THE DARKEST HOUR

CHAPTER 12

ORA'S POV:

Surrounded by thick, dark, thorny trees, I stood there with only one thought whirling in my head, ' How did I get here?'
I took a step backwards only to find myself violently hoisted up by one ankle. As the blood rushed to my head I  glanced upward to see a tall figure, hovering over me.

"W...who a..a...are y..you?" At that point, I didn't care about the blood oozing from my head. My head was spinning because of the severe blood loss, and I placed my hand on the side of my forehead, covered with blood.

I lifted my head up, and tried opening my eyes, but my vision blurred as, a drop of blood entered the iris.

I flinched in pain, and rubbed my eyes, with the back of my hand. As my eyes fluttered open, there was no sign of it.

I grabbed my head with a hand of mine, trying to stop the blood trailing out of it. I shuddered on the immense throbbing of head, and tried to get up, by using a tree for my support.

I could hear the rustling of leaves and the cracking of twigs as I moved an inch forward.

"H..hello?" I felt a lump in my throat, blocking all the words coming out of my mouth.

I continued walking, taking small steps, when suddenly, I saw someone, laying with his head on the muddy floor.

"H...hey? W...who a..a...are you?" I stumbled upon the words, and made my way towards him.

I crouched down near him, and prodded him in the chest.

"C..come on. We have to leave. There's someone in here. He's going to kill us. We are going to die, if we didn't get out of here." Or may be he was dead.

Terror gripped my body, as he didn't move an inch from his place. I couldn't see his face, but by the clothes, and the body figure, I made out that it was a man.

I kept my trembling hands on his shoulders, and tried to turn him around.

A shrill scream escaped my mouth, as I turned around, to see his face.

"Cooooolllttttoooonnn!!!!"

I snapped my eyes open, and placed a hand on my mouth. I was panting heavily, and perspiration ran down my forehead.

"Ora! Are you okay? What happened? I heard you screaming!" As soon as I saw him, I hugged the life out of him.

"God! It felt so real. It was all so real." I continued mumbling those words and his hands caressed my hair.

"Calm down. You are okay. I am here with you. Just relax. Okay?" He cupped my cheeks, and looked at me with, reassurance glimmering in his eyes.

I nodded my head and inhaled deeply.

"How come you are here?" As I came back to my senses, I shot him a meaningful look.

" Your doctor, Dr. Roberts called me and told about you.  He used to be my friend. He recognized you, and gave me a call.I got so worried, Ora. I thought I will lose you." He kissed the top of my head and I could see, his eyes glistening with tears.

I gave him a weak smile and then it all came to me.

Drake taking Elana.

"Where's Elana?" Deep inside, I knew the answer, but I asked him, my voice laced with horror.

"She just went out with Isla to grab something to eat." He replied, while making himself a cup of tea.

My head snapped towards his direction, and mouth was in an 'o shape'.

"WHHAT? I mean what? She is okay?"  I asked, while calming myself a bit. I didn't want Colton to worry.

"Yes, absolutely. Why? What was supposed to happen to her?" He shot me a questioning glance, and his hands stopped from what they were doing.

"No nothing. Who is Isla? Is she the nurse?" I tied my hair in a pony tail, and took off the blanket.

"Uhh.. no. She is.. umm she is I don't know.. oh yes.. she is an employee of mine." After struggling for a few minutes, he finally answered me, while running a hand through his hair.

"Wow. I thought you came here for me. But it seems like, you are here on a business trip." I rolled my eyes and folded my arms.

"No no no. You are getting me wrong. She just wanted to meet you, so she came with me." He got up off his chair, and strolled towards me.

"Meet me? How does she know about me? The last time I checked, you were never this close to your employees. Is she an employee or...?" I trailed off and gave him a mischievous grin.

He suddenly got tensed and ran his tongue on his lips, which he usually does when he's nervous.

"She'sagoodfriendofmine." He covered his mouth with his hands, and stared at me with his eyes, wide-opened.

"What?" I looked at him with a blank face, and he looked like a five-year old boy, who was caught stealing chocolates.

"She's a good friend of mine. I told her about you. I told her everything. About you. About Drake. About my mistake." He uttered in a low voice, and I could see, guilt written all over his face.

"Colty Molty. It's okay. It was all past. Now I have you, Elana, B.. Blake. I am happy. It's all good." I tried to remain calm, but I stammered while mentioning Blake, which earned me a glance of mixed expressions from Colton.

"About Blake, Ora he's dead."

Terror rushed through my veins like blood, and only three words came out of my mouth.

"It is all real."

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