Obliterate

nine

SOPHIE KEPT CLOSE to Eli as they ran through the woods. Wind gushed through her hair, flicking strands of red across the nape of her neck. Her hands were curled into tight fists. Her mind was focused on their surroundings, taking in the multitude of sights, sounds, and scents. Each step that she took propelled her forward, from one tree limb to another. 

A sigh broke through the lively sounds of the forest. She glanced at Eli from the corners of her eyes. "Are you okay?"

He grunted. "Yeah. I just don't know what we're supposed to be looking for. I mean, you heard your mother. It's like he literally vanished. Even she couldn't find any trace of him."

"He existed though," Sophie said quietly. "Some sort of evidence will come up eventually." 

The words tasted sour in her mouth. As much as she hated to admit it, something would come up eventually. The only question for debate was whether it would be tonight or twenty years from now. Even the greatest criminals couldn't completely destroy the existence of another. And Sophie wasn't a criminal --at least not purposefully. 

Her thoughts twisted, and images of the night before flashed across her mind's eye. All that blood. Stained deep within the crevices of her skin. 

She wanted to hurl. 

Without thinking, she slowed to a stop. The tree branch beneath her bent beneath her weight, angled downwards toward the ground at a sharp slope. She stepped off it, her feet hitting the earth with a muted thump. Eli appeared beside her, concerned. "What is it?"

"I...don't know." 

Her hand lifted and touched the hollow of her throat. It hurt. The pain wasn't the usual dulled burning sensation that her thirst brought. Alarms blared within her head. Her skin prickled with gooseflesh. "Something's wrong," she whispered under her breath. Her gaze skirted around the trees around them. 

Thin branches danced with the nighttime breeze. Moonlight glimmered down from above, somewhat concealed behind tumbling storm clouds. The smell of rain was heavy in the air, mingling with the fresh evergreen of the forest. Lightning stretched across the distant clouds like thin, jagged twigs. Sophie's gaze landed on Eli. 

His gaze was narrowed and focused on her throat. "Your mark," he murmured. "It's moving."

Sophie's eyebrows crinkled. Her palm covered her neck, applying pressure to the filigree pattern tattooed into her skin.  Her skin didn't seem to be moving, or stretching, or anything unusual. It just burned. "What do you mean it's moving?" 

Eli stepped closer. His hands gently pulled hers away so he could examine her throat. A crease formed in his forehead and his eyebrows furrowed together. His thumb stroked her skin. His skin was cold against hers. "It's so strange," he muttered under his breath. "It's almost like it's growing." 

He brushed her hair aside and examined the back of her neck. "It fully wraps around your neck now. Wasn't it just a teardrop and some squiggles before?"

Sophie nodded. She stepped away, her hands clenched at her sides. "What does that mean?"

Eli seemed to be at a loss for words. "I...don't know."

A shrill screech sliced through the air. Sophie stiffened and scanned the trees again. The wind had died and the thin branches seemed frozen. The moonlight had completely been obscured by the clouds. An unfamiliar scent mixed in with the smell of rain. The smell was foul --as if she'd inhaled the air emitted from a rotten corpse. It scorched the insides of her nose. Her hand flew to her face, shielding her nose from the stench. Eli gagged and lifted a hand to cover his nose too. "What is that smell?" he ground out through clenched teeth. 

"We need to get out of here," Sophie whispered. Her eyes watered and the flames in her throat amplified. Her hand darted out and grabbed Eli's, squeezing tightly. She crouched down and pushed from the ground, jumping high into the trees. As her foot kissed a branch, she pushed forward, jumping from one to another. 

The screech sounded again. Closer this time, and it brought with it a stronger waft of that horrible stench. The branches around them quivered as the Sophie and Eli sprinted through them. Yet Sophie's ears picked up a series of snaps and susurrus that originated behind them, and belonged to someone else. 

Her heart raced. The darkened air whipped across her face, causing the wateriness in her eyes to trickle down her cheeks. "We need to run faster," Sophie hissed. 

A snap sounded from directly beside her. Eli seemed to shake to his senses then. His fist shot out, connecting against a mass of paled muscle. The creature that Eli hit went flying, the branches and twigs behind it splitting into pieces. Another creature surged forward, similar to the last. It was streaked with dirt and grime, with an added underlay of dried rustiness staining every crevice. Sophie could hardly see it. Even with her vampiric eyesight, the creature was obscured by the darkness surrounding them. The only things that her brain could register were the ear-piercing screech that exploded within her eardrums and the clawed hand that raked out toward her. 

Her fist shot forward and crunched against a humanoid jaw. A startled scream ripped past her throat as her footing slipped. She hurtled toward the earth, her feet slamming against the dying grass below. The ground crumbled beneath her, caving around her feet. She hastily jumped upward and back into the trees. The screeches sounded again and she broke into a sprint again. 

"Eli?" she called out, panicking. 

"Right behind you," he answered. "Keep running forward, away from the castle. We can't lead them back to the others." 

"What are they?" The words slipped out in a horrified whisper. 

Eli stepped into pace beside her. His eyes scanned the treetops around them. "I wish I knew," he answered grimly. "I've never seen anything like them before. Not even in the old Headmaster's journals."

The flames returned to Sophie's throat. Sharp pain splintered through her skin, scorching every cell in its path. Her muscles constricted and braced against the pain. Her legs immediately stopped working and Sophie staggered to a stop atop a tree branch. One hand shot out, her nails digging into the bark of the tree beside her. The other clawed at her throat. 

"Sophie!" 

Another screech sounded. A hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, yanking her forward. She stumbled from branch to branch, blinded by the white hot pain in her throat. 

"Eli," she rasped out. "I can't..."

Ignoring her, Eli bent down and scooped her up like a small child. She curled into him, her cheek against his chest. His heartbeat thumped wildly in her ears. The fire in her skin started to die out. Her fingers twitched against her neck. Somehow Sophie managed to lift her head. She looked back, over Eli's shoulder, and gasped. 

Two pairs of whitened eyes stared at her from within the darkness. 

Then they vanished.