Skulls and Bones

Chapter five

I had to find a way to sneak past the guards.

I tried to go sleep but every time I closed my eyes, events from my birthday on played through my mind increasing my heart rate and making me pespire. Sleep just wasn't happening tonight and I had to find something to do with myself. And the thing I wanted to do was escape.

I didn't know where to go but anywhere had to be better than here. I believed that I was one of them and I believed that I might actually be queen but I just didn't want to stay here. I didn't want to be with people who believed that lying and killing was the right way to live.

So I got out of bed and changed from the pajamas into dark clothing to keep me hidden in the dark. I tied my hair up before standing in the middle of the room wondering what to do next.

I couldn't just walk out the front door because I was sure there were guards to make sure that I didn't do that. The only way down seemed to be the balcony and there wasn't anything I could climb down with.

"Skulls don't die because they monitor the dead. And because you're a Skull, that means you don't die either."

The jump wouldn't kill me. I slowly opened the balcony door and stepped out into the cool night. It was darker out and everything was quiet. I could still see people walking the streets but they were transparent. The Bones.

I could handle them if it meant my ultimate escape. All I had to do was get to one of the many portals and I would be free. I hesitated before jumping off the balcony and covering my mouth so I could muffle my screams.

The impact to the floor was excruciatingly painful and I whimpered as I rolled around and clutched my burning legs. I didn't dare make too much noise for fear of being discovered. It was all worth it if I could just escape.

The burning intensified until it was almost pleasant and then just disappeared. My legs felt completely normal. If there was any doubt in my mind then it was completely gone.

"She should have told me," I whispered to myself. If my mother would have just told me then none of this would have happened.

But I couldn't think about that. I slowly stood up to test out my legs before pulling over my hood and walking out into the street. I vaguely remembered where one of the portals was from when Marc took me on the roof. I didn't care that I was letting him down right now. His thoughts about me didn't affect what I was about to do.

I wondered why he cared so much but I could live without knowing. I could live with being alone, hiding if it meant I was away from here.

None of the Bones followed me or even looked my way as I walked beside them. I was hoping they wouldn't. If they all started snarling and trying to attack me that would draw attention and I didn't need that.

I walked with my head down and my hands in my pocket. I made sure to avoid touching any of them. I didn't want to be brought into another memory. I stopped walking when I saw a handle on the floor. It wasn't lit up in blue but it wasn't normal, especially since it was in the middle of the sidewalk.

There were engravings on the round door that I couldn't read and I crouched down to run my hand over it. Instead of being cold like I thought it would be, it was extremely warm. I tried pulling at the handle but it wouldn't budge. I used two hands and still nothing happened.

"If you would have kept walking you probably would have gotten away." I didn't turn around. I just closed my eyes and pretended that I didn't just hear Rick's voice. "Staying still won't make you invisible sweetheart. I can still see you."

I sighed before getting up and facing him. I could hear the snarls from the Bones now but they didn't do anything to him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.