Gangs Aren't My Style (A Black Death Novel)

Chapter 40 - The Ruins

Gangs Aren't My Style

Book I of the Black Death Trilogy

PART THREE :: Cast Your Armor Down

Chapter 40 - The Ruins

Tears Ally didn't even remember shedding ran unchecked down her cheeks. She viciously wiped at her eyes, stumbling over vines and the roots of trees as she ran blindly through the woods. She could barely see through the film of tears but she kept moving, needing to get as far away from her brother as possible.

Her foot snagged on a raised tree root all of a sudden and she was sent somersaulting over the edge of a cliff that she had not seen in the dim light. She reached out her hands, desperately searching for a hand or foot hold, but grasped only air. The wind hissed past her ears, bringing with it the sound of rushing water that was coming from below. If she remained unable to stop her fall, Ally would land either on the river bank or in the raging currents. The repercussions of such landings would either be broken bones and possibly a cracked neck or being swept violently downstream, each respective to the location of her imminent impact.

The cliff suddenly seemed so far away as Ally fell faster, each breath bringing her closer to the menacing water below. There was nothing to grab ahold of, only air.

Then, all of the air was forced out of her lungs when she hit the surface of the water. The impact seemed to send pangs of pain throughout her entire body as if she had been cut by a million shards of glass at once. Ally tried to desperately suck in air as the piercing cold sent a shock through her body. It was still early spring and the waters still mirrored the temperatures of the winter months that had been present before it.

All at once, she was submerged under the water. The currents licked at her jeans with greedy fingers, dragging her down as they submerged. She kicked desperately, trying to swim to the surface but only succeeded in being swept further downstream. When she finally managed to fight her way to the surface, Ally only had time to gasp in one long breath of oxygen before she was once again pulled under.

With strenuous effort, she managed to break free of the water anew. She fought to keep her head above the surface of the water, still taking in large gulps of water as she tried to get her breath. Her limbs were starting to go numb with the cold and she was finding it harder and harder to keep herself afloat. Ally knew that at any moment she could be pulled under and she wouldn't have the strength to pull herself back up. She could only search with a silent prayer that there would be an overhanging tree or stray root that she could use to pull herself out.

Finally noticing a log that was hanging over the edge of the river bank, Ally used every last reserve of her strength to swim to the edge of the raging river. She stretched a hand above her head, clumsily grabbing for it but instead only managed to grasp a small tree limb that had grown out the side. She held on tightly, forcing her blue fingers to wrap around it and not let go.

A sharp crack sounded and then she was moving backwards again. However, as if by an angel's grace, the limb's small arms and leaves got snagged on the knob at the top of the log.

Ally quickly pulled herself up onto the log before the limb could break or loosen, sending her plunging back into the water. She scrambled up the log, pulling herself up on her numb arms. By some unknown miracle, she managed to make her way to the top of the log. There she fell, exhausted, against the warm oak surface, her limbs spread out around her, ending to hang over the edge so that she was in the shape of an X.

A creaking sound rang out, audible even over the rushing water. Ally sat up quickly, moving so that she was sitting on the log instead of laying on it. She tried to crawl back towards the river bank but a loud crack rang out and suddenly she was clinging onto the log with everything she had as it plunged her back into the water. Ally momentarily lost hold of the log when she hit the water but somehow managed to regain her grip, allowing it to carry her up as it rose to the surface.

Ally coughed up water once she broke free from the depths, breathing deeply to regain oxygen into her lungs as she clung to the floating log. Suddenly, a louder sound of plunging water reached her ears and she glanced around hurriedly to find the source. Then she saw it, a waterfall; and she was heading directly for it.

She only had time for momentary panic and one last, long breath before she went down over the side of the waterfall. The log fell away from her, leaving her free falling in the air. The torrents of water cascaded down around her, all pushing her further towards certain doom at the bottom.

A scream forced itself from her lips when Ally hit the lake at the base of the waterfall. The currents once again pulled her down until she could feel the rough edges of the rocks at the bottom. Then, they forced her onward. Each limb seemed to be ripped from her body and torn to shreds as she was drug against the sharp points.

Ally gasped when her head smashed against a wall of hard rock, all of the oxygen escaping her lungs. Water flooded her mouth, choking her and she fought to reach the surface. She kicked, hoping that she was moving in the direction of the shore but was so disoriented under that water that she could easily have been moving in the complete opposite direction without a clue.

Ally choked. She gasped but found no air. Her head pounded and she began to feel faint with lack of oxygen. She closed her eyes, trying to relieve the pressure. She raised her hands to cradle her head, giving up all fight and leaving her fate to the currents.

Then, through the pain, Ally felt herself rolled onto dry land by the incoming tide. She forced her eyes back open, squinting through the pounding headache. Soft grasses surrounded her on three sides and water lapped gently at her feet. For a moment, Ally considered the possibility that she was dreaming or, more likely, that she was dead. But somehow she was not. She was hurt, bleeding, and barely conscious but she was alive.

Ally painfully pulled herself onto the grass completely, gagging weakly. Water clogged her lungs but she had no strength left to expel it. She pounded on the ground with one loose fist, powerful coughs raking through her until her entire body quaked with the effort.

All at once, water began to spew from her open mouth. Ally held herself up with quivering arms as she coughed out the full extent of the salty liquid until each subsequent gasp was merely a dry heave.

When she finally managed to regain her breath, Ally lifted her head gingerly. She was careful not to worsen her condition with any sudden movements and so pushed herself into a sitting position with slow, methodical maneuvers. When she looked around, though, she realized abruptly that it was too late to go any further. The light grew dimmer with each passing moment and she had already missed seeing the cliff. She would have to stop and find shelter for the night.

Her eyes roamed across the wide expanse of trees that could be seen in nearly every direction, immediately spotting the ruins of a small stone house. It appeared to have been long abandoned and rested along the lakes' edge. The moonlight reflected off the stone of the house, flooding through the holes in the roof and lighting up the inside. The door was missing and the windows were all broken, weeds growing up under them and wrapping around the frame of the windows. There were stones scattered around the base of the house, mingling with the unkempt grass. Vines were growing up the side of it, the leaves sprouting out of it so thick that from that side of the house, you surely would be unable to identify the structure as anything other than a wall of overgrowth.

Regardless, it was shelter.

It was because of this that Ally stood shakily to her feet, biting down hard enough on her lip to bring forth blood as she fought the urge to cry out. Each tender tear of her skin burned with her efforts and her head pounded something fierce. She felt faint and worried that she would pass out before even reaching the small cottage.

Ally pushed weeds aside desperately as she walked through the overgrown yard, only the promise of a roof over her head and a cot to sleep on keeping her moving forward.

Just when she thought she would make it inside without incident, however, her foot caught on the raised doorstep that was buried under the swarm of weeds. Ally went stumbling forward, landing ungracefully on the cold stone floor. Her reflexes were sluggish and so her chin scraped off the floor before she could raise her hands to lessen the impact. Ally groaned, unable to summon the effort needed to stand to her feet.

Exhaustion pulled at her and she had trouble keeping her eyelids open. There was simply no power of will left in her.

As such, it was in the doorway of an abandoned house, amidst a maze of cobwebs and dirt, that Ally fell asleep on that night, moonlight spilling over her torn legs.