Whispers of the Heart

Chapter 15: Lucas

Chapter 15 Lucas

"Mira!" Her name tore from my lips as I threw myself off the horse and collided with the ground. She had herself pressed against the farthest tree, strands of her hair covering her face, her feet digging into the ground beneath her as she tried to escape from a nightmare. My eyes focused only on her and anger exploded inside of me when I saw a trail of blood on the right side of her face.

Her face was full of terror as her eyes stared out into space, focusing on nothing. Snow stood nearby, her head hung low as if she was trying to comfort Mira.

"Get away from her!" I shouted as I jumped between the two of them, trying my best at keeping the separated. "Mira, I'm here. I'm right here." My hand reached up and brushed her cheek before pressing against it, my thumb tracing her cheekbone, wiping away the tears that stained her face. Her shoulders tensed, her lips parted, and she pulled away.

"No." Her voice was soft and broken, her hands clung tightly to each other. "Don't touch me. Don't kill me. Please."

"Mira, I'm not going to kill you." I leaned closer, my arms wrapping around her shoulders.

"No!" She screamed, her arms and legs flailing around her. "I don't want to die!"

"I-"

Snow's head thrusted its way past mine and nuzzled Mira's head. She tensed for a moment before she blinked, her eyes refocusing on the world in front of her.

"Hey, I'm here." I whispered to her, pulling her close to me, pressing her head to my chest. She collapsed in my arms, as if she no longer had the urge to be strong.

"Lucas." She whispered, her eyes half closed as she nuzzled into me. "Get me away from here. Please."

"Very well." Shoving myself up with her in my arms, I turned away from the small meadow and walked away. Her body was lifeless, she just stayed there, her eyes unmoving, her feet dangling helplessly. The only thing that she did that showed she still had some life inside of her is that her hands clung to my shirt and her shoulders shook from small sobs. I held her close, as close as I could without hurting her.

After a few minutes, we had finally broke from the trees, the sunlight beating down on us and the wind playfully rushing around us.

"Put me down here." Her soft voice reached my ears as I rounded the top of the hill.

"Are you sure?" I asked her and she nodded. A soft sigh left my lips as I knelt down and gently placed her on the ground. Her knees shot up towards her chest, her arms wrapping around them as she clung to herself.

I shifted myself so that I was sitting next to her, my arm lifting up and wrapping around her shoulders, pulling her close to me once again.

"Why can't I escape him?" She whispered and I glanced over at her, unsure of what she meant.

"Escape who?"

"He always finds me and, even if he doesn't, the memories do." She buried her head into her legs, her shoulders shaking once more as her sobs filled the air. "I don't want to live like this, Lucas. Don't you understand?"

"No." Her head shot up and she stared at me in confusion, her tear stained face studied me with a dumbfounded expression. "Mira, I don't know who this 'he' is. I don't know what happened to you. All I know is you were hurt and you disappeared."

She glanced away, her eyes studying the scenery around us before sighing. "He wants me dead."

"Who?"

Her shoulders fell, her chin resting on the top of her knees. "His name is Martin."

"An ex-"

"No. A killer." She swallowed nervously before glancing at me, her arms tightening around herself. "A serial killer."

"W-what?" I demanded as my body tensed and I whipped around to stare at her. Her eyes turned away from me, her face lifted towards the sky. "Why would-"

"He has a strategy as to who he kills. Whoever's closest to his last victim will be his next." Her eyes closed as if attempting to stop the tears that fell with little success. "It was my mother." She turned to me and I found myself staring into her eyes, watched the horror and pain taint her eyes.

"How did he get to you?"

"I don't know. I really don't know." She turned away again, her head buried into her legs once more. "She died, he killed her when she begged for death. Then it was me."

"But you escaped?" I questioned and she nodded, a dark smile tilting the corners of her lips.

"He left for an hour or two. The first time in a long time." She sighed as I watched her eyes stare out in the middle of the open field in front of us. "I made a promise to my mother that I would find a way to escape. I found it. I took it. I ran."

"Then all those years ago, when you were here?"

"He had found me and tried to kill me."

"How do you keep avoiding him, then?" I demanded, my arm wrapped around her, pulling her close. The horror and disgust inside of me was like something I had never experienced before.

"I'm in the Witness Protection Program." She let out a soft laugh and then laid her head against my chest, relaxing into me. "My name kept changing, my story, my likes and dislikes. I'm use to pretending, I don't even know who I really am anymore." She took a deep breath, her shoulder rising and falling slowly. "The only time I feel like I'm not a girl with a mask is when I'm with you. But I can't do that to you."

"Because then he'll come after me if he kills you?"

"It's not an if anymore." She whispered, her voice cracking as she started to sob again. "He'll find me and he'll kill me. And if there's no one I care about, then he can't hurt anybody else. Before now, it was so easy. But then you had to come. You had to be you and not let it go." Her hands rose to her face, burying her face inside as she sobbed bitterly.

"You've fallen in love with me." I fought to keep the smile when she nodded and, instead, tightened my arms around her. "I love you too."

"That's not helping!"

"Perhaps not. But the fact remains, I love you." My finger pressed against her cheek and she looked away, shame staining her face. "Mira, he won't kill you. I won't let him."

"And how can you stop him?"

"Keep one thing in mind, Mira." My fingers slid underneath her chin, picking her face up to look at me as I brushed my finger over her lips. "I have seventy thousand acres of land to use at my disposal, there's a town full of people who remembers little Mira and would be willing to help protect that child, and I have love for you and for us and that means he can't win."

"How can you be so confident?" Her eyes were filled with wonder and I smiled down at her before leaning forward, pressing my lips against hers.

"Because I always have a plan." I whispered in her ear before pulling away and kissing her some more.

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