THE LOST

Chapter 2

Whit

IM BLEEDING out of my ears ?
That might explain the agonizing pain in my head, like somthings inside of my brain and chipping at it like an Axe.
"More time" I gasp. My hands are sticky with gore and the spells are gone. Pearl and I are racing together to the gates of shadow land.
Then Wisty's grabbing at my shirt, pulling me away. She's screaming my name. No! I want to shout. I can't leave Pearl now. Not ever. But Wisty using magic now, too- on me. She yanks me back against the wall. Pearls eyes fly open, silver and unseeing. They roll back in her head. Then her body shudders-and goes still.
Wisty wraps her arms around me "its over," she whispers "we lost her."
I slide out of Wisty's embrace and sink to the floor. "Exsanguination": bleeding to death. A terrible word for an even more terrible fate. "No, I lost her" I moan. Wisty crouches down by my side. " it was too late," she says gently. "No one could have saved her not even you." Tears glitter in her eyes and she tries to blink them away. Behind her, I can see mama May and Hewitt holding each other , rocking back and forth in their grief. I'm too wrecked to cry.

"Don't listen to them," Wisty urges. I don't
Know what she's talking about I'm numb. "Don't listen to who?" I say flatly.
That's when I start to hear them: nurses and dodgers who watched the battle I lost to Death.
"Freak," one of them says.
"No on e should have such unholy powers," says another.
And I realize there talking about me . Janine's voice cuts through the noise, pleading "please," she says " be reasonable -he's saved so many lives-"but no one's listening to her. The angry clamor builds until I want to cover my ears.
"He's a monster."
"He might of helped kill that little girl."
I clench my fist until my nails dig deep into my skin cutting gashes in my palms. Those people have no idea what pearl gave to me to my family
How much she suffered, too.
"He needs to submit" says a tall sour faced doctor
Wisty stiffens and her cheeks flush red " don't you ever say that word around me" she yells.
the doctors face contorts into a cruel grimance . " submit"
He says again " give up your dark magic both of you."
He doesn't care that Wisty and I stopped general Mathias bloom from surrendering our city to the wicked. Or that we defeated the one who is the one or ended his totalitarian reign of terror. No: all that matters to this man is how much he hates our powers.
Our powers-the phrase taunts me how could I save an entire city but not one little girls life?
"Abomination says a nurse.
"Speak for yourself," Wisty says defiantly. "I didnt see any of you. Saving pearls life" the she reaches out and grabess my blood stained hands." Get up Whit you need to show me your okay"
I heard the fear In her voice,and I struggle to stand as Wisty carries me away, Janine catches my eye. But mama may or Hewitt don't look at me as they clutch each other in there overwhelming greif. I will never be able to make up for this loss.

When we get outside, the sunlight feels like a slap in the face. Pearl is dead, and everyone in the hospital thinks I'm a demon. Maybe even the Needermans do, too.
The sobs come now in a wretched a sounding torrent.
"How could the family do that to a little girl?" I croak.
Wisty's face goes dark. "Actually" she says and then stops and shakes her head.
"Actually what?"
"The family didn't kill Pearl, whit ." She swollows "she was a member of the family."
I don't think I heard Whisty right. I shake my head "no that's impossible."
"You know there was a robbery this morning," Whisty goes on . She takes a deep breath " And now you need to know pearl wasn't the victim of the crime. She was the one committing it."
I'm too stunned to speak.
"She robbed that store with a gang of kids. But unlike the rest she didn't get away."
Pearl, a knife-wielding outlaw? My brain just can't comprehend it. And then, whether its exhaustion or greif or shock, I don't know - everything goes dark