Shattered Horizon

10 Liam

My sprint turns into a desperate lunge towards the daylight breaking through the trees. And there, in the clearing, I freeze. An older woman, her face lined with concern, stands beside Annalina.
"Annalina!" The name tears from my throat.
"Liam!" She shrieks, breaking free from the woman's grasp.
Annalina crashes into me, her small body wracked with sobs. I drop to my knees, wrapping my arms around her, tears stinging my own eyes. "Where's Simon?" My voice is barely a whisper, laced with dread.
Annalina shakes her head, her sobs echoing in my chest. The woman approaches, a gentle sadness in her eyes. "My dog and I found her by the road," she says softly. "She was alone. This is where she insisted on staying."
"Thank you," I choke out, my voice still thick with unspoken worry. I stand, extending a trembling hand to the older woman. "I'm Liam."
"Joanna," she replies, her grip surprisingly firm. A whistle pierces the air, and a dog bounds to her side. "This is Lightning."
"Ma'am," I ventured, my voice tight, "what were you shooting at?" I held her gaze, searching for any flicker of deception in her deep brown eyes. Her mid-fifties face, etched with experience, creased in confusion.
"Shooting at anyone?" she echoed, a touch too surprised. "No, dear. Heard some shots myself earlier, though. That's why we came out to check. Found this little one here all alone."
Joanna hand drifted to the holster on her hip, a subtle movement that spoke volumes. She wasn't a woman easily frightened, and the lingering presence of her gun suggested she was afraid to shoot.
"Come now, I have food and some clothes you can change into," she offers, a hint of warmth returning to her weathered face.
I hesitate. "We can't," I answer, guilt settling in my gut. "I'm sorry."
"And why's that?" Her question is soft, but the narrowed eyes betray a sudden, sharp curiosity.
My resolve wavers. "My friends... they're hurt," I admit. "I have to get back."
"Where?" The single word cuts through the air.
"A shack. Few minutes back in the woods." My voice falters. "They're waiting for me."
She studies me for a long moment, then, to my surprise, nods slowly. A flicker of... understanding? Recognition? Crosses her face too quickly for me to decipher. From her back pocket, she pulls a cigarette, placing it between weathered lips with an air of practiced routine.
"You don't look so good, dear," Joanna said. Her voice, normally warm, held a strange note I couldn't place. "Let me find your friends. Stay here…"
My hand shot up before I could think. "No!" The word echoed in the stillness, harsh and final.
She looks at me with concern in her eyes "I'll wait here with the girl." Her voice holds a no-nonsense finality. "You go get your friends. But listen," she pauses to flick ash from her cigarette, "if the other one shows up, I'll hold him here 'til you get back. Just... be careful and hurry. There are things much worse than the dead honey."
Hesitation twists like a cold hand in my stomach. Leaving Annalina with a stranger feels like a betrayal, even if Ms. Joanna's eyes hold genuine concern. I force a nod, a shaky smile. "I'll be back," I choke out.
Annalina's whimper slices through me. "No, Liam, please!" Her small fingers cling to my shirt, and her eyes are wide with terror.
"I'll be right back, I swear. I'm just getting Bo and Iris." My hug is tight enough to hurt, trying to lock her in this moment of safety. "Be good for Ms. Joanna, okay?"
The moment I break away, I'm plunging into the woods. The fog isn't just around me, it feels like it's inside me, muffling my racing heart, blurring the world into a nightmare. Every gasp for breath feels like sandpaper on my lungs. Am I going in circles? Is this path even real? A dark shape looms ahead â€" hope flickers then dies as I reach the shack.
"Bo!" My voice cracks on his name. The door swings open, revealing nothing but a film of undisturbed dust and cobwebs. My stomach lurches. Was there another shack after all? Another hiding place? Panic turns my legs to lead. The fog twists me around, spitting me back at the same rotting shack. I stumble onward, forcing myself to analyze my surroundings, but my mind is a chaotic storm.
Then my toe snags on something that shouldn't be there. I pitch forward, landing hard. For a sickening moment, I expect to see my own mangled flesh. Instead, it's a body, ripped to pieces, the air thick with the metallic stench of blood. It's Teddy. My best friend. A scream tears itself from my throat. He didn't deserve this. None of us do.
I'm on my knees in the dirt, waves of nausea washing over me. The ground feels unsteady, like the whole world might tilt and swallow me down into this waking nightmare. If I can't find them, if I can't protect them, am I next?
Liam," a voice whispers through the fog, light and sweet. It echoes a memory, a touchstone buried in years long past. My heart stutters, then races. I stand, every muscle tense. "Mom?" I call out, the word barely a breath.
The voice calls again, a mournful echo. My legs move of their own accord, stumbling after the sound. The fog feels thicker, but something else has changed too â€" a deep chill has settled over me, like invisible fingers tracing my skin.
My mother's voice rises, a lullaby warped with sorrow. "I promised I would never leave you." It's a familiar song, one meant for warm nights and a gentle touch, not this frozen wasteland.
"Mom!" My voice cracks, the cold stealing the strength from it. Flurries of snow begin to swirl, stinging my face and blurring the path.
The lullaby crescendos. "Then in your heart, there will always be a part of me."
