control • theo raeken [1]

nineteen. the last chimera and damnatio memoriae

Luna

WHEN THE DARKNESS WAS replaced with light, there wasn't much of it. For one, Jordan Parrish was blocking most of it and, two, it was still dark out with only the moon to light up the clearing. I groan as Parrish lightly nudges my arm.

"Luna, are you all right?" He asks. I glance up at him before looking around me. The last thing I remember is fighting with Theo. I nod before sitting up, wrapping the jacket around my front.

"Thank you for the jacket," I tell him.

"It was on you when I got here. Look, I need your help." I didn't even register what he meant since he was already pointing to the red head on the ground. He walks away, and I'm quick to stick my arms into the jacket. I zip the front shut and carefully stand up, not knowing how stable I'll be on my feet. Once I'm sure I can walk, I meet Parrish over to where Lydia is. The jacket almost reaches my knees, so I know I don't have to worry about my nakedness anymore.

"We need to get her out of here. It's too cold for her." Parrish nods at my words.

"I agree, but look at her fingernails. Look at what she carved."

Her nails were chipped and bloody. One possibly not even there with how much blood was there. Above her head was a large rock, a sheriff's badge carved into the side of it.

"Why would she do that?" I ask, my fingers involuntarily outlining the symbol. Blood stains my skin as I do so and when I catch sight of it, I'm half prepared to see flashes. But I don't. I'm still in the now which tells me something inside of me has changed.

"I don't know. Help me get her up and to my car. I may have some pants for you there."

Without saying another word, the two of us help Lydia to her feet. She doesn't respond to us touching her and has a faraway look in her eyes. Parrish and I share a glance before he picks her up in his arms. She seems to be able to walk and such, but she just doesn't seem to realize the world around us. It reminds me of a classic case of catatonia which in some ways was worse than comatose. At least when someone is in a coma, it looks as if they were sleeping. Being catatonic has a way of breaking a loved ones soul because they're eyes open but they can't see.

"We're almost there, Lydia," I encourage. I help Parrish over a few fallen trees and before long we have her in his SUV buckled in. Parrish is rummaging through the back for a pair of sweats for me. When he finds them, he tosses them at me and shuts the trunk.

"We should go to Scott's and see if he can help us," Parrish says as we both get into the front seats. I nod, but I'm dreading seeing Scott's face after what happened. It's a quick drive there and Parrish has me help him get Lydia inside. Inside the house, the whole bottom level was empty so we went upstairs. There we found Scott passed out on his stomach in the middle of the hallway.

"Scott, wake up," Parrish says, kneeling down next to the boy. "Scott." Scott stirs before sitting up straight. I stand next to Lydia next to the stairs. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Scott replies, out of breath. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You're bleeding." At that, I step forward slightly to see what he's talking about. Scott glances down at his chest and sure enough there's a red splotch on his white shirt.

Scott covers it up and says, "It's not that bad. Why are you here?"

"We need your help."

"We who? With what?"

"With her." Parrish shifts his body so Scott can see me and Lydia. His eyebrows relax when he sees the two of us. There's dried blood on her forehead as she stares out in space. I'm certain there's dirt caked on my face and my hair must be matted from my night in the woods. Either way, neither of us look decent. Parrish begins explaining to Scott where he'd found us and the sheriff's badge she'd carved into the rock.