Special

Chapter 14

She woke up to the dim light of dawn, laying down on velvety cushions, jostling around in a bumpy carriage. She immediately sat straight up, unfamiliar with the surroundings. Every bone in her body ached, and her vision seemed to be blurred by dried blood on her long eyelashes. All Ella wanted was to go back to sleep, but she knew she had to meet up with Connor and Lilith. How did it get this bad? She looked around the small carriage, there was an old lady sitting across from her, and two men in the front with the horses.

"Dear, are you feeling better?" the old lady said, placing a soft hand on Ella's shoulder. Ella stared at her, trying to get as far away as possible. She nodded, hoping that she would leave her alone. "You look like a piece of trash, sweetheart. It looks as if every bone in your body is broken!"

It feels like it, too, Ella thought, rolling her eyes. She looked down, surveying the damage. There were huge gashes near her elbows and knees, with purple bruises covering her limbs. Mina was crouched underneath her seat, scared to come out. Ella gently picked her up to look for injuries. Mina had large chunks of dirt and snow trapped in her fur, but she seemed fine other than that. Ella was much worse though. Snow, dirt, and blood covered almost every inch of her body. Her eyes swollen half-shut. There might even be some broken bones that she couldn't see, but the old woman was right, she did look like a piece of trash. Ella probably had hypothermia too, as she was out in the cold wearing only thin clothes, and nothing covering most of her legs.

"We're going west right now, we'll be able to find you some help soon." West. That was the opposite of where Lilith and Connor were, the opposite of where she needed to be. She looked out of the window to see where they were, but only saw her broken face staring back. Her brain wasn't thinking write, and Ella felt like her whole body was a brick, and just wanted to fall asleep. The only thing she could think of was finding Lilith and Connor, she didn't want to be with the old lady anymore, no matter how nice she seemed. She was badly hurt, but she had to get out. She had to run, and this time, not fail.

Ella reached for the handle, pulling it back and opening the door. The old lady grabbed her, to prevent her from getting out.

"Dear, we need to get you to a nurse." the old lady said, gritting her teeth. Ella knew she needed to get out as fast as she could.

"LET ME GO!" Ella yelled, kicking at the old lady, and throwing herself out onto the hard ground. She quickly got up, brushed herself off, and ran towards the bridge over the canyon, the canyon she had failed to cross. She tripped over branches, she fell into the freezing snow, but that didn't stop her. Nothing could, and nothing would. She would make it this time. She knew she would make it.

She saw through her half-closed eyes, two blurry, dark purple, and dark brown shapes. It was them, they were walking down the path, looking for her. She started sprinting towards them, shaking, until she finally wrapped her arms around Connor, almost pushing him over.

"I made it! I made it, I'm okay!" Ella said, tears streaming down her face, relaxing for the first time in what felt like forever.

"Yeah, you made it." Connor agreed, hugging her back.