Protective Secrets (The Protective Series, Book 3)

Chapter Four

The human race never ceases to repulse and disgust me at every opportunity. I was never fully able to comprehend how people could go on and act like everything was fine and dandy, when in other states and countries, people were mistreating one another as if their behaviour was completely normal and acceptable; a true reflection of the destruction facing mankind in today's modern world.

All around me, people were killing each other; children killing parents; boyfriends killing girlfriends; friends killing friends; and terrorists killing dozens of innocent souls in the never-ending quest of achieving their warped version of peace. People were back stabbing each other; people were lying to each other; and people were deceiving each other. How could anyone, in a clear state of mind, put up with all of this and not give a care in the world? How could they walk the streets, day after day, ignoring the desperate pleas of the homeless, and of the victims suffering blow after blow of domestic abuse - whether it be a child or a fully grown adult?

Janne used to say that one day the world would inevitably wipe out the human race from the very face of the earth, and I never once doubted a single word. Janne was right about a lot of things, like he always had been.

With a mournful sigh that consumed every available energy resource, I dropped the metal dessert spoon back into the ceramic bowl decorated with pink waterlilies, not giving a single care in the world as the utensil slipped further in, bringing the now soggy weet-bix up to the surface of the pooling skim milk. This was the third consecutive day that I'd attempted to eat, only to lose my appetite not even halfway through the meal.

My phone vibrated from my jeans pocket, but I never moved a muscle to reach for it. I knew it was only Asko trying to reach me for the hundredth time, wanting to talk to me and see how I was doing.

I placed my elbows on the table's surface, firmly gripping my hair on either side of my head so tightly my entire scalp began to throb. Flashbacks always came bounding unbidden through my mind, replaying last night's nightmare in full. uncensored detail, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

I was running.

My black leather boots hit the concrete hard and fast. I stumbled, almost tripping over my straggly, undone dark blue laces. But relentless as ever, I powered on, glancing every now and then over my shoulder at the pitch black streets surrounding me.

His loud breath was seeping through every pore of my body, stirring the anxiety deep within my gut like a cauldron over a fireplace. I clamped my hands to either of my temples, just as a loud scream was ripped from my throat, only amplifying the rising whispers inside my head.

Stop!

Turn around!

Jed look out!

I shook my head vigorously from side-to-side, sprinting into a leap towards the oncoming cliff. A feeling of eery lightness coursed through my veins as the adrenalin kicked in, causing my heart to beat louder in the pit of my chest like a freight train accelerating. Beneath me, Janne's outstretched arms awaited me in a warm, welcoming gesture.

I felt relief flood through me - even if only temporary - and fell gladly into his embrace. Then he turned ice cold and rigid against me, coughing up crimson liquid onto my shoulder.

Glancing up, I gasped at the sharpening blade protruding from his back, and involuntarily ran backwards into something solid.

"If he couldn't escape," Mikko's deep, bone-chilling voice rumbled through the sudden silence, "what makes you think you can?"

I brought my knee forward and drove my foot back with all the force I could, only to stagger as it got caught in his stomach. He chuckled demonically, before wrapping his muscled, tattooed arm around my neck and twisting harshly. An audible crack echoed off the walls of the alleyway, my head hanging limply at an abnormally skewed angle.