Lies & Harmony Trilogy

Chapter Eleven: Rush of Emotions

Kasie’s screams pierces the air around us, and Mallory collapses on the ground, clutching her leg with her hand. Red leaks through the spaces between her fingers and drip slowly onto the ground.

     My legs are shaky, and I see the dead bird and the dead nurse before me. Bryler is pointing his gun at me. The world spins.

     I am suddenly on the ground. How did I get here?

     Something is throbbing at the back of my head. The alarms are ringing. I have to get away. I have to get away now—

     Mother says that I should run whenever the alarms go off. Yes, I have to run or else I risk being caught. The Air Fliers are here. They’re here! I have to run. Run, run, run. Yes, I will run as far away. But if I hear them, it is already too late. But I need to run though. I want to survive. My mind tells to run. I will run—

     Is that the sound of the black wings? Yes, it is. It is too late. Now what do I do? A woman in white screams at me. She calls me a traitor. I am not a traitor. What have I betrayed? I have done nothing to her. She shouldn’t be yelling at me. I am no traitor. Perhaps she’s the traitor, since she is burdening her troubles on me.

     Maybe I should run. Maybe I shouldn’t. The cornflower blue sky is cloudless. Mr. Lizard will show up. The alarms are ringing. Bodies fall onto the ground. It is a sea of red. Mother says there’s a place called the Red Sea. I would like to visit someday.

     Run, run, run. I have to run. I stand up, the world tilting and slanting beneath me, but I keep my balance. I need to run from here. Where? I don’t know: away. Yes, away is where I will go.

     Someone grabs my arm, and I scream. It’s Mr. Lizard—he’s here. He’s going to punish me for real this time. Then I will be on the floor in an unrecognizable heap. I scream and scream, thrashing against him, but I am too weak.

     He’s shaking me and dragging me along with him in whatever direction. I need to get away from him. I make motion the other way, but he is too strong or I am too weak. My legs give up beneath me, and I collapse upon the floor. The bumps in the uneven ground scratch against me, tearing through my clothes. I need to get up and move again, but my legs won’t let me. Mr. Lizard doesn’t slow and drags me across the ground. I cry out when a particularly sharp rock grazes my skin, drawing my own blood. Or is it my blood? Maybe I’m imagining it all.

     There’s the sound of a bullet, and I scream, throwing myself the other way. Mr. Lizard stumbles for a second and then pulls me along again. Someone is yelling something. I don’t know what it is. I can’t make out the words. There are more sounds of gunfire and someone yells again.

     Tears are streaming down my face. I don’t try to hold it in. “No, no, no!” I scream, fighting against Mr. Lizard. He is bringing me towards the bullets. I don’t want to die. I don’t. I don’t. People are waiting for me to come back. I don’t want to die yet. I can’t die yet. I don’t want to.

     “Stop!” a voice cries out in panic. It’s not Mr. Lizard’s voice even though it’s coming from the same direction. My eyes are open again, but then my legs stumble, confused.

     For one moment, a beautiful moment, I see the world below me. I see the stunning landscape of the rocks and trees and sky all blending together to create the perfect masterpiece. It is something out of a fairytale like Cinders.

     I realize I am airborne—my arms outstretched, and my legs tilting off balance. I let out a shriek, and the moment is whisked away.

     Everything is fast again, and the ground comes closer to my face at an alarmingly fast rate. I scream and cover my face with my hands, rough stones scratching against them. I am falling now, falling through the sky onto the harsh ground.