Trapped

chapter 28

Chapter 28

                The air got cooler the deeper inside the building we got. A shiver racked its way down my spine and caused goose bumps to sprout on my arms. The walls were cracked as if there had been an earth quake or something and the smell of the place made my nose tickle like I was about to sneeze. The halls smelt old. Like they'd been unused for years and they probably had. The whole place just made my skin crawl.

                We turned a few moldy corners and the next thing I knew we were walking into a light filled room. There were candles everywhere. Some were just useless piles of wax now but some were burning and providing a warm glow for the room. One corner was filled with cans piled high and they looked like they could topple over at any second. They must have been living in here for a while.

                Finally I spotted the one we came here for. She was laying on a bare mattress that was pushed up against the wall to the right of us. She looked dead, her skin was as pale as death after all. The air was thick with dread as Sam led the way to the girl. As we neared her still form I was able to closer examine her. She had dark hair, which further set off her paleness, blueish purple veins showed through the thin skin of her eyelids and temples, and she had a small round nose.

She looked so lifeless. I hadn't seen her move at all since we walked in so I looked closely for a sign that she was alive at all. It took a moment but I finally saw her thin form expand with an intake of breath. I realized that while I was waiting for a breath from her I had been holding mine. I took a deep, steadying breath and walked towards her with Sam by my side.

I brought my hand up to check her pulse but Sam's hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. He looked at me apologetically but it still hurt. He didn't trust me. He probably never would again. I yanked my wrist from his grasp and wrapped my arms around myself. I also took a step back for good measure. I heard him sigh but he didn't stop me.

I couldn't bare to look at him any longer so I turned my attention to the floor. Of course I couldn't blame him for not trusting me. I've given him reason enough. Honestly I was surprised that he hadn't kicked me out of the group all together. They were better off without me anyways.

"Tessa." I jerked my head up at the sound of my name. Sam was leaning over Willow and turned his head to look at me over his shoulder. When he saw that he had my attention he motioned for me to come closer. Oh god... I thought to myself as I hesitantly came forward. I couldn't help but look around the room as I took tiny steps forward. Finn was brooding in the doorway with his striking eyes fixed on me and Emory was standing off to one side with the most hopeful look on her face. It almost broke my heart. It's not good to be filled with so much hope in a world like this, she's only bound to be hurt and disappointed.

"Tessa." Sam said my name again but with more force. I scurried to his side.

"What's up?" I muttered in a small voice.

He looked me up and down before replying softly with, "This girl is close to dead. I don't know what I could do for her."

Well I wasn't expecting this. "Um..." I didn't know what to tell him! What am I supposed to say? Just try Sam! You can do it! No. I don't think so.

'Tell him to get on with it already!' a voice hissed from inside my head. Naturally, the sudden intrusion made me jump which made Sam shoot me a weird look.

'He's not sure he can help her.' I hurriedly reply. I hear something like a grunt of displeasure from in Finn but I ignore it. Sam was still waiting for my reply but nothing was coming to mind.

"Errrrrmmmm..." I wrack my brain for a solution but I only draw blanks. Why was this so hard for me all of a sudden? "Just do it!" I suddenly blurt making Sam jump. He looks at me like I've finally lost my mind. The stress must be getting to me.

I turn my attention back to the ground as blood rushes to my face in a blush. To my surprise Sam just shrugs his shoulders and moves to lay his hands on the unconscious girl. His right hand went to her forehead and his left rested lightly on her abdomen.

I heard shuffling behind me and I turned to see Emory making her way towards us with confusion plastered all over her face. "What are you doing?" she questioned with panic in her voice. "What are you doing?!" she exclaimed again as she rushed forward.

"No! You don't understand! He's trying to help her! It's okay." I tried to explain to her but she still tried to rush at Sam. I grabbed her as she attempted to run past me. She was pretty small so it wasn't hard to keep her subdued.

"Now listen to me!" I said as she squirmed in my grip. "She's okay. He's not hurting her." In response to my words, Emory stilled and began to watch her sister. She was already beginning to breathe more normally and some color was returning to her cheeks.

"Oh my god..." I heard Emory whisper as she watched Willow's transformation. It really was amazing if you think about it. She's coming back from the brink of death after all. We were all so busy marveling in Willow that no one even noticed the change that was going on in Sam.

When I noticed Sam begin to sway I released my grip on Emory and made my way over to him. "Sam?" I said cautiously, not wanting to get too close or mess up his concentration. His shoulders curved forward like he was caving in on himself and I felt my heart begin to thud. I started to reach my hand out to tap him but before I could he fell.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion. He didn't fall forward or backwards so there was no way of catching him. He just fell straight to the ground, crumpled in a heap like a discarded piece of paper.