The Survivor

Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 - VISITORS

She sank to the floor, trembling, her eyebrows creased in worry.

Be prepared, Love. We might just stop by for a visit.

-Alexandre Beauchamp

How did they find her? She left no connections that could lead them to her home! When they’d come for her, would her family be safe? And what about Marcus?

She had been training just in case, of course. Destiny had remembered all her mother taught her and practiced almost every day. She also had one advantage: even though her mother couldn’t be with her to fight, Veronique had transferred all of her power to Destiny.

She was still worried at the thought of attempting to battle Alexandre all by herself. He was the chief for a reason. Plus, he’d written ‘we,’ as in more than one person. Would he bring all the leaders? What if he brought the entire dark empire? Destiny had no idea how many people were even in the empire.

There was definitely no chance at all for her. She was only a seventeen year old girl with a magical imagination. How could she compare to an entire empire of skilled, experienced dark enchanters?

She knew only one enchanter who wasn’t on their side: Theo. They’d sort of become friends since the incident; how good a friend can you be with someone who’d tried to kill you in the past? Yes, he saved her, but still…

Destiny doubted he’d help her. He had no reason to. His conscience was clear. He’d saved her once and she was almost sure he still wasn’t too fond of her. Of course, he wasn’t exactly fond of anyone. He had a cold, rugged, bad-boy aura about him. It was just who he was. He didn’t intend on being that way.

Why me?

That was the big question. Why Destiny? What had she done to deserve such a chaotic life? She was perfectly content with the dull life she’d had before the creek incident. Luckily, two good things came out of the madness. For one, she found her birth mother. Secondly, she discovered her love for Marcus. Veronique may not have been with her, but she’d always be grateful for having met her warm-hearted mother.

She’d raced down to her basement in frustration. Her parents had set up a gym for her, where she went when she was stressed out and just hit the punching bag over and over again for an eternity… or at least until she felt less suffocated.

The gym was a place she hadn’t visited in a long time. Not since the shock of her mother’s death wore out and reality came crashing down on her like a ton of bricks. It was the toughest time of her life and something she’d have never been able to overcome without the help and support of her loved ones.

No one really truly understood her. Or the pain she felt. Not even Marcus. No one could and very few tried. He was as close as anyone had gotten to understanding, though. Destiny was a tough case to crack.

Knowing there was no hope she’d get any sleep after that letter and the adrenaline that still coursed through her veins, she decided to continue her training. And that’s what she did all night long.

As you can imagine, Destiny was a walking train wreck the next day at school. She walked the halls in a zombie-like manner, without acknowledging anyone.

Later, she video chatted with Marcus and he watched her suspiciously, but couldn’t decipher what it was that was making her so irritable.

She hadn’t told him about the letter, not wanting to worry him. Being as over-protective as he was, naturally he would want to help her somehow and keep her safe. There was no point in telling him. It would only frustrate him, as there was virtually nothing he could do.

Therefore, she kept it to herself. Little did she know that Marcus could make all the difference. No one can concentrate and focus for battle under pressure and building up walls from their loved ones. He was her therapy. He gave her strength. More strength than years and years of training and prepping could ever offer.

The next few months consisted of the same routine: Destiny would wake up, go to school, go home, sometimes talk to Marcus, train for as long as she could, and pass out at the gym.

It was draining her of all energy and making her utterly miserable. She barely ever talked to Marcus anymore and she felt they were slowly slipping apart. His suspension was over and they’d sit together at lunch and he’d drive her home after school every day, but when he asked if she wanted to hang out, she’d make up some silly excuse. It was beginning to get on Marcus’ nerves.

It wasn’t only the excuses that made him angry, though. It was also her constant lies and the fact that he knew she was hiding something from him. She insisted she was fine, but as Marcus had always said, he knew her. They hadn’t been friends since elementary school in vain.

“Des, you look really tired. Maybe we should study another day,” said Marcus.

“Uh, okay. Sure, maybe Friday then.”

Marcus frowned. He knew she would agree. She’d use any excuse to get out of there. To leave him alone and worried about her, like always. He knew she wasn’t avoiding him because she didn’t love him. He knew she still loved him. He would have been less worried if that were the case, to be honest. But it wasn’t. Something more serious was going on and she didn’t want to tell him.

She packed up her things and gave him a quick peck on the lips before leaving in silence. To him, her silence was the loudest sound in the world. It spoke for itself. There was no doubt something was going on. And what made it worse was that whatever it was, it was tearing them apart.

He wanted to be there for her, but she wouldn’t let him in. Not like she used to. He would have to make sure she did. Before it was too late.