The Trace of Stars

Episode 8: Broke

I woke up slowly with the realization that someone was breathing right in my ear. My eyes focused on a figure leaning over me from where I was sprawled out on the floor. A hand closed over my mouth, preventing me from saying anything.

    When his other hand came down on my arm, I concluded that this was an intruder. The grip was tight, harsh. I tried yanking away, kicking and thrashing myself against the floor. The stranger grunted before pulling me up and dragging me by both of my arms to the door.

    "Jonathan!" I yelled, the name ripping from my throat. "Adria!"

    The door was shoved open, letting moonlight spill across the floor. I caught a glimpse of my two siblings waking up and realizing what was happening, panic flooding their expressions, their frightened eyes.

    With all my strength, I tried once again to pull away from the stranger, only to feel his fist flash across my temple. Dark spots clouded my vision. We were outside, moving fast through the humidity, away from the community. I was forced to watch it disappear, held tightly by foreign hands.

    I screamed helplessly, feeling useless and problematic as shrieks of terror arose from other places in the camp.

    "Help me!" I yelled, a terrified child, sure my death would soon come. I couldn't push the tears down fast enough as they sprang into my eyes.

    The forest flew by and I hoped someone was coming to save me, that I would see the people I loved again. Still, I fought back. I tried to slow him down, only to see that we were on a dock extending off the beach into the noisy ocean.

    "Rowin!"

    I jerked my head to the right to see Seth, hair disheveled, eyes alert. I pushed and shoved against my captor, beginning to beg him to put me down, to leave me alone. We continued down the dock, Seth running to catch up with our pace. He looked determined, not afraid. Before I was even in his arms, I felt rescued--

    Then he was out of sight and I was falling into a metal hole, a submarine. All I could see were the stairs blinking at me, then the stranger jumping in and pulling the hatch shut. Again, fear took over my body. Seth could be hurt, he could be drowning, he could be dead.

    Had the camp been invaded? Had they all been taken prisoner? Were they all dead? Was I the bait to lure everyone else into trying to find me? They couldn't fall for that trap; it was better if I was the only one missing.

    My chest caught, and suddenly, it was hard to breathe.

    The man dragged me past other strangers, down a long hallway, similar to the one Seth, Eden, and I were rescued in before. Except now, I felt stolen. One room had no lights on and its door was wide open. I was thrown into it, only to fall into someone else as we were locked in.

    Both of us gasped. We pushed away from each other, feeling the cold floor as the contraption began to move. Eventually, we held our breath as we waited for the other to say something. I couldn't get past the way my heart slammed in my ribcage, longing to be back with my family.

    I blinked in the darkness, the light under the door helping my eyes adjust. It didn't matter anyway. The last thing I saw wouldn't matter; I wasn't with Seth or Jonathan or Lincoln or my parents. I was being taking to, without a doubt, Cassius. Taken there to die.

    "Rowin?" a small voice said, coming from the only person in the room. "It's Missy."

    I gasped, feeling a little relief in my cold bones. I meant to say something appreciative, something meaningful, but all that came out was a choked up, strained, pleading, "What do we do?!"

    She edged over to me, her arm around my shoulder.

    "We pray. And we hope that we are the only two gone from the ones we love."

    I waited. Missy whispered her prayer, just loud enough for me to hear. Just deep enough to cut me to the heart, for me to feel like I needed Someone bigger than the people I worried about.

    My tears broke when she was finished. I began crying for the lack of hope.

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    The tears didn't last very long. I may have fallen into a state of stupor, unsure how to handle the whirlwind of emotions overtaking me. Missy was quiet, soothing me whenever the horror of reality brought me to hysterics. I wished I had the strength to get a grip on myself and help her.

    When the door opened, I cringed against her. I was tired of being the victim, but I didn't have enough strength to be a hero. Within an instant, I went from hearing myself protest to feeling my eyelids slam close, mind distracted by oblivion.

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(a/n)

Welcome to my attempt at trying to make this as unpredictable as possible. (:

Um um um okay, so, I don't really know what to say... THANKS FOR READING! GOD IS GOOD! YOU ARE LOVED!

-Abigail

{April 30, 2017}

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