The Darkness Gets Bigger

16. Hot Whiskey Eyes

(miss missing you Part 1)
Cat's POV:

Pete thundered ahead of me, his combat boots throwing up clouds of dust in front of me and making his figure hazy. He was showing no signs of relenting to let me catch my breath, so I yelled to him, a cramp forming in my torso.

"Pete, can we stop? We've been running for a while now."

We were in the middle of a dirt track. We hadn't been running for too long, but it seemed like the city was far behind us, and there was an empty stretch of wilderness before us.

Pete slowed down and turned to face me, his face was weathered with a mixture of blood, dirt and sweat on his skin.

"Alright, but he'll catch up soon." He panted "we need to keep moving."

I nodded and eagerly sat down in the dirt. I buried my face in my knees and panted, unmoving. I sucked in the air around me as if it were running out.

"We need to talk." Pete mumbled, taking a seat next to me, his palms spread across the ground and his legs stretched out in front of him.

I turned my head slightly to show I was listening.

"What were you doing in the silencers headquarters?"

I jerked my head upwards and saw the accusing expression on his face. I knew what he was thinking.

"Pete you've got to trust me on this." I said quickly.

He raised his eyebrows slightly and sighed.

"I don't know. It all seems a little weird to me. How at first you seemed so ready to help us. But then, you left us to die in an abandoned hospital for christs sake! Two of my friends are dead, and one of them is..is possessed!"

"I didn't want to!" I raised my voice, as tears started to appear in my eyes. "I didn't want to leave you there,"

"What do you mean you didn't want to? Cat you better tell me the truth-are you one of them?" He asked, his hazel eyes darkening with hatred.

"I'm not." I replied after a long pause.

He stared at me for a while, letting the wind fill the silence. It was evident from the way he was sitting, he wasn't quite convinced. He wasn't ready to forgive and forget just yet, and I could understand that.

"I had to join them." I added. "When they took Patrick and I, Xavier told me either I join them or Patrick dies. It wasn't my fault."

Pete continued to stay quiet, but a muscle in his jaw twitched when I said his best friend's name. I could almost visualise the cogs turning in his mind, working away to find a logical answer in this mess we were in.

I took his silence as another opportunity to attempt to clear Xavier's name, remembering how he sacrificed to make me happy.

"But don't blame Xavier either. He thought he was doing the right thing. Hell, I even think he thought he was protecting me from--"

"Cat, I know you love Patrick." Pete interjected, finally looking at me again.

"You..you what?" I stuttered.

"And I know he loves you too. I knew all along. I know Patrick better than he does himself. The guy's had a crush on you for a while."

I blushed, and looked down at my dirty sneakers, grinding them into the soil.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." He added, looking sheepishly at me with tired hazel eyes. "I promise we'll get out of this,"

"Pete, don't make promises you can't keep." I sighed, kicking a stone aside.

Pete nodded, understanding and stood up, sliding his weapon into one of his belt loops like a holster.

"Hey, Cat?" He said, his voice wavering.

"Yeah?"

"I think we've got company."

I stood up beside him and tried to see what he was referring to. In the horizon, I saw a figure walking at a zombie's pace, dragging its legs slowly.

"Patrick." Pete said gravely, his lips set in a firm line.

Adrenaline entered my bloodstream and I felt goosebumps form on my exposed forearms.

"Patrick!" I screamed.

I waved my arms widely at him and yelled. I saw in the distance, his head snapped up and his eyes locked onto mine intensely.

Pete placed his hand over my mouth and held me back with his other arm roughly.

"Are you crazy?"

I shook my head.

"He'll murder you, Cat. Patrick's gone."

I kept my eyes trained on his, where he was standing in the dust his feet had kicked up. He was wearing the same clothes he had worn that day I saw him last, but he somehow managed to look even more disheveled.

Pete released his grip on my face and held onto my arm, tugging on it.

"Let's get going." He muttered.

He set off at a quick jog, leaving me in his dust.

I was still transfixed by Patrick, who had started moving slowly again. I was drawn in by his movements, and hypnotised by his glowing eyes.It was like one of those optical illusions, where you couldn't quite tear your eyes away.

Eventually, Pete's yells broke through my thoughts, and I ran to catch up with him.

"Pete?" I asked, jogging beside him.

He said nothing, but I took this as enough to carry on.

"How do we fix him?"

I envisioned Patrick's wild amber eyes and then his normal sharp blue and green ones in my mind, transforming between his human and supernatural state. A shudder rippled through my body.

Pete remained silent, giving me an inaudible answer.

"We can't"

A/N:
Hey, hope you enjoyed this part.
I'll try to upload more frequently but exams are coming up and I have to revise or else I'll bring shame upon my family and my family's cow and my cow's family.

Idk what I just said but yeah I gotta study.

Love you all x