DREAD (BOOK 1 OF THE DREAD TRILOGY)

Chapter 5

My arm is locked to a metal bar. The room im in has no windows, only a metal door. I pull at the handcuff that is keeping me there. They didn't cuff me before, they only kept me locked in the room but I had lost control and nearly gotten out so they had to bump up their security. If you ask me hand cuff's aren't much of a bump up. "Where is my best friend?!" I hear Fidelis yell on the other side of the door, I feel my stomach drop, I don't want her to see me like this. I am a monster. After a small amount of whispers that I couldn't hear, the door opens.

"Looks like you made it back alive" I say with a cheeky smile but I know by the look on her face that today is the day that our friendship ends. Fidelis sits down on the chair beside me. She looks at me like I am a stranger. "Fidelis?"

"They told me that you are a monster" Fidelis mutters. I look at her offended, she looks away from me. "What happened Alexandra?" She asks quietly. She looks down at the ground with a sad expression on her face, it's as if she lost someone very close to her.

"I made you a promise" I say. "I promised to look after your brother, I had no other choice. You can look at me like I am a monster all you like but I am never going to regret saving your brother's life"

"Thank you for saving my brother's life and I'm sorry about your mother" She says with a look that suggests she doesn't know me. She says it as if I am a stranger who saved her brothers life, not her best friend who made a promise to keep him safe. She stands up and walks towards the door.

"DON'T YOU DARE LOOK AT ME THAT WAY! I SAVED YOUR BROTHERS LIFE, I PROMISED YOU!" I scream at her. She turns around and looks at me calmly. "I'M YOUR BEST FRIEND AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT ME LIKE I AM A COMPLETE STRANGER" I scream at her. I rip my hand free from the cuff as I feel myself losing control, my body begins to hurt as I try to resist. "GET OUT! I CAN'T CONTROL IT" I yell at her. She hesitates and then steps back slowly. I'm not sure what she saw out there when she went to get Dread DNA but it must not have been good.

"Just like the others" she whispers before everything goes black. 

*

"You're better than this Ali" I hear a soft deep voice come into my thoughts. "Come on Ali, you can control it", my sight begins to fade from black to colour. I see Tobias' smooth, frightened face staring at me, his hands are holding down my arms. I then realise I am laying down and his on top of me holding my arms down. I drop whatever I was holding in my hand with a gasp.

"What happened?" I ask. I don't remember anything, I never do.

"The cuffs don't work" He says with a smile although he looks exhausted. "Don't worry, you didn't hurt anyone. You're not even out of your room. I hear Felix is working on a better door" He says as he gets off me. I stand up.

"I don't want to be like this Tobi" I say with tears falling down my cheeks. He pulls me into a hug. "What if I am in here forever?"

"You won't be. I promise" He says softly into my ear. "I won't ever give up on fixing you, you are worth it" He states once he pulls away. For once I look at him like he is meant for greater things, he has qualities of a leader. I realise that he isn't just my friend, he is more like a best friend. He has always been here for me from the start. 

"Tobias, I have been friends with you since you got here... You've always been special to me" I say with a smile. He looks at me completely the opposite way that Fidelis did, he looks at me like he has always looked at me. "How many leaders died from the Dread attack?" I ask.