CHOSEN

Chapter 5: Nora

We dash into the dormitories. There sits a small box television. Ozzie stares at the lady talking upon the screen.

"At Westfield High, two unusual girls are found running from the grounds. One of them appeared to be using some kind of magic and created a tree inside the school's cafeteria. No damage was done to anyone, but the government is urgently hunting these girls down. The world wonders, who are these people?" She finishes and the screen darkened.

Damien turns to me with anger deep in his dark eyes. "You. Winston's office." He points to the door. "Now!" He bellows.

Damien opens Winston's—now his—office door, closing it behind us. "What did you do?" He says. I open my mouth to speak, immediately getting cut off. "Are you trying to get us killed?" He questions. I stay silent, avoiding his stare. He sighs, shaking his head. "Nora, I don't think you understand how hard it is to stay alive," he says softly.

I keep my mouth closed, staring at the ground in shame. He turns to the wall, avoiding my gaze. "I'm sorry for being so rude to you. I just care about you.." He mutters.

I stare up at the back of his head, eyes wide. "You care about me?"

"Yes.." Damien whispers, turning around and staring at me. His eyes piercing me.

Then a gunshot and a scream echoes through the hallways.

We both jump in shock. Damien quickly bolts down the hall, pulling me with him. In the main room lies Winston, blood pouring from his gut. Cameron crouches next to him, then looks up to us.

"Is he.." Damien doesn't finish, tears welling up in my eyes. Cameron slowly nods. "N-no, dad!" Damien cries out as he runs to Winston's lifeless corpse.

I turn to Damien, confused. "Dad?" I ask him.

He sniffles, holding in tears. "Yes. Winston was my father.." He replies, moving away from the body. "What happened?!" he growls, shoving Cameron up against the wall. Cameron crashes to the ground, "he was shot..." he croaked.

Damien gasped. "How could you let this happen?!" He shouts, punching Cameron in the chest. He let out a roar of groans and crashed to the ground. Damien went in for another shot at him, and I grabbed his arm.

"No, stop!" I yell. Damien looks back at me and unclenches his fist. His eyes are full of tears and anger. We hold each other's stare, both of us gazing back at each other. Until Damien sprints out of the room, breaking the moment.

I run after him. I catch him in his dad's office, banging his head against the wall. "Damien," I say softly.

He swallows, running a hand through his hair. "Hey Nora," he quivers in between sobs. I go up to him, looking him over. He mutters, inaudible with his cries. I gaze over at him, at the crying boy. He suddenly wraps his arms around me and dries his tears with his sleeve. "My dad's gone now, Nora.. Your all I have left," he whispers, his breath tickling my ear. I wrap my arms around his neck, sharing our warmth.

And for just a second, our lips touch.