Forgotten (original version)

Chapter 7

"Look at me." Harry ordered. "LOOK AT ME LUCIANA." I looked up at him with tears streaming down my face.

"What?!" I ask.

"If Mom is . . . d-dead, then the kidnapper was here or is still here." I hadn't thought of that.

"We need to go." I whisper. I slowly take Harry's hand, and pull him out the door.

With tears still blurring my vision, I pull us to the edge of the forest.

"Luciana . . . we don't even have a plan." Harry warns me.

"I know." I say quietly. "But you were right. We should've gone right away. I'm done waiting." I decide. Even though it scares the crap out of me.

"Ok." Harry whispers. I pull him into the forest, and pray that I don't have a mental breakdown.

We're literally in the hands of a murderer . . . I realize. This is his domain. Our fate is literally up to the murderer to decide.

"Please say something." Harry mutters. "I think if you don't I'll scream."

"I'm here, Harry." I remind him. We walked farther into the forest.

"Did you hear that?" Harry's voice shook. I didn't hear it. In fact I don't hear anything. I look around to observe our surroundings.

The trees caved in on us like a cage. The grass had faded to a light brown as there was no sunlight. No wind. It was way too quiet. Like the earth was holding its breath, waiting to see what happens next.

I hear a twig snap behind me and immediately start running. I let out a cry of fear as we turned the corner. We sit down next to the tree, gasping for air. I glance over at Harry and see his face as pale as mine.

"Hey, we're ok." I assure him. "We're gonna find Dani, and get out of this hell." He glances at me with tears streaming down his face.

"You don't get it." He cries. I wrap him up in a hug of reassurance.

"I don't get what?" I ask gently. He may be my brother, but I see him as my best friend.

"T-this is all my fault." He was sobbing now. I don't understand.

"No! No, none of this is your fault!" I say in a soothing voice.

"B-but it is." He said it with such confidence that I was beginning to worry.

"What do you mean it's your fault?" I demand. Was he confessing?

"T-the murderer came to our house the day before Dani went missing. He said he wanted me to kill you. I panicked, so I refused. I told him to find someone else. And-and he did." He started shaking. "He said that he was gonna kill someone who you loved very much. And that it wouldn't be me or mom. So I knew it had to be Dani. I knew he was gonna kill, or kidnap Dani."

Absolute silence. I stared at him with my mouth open.

"Y-you knew he was gonna take Dani?" I asked him after a minute of just staring. He nodded. "And you didn't do anything about it?!" My voice is rising now. "OF ALL THE SICK THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED TO US, ALL OF THE UNIMAGINABLE SCENARIOS, I NEVER, EVER, WOULD IMAGINE YOU WOULD DO SOMETHING SO FREAKING SELFISH." I shoved him away and stormed off.

"Wait, wait Luciana don't leave me here!" He yelled after me. I kept my back turned.

"AND WHY SHOULDN'T I?!" I was absolutely livid. How could he do that?

"Because I'm your brother . . ." He muttered.

"NO. NO, IF YOU WERE MY BROTHER, YOU WOULDN'T LIE TO ME LIKE THAT. YOU WOULDN'T KEEP IT A SECRET THAT SOMEONE WAS LITERALLY ABOUT TO KILL MY BEST FRIEND. YOU WOULDN'T HIDE THAT FROM A SISTER." My voice cracks. I don't want to leave him. But I have to.

I ran away with tears streaming down my face. I would regret this decision later.

When I get far enough away so that I can't hear his muffled cries, I collapse to the ground. Coughing until I couldn't breathe. I take out my inhaler and calm my racing heart. But the inhaler wouldn't fix it this time. This time, it was more serious. My chest felt like it was gonna explode, and my breaths were shallow. How long has it been since I've had my medicine?

I start counting the days and freeze at the number. It has been eighty three days since I've had my medicine. I was dying. There's no doubt about it. But I need to find Dani. That's my first priority.

I slowly stand up. If I stand up too fast I'm guaranteed to pass out. I look around me and decide which way to go. There's a clearing up ahead with no trees. I decided to walk towards it.

"What the heck . . ." I mumble as I enter the clearing. It looks like someone came here and angered a demon. There were scratch marks on the bordering trees, and it looked as if someone sprinkled ashes all over the ground.

Sleep, sleep, sleep. Don't lie too close to the edge of the bed... I heard someone sing. I flung myself back, and found trees blocking the path I had come from.

Or little gray wolf will come, and grab you by the flank... It was a little girl singing. She was singing off key.

Drag you into the woods. A tree branch falls and nearly hits me, Underneath the willow root. I start hyperventilating.

SLEEP, SLEEP, SLEEP. I let out a scream.

I jolt upright, sweaty and out of breath. It was all a dream.

I must've passed out . . . I realized. Reality hits me then. I ran away from my brother. He betrayed me. He lied straight to my face this whole time.

I run a tender spot on the side of my head. I must've hit the ground pretty hard.

"Wait, what time is it?" I ask myself. I look at my watch and it reads 6:01 AM. I was out for nearly an hour.

"LUCI!" I hear a girl scream. It was Dani.

"DANI?!" I don't know if I'm hearing things or not. I hear her scream. I bolt off after the noise.

"HELP ME!" I hear someone yell from behind me. I spin around and the opposite way. I hear screaming all around me and I start panicking.

"LUCIHELPKILLMEHE'SGONNA!" I hear from all around. I can't make out just one thing.

I let out a scream and fell to the ground. Covering my ears. All at once it stops.

I hear a man laughing. What is going on?

"Luciana." I hear a man taunt. "I've got your brother." I start breathing fast. I'm so confused.

"You can't escape. Your entire world is a lie. You are simply a pawn in my game of murder. And it's my turn to play." A door literally appears out of nowhere, revealing a man with long brown hair, black eyes, and a scar running across his whole face. He's holding a knife and has a psychotic look in his eye.

He took big strides towards me, and I turned around and ran. I ran as fast as physically possible. But dang was he fast.

I weaved in and out of trees, hoping that I would lose him. But of course, I never did.

I tripped over a tree root and fell face first. When I turned around he was standing right above me.

"Please." I whispered. He laughed at me.

"Not a chance." He said before he stabbed me.