Her voice isn't just calling me anymore. It's pulling me. Towards what? I'm not sure, but the fear pricking the back of my neck whispers there's something else out there besides the snow and the echoing song.
The woods shimmer, twisting to reveal Bo's face. Tears streak his cheeks before darkness swallows him again. My heart jolts. The freezing fog closes in, but a flicker of light draws my eye â€" a shadowy figure stands before it.
"Liam, please don't leave us!" Bo's plea fades, drowned out by my mother's mournful song. It grows louder, a siren's call leading me closer to the figure.
Then Iris cuts through the chilling melody. "We're almost there!" Her words are full of hope, a stark contrast to the despair washing over me.
I reach the figure, my mother's song fading into silence. She stands before the radiant light, a silhouette against its warmth. A chilling voice hisses, "He's fading," but everything blurs when my arms wrap around her.
"I missed you so much," I choke out. Her hug is real, solid. Tears slip down her cheeks as I look up. "My boy, you've grown so strong."
A tremor of unease prickles my skin as she releases me, but the warmth of her touch lingers. "Mom, where am I?"
Silence hangs heavy between us. She hugs me again, a soft kiss on my forehead. "It's not your time yet, my son. There are challenges ahead..." Her voice trails off. "I love you, but you must wake up." The warmth fades, her voice echoing distantly as my eyes snap open.
He's awake!" Warmth spills into her voice, a surprise after her earlier detachment.
The scrape of a chair cuts through my stupor. "I'll get him," a familiar voice rushes, filled with frantic hope.
Joanna's tone softens as she speaks, "I knew the moment he left you, you'd wake. That boy's been at your side for three days!" She stands, but there's a lightness to her movements now.
My vision clears. I'm in a bed, sheets rough against my skin. There's a flicker of light â€" electricity? Joanna helps me sit up, a glass of water that she puts up to my lips so I could drink. My right side aches with a dull, insistent throb. "What happened?" I managed to croak.
"Bo will tell you everything," Joanna replies, a gentle smile playing on her lips. A knock sounds, and Bo steps in. His eyes fix on me, then relief washes over him. He rushes over, engulfing me in a tight hug.
"Never do that again," he mumbles, his voice thick.
"Do what?" My words are barely a whisper.
"Be a hero!" He pulls back, tears in his eyes.
"Three days?" My voice rasps out, barely recognizable.
Bo nods, worry etched deep into his young face. "I have to tell you…" His voice trails off, a knot of fear twisting on his face.
He recounts the events, how Joanna's dog led him to the clearing, his voice trembling as he describes finding my unconscious body. I shudder, imagining myself another gruesome sight like Teddy.
"How did you find Joanna?" I ask, suspicion twisting in my gut.
"She came looking," Bo explains,
But she promised to stay with Annalina. Why would she leave her?
"Said she sensed something was wrong, worried about you after you left." Bo said
A surge of anger mixes with a helpless dread. Joanna promised, but where is Annalina now? Despite her helping me, that broken promise cuts deep.
"Annalina?" My heart pounds, desperate for reassurance.
"She's safe, Liam," he says. But is there a flicker of hesitation in his eyes?
I lift the covers, wincing at the sharp pain. Bandages cover my right side, a touch of crimson seeping through. But that's not all. Beneath the bandages, my body is stiff and sore. And then I see it â€" a length of rope, crudely tied around my arms, pinning them to my sides. Only enough slack remains to move slightly.
I force myself to lift the covers. Pain shoots through me, but there's something more. My arms...pinioned with rope.
"What the hell..." Fury washes over me, followed by a sinking realization. I know why this was done.
Bo sighs, running a trembling hand through his hair. "You were bitten." He pauses. "Why didn't you tell me?"
His accusation burns, but I have no answers. "I...didn't know how." The words are barely a whisper. Part of me still remembers that night at the raider camp, a flash of teeth in the darkness...
Bo stays silent, his face a mask. "You think I couldn't have shot you?"
"It's not that, Bo. You've... you've been through so much. I didn't want to add to it, to be another thing... I thought leaving would be easier, for both of us." I tell him
He gets up "If it was a Vry, why didn't you change into one of them. Once bitten you should have turned in twenty four hours." he said
To think about it, why am I still here?
"Are you sure it was one of them?" he asked again.
"Yes, it was it was the day at the camp" I tell him,
Iris raps on the weathered wooden door, balancing a plate in her other hand. "Sorry to interrupt," she says, her voice tinged with sympathy, "but I brought something to eat."
My stomach churns, and I force back a groan. Another plate of those bland, mushy beans? "Iris, I'm not hungry yet, but â€""
Her laughter cuts me off, surprisingly lighthearted. "Relax, it's not beans this time. Joanna made some vegetable soup â€" extra broth, just how you like it. And," she adds with a playful grin, "she said if you don't eat, she'll resort to hand-feeding you."
Her gaze flickers to Bo, who's crouched by the bed, untying the coarse ropes that bind me. He says nothing, his jaw working as if he's biting back a harsh retort. I can practically feel the anger radiating off him.
Once I'm released, I grab Bo's hand unespecially. His fingers tighten around mine, then abruptly loosen. A jolt of warmth shoots through my chilled hand, then fades as he lets go and leaves the room, leaving me and Iris there alone.