New Enemy or Old Lover (Final book in the "Love or Lust" trilogy)

Chapter 5:

I ran.

No, I sprinted.

My heart pounded against my rib cage as I sprinted down the path lined with crumbling red rock, lava licking the sides of it. My feet ached terribly, for the very hot coals that sat underneath me burned every time I took a step. But I ignored the pain and kept my eyes on the prize which was my ticket out of here. I missed my life. I missed my mom, I missed my friends... I missed Savanah so much, and even though Harry told me she left me for dead, I don't buy it for a minute.

Harry told me so many things that I don't know what to believe. He told me my mother left and allowed me to come down here, which wasn't true. Yeah, maybe she knew about these things, but letting me live here? That's not my mother, and I know her best.

He told me that he was the only one who loved me, who cared for me. But despite all the things he said to me, he continued to rape me almost every night, and whipped me every single day. At first, for some reason, I still loved him. I still felt this connection to him.. But now I realize there was no love, no compassion, only lust. He did something to me, I just can't remember what.

When he dragged me down, I remember him saying something to me. Something.. Or maybe it was a name? Perhaps it was, yes I think it was. My thoughts were so jumbled I forgot I was running, but that's okay, for I was too busy trying to figure this out. It was a name, I remember that much. Something that started with.. an E? No, not an E. An F? No, that's not it. I pondered about this for moments as I continued to run, but it soon hit me.

It was an A. I remember, it was an A. I thought long and hard, trying to remember the full name. I remember I was on my hands and knees, panting for breath. Why? I had no idea, but Harry was circling me. He kept asking me, 'Who do you love?' and I kept repeating a name.

Anthony? No, it was shorter.

Andre? No, c'mon!

"Andy," The name slipped out of my mouth with ease, as if it was truly meant to. I stopped running, catching my breath as my eyes focused on the ground. Andy.. Andy? That was the name, I know that.. But I don't know an Andy.. Do I? I shook my head, clearing my thoughts as I picked up the pace once more, clearing my mind from this Andy. But despite how hard I tried, the name Andy kept popping up inside my mind.

I vaguely remember hearing that name from Harry. It was at the start of our so called relationship, and he repeatedly told me a bunch of things.. Something like, monster? Was it monster? I thought hard, trying to recall what he said, and it soon came to my mind. Andy is a monster, I remember him telling me, You don't love him, you love me.

But why would he accuse him of being something he might not be? Did Harry know him? Here's a better question, did I know him? I shook my head, trying to clear my head as I approached the gateway that hung a few feet above me. I stopped, looking up at a midnight sky in the small opening that was surrounded by fire and red crusted rocks. My eyes scanned for the one male, and I soon found him. He wouldn't be able to hear me, but at least he was covering the opening so no one would wander off finding it. I swallowed hard, grabbing onto one of the burnt trees and began shimmying myself up, taking it one branch at a time.

"Ah!"I screamed out, my foot slipping from one of them. I held on tightly, my fingers barely hanging on to the ash covered burnt twig that supported me. I managed to pull myself up just enough to reach for another branch, balancing my feet on the edge before continuing on. I looked up, seeing the edge of the opening just in reach of my fingertips, and I pursued on. I clambered up more, getting higher and higher off the ground, before I reached up once more.

The cool feeling of wet dew on the grass gave me relief and satisfaction, bringing a tear to my eye. I was just inches away from my old life. I grabbed onto the edge with my other hand, swinging off of the branch, dangling from the edge before I heard, "Someone's trying to escape!"

My eyes widened and I snapped my head to the side, finding two young fallen boys pointing up at me, followed by something charging behind me. I swallowed, fear being sent up my body as I watched him charge at me, beating his paws on the hard ground. A hellhound.

"Get her!" The other one yelled.

"Harry's gonna be mad!"

"Shit," I mumbled to myself as I quickly tried pulling myself up. The struggle was incredibly hard, for I had no upper body strength, but I continued to try as the hell hound approached quickly. I could hear his roar from down below, and I knew if I didn't pull myself up in time, I was a goner. But his roars were cut off by his own shrieks, and I looked down, my mouth agape.

"Behemoth!" I cried out, watching as my demon attacked the hound, sending him to the floor. They both rolled across the crusty floor, howling and growling as they began to fight. A tear slipped from my eye, afraid that he might be hurt, "Behemoth! Get out of here!" I called out to him, still hanging from the edge of the opening. Behemoth ignored my calls, sinking his fangs into the hounds left leg, earning a yelp.

"Behemoth! Go!" I tried again, but Behemoth looked up, his eyes full of seriousness. He nodded his head up at me, indicating me to leave as he turned back to the hound, holding him down. He was saving me. He was allowing me to escape, and he was getting hurt while doing it. Tears slid down my cheeks, but I did as he said, and continued to try. Pulling myself slowly up, pain shot through my body as I heaved myself up into the new world, landing on the cold wet grass. I panted for breath, tears still in my eyes as I rolled onto my knees, coughing up a few drops of fresh blood.

"Madison?" My ears pricked up a bit at the sound of my name, and I slowly raised my head up, coming face to face with a pair of eyes that studied over me cautiously. I squinted my eyes, trying to focus as I saw a shadow move behind him. "Is that you?"

I kept silent, still wary of this presence that knew my name.

"Madison, it's us..." The shadow behind him said, walking out into the light of the moon, revealing the boy's pale skin and dark black hair. I arched an eyebrow, still cautious of what was happening. Both figures knelt down, studying over me as I stood up slowly, keeping very still. "Don't you remember us? Elliot? Patch? " The dark haired boy asked, pointing to himself and the other that stood up as well. "Andy?"

I kept silent once more, but soon took in notice the white wings that emerged from the one boy's back, and identifying the other to be a fallen based on the looks and pale skin tone. While studying over them, a memory hit my mind hard.

Andy is a monster.

My eyes widened and my jaw clenched tightly. If they knew Andy, they weren't any friend of mine. If this Andy wasn't a friend, neither were they. I reached my hand behind my back, wrapping my hand around a throwing knife I had snatched from Harry's basement.

"Don't you remember?" The boy, Elliot, asked.

"You have to," The other implied.

"If not, you at least remember Andy-"

I snapped. This new found rage and fury boiled inside of me, and with one swift motion, I lodged the knife into the back of the angel while I pushed the fallen one to the floor. The angel screamed, falling to the floor as I twisted it deep into his back before removing it, letting the blood drip down onto his back as the fallen one managed to look up, shock in his dark eyes. I gave a smirk in reply, wiping the blood from my knife onto my shirt.

"Madison!" He shrieked. "What are you doing! What's gotten into you!"

"I don't know who the fuck you are, but whoever you are," I spat, "stay away from me."

With those words, I took off into the forest, running as far as I could in search of the home I knew all too well. The home I loved. The home I missed.

The home that held my new life.