what you did » he stopped « for what you did to us» he ran quickly.
The howl came back this time so close it broke my eardrums. I tried to ignore the pain that gripped me and I stared at the face that was once my friend. Apologizing would be useless. They would have killed me anyway, so it would have been in vain to beg for my life. What I wanted was to hide the truth, the real reason for my not counter-attack.
« Is he okay?? » I asked.
He understood to whom I was referring and the look became cold.
« He is okay, no thanks to you »
That answer lifted me up. It was like sweet honey after years of stale food. Now that I had his confirmation, I could bear everything, even the most intense pain. He was fine, he was fine...
« Are you afraid of death? »
I looked up and smiled at him just as I once did. « What if I did? Would it change anything? »
He shook his head amused « No »
A new howl and this time the bite hit me on the shoulder forcing me to lie down to the side. The last thing I saw before I plunged into eternal oblivion was Adrian's eyes: one blue eye and a second brown.
YOU ARE READING
Blood ties
ParanormalFor Fay growing up in Blindwood was equivalent to following a repetitive and apathetic life already prescribed by everyone since childhood, even the friendship with Jordan seemed to be forced to become something more serious. What Fay didn't know wa...
