Annie ran. She ran so fast into an alley that the market whizzed past her in a flurry of bright colours. Finally, she decided it was safe enough to stop. She paused and look around. The alley was ominously quiet. Annie didn't recognise this alley, she had never been here before. Annie then spotted a sign. The sign read:
EAST ALLEY
Annie gulped.
Of all the alleys, I had to run into this one. Fiddlesticks.
Annie had heard many tales of the east alley growing up. It was a place of misfortune, bad luck and ghosts. Tika had read these stories to her.
I miss her so much. I wish-
The sound of cautious footsteps pulled her out of her musings.
"look what we have here!" The husky sound of a man's voice froze Annie to the ground. She turned around carefully and saw a tall man, much taller than her, wearing a hooded cloak.
crap. If only I had stayed in the market. Maybe mother would have found me. Now this weirdo has.
The man suddenly ripped his cloak off. All Annie saw before she ran was that the man had short, ebony hair with ash-coloured eyes. Annie ran in the opposite direction- towards the entrance of the east alley, the way she came from. A thought suddenly stopped her in her tracks.
If I came from the entrance, then... where did he come from? Is there a hidden door or something?
It took a while for Annie to realise that it wasn't the thought that had stooped her in her tracks. It was some kind of force. She was frozen in place.
Why can't I move! am I having a paralytic stroke???
"Ha, you thought you could run. Not the first time that's happened." The man started walking in slow circles around Annie. Now Annie could see that he had a large build and his face was sprinkled in dirt, but surprisingly his clothes looked expensive and in perfect shape. Annie thought she must be hallucinating but she could swear she saw some type of ripple and movement in the air as he walked around her. "Ah yes, you do have the aura of Keros! it's wonderful! it's..."
The man gave Annie a hideous grin, filled with greed and malice.
ew
"...going to be mine!" Without any warning the man picked Annie up and threw her across his shoulders like she was a sack filled with trivial items. Annie would've screamed if she could. He started walking towards the end of the alley. The man smelled like body odour.
I can't move at all! what is this? did he inject me with something? Am I about to be kidnapped?!
Questions swirled around in Annie's head like a storm, causing her head to throb.
Is this karma? what did I do wrong? Minutes ago I was waiting for my mother and now this?
The man was almost at the door, when another hooded figure swept Annie off of the man's back and into his arms instead - bridal style. At that very moment a strange wave of exhaustion overcame Annie and she blacked out.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
When Annie opened her eyes she expected to see the familiar pink diamond patterned walls in her room. Instead, she saw sleek, shiny black walls and a rouge coloured couch in the corner. She was lying on a bed with sheets that looked as if they had been ripped and patched up over and over again. It was in complete contrast to the walls and the fancy couch. However, the room wasn't enough to distract her from her current situation.
Annie sat up and walked towards the window, feeling slightly claustrophobic in this new space.
where am I? where is my mother? what happened?
I'm scared.
The sound of hurried footsteps, has her jumping back into the bed and hiding beneath the covers. It's as if she could hear Tika's voice,
Grow up Annie! You're seventeen and hiding beneath the covers! Do I have to tell mother that you're scared?
Annie peeped her head out of the covers and saw a young man, most likely in his early twenties. Annie had to admit- he looked hot, especially those stunning cerulean eyes.
"Don't hide Annie. I'm not here to cause you harm." His accent was exotic and crisp. His tone was warm and welcoming.
"Just take me home. I don't know what happened and I honestly don't-" Annie picked something up from the man's sentence. "How do you know my name?"
The young man just smiled.
Whoa. This guy should be in a magazine.
"Anyways, wouldn't you like to know why I brought you here and who that other man was?" The young man asked.
"Yes but I would rather go home." Annie wanted to get home, no matter how cute the guy was, so she started to get out of the bed. The man most likely knew this was coming so he raised a hand and that invisible force that froze her in place came back, only this time it was gently pushing her back down.
"That can wait, I promise you I will though, first, I need to tell you everything. It is for your own protection."
How did he do that magic thing again? He definitely injected me with something that can manipulate, other wise this wouldn't be possible. Well , anyways, I have no choice but to go with it now. Maybe he'll just tell me that the other guy's a psycho criminal and he's a spy agent or something like that. The big evil guy was definitely a lunatic. And I just have to play along with this guy, then, he'll release me and I can pretend all of this never happened.
The young man began to explain,
"The reason I took you here is because it is not safe for you to stay outside unprotected. There are many people out there who want to get their hands on you. It is because you possess the aura of Keros."
That strange aura thing again? what was it? Ah no I forgot I'm supposed to be playing along and faking, not actually listening to him. Also, many people want to get their hands on me? ew and I'm not special.
"Everyone has an aura, it is just the air around you. People in the same family have the same aura and because you have the aura of Keros, It means you are related to him. Keros is your ancestor, he was a great sorcerer who possessed much power, much more than most of us could dream of. Since you are related to him, you carry some of his power. Your mother does too. Let me guess, she never told you anything?" I shake my head. "Of course she wouldn't... "
The man started mumbling to himself and raked a hand through his light chestnut hair.
Just play along Annie, just play along.
"You probably think I'm crazy considering Lindsey never told you anything... ah...I don't have enough time to explain everything..." Suddenly his pale face lit up.
"Tell your mother that you talked to Lucas and that the clock strikes at six. It's not the best way to get her attention, but...it should do the job."
What is this strange request? is this some kind of secret code? hang on, did I hit my head and fall into a coma? Should I tell my mother? I guess I will, I'm curious to see if the words of the lunatic young guy will mean anything toher. Wait... how am I going to get back home? Oh yes that's right, he promised me. Can I trust his promise though?
With those words the man - supposedly Lucas - started walking towards the door, stopping once and looking over his shoulder only to say in a serious tone - which made him look even hotter -, "In an hour I will come back to take you home."
If you liked the chapter please vote! It means a lot!
