Marked By Shadows

Chapter 6

Their fear, pain, traumas, and most of all, their loneliness wove the four together. They knew they were fugitives; they knew that there had to be a more logical way to deal with what they faced, but once someone starts running, once they leave everything they know, common knowledge and all basic logic go out the window. Their arrival at Leah's house marked refuge for most of the fugitives but Aspen. Aspen was being eaten from the inside by the poison in her veins, the mark. She would hit herself and claw at her hair as if trying to yank the voices and pain out of her head. It was torture for Zeke to watch his best friend having none of her memories and being eaten from the inside out.

...

The next morning, the sky was such a dark, rainy color that seemed to be screaming that something bad was going to happen that day. Aspen was trying to ignore the pain in her head and wrist by tracing drawings into the dirt outside with the heel of her boot. Leah came out and sat next to her, which made Aspen look up from her work. Leah had the same round face as Aspen, along with light freckles and dark blue eyes. However, Leah's eyes were a bit lighter than Aspen's, which were nearly black.

"How's your head?" The woman asked Aspen, who shrugged.

"I still don't remember a lot, but little things are coming back. I-I think I had brothers.." her voice trailed off and her face scrunched up like she was trying to force her memories to come back, but it didn't work. Leah gently patted Aspen's hand. "They'll come back. If you'd like, I can try and help. I knew you as a child-" she stopped and stood up quickly, "Excuse me, Aspen." Leah hurried inside and buried her face in her hands, cursing herself for almost letting her guard down. She had to carry out her mission, she had to end this girl whose brother worked for PHASE, and another one of her brothers was a high-scale criminal. It was probably heartless to want to kill your children, but Leah didn't have a heart. That had been ripped out of her chest the day her husband beat her senseless. She gripped the sink edge until her knuckles turned white, weighing her options.

...

Georgia sat in the old beat-down car behind Leah's house, deep in thought. She could sense something bad was going to happen that day. She knew she had to try to get everyone to safety, that was the most logical thing to do at the moment. Owen. Her son was asleep leaning against her, his warm little body gave her some sense of comfort. While it didn't completely get rid of her anxieties, it did make her smile a little.

...

Leah held a small shiny pistol in her hand as she stood in the shadows of Aspen's room, watching the girl toss and turn in her sleep, the Mark faintly glowing on her wrist and her back arched as she kicked at the air. The woman almost felt sorry for Aspen, having this torment, but not for long. She inched her way to the edge of the bed and pressed the cool metal against Aspen's head. This slight touch jolted Aspen to consciousness. She didn't move, just lay there, eyes darting back and forth between Leah and the weapon.

"You don't have to do this" Aspen whispered, eyes terrified, not sure why this seemingly kind woman had a weapon pointed at her.

Leah shook her head, tears in her eyes. "You don't understand. I have to do this, I have to get revenge on your father-" she was cut off by Georgia tackling her and the pistol fell to the ground, sliding across the floor. Aspen got out of bed and stumbled out of the room, shaking and in shock. Zeke and Jack were already outside, Owen on Jack's back. Without needing an explanation, Jack told Aspen and Zeke to go to the diner near the house and wait there for everyone.

...

Georgia pinned Leah to the ground, the pistol had slid across the floor, out of either woman's reach. Leah struggled to get out, kicking and punching the powerful red-haired woman over her.