Our Own Protection

»Chapter Seven«

»Eudora's POV«

A bright light blinded me as I began to wake up, making me quickly reclose my eyes. I began to roll over, only to be pulled against something.

Slowly, I opened my eyes to see Paris and Ashton still asleep beside me, then looked down to see arms around my waist. My eyes wide, I got out of the traps and got off the piece of scrap, turning to see Zane stir.

I sighed in relief when he didn't wake up, and began walking away from the sleeping trio. I walked a few feet out of the junkyard before sitting under a tree and laying my head against it.

Pulling out my phone, I looked at the time. 11:27am. I groaned; I didn't like sleeping in late.

Suddenly, my phone began to vibrate in my hand and I looked down to see my father's number display on the screen. Instead of answering, I placed my phone on silent before putting it on the ground beside me.

I wasn't ready to deal with my parents' bickering.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the silence, excluding the birds and the wind, of being with only myself.

My eyes snapped open, wide open. I was by myself.

I covered my face with my hands, breathing in then out steadily.

I looked up, through the crevices of my fingers. He was there, ahead of me, in the woods. He hadn't spotted me, yet.

My eyes rapidly wondered around the open area I was in, looking for the quickest way away from him.

Shaking my head, I uncovered my face, glancing at him before standing. Silent and slow.

He looked towards me and I froze, staring at his feet, seeing if he moved.

I screamed, turning around and seeing Paris in front of me. Her eyes were wide as she stared at me. I looked back behind me to see him gone and breathed out in relief.

Paris looked at me skeptically, "What was that about?"

I ignored her and bent down to pick up my phone. As I stood up, I glanced to where I had saw him and smiled when I saw him still gone, and looked back at Paris, who had an eyebrow raised in questioning.

"I was just really concentrated," I answered, looking down at my phone to see three missed calls from my father and two from my mother.

"Have Mother or Father called you this morning?" I asked, changing the subject so she wouldn't question me further.

She nodded, looking at her phone. "That's what woke me up, and Ashton and Zane, but they went off somewhere," she said, looking behind her, over her shoulder.

I nodded, walking past her and back to the junkyard. I soon heard her footsteps behind me.

"What do you want to do today?" Paris asked, catching up to my side.

"I don't know, what do you want to do today?" I stopped and turned to her, seeing her look up as she thought.

"How about, plan a prank on Ashton and Zane?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows. I laughed before nodding.

"Sounds fun," she nodded, smiling.

"Want to go to the diner to do so? Because we don't need certain people to hear our plans," I say, my eyes searching around for Ashton and Zane.

Paris started walking away as I followed, knowing that she had agreed to the diner thought. She walked out of the junkyard before beginning on her mission through the alleyways and streets.

I followed her every step.

Sounds and smells from the city raided my senses, making it harder to identify anything coming at anyone. "No wonder people are robbed and all that crap here," I thought out loud, making Paris look at me.

"What?" She asked, looking at me. I looked at her confused before realizing what I had said.

"I was just thinking out loud," I said honestly, but she didn't look like she believed me.

Did she ever believe me, ever?

I shook my head, looking at Paris to see her walking again. What was I thinking? Of course she believes me.

I ran up to her, walking at a balanced pace once I had caught up. "You know, we should go get horses," I said randomly, making Paris laugh. I smiled.

"We should, and just ride them into the junkyard before letting them buck and bite at people that try to trespass," she said, sarcasm filling her voice. I frowned, before recovering, and looked at her.

"That would be awesome to see," I said, making her laugh and nod as if she hadn't been completely sarcastic a moment ago.

"It'd be hilarious," she said.

Paris opened the door to the diner, allowing me to walk in before following me. I walked to the back, sitting in a booth with Paris on the other side of me.

A waitress began walking over, asking us what we would like to drink, and taking our orders after acquiring the drinks.

I looked out the window, seeing people walking down the street, cars driving, and kids playing with dogs.

"You know, we can get a dog with a horse," Paris said. "More animals, more fun." I looked at her, smiling before catching a glimpse of something in the kitchen.

I kept looking at the kitchen, eyes squinted very slightly as I tried to catch another glimpse of what it was.

All of the sudden, all sounds started disappearing from my senses as he appeared, once again, in front of me, staring me down.

He suddenly disappeared before reappearing right in front of me. My eyes widened as I looked up at him. His face was hideous. It was covered in bandages and blood. One eye was covered and the other uncovered.

I didn't even get to look at the rest as I heard Paris calling my name and smelled the aroma of my food. I shook my head, looking at Paris and my food before glancing at the kitchen again, seeing normal employees working hard.

Paris was looking at me worriedly, but once again I ignored it and began eating. One thing crossed my mind as Paris and I sat in the diner.

That something was definitely wrong with me.