We Run

Chapter 7 - Zakk

I wrapped my arm around Abby, drawing her into me. The heat from the pyre washed over my face, and I squinted my eyes against it. We had decided to cremate Savana's body, since there would be less evidence left behind.

I could feel the tension and hate rolling off of Abby. I clenched my fist to keep from screaming. Who knew what she was thinking? Who knew what she was planning in that screwed up mind of hers? Whatever it was, though, I knew it was going to be catastrophic.

The fire died down, leaving only smoke and ash in its wake. Abby shrugged off my arm and walked over to where Tyler was crouching, his head in his hands. I started to walk with her, but stopped. She needed to talk with him alone.

I knew I wasn't going to be of much help in the whole emotional talking department, so I unfolded my wings and kicked off the sandy earth, flying as far up as I could. I reached the top of the clouds, where I discovered the hard way that oxygen was too scarce. I dropped back down a ways, hovering in the middle of a cloud. I ended up flying along with it, reveling at how weird it was to feel like there was water on my face, but when I reached up and touched it, it was dry. I swerved around, trying not to think too hard. I inhaled deeply through my mouth, and ended up coughing. The cloud I'd veered into was too thick. I dropped my wings and let myself free fall for a couple seconds, enough to get out of the cloud bank.

"What are you doing, Zakk? Savana is gone, and you're playing in the clouds? Grow up." I swung around, looking for the source of the voice.

"Stop looking around, you're not going to find anything. You can't see me, no one can," the voice said, almost taunting. I recognized the voice faintly. It was high and girly, the soprano of it ringing through the air. It was almost like windchimes. "I just need you to listen closely. The little girl that you just burned, the one you thought was Savana? It wasn't. I swear to you, I know one hundred percent that Savana is no where near here. She's alive. She's breathing. Her heart is beating."

My own heart stuttered. I wanted to scream at the unknown voice, but my mouth refused to work. My brain refused to work. Savana? Alive? It was too much to hope for. If this voice was just me going insane, the hope I refused to embrace would kill me.

"Believe me. You know me, and you know that I would never lie to you about something like this. Think, stupid. Who am I?"

My mind made the burning connection.

No. No no no.

"No," I said it out loud this time, shaking my head back and forth.

"I knew you'd realize it soon enough."

My hands trembled. My whole body trembled, along with my voice. "... Karmen?"

"Yes, you mongrel. Now go."

I tried to rearrange my face to better hide the evident shock and anger. "Why should I listen to you? Why should I listen to a word that comes out of your bitch mouth?"

"Shut up. This isn't about you, or me, or anyone else other than Savana. Go get her." The annoyance was in her voice, but so was the pushiness.

Karmen was my creator, I guess you could say. She was the one that had experimented on me until I'd escaped with Abby. I had hated her, I still hated her, and I would hate her with every fiber of my being for the rest of eternity. She was, though, the reason I had escaped. After she had foolishly left Abby and my room without locking everything down, we made our escape. I had gotten word that because of this mistake, she was executed. Serves her right. Bitch.

Then the meaning behind her words hit me in the face. If Savana was still actually alive... I couldn't take the risk of not going after her. "Okay, so where is she being held?" I asked warily.

She sighed. "I don't know the exact location. I know it's somewhere in Montana, somewhere in the north eastern corner. I see her in a boring, white building - seriously, they need to invest in some paint - with tons of windows. It looks like one of those every day accountant buildings, where people sit in cubicles and type away at their computers all day. The windows aren't reflective or darkened, but it doesn't matter. They're in the legit middle of no where."

I didn't even shout a thank you over my shoulder, I was gone. Instinct had kicked in, and I didn't bother to stop it. I had to make it back to Abby and Tyler so we could go.

I saw the pillar of rising smoke in the distance and jetted towards it as fast as I could. I couldn't hear anything over the pounding of my heart in my ears.

I descended quickly, rolling on the ground and flipping back up onto my feet. I looked around, looking for the bobbing waves of red. They were no where in sight. Neither was Tyler's golden hair. I did, however, find a note.

As I walked towards the smoldering remains of what I had thought was Savana, and very well still could be, I saw a piece of paper flapping in the wind, trapped under a rock. I could tell, even from several feet away, that it was Abby's handwriting. My stomach dropped.

I bent down and picked up the rock, tossing it behind me. I snatched the paper before it could blow away, quickly scanning the words that were hastily scribbled across in blue ink:

Zakk...

I'm sorry. I couldn't do this with you. You would never go through with this idea. I had to trick you into thinking that I was talking to Tyler about Savana, knowing you would leave. After you left, I explained to Tyler my plan. When I found Savana, there were stickers everywhere of this name, this weird name: Kobe. I looked into it, and turns out it was a company from Nashville.

My stomach dropped even lower. The lab where we were made was located in Nashville. I read on...

It's the same exact company that made us! They took Savana back, and they killed her.

I could see where she'd gotten upset writing them, because the words were practically carved into the paper from the force behind them. I took a deep, shaky breath, and kept reading.

The headquarters to this Kobe company is located in Montana. We're headed there now. Don't try to find us, because we most likely won't live through this. By the time you read this, you probably won't be able to find us anyway.

I wish things would've ended different between us.

From Abby

I collapsed to my knees, crumpling the letter in my hand and throwing it. I threw my head back and screamed. I didn't stop screaming until my throat hurt too bad to continue. I collapsed on myself, curling up and punching the ground.

If she would've waited to go, I could've told her. I could've told her that there was a chance that Savana, our Savana, was still alive and out there, being held in some remote area of Montana, and we could've --

I stopped in the middle of my thought process.

Montana.

I shoved up off the ground and into the air, flying faster than I ever had before.

Montana.

A/N that you probably don't care about...

I AM SO SORRY. I can't believe how long it took me to write this. I had such bad writers block... After the first two sentences, my mind kind of went ka-put.

I'll try to update more often now. No promises, though... =/

So, back to the story...

This might be the worst chapter I've ever written for anything, ever. But I HAD to get this going, and just shove through this writers block.

Comment PLEASE. Vote if you'd like, I'm not going to be mad if you don't, because this chapter SUCKS. At least, in my opinion it does.

Er, well, I wouldn't get mad at you for not voting for my other chapters, either. All I ask is that you give me your feedback on why you didn't vote. Or don't. You don't have to listen to me, I'm not your mom.

Thanks for reading all of this!

Happy Writing! =)

- Rachel