Blurred Lines

Chapter Ten: The Third Sibling and The Demon Sibling

Jacob grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder. Dillon did the same with Annie and grabbed Shawn's hand, sprinting after Jacob.

I watched in horror as the huge mass of people ran towards us. The first gun fired and hit a tree to my left, and the first arrow flew over Jacob's head.

And from there on out, it was simply chaos.

A pitchfork flew at us and I got it caught on my shoe when I tried to deflect it. Shawn and Dillon fell behind and almost got trampled, until I managed to grab Dillon's hand and drag him along. Jacob led our train of people clinging to each other through a completely pitch-black forest while an angry mob charged after us, led by an evil bastardly priest.

After running for our lives for about ten minutes, we finally managed to lose them when Jacob hid us in a cave.

That cave was occupied by a thin middle-aged oriental woman named Elsa.

Elsa gave us beef jerkey that didn't taste like beef. Don't ask me what kind of meat it was, and don't even bother asking how she got it, because it was completely beyond any of us.

She gave us water, set up a fire, and let us all get settled into sleep. Then she disappeared into the back of the cave without a single word.

I put my sleeping bag as far away from the entrance as I could get, while still staying near the fire. Annie hadn't woken up still, so Shawn and I put her in her bag and laid her against the wall and away from everybody else, yet still close enough for the heat of the fire.

Shawn and Dillon shared a sleeping bag and curled up together against the other wall. Jacob, who'd been acting pouty ever since we all screamed at each other, laid himself out closest to the entrance and away from everybody else.

I laid in the warm fabric, pulled it up to my chin, and found myself wishing for Jacob. He was big and warm, so he'd take up all the extra space and keep me warm. Plus, he made me feel happier, and he kept the nightmares away. When we'd been together in-Annie's town, and when I'd slept on top of him- I hadn't had a single dream.

I didn't want to sleep, because I didn't want to see anymore things like the army of the undead, or Gabriel in his throne room. But I was too tired to fight sleep, and eventually my eyes closed.

"Marcus, we were so stupid," my mother sobbed as she sat in her pew. They were in a huge, empty church, wearing all black with tears running down their faces.

I could actually move this time, and I walked over to them. I tried to hug Mom, but my arms passed through her.

Another dream, I realized. Dad, who sat beside her, tried to comfort her. My heart wrenched at the sight of them, mourning for me. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to be back on Earth, with my parents.

"She's in a better place now, and she won't want us to be sad," he promised. Mom turned on him in anger.

"I don't care if she's in a better place, I just want my baby here with me! She was in pain, they said she died after they got her out, and all I want is to hold her and have her here with me again!" she wailed.

As Dad held her shaking body, my vision blackened around the edges.

"No, no!" I screamed as the church scene faded and morphed into the throne room. Gabriel's throne room. Tears ran down my face as Gabriel appeared, the cracks in his skin gone. He sat lazily on the throne, his crisped wings spread out behind him. He was holding a mirror, a mirror that showed my parents in the church.

He grinned at me and something inside me knew that that was literally what they were doing right now.

"Let me go back," I begged, surprised to find that I could speak.