Unforeseeable

Chapter 14

I wrap my arms around myself as the temperature drops significantly. The air is plagued with silence, the only sound my feet rhythmically crunching on the dirt road. I keep seeing Damien's face in the back of my mind. How he pleaded me to leave him. I gaze up at the moon.
Why is this happening to me?
What did I do to deserve this?
I hear a skittering sound and spin around to see another wild dog run across the dirt path and slowly vanish into the desert. I must be a long way away from civilisation. There are no signs of any man made landmarks. I look up and notice a vulture circling high above me. Patiently waiting for me to die. The hairs on the back of neck start to prickle uneasily and I spin around, getting the feeling I am being watched.
I see three dogs walking about ten meters down the road from me. They are walking at a comfortable pace, watching me intensely. They look like dingoes or coyotes. Their glowing eyes make me uneasy.
I chew the inside of my cheek, remembering stories of how these sorts of dogs have killed people. The one in front suddenly stops in its tracks, the other mimicking its action. The front dogs lips peel away revealing sets of sharp teeth and it's ears press back against its head. A low rippling sound fills the air. A growl. The dog leaps forward and starts running towards me, followed by the other two.
I stumble two steps backwards in shock before turning and running as fast as I can.
I'm going to die.
Oh my god.
After everything I've been through, I'm going to be torn apart by dogs.
One of the dogs bite at my ankle and I kick at at, knocking it over. It climbs back to its feet after a few seconds and continues to chase after me. Two flank up my sides, keeping pace with me and biting at my ankles to stop me from turning. The one I kicked at pulls up behind me, forcing me to keep my speed up.
I've never been really fit, and now it's truly obvious. My chest pumps painfully and my head throbs. Maybe I should just stop running. I don't have anything to live for anyway. Two of my closest friends are dead, and it's all my fault. I can just close my eyes and stop, let death slip over me like a blanket. Something warm and comforting. When I get there Lexi and Damien will be waiting for me, Damien will reach out his hand and I will take it. Then, we can all leave. To a place that's better than this. Where it won't hurt so much.
I look up at the sky.
The stars are so beautiful in the country. In the city you can never truly appreciate how amazing the are, the tall buildings and polluted skies making them foggy and dull. Here, in the open plains, they are so bright.
The moon looks down on me with pride. I feel like it is accepting of what I am thinking about doing. The moon would understand if I lay down on the dirt and let the dogs take my life.
I slow down to a jog, the dogs biting at my hands. I feel no pain. In fact, I have never felt more content. I lift my face up to the sky, ready to collapse to my knees. Suddenly my shadow is outlined on the road, a bright light from behind me approaching quickly. The dogs whimper and scatter, retreating into the darkness. I turn and look behind me, noticing a car advancing behind me. It's a black truck, one that seems as if it belongs to the government. The car slows to a stop in front of me, the headlights blinding me. I shield my face from the brightness with my arm, waiting for the lights to turn off. They dim enough for them to not hurt my eyes. I lower my arm, staring at the silhouettes in the car. As my eyes adjust to the darkness I recognize the familiar faces.
Damien and Lexi are sitting in the front seat, looking at me sadly. Harley is in the back, his expression the same. They climb out of the car and walk towards me, standing in front of me in a straight line. They have no wounds, no sign of distress. In fact they seem happy and content. Glowing even. Damien steps towards me, taking my face in his hands.
"You promised me you wouldn't give up." He whispers, resting his forehead against mine. I wrap my arms around his waist, holding him close.
"I just wanted to be with you." I look down at his lip ring, its glinting in the headlights catching my attention briefly. I focus back on his eyes. They are dark, a shade I came to love.
"Quinn, I will always be with you. I always have been. Even when you were locked in that basement, I was there." A tear slips from my eye.
"But you aren't here now. You are dead." He smiles knowingly.
"Only in one way. I will be around for as long as I am still alive in you." His finger wipes away my tears as more spill out.
"Then prepare to be around forever."
"I never wanted anything less." I pull him into a hug, burying my face into the dip of his neck one last time. He pulls away.
"You have to wake up now. It's time to say goodbye to us." He steps back, lining back up with Lexi and Harley who have their arms around each other.
"I don't want to say goodbye." Lexi speaks, her voice bringing back beautiful memories.
"It's only for now. We will wait for you. Don't worry." They are all smiling now, me seeming to be the only one in tears. "So it's time to wake up. Don't keep them waiting, Quinn." She finishes.
"We love you." Damien says. Lexi looks briefly into Harleys eyes before focusing back onto me. The light from the truck suddenly starts getting brighter, brighter and brighter until they are engulfed by it. I squeeze my eyes closed, the light blinding.
When my eyes open again I see Cassandra. I am lying in a bed, a steady beeping filling the room. She is sitting on a chair beside my bed, leaning forward slightly with her forehead pressed against the side of the bed and her face looking down on the floor as she cries silently. Her hand is wrapped in with mine, our fingers intertwined. I squeeze her hand gently, her head snapping up to focus on me.
"Oh my god. You're awake." Tears start flowing down her face harder, making even more eyeliner streak down her cheeks. "You have been out for days. I was beginning to think you wouldn't ever wake up."
"I am awake now." I say, my voice dry. "What happened?"
"Damien left home a few nights ago, he was saying he thought he had found you. I wanted to come but he said no, that it would be too dangerous. So I stayed home. To be honest, I didn't think he would find you, he never stopped looking. Then when he didn't answer my calls, I started to worry." She pauses for a moment, her breath wavering. "I saw him drive down the dirt road. So I followed, thinking something was wrong. Then I found you, hallucinating, crying, getting chased by coyotes and dying of heat stroke in the desert. I took you to the hospital right away. I haven't left your side since." Tears start streaming down my face too now.
"Cassandra, I am so sorry. I don't deserve this."
"Of course you do." She says, sounding a little confused.
"No, you don't understand. I was kidnapped, so was Lexi. It was Duane, he did it because he wanted me to love him. He killed Lexi so we could be together. I didn't do anything. I should have tried harder to stop him." I pause for a moment, trying to regain myself as my tears absorb into the white hospital blankets. "I had to pretend to love him, I had to pretend to..." I take in a uneven breath before continuing. "He said we were going to London. There we could love each other and nobody would find out. I had to kill him, Cassandra. You understand that right? I had no choice. Otherwise I knew I would never get out.
So I went to stab him, but it wasn't him. It was Damien." I start speaking through sobs while Cassandra also cries, making me feel considerably worse. "He gave me a gun, told me to kill Duane, take his car and drive. So I did. I left him. I just left him. Then the car tire popped, so I walked. Then dogs almost killed me and I was going to give up but then there was you and god it was awful. How can you ever forgive me?" I wipe my tears away with my hands, my whole chest rocking as I cry.
"I don't blame you for anything, Quinn." I wrap my arms around her neck, hugging her tightly.
"Thank you so much. I can't ever repay you."
"How about after all this is over you buy me a smoothie?" I laugh through the tears.
"That sounds like a good idea.