Running Away-Travlyn

Farewell-Ch.18

Travis' POV

I looked at Katelyn lying down next to me. She was calm for once, unlike when I first met her. She had finally learned to loosen up over these past months. I watched her as she slowly dosed off, breathing deep, full breaths. She breathed in and out, a smile on her face until she suddenly held her breath. Her shoulders tensed, and I could tell she was awake. I could sense it too, something had changed. Her heartbeat started racing, so loud I could hear it. Her jaw clenched and she stiffened from head to toe. I called her name repeatedly, scared and worried.
"Katelyn," I said as I whisper-called.
"Katelyn!"
"Katelyn..."

Katelyn's POV

I heard them outside. The unmistakable clanging of armor, the sound of weapons being sharpened, and malicious laughter. The sounds of O'khasis. What time was it? Was it still nighttime, or had the morning begun? Was this a dream?
Wait-no. This was real. This is real. But it seems so far away. I couldn't feel anything anymore. There was no more reality. Just the continuous pounding in my head. Or was that my heartbeat? I was drowning, the pounding in my head, whatever it was overwhelmed me. It drowned out all my other senses. I tried to open my eyes again, but it was like they were glued shut. My lungs felt like they were filled with lead.
Katelyn... I heard a voice call, but I didn't know who it was. I must be delusional by now. Maybe this was a better way to die.
Katelyn... I tried to open my eyes, to see who was calling me, but the clanging and the pounding was louder. It was like I was underwater.
"Katelyn!" It was Travis. I forced my eyes open, coughing and sputtering in the process.

Everything came rushing back. Travis, O'khasis, guards, the clanging. The clanging outside went on, sounding more real than ever before. I looked at Travis, who had his hand on my shoulders and tears in his eyes. How long was he trying to get my attention? I tried to loosen up my shoulders, but they were still stiff. I looked out the window and saw that it was still dark. I let out a shaky exhale and my instincts came back to me. Once again, I became the old me. The version of me that I thought was lost in the faraway fantasy of the past.

"Katelyn, what's going on?" Travis asked, a dangerous edge in his voice, worried and protective.

"Shhhh!" I yelled, clamping my hand over his mouth. "Could you be any louder?"

"Actually, I could, but, what is all this-" I cut him off with a slap to the face.

"Just hide and stay quiet," I instructed. He reluctantly obeyed as I hastily threw some random clothes on and went to open the door in the middle of the night. Time to face my fate.
Before I could even get there, the door burst open and guards starting pouring in. I looked around, trying to follow what was happening, but it was too fast. I guess all these months of not training really did take a toll on me. After a while, I found myself hiding and Travis defending me. My heart was pounding in my chest hard and I could feel panic rush through my blood. Slowly, I let out a quiet exhale, and as soon as it came, the sense of panic left me.
A yell from the guards interrupted my small moment of calm. "Where. Is. She." They demanded, over and over again. Travis was trying his best, but it wasn't enough. They knew I was here. It was only a matter of time until they would find me.
Furniture was being flipped over, everything was thrown around, and the entire place was a mess. Because of me. They're going to kill him. Because of me.
One of them finally came to his senses and told the others to leave Travis alone. Thank Irene, or Enki, or whatever. He looked in my direction while still sprawled over the floor, telling me to fight back, asking if he was able to buy enough time. But I'd given up already. It was better to just go than to let more people get hurt. So why can't I move? Why am I still here hiding?
I looked over at the limp, lifeless body that was Travis. He was still facing my direction, reaching out towards me. One of the guards noticed this and realized where I was based on where Travis was pointing. He pointed motioned to the other guards, attempting to surround me. It was actually kinda funny, O'khasis guards trying to be stealthy. I tried to laugh quietly, completely forgetting about the guards around me, until I realized I my wrists were being bound tightly with coarse rope. A cough from across the room distracted my focus. The guards also turned to look, and I saw Travis, coughing on the floor, tears in his eyes. That one second the guards backs were turned was enough. I don't know what came over me, but I ran to him, shaking off the handcuffs the guards didn't finish tying.
The guards stopped me before I could get close enough, but I heard him mutter something in a weird tongue. The color returned to his cheeks, and his breathing was steady again. He charged at them again, but before he could get far, a magicks user who I thought was a guard came over. The magicks user held him by the neck and pinned him against the wall. Whoever they were was surprisingly strong for being a magicks user. Interesting.
The magicks user's hands began to glow, and already, I knew what was going to happen. I proceeded to look away, half of me wanting to avert my eyes from the unfolding terror, and half of me wanting to watch and hope that Travis would be okay.

The process of removing one's memory forcefully was brutal. It was forbidden, trespassing through someone's memories and stealing them. It was a crime worse than most things, an invasion of privacy. It was a crime punishable by death, that is, if anyone ever found out. The light had me mesmerized. I could tell the other guards were watching too. I watched as Travis' face twisted into an expression of agony, screams and yells of pain rang through my ears. It kept going for ten minutes, each minute getting worse and worse. Each second that passed worried me. I wondered if he would even be able to live through it. Eventually, the light drained out of his eyes, and he fell to the floor, limp once again. It felt like an eternity, watching him being tortured like that.

A tear formed in my eye, threatening to fall. I held my head down and refused to cry. There wasn't any time for crying and mourning. That I could do at another time. The sooner I left, the better. Each tick of the clock brought waves of guilt and regret. How much time had even passed?

I couldn't think straight anymore. Next thing I knew, I was blinded, gagged, and being led away by the guards.

Goodbye....

((A/N: I know this chapter was late, but I wanted the final chapter to be special, and writing something this long off of the top of my head took a long time, so I apologize for the wait. After this, there'll be a short epilogue and then probably a sequel.

Thanks for waiting this long, I hope you enjoyed it! Vote, and be sure to comment what you thought about the chapter! <3))