Fracture

Part 17

                 

Landing was smooth, almost too easy, a calm before a storm. A black car waited for us and we all entered, the limo welcoming us with luxury. An eerie feeling washed over me as we exited the plane and made our way to the cabin we booked, just a few miles from my fathers. My vision tunneled and my breathing grew shallow. Panic fell over me as I pushed myself from the seat and onto the empty bench seat on one side of the limo, tucking myself into the corner of the seat and backrest.

            "Fuck." Lex dropped to his knees on the limo floor in front of me, watching me slip. My eyes closed and a dream welcomed me.

            The familiar flash of yellow flew over my eye, but, before I could turn, I looked to find myself tucked away behind a tree. My father's cabin was just a few yards ahead of me, but, my feet were glued. I was still, my breathing harsh and shallow. I could feel sticky warmth in my hands as I looked down, wiping the blood on my shirt, my eyes dropping to gaze at the ground. Beneath me, in a pool of crimson, James was contorted, his face squinting, blood pouring from his chest, his body riddled with holes.  His arms wrapped around me as a gunshot rang, yet again waking me from another dream. Lex's concerned face welcomed me back to consciousness.

            "Another seizure." He ran his hand over my head, caressing my blonde hair.

            "It- it's different. We did something, changed something." I started, my voice emphasizing the word changed. "He's- he's going to kill James." I sobbed into Lex.   

            "Your brother will die because of me. It's my fault." Guilt railed me like a steamroller, crushing my lungs and life into an insufferable suffocation. I gripped my chest with panic, my breathing became heavy and reckless, fear creeping into every thought, overriding my every instinct. "I killed him." The realization came over me in the dream. "I killed him." Shock dripped from my words as I sat back, my head in my hands, wrapping my brain around my latest premonition. His blood is on my hands. I look out of the window, my tears flowing freely, as we pulled up into a large, wooded lot. A small, quaint cabin sat above a bed of wildflowers and tall grass, perched on a quiet hill.

            "This place is beautiful." My breath hitched as I inhaled the sickly sweet scent around me. My memory would forever be corrupted- never again will I be able to walk through a field of wildflowers. My memory will continue to shatter into the depths of my darkened soul as I accept my consequences. To save them, I sacrifice me. To save me, one of them dies.

Destiny is a greedy bitch and fate is a shitty game.

One my father has already won.