Miss Cloudwalker (COMPLETED BUT MAJOR EDITING)

Chapter 11

 Xerographic: a process of copying graphics matter

The wind was warm as a fire blazed around me. The cement and the wood fell down everywhere. It broke and splintered, screaming and groaning as it tilted in the loose soil. The clothes on me had burnt holes in them. It was blazing. I couldn't even muster a single breath.

In the midst of all the fire stood Ethan. Blue-green eyes were darkened and his black hair splashed with the light of the fire. His hand was held out towards me, his tongue peeking out and licking his dry lips. I was so drawn to that hand.

I reached towards it, grasping it tightly. The fire around us roared even stronger. It clawed for the dark sky. He lifted me up, pulling me flush against him. The crackling around us was quiet as our breath mingled.

"Seraphina," he murmured the words slowly. I stared into his eyes.

Cold spread across my back and arms. Ethan looked up sharply, a snarl evident on his lips. I looked over my shoulder, recognizing the blonde-haired and purple-eyed girl. Snow was creeping through the forest, reaching for the fire that Ethan had started.

Mia's face was dark and behind her a dark silhouette of a man. Red eyes watched me like a hawk. The cold was suffocating suddenly. It was snuffing out all the fire, the snow brushing across the ashes strewn across the ground. I wrapped my arms tightly around Ethan, but just like the fire he was slowly disappearing. The cold seized him and he stared down at me with blank eyes. Then he was gone, leaving only ice and snow in his wake.

I fully turned around Mia barely a foot away from me now. Her face was contorted in a mix of rage and sorrow. She sneered at my widened eyes. My heart was beating fast and my breaths were shallow. My fingers twitched.

She walked straight up to me, snatching a piece of my brown hair.

"How pathetic!" She spat, "this piece of garbage got Ethan."

She dropped her hand down to my forearm, gripping it tightly. I shrieked at her ice-cold touch. There was new heat around us now. Just a dark, perilous cold. I yanked out of her grasp and she laughed at me.

Mia snorted, "you'll lose him in the end."

She walked past me and I watched as she faded in with the snowflakes drifting around us. The silhouette moved towards me. Its red eyes burned into me, I winced and backed away. It stopped as I continued to move away. It held out a container of red pills. When I didn't reach it, it dropped it on the ground.

"The end is near, Sera," the male voice murmured and walked away.

I watched until it was gone. I dropped to my knees next to the container. I picked it up and read the piece of paper connected to it.

Green Street and George Avenue corner.

I read it over and over, the image burning into my mind. I blinked and opened the container. I slipped the red pill into my mouth and swallowed. Exhaustion immediately weighed at me and I laid down in the snow.

Blackness and peace surrounded me until I woke up.

☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁

I woke up, confusion pulling at my mind. I grumbled and looked at the clock. It was noon. I threw the covers off and sat up. My head pounded and I didn't want to get up. The banquet was in four hours though, and I needed to start getting ready.