Shadows of Fate

Chapter 19

Tobias twitched in his sleep. "Stupid zombies..." He slept in the passenger seat with his head slumped against the chilled window. I was surprised that he could sleep after getting in a fight, well, if you could call one punch a fight, but I was still shaking with adrenaline.

Rain poured from the dark sky and lightning flashed behind the clouds, making them glow an ominous purple. A low rumble followed each flash, like a growling beast waiting for its meal. I sped down the freeway and the wipers whined with each swipe across the windshield.

"Nnn...destroy b-brain..." Tobias mumbled.

My brother was just as weird as me, but he was undeniably the most popular guy in school. There was something in him that charmed the pants off every person he met, while I always hovered one friend over loner status. Even worse, that one friend was Tobias. It's not like I was hated or bullied. I was just...invisible.

"Mmmph. King of zombies." Tobias adjusted himself against the window.

A loud crack of thunder sounded exactly when everything flashed blinding white. A dark figure appeared in the distance. I blinked, trying to adjust to the darkness again. The headlights reflected off a slick lump that sat in the road. A figure stood up out of the shadows, as if the person was dressed in a trench coat made of darkness.

I slammed on the brakes and swerved, barely avoiding hitting the person in the road. The car spun out of control. Tires screeched on the pavement as the world twisted around us.

Tobias jerked awake and braced against the dashboard.

Our two voices screamed. The car flipped over, and over, and over. Crunching and crashing of metal echoed in the otherwise silent night. A crack of skull on glass sent chills down my body, but I felt no pain. It wasn't my head.

The world stilled. The screams stopped. We hung upside down from our seats, still strapped in tightly. Something warm and thick oozed down my arm, and when I moved it, I hissed out a painful breath.

Next to me, Tobias hung limp and lifeless.

"Tobi—" I began.

Crunch. Something stepped on shattered glass. Something was outside the car.

"Hello?" I whimpered. "Please help us. My brother—he needs help."

The figure appeared next to my window. Fear filled my core. It knelt down and two shining green eyes stared at me.

I gasped, waking suddenly from my memory. A new pain seared through my body.

Those eyes. That's why they seemed so familiar. I struggled to focus on Nyx.

"It was you." Rage rumbled in my chest.

I was sprawled on the ground and her palm pinned me down. My life force was slowly draining.

"Even then. It was you," I repeated.

"You are nothing," she hissed. "The two must be one. Only one."

My mind swam in a sea of haze. I could feel my aura being funneled out of me. The truth about that night made hot tears burn behind my eyes.

"It wasn't my fault. I didn't imagine the figure in the road," I told myself. "It wasn't my fault...I didn't do this to him."

My eyes refocused on Nyx. "You did," I said.

Her fierce green gaze narrowed into daggers. Light burned from within me. I felt it build and boil inside until the light blazed over my skin. Nyx shrieked and pulled away her burning hand.