her hollow heart

chapter 04: twenty-three

Lucy's POV:

The flames flickered and danced before my eyes, casting eerie shadows across the ground as the memories clawed their way back to the surface. I could hear them, the echoes of my family's arguments ringing in my ears like a cacophony of discordant voices. The pain, the fear—it was all too much to bear. I felt the panic rising within me like a tidal wave, threatening to engulf me in its suffocating embrace. I struggled to breathe, my chest tightening with each laboured gasp as the weight of my trauma pressed down upon me like a leaden weight. Ivy would start shouting randomly at everyone, it seemed as she had quite a short and explosive temper.

Suddenly, in the shadows, I saw a pair of eyes... I was scared at first as it looked around. They'd focus on a few people and no one else noticed them. I try to play it off as some mind trick, but they were too real, before I knew it, they locked onto me. My heart would pound profusely in terror, but the eyes seemed to soften at me... I calmed down. The eyes looked aggressive at the new three, Tallon too. "Uhmmm... Am I the only one seeing that?" I say, pointing at the eyes in the dark. They all turned to see the eyes, but they weren't as they were. They were closer, a broken smile would form under the eyes.

A figure would come out of the forest. It was a 5'10 male, possibly taller... bare footed, no shirt, long haired, a fairly decent build with a wooden spear in hand and covered in blood. It'd get closer and closer to me before opening its mouth, "My name is Dylan and I'm not an object so please don't call me an it, okay?" he said, making everyone a little offput. Before anyone could say anything, he'd look at Ivy with a rather pissed off look before trying to calm her down.

Then they started arguing- Dylan and Ivy- like two wild animals locked in a deadly dance of dominance. I could feel the tension building, the air crackling with electricity as their spirits flared and accusations flew like arrows in the dark. It was Ivy's words that cut the deepest, slicing through the fragile façade of my composure with surgical precision. "Your little ex was right, Lucy," they spat, their voice dripping with venom. "A child who can't protect herself." I felt the blood drain from my face, a cold knot of dread settling in the pit of my stomach. How dare they bring him up with ease- bring up Tom, the monster who had haunted my nightmares ever since he left this shitty camp? But before I could respond, before I could defend myself against their cruel words, I felt the familiar weight of the gun in my hand, its cold metal a reassuring presence against my trembling fingers.

I did something I never thought I would—I pointed the gun at Ivy. But in that moment, as their face contorted with rage and betrayal, I knew that everything had changed. And as I pulled the trigger, firing a warning shot into the night sky, I felt a piece of myself shatter into a million irreparable fragments.

Jace's POV:

Watching Lucy unravel before my eyes filled me with a sense of helpless anguish, a gnawing sense of guilt that threatened to consume me whole. I knew what she had been through, the horrors that haunted her every waking moment, and yet I had stood by and done nothing as the darkness closed in around her. However, as Ivy and Dylan's argument escalated, I knew that I couldn't stand idly by any longer. I had to intervene, to put an end to this madness before it spiralled out of control. But even as I moved to step between them, Lucy's hand shot out, the glint of steel in her grip sending a shiver down my spine.

Lucy pointed the gun at Ivy- a warning shot, she claimed- but the damage had already been done. The look of fear on Ivy's face cut me to the core, a raw wound that refused to heal. But as they stormed off into the night, leaving behind a trail of shattered dreams and broken promises, I couldn't help but feel a sense of grim satisfaction wash over me. For too long, Lucy had been treated as nothing more than a pawn in someone else's game- a victim to be pitied, a child to be protected. But tonight, she had shown us all that she was so much more than that. And as I watched her stand tall amidst the wreckage of her own making, I knew that she was done being anyone's puppet.

Mel's POV:

Lucy's voice rang out, cold and tamed, "if anyone else desires to leave, do so now. We do not have enough supplies or room for everyone, so die out here or make peace with me."

Nobody moves.

I glance over at Dylan, his eyes fuelled with rage. I see him mirroring Tallon. Part of me wants to comfort the poor boy and let him know he'll be okay... but another half of me wants to use that rage.

Tallon was expendable now, and I could tell those two have a rough, possibly romantic, history. I could use with a bit bloodier bling. Lucy's too kind to kill, but we are running low on meat rations.

Dylan's POV:

I glance at Mel, a girl I barely know. It seems like she can see something pitiful. She's tall in stature compared to some of the other girls, 5'6, I'd guess. She had blonde hair which framed her face to hide it from the side, giving her a look of slight intimidation... but her eyes scared me the most. Her grey eyes are staring into my soul and trying to look through me. It feels like I owe her something, but we just met face to face, I don't even know her,

She looks at me, as if she's trying to read reading my mind. My mind was full of ways to torture people while making it fun, I wanna show Lucy she isn't weak, and I know we were running low on rations as I overheard Mystic and Kasper talking. I didn't like Kasper, honestly, I don't think anyone does. He wouldn't be missed if he died. Mel keeps staring as if giving me permission to follow my mind. So that's what I'll do. I felt a cold determination settle over me like a shroud. Ivy and Lucy weren't on the best of terms, their trust in eachother was broken, and for that, I have a neat excuse to kill for Lucy. I give Lucy's hand a reassuring squeeze and a kiss before I slipped away into the darkness, my footsteps silent against the cold earth as I closed in on my prey. Ivy stood alone, their back turned to me, and their posture seeming as if they were lost. Of course they were, they were a fighter, not the navigator. Either way it made it easier for me, seeing as they were unaware of the danger lurking just beyond the shadows.

Without a moment's hesitation and with a swift, decisive motion, I lunged forward, my arms around their neck as I laugh. Ivy gasped in shock, their eyes widening in terror as they realized the gravity of their situation. There was no room for mercy, no place for guilt. I had made my choice, and now I would see it through to the bitter end. Is it really a bitter end though, it was for Lucy.

Ivy's POV:

The world spun around me, a whirlwind of pain and confusion as I struggled to make sense of what was happening. Dylan's arms closed around my throat with a strength that belied his slender frame, cutting off my air supply with a giggle in his mouth and his arms suffocating me.

I tried to scream, to plead for mercy, but the words died in my throat as I felt the life draining from my body. Panic surged through me like a tidal wave, my mind racing with thoughts of escape, of survival.

Dylan unhanded me and kicked me away as he picked up his wooden spear. He commanded me to get up before counting.

Dylan's POV:

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1... oh well," I said as I try mask my laughter with a cold tone. "You had a chance to fight back, but what was the point if you were gunna die at the end, right?" I pointed the spearhead at the centre of her face.

She tried to beg for mercy buuuuuut what fun would that be.

With a final, agonized cry, Ivy was no more. Her face now lost.

Lucy's POV:

I watched in horror as Dylan emerged from the darkness, Ivy's lifeless body slung over his shoulder like a sack of meat. The sight sent a chill down my spine, a sickening sense of dread settling in the pit of my stomach. Amidst the horror, there was a sense of grim satisfaction—a twisted justice that sent a shiver of revulsion coursing through my veins.

As Dylan laid Ivy's body at my feet, their blood staining the ground in a macabre tableau of death, I felt a surge of coldness wash over me like a tidal wave. This man I barely know personally, only through names, has just killed someone for me. I felt lucky, but also scared. If Dylan was so happy to kill for me, what else would he do for me?

I looked into Dylan's eyes, dark and somewhat morbidly beautiful, I knew that there would be no turning back. We had crossed a line from which there was no return, and now we would have to live with the consequences of our actions—for better or worse.