Lies & Harmony Trilogy

Chapter Fourteen: Hell

He tugs me deeper in the forest and makes me stand guard where he uses the nature for his lavatory.

     “Wait here,” Rush says, disappearing into the foliage. I stand by the trees, rocking back and forth on the balls of my feet. There is rustling by the trees, and I hum an almost frantic and dysfunctional tune to myself.

     Every noise is making me jump. Rush shows no sign of returning, and I begin to panic after a few minutes. I hear the soft hooting of the train. It feels so far away now. Tabitha told us not to board it if it started moving. “Rush?” I whisper into the darkness. There is no answer except for the soft rustle of leaves. I say his name again, growing more panicked by the second. The train hoots again in the distance, but it has just become a meaningless noise in the background.

     Taking a deep breath, I step deeper into the trees. The darkness beckons me forward, wrapping its shadowy tendrils around me and obscuring me from outsiders. The rustles are louder now, the hooting fainter.

     “Rush?” I ask again hesitantly. My voice sounds strangely lost and insignificant in this coil of darkness. My heart beats faster, and I let myself call out his name again. Except for a sudden, soft breeze, there is no answer.

     I can hear my heartbeat thumping quickly against my chest. Taking in a shaky breath, I steady myself against a tree, my hand feeling the rough texture.

     Silent, be silent. Tabitha’s constant drilling goes through my head, telling me to keep silent in case of enemies. I disregard her voice, pushing it away.

     The hooting of the train is a distant memory now. I take more steps into the darkness, each growing more tentative than the one before. My heartbeat overwhelms me. “Rush?” I say into the darkness, my voice barely a whisper. Raising my volume just a tad, I call for him again.

     A low guttural growl stops me. I freeze in my tracks, my pounding heartbeat telling me to run back to the train and abandon Rush.

     No, I tell myself, blinking hard. I can’t leave Rush behind.

     And it’s a selfish reason. I don’t want to leave him behind not because I am generally a good person, but because he still hasn’t told me everything about the prince of Seraphin and Vainglory. This time, I’m not stupid enough to call out his name when threat is so nearby.

     The bushes behind me rustle. I stay very still, barely even breathing. I wonder if the beast can hear my heartbeat. I wonder what it looks like though I can barely see in this darkness.

     The rustling grows louder. I swallow, my hands shaking when I clench them into tight fists. I have to keep quiet if I want to escape alive. I doubt that my footsteps can be quiet. For now, I will have to stay still.

     A growl fills the air, and something leaps from the bushes behind me. I can’t help it—a terrified scream tears from my throat. Something heavy knocks me to the hard ground with a dull thud. My back feels sore from the shock of the hit. I try to squirm away, hoping the creature doesn’t have sharp fangs and doesn’t prey on meat.

     “Shh,” the shape above me whispers. It’s not a beast—it’s the person I was originally waiting for. Relief comes rushing through my body, all adrenaline and fear beginning to seep away. The growling is still there but not so scary now that Rush is with me. Out of fear, I wrap my arms around his waist, holding us closer. In the darkness, I think his eyes widen, but I don’t know why.

     My heartbeat is slowing now, but it’s still considerably faster than Rush’s low thump against my chest. The growling stops with no preamble, and we both hold our breaths. A piercing howl rings through the air, making the hairs on the back of my neck rise and causing goose bumps on my arms. I shudder, pressing closer to Rush and closing my eyes. His warmth and steady breathing reminds me that I’m not alone and—selfishly—that he’s above me. If the beast finds us, Rush will be plucked up and devoured first while I can make a run for it.