Heart of Scales

8: Consequences

Author POV

Tears fell from her eyes in wet streaks as she pushed through the crowd and towards the exit. Stares followed her and quiet mutters filled the air.

Making it outside her wet cheeks froze from the freezing wind. She released a trembling sigh, her eyes searching for somewhere to escape. Physically and mentally.

Her blurry gaze met the dark crowd of pines and her body moved by itself towards the shaded mass. Crossing the intersecting road her shoes crunched against fallen leaves discarded by the pines hovering above her.

Ally cocked her head to the side and over her shoulder to send a glance to the school. She felt her heart squeeze painfully when she found no one following behind her.

Turning away she hesitantly took a step forward and entered the tree covered area with a racing heart. Hanging branches whipped her arms and face as she begun to run but she took no mind to it and continued. Dark green scenery passed her sight in hazed blurs but she ran until her lungs pleaded for air and her heart was hitting against her ribs in painful thumps.

Her pace slowed as she made her way towards the trunk of a tree. Leaning her body against the trunk in exhaustion her shaking legs gave out and she fell to the ground, back against rough wood.

Hunching over, she cradled her heated face between two quivering hands and wheezed for air, breaths coming out in visible clouds of air in result of the air.

Sweat dripped down her cheek as she leaned her head back against cold wood. She dropped her arms from her bent knees so they hung limply by her sides. She stared numbly at the tree's dark leaves suspended above her. One of her hands grasped a discarded leaf, brown in color, like the rest around her. Smoothing its dried surface with the pad of her finger she closed her eyes with a small smile. Her stiffened posture mellowed.

That's good, Ally. It's okay. None of that could've been true. Right? Right.

A shiver wracked her body as it grew accustomed to the cold weather.

She became vaguely aware of her surroundings and realized none of it sparked a flare of familiarity into her whatsoever.

Her eyebrows creased. Where was she?

She gazed up at the sky, teeth nibbling her lower lip.

It was getting dark. What time was it?

Her head whipped to the side when she caught distant yelling. It wasn't so close but it was there.

She stood up on shaking limbs and released a breath. She needed to get out of here.

Following the hollers she found herself in an area with less trees and more grass to roam. She also found Hayden yelling at the top of his lungs.

Her name sounded through his lips. "Ally!" He called out, head turning in different directions as he searched.

His back faced her as a he raked a hand through his hair a blew of puff of air.

Ally smiled as Hayden muttered quietly, "My balls are gonna freeze out here..."

Already feet away and making her way over she stared up at his messy mop of hair sticking out of a white bandage. She could hear the light chatter of teeth as Hayden rubbed his hands up and down his arms in quick motions to generate heat from the freezing air.

"Hi," Ally chirped in greeting.

Hayden yelped, whipping himself around in surprise and backing away a few steps behind him. The thing is is that he didn't have much space to do so, so when the back of his legs met a log he toppled over into a heap of fallen branches and leaves. He legs hung bent over the top of the log.