Red haired girl

Chapter 13

Will slowly opened his eyes and blinked, trying to get the blur out of his vision. He pushed himself to a sitting position, to lay back down immediately. His head pounded like crazy. He shut his eyes again, trying to regain his memories. He shot upright when he remembered. The castle, the blood, the falling boulders, Bryan’s disappearance. Ignoring his head ache, he jumped to his feet and ran out of the small, dark room in which he had woken up. Standing in the doorway he looked back. A bed, of which he had just stood up, made of a pile of hay, a basket in the corner and a tiny, barred window under the ceiling. Will believed he had to remember this closet-like room, just in case he had to come back here. He turned around, closed his eyes for a moment, to ban the dizziness that came upon him out and ran further through a corridor, covered with dust and rocks. He had no idea where he was going, but the only thought on his mind was to get out of there.

            Suddenly, the walls of the corridor ended and he was in the ballroom again. He looked around suspiciously. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. His footsteps seemed too loud, as he walked down the stairs, back to the other hall, where Bryan had vanished. Before he reached it, however, a gruesome chuckle sounded from upstairs. Will froze and slowly turned around. He saw something red flashing to the right and then everything went back to silent. He felt the hairs in his neck rise. Somehow, he managed to move his feet to carry him back, even though he didn’t feel like going back at all. There was no one in the ballroom and it was as though Will had imagined the whole thing. He decided to go and seek Bryan.

            Downstairs, the gate had been removed and he could easily walk to the middle of the hall. Even though there was a lack of light, Will felt like he was standing in a spotlight, like there were a million eyes watching him. A sudden outburst of dizziness forced him to sit down on one of the boulders. He rubbed his forehead and felt a sticky substance staining it. He looked at his hand and saw it was covered with blood. That explained his head ache. Will froze. He thought he heard muffled voices, but where did they come from? He slowly got of the giant rock and looked around.

“What are you doing here?” a girls voice asked, startling him. The question echoed through the empty space, creating an eerie atmosphere. It took a while before he retrieved his voice.

“I… I just want my friend back,” he said, turning around, hoping to discover the location of the girl. She was nowhere to be seen. She laughed again, but it was not a happy laugh.

“Friend? Why do you think he’s your friend?” she asked bitterly. “Before you know it, he’ll stab you in the back.” Will shook his head.

“No, he won’t do that,” he said, yet he looked over his shoulder. He was still alone. Will wondered why the girl asked that question. He thought she was a sadistic maniac, but here she was, asking about friendship. Something wasn’t right. He stopped looking around and closed his eyes. She had to know he wouldn’t hurt her. Maybe that would help him to figure out what was happening.

“How are you so sure?” she asked and her voice seemed to come from the other side of the room now. Will shrugged.

“Why would he? There’s no reason to hurt each other,” he explained, giving her an answer and soothing her at the same time. “What’s your name?” he added. She didn’t answer and the silence kept on for over five minutes. Then a rattling sound, like chains being moved, jingled through the hall. Will frowned, what was that sound?

“My name is Tarah,” the girl whispered, suddenly very close. Will slowly opened his eyes and saw the girl standing in front of him. He stared at her fiery blue eyes, her smooth jawline, her red hair, falling around her face.

“Will!” he heard a familiar voice exclaim. He looked around and saw that the walls had somehow disappeared, showing small rooms, separated from the severely damaged hall by bars. When he turned back, Tarah was gone. She was nowhere to be seen.