Imperfect (Disappeared #1)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Everything went dark. Theodosia felt as though she were caught in a rigid gelatine mould. She tried to fight her way out but the darkness twisted against her limbs, allowing her to flail but not break out. The blackness weighed down even her facial muscles and kept her from crying out. There was no sound. Just deafening blankness.

Ahuil! she thought. Oh my God, please, please help me...

It was then that she felt someone, or something, grab her. All the fibres in her body resisted and she tried to scream, thinking she would be pulled in two. Painfully, slowly, she felt herself wrenched out of that place and back into the light. She landed on top of Ahuil. He was pale and sweating. He grasped her face between his hands.

"Are you all right?" he said, panting. Frantically, he scanned her face.

She couldn't speak yet; her throat felt as though someone were squeezing it. But she managed to nod. He put his arms around her and helped her up.

"I don't know what happened-" Then he looked behind him and grabbed her hand. "Theo, run."

She didn't need to think twice. She sprinted after Ahuil as fast as her heavy skirts would allow. Thankfully, he was much stronger so he could effectively pull her along, giving her the momentum to stumble forward at a pace she couldn't have achieved on her own.

They broke into the line of baobabs. The giant trees were almost completely obscured by the mist and the air was suddenly frigid. Wheezing, Theodosia shivered despite her layers, and her muscles protested, unaccustomed to the level of exercise. Her overworked heart slammed against her chest.

Still, she didn't stop - she could still feel the darkness inside her. Trailing her. Threatening to overtake her and take her back to its prison, a type of hell she had never experienced before and never wanted to again.

They came upon the last baobab. Ahuil caught her in his arms just before, encircling her waist.

"You'll have to push your way through this time. It's going to be hard, but you have to do it," he said, breathing hard.

She shook her head vigorously. "I don't want to go. Ahuil, I don't want to leave you here."

"You have to." He cupped her face. "Theo, the darkness has attached itself to you. Pushing yourself through should leave it behind. Do you realize how much danger you're in?" He looked back down the road. "Go, Theo!"

She hesitated even as she heard the rushing of the darkness coming for them.

"What if I don't see you again?" Tears began to run down her face and into her mouth. Ahuil took a deep breath and then pushed her toward the tree. His eyebrows were knit together in fear.

"Go! I can't live if you're hurt. Please, Theo. Now!"

She was terrified by the grief written on his face. It made her obey him unquestioningly. She turned, away from this man she felt so attached to, and she forced herself against the tree. It gave only a little but she pushed harder than ever, making it obey her will. She began to dissolve. Ahuil faded in front of her. She barely saw him lean forward and mouth something.

It looked like Don't come back.

Then the tree gave, very reluctantly, even as she felt the oncoming darkness nip at her. She felt a whoosh, a lack of energy, and as if she were suspended in the air, and then she fell hard onto sweet grass. The scent of clover permeated the air. Thrushes twittered. Sunlight. She was in England. And the darkness had been left behind.

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