There's nothing you're forced to trust more than your own mind. You're dependent on it, it stores the memories that make up your world.
But what if it could be stolen from you?
Aspen's world is growing, from the boundaries of her country farm to...
A quick thank you for all the love i've received for Awake, even though my updates are irregular and I really need to spend more time editing my work. This one's for Kell because I probably over-hyped it ;)
Hope you enjoy the chapter x
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
She was dead. She wasn't dead. I didn't kill her. Her last touch was not my fingertips, was not the bite of my blade through her skin. I didn't kill her. I didn't kill her.
Again, my feet fell into dirt, this time bare, the mud squishing beneath my toes with each frantic step.
It had taken moments for the world to settle again, for the vibrations ricocheting through the basement to settle enough for Evan to move. And when he moved, it was as if time had been thrown into fast forward, his hands fumbling with the ropes around my wrists and the tape over my lips.
I wanted to thank him, but then I was reminded that he was the one who had bound me. But then it occurred to me that none of this was him at all. I hardly knew Evan. That's what Conrad did to them when he took away their will. He took away their person, their morals, and their choice.
The moment I was on my feet the world swayed again, but this time by no physical means. My head seared in disorientation and my knees felt like buckling, but I stood, clutching the back of the chair that had held me captive to stay upright.
"Evan," I breathed hoarsely, clutching my throat as the words vibrated through my wound. "Run far away from here, don't look back. Don't ever come back to him. Don't let anyone stop you."
He didn't even spare me a second horrified glance before his feet were moving him towards the stairs.
Maybe he should have, because it was then that I realised how much I needed him.
As far as I knew, there were a dozen other kids just like Evan and Peter standing there waiting for me up top. But then, surely they'd have heard the commotion. Surely they'd have felt the ground rumble beneath the soles of their feet-- the walls trembling around them.
Or was that just in my imagination? The flow of power throwing me from my senses?
"Power," I muttered aloud, my fingers brushing my hair back from my forehead, which I felt to be caked with sweat and dirt. "I have power."
Maybe my sanity really was on its edge, but I threw away the thought quickly. My mind was all I had. It was ironic that for me to use it, it was what paid the price.
Run far away from here, don't look back. Don't ever come back to him.
This time I needed to be entranced by my own words.
It took two slow steps for my head to stop spinning and for me to put the ache of my bones far enough out of my thoughts. But then, once numbness settled over and my mind was set on flight, my feet carried me up the stairs. There was no point in being quiet, not when Evan had already been so loud in his panic to leave.
