echo [completed]

chapter 10

by the time they got there, the outside lock was torn apart and the backdoor was kicked down.

they searched the place, but it was empty.

"chloe?" kyle searched under the bed and found the clammering girl, white as a ghost as he pulled her out.

"what happened? we heard you scream. does your sto-"

"there was a woman.." she croaked.

"a woman?" cora came back from - what he assumed, due to the fact that she has a leaf tangled with her hair - the forest. "i hardly seen anyone here except for you two and i've been here for two years."

kyle got one answer to his thousands of questions about her, but that was out of his mind in an instant as chloe began to whimper.

"she was.. she said she was coming for me. she was wearing a black dress and i -" she broke down, slumped on kyle's chest.

"did you see what she looks like?" cora asked.

"no." she gulped. "i didn't even see her hair. i didn't see anything! it was like i was partially blind. i was so scared, kyle."

"did she hurt you?" cora inspected the girl's frail body and found no bruises or cuts.

"if i didn't throw her that..that - whatever then she might have been able to."

"what whatever?"

"i don't know how it looked like, but i just grabbed it from the bedside table."

kyle's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"where did you throw it, chloe?" the girl turned around and faced him.

"it was yours?" kyle nodded.

the girl sat up, leaned against the bed, and pointed towards the shelves.

kyle stood up, followed by cora, and followed the girl's direction.

and it was there. the little, fragile thing that prevented chloe from any harm.

her anniversary gift necklace.

kyle picked it up and saw no damage to it.

"how is it possible for this small thing," he lifted it up, trying to analyze the pendant. "to protect chloe?"

cora moved closer and when she touched the necklace it stung.

"wolfsbane." she murmured. one look at kyle and cora knew she had to elaborate.

however she didn't have the power to do so since she collapsed on the floor, gasping for air.

"where...where'd you get the plant?!" cora asked under her short breaths.

"i-i don't know!"

cora heaved on the floor, her body twitching uncontrollably.

"torch!" she screamed. "go light a torch!"

"what..why?!" kyle panicked.

"just do what i say!" cora struggled for air to come back to her lungs as kyle tried to find a piece of log not large enough to burn the cabin down.

when he got back inside cora's situation had gotten worse.

beads of sweat crawled on her pale forehead, smudging dirt on it. her breathing fastened, heaving her lungs while telling kyle to hurry up in a really pinched voice.

"a lighter." kyle figured. "i need a lighter." sounds of choking reverberating from the ground.

kyle dropped on his knees and clutched cora's head. "cora, cora stay with me now. don't close your eyes. look - look at me." she weakly turned her head towards him. "yes that's right. you're going to be fine. i promise." her eyes started to flutter.

then she stopped breathing.

kyle felt like his stopped to, but he promised.

he once promised to keep zoe safe and he failed. he promised to keep chloe safe and he nearly failed; he can't make those same mistakes again.

kyle laid her flat on the floor, tilted her chin up and tried to remember the last thing he always forget.

"pinch the nose!" a voice shouted.

and so he did.

he pinched the nose and connected his lips on hers. they were cold, but still he pushed air in. the chest compression was the tricky part - cordelia always pointed that one out - but he's going to do it with his best and try to save her.

he pumped on her chest twice, but still she hasn't started breathing.

kyle felt it, the bitter taste of defeat, until chloe shouted from outside the cabin.

when he got outside, the little girl was running towards him with a scorching log in one one clutching it with all her might. kyle smiled then. smiled at the thought of fate giving him a chance to save someone.

kyle and chloe rushed inside, cora still laying unconcious, and looked at one another.

cora didn't really say what to do with the torch, she just yelled for one. kyle felt hopelessness again in his chest, cramping his poor, beaten heart.

"where did it touch her?"

"her-her finger." he replied although he didn't exactly know why she asked that question.

chloe positioned the torch on both of her fingers and waited. waited for what felt like eternity.

"this is useless. i can't sav-"

then a gasping sound erupted, coughing followed.

cora didn't even bother screaming at the sight of her burned fingers she just hugged chloe who was still holding the torch.

"you saved my life." she finally said after a few pitches of air passed in her lungs. "i would never be able to repay you for that."

"he saved yours too." chloe nodded at kyle who was sitting down on the floor wiping his tear-stained face.

she knew it, cora, that he tried to save her. she was awake the whole time.

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A/N: future apologies to the characters i wouldn't do justice with characterization 😢

12/26/2015

- lani