Fractured Souls

Sacrificed

I stand at the front of the crowd, watching Aubrey, waiting for the stranger to arrive so we can start the sacrifice.

The crowd is almost silent, apart from the odd whisper and shuffling of bodies. It's never like this. We all have the feeling that something is wrong.

A breeze whips through my hair, and I turn to watch the stranger walk slowly but steadily to the platform where Aubrey is shaking, tears slipping down her cheeks.

When he reaches the stage, he strokes her face with a finger, making her shiver, and turns to pick up a goblet from the table behind him. In it is a silvery liquid, which bubbles until he murmurs something under his breath, and it lays flat.

He tips Aubrey's head back, and gestures for her to open her mouth. She does so hesitantly, swallowing nervously.

A rush of adrenaline coarses through me, and I jump onto the platform and underneath the cup of liquid being poured into Aubrey's mouth, swallowing the liquid and shivering. It's cold, so so cold, like a cup of ice slipping through my insides and settling themselves in my stomach.

And then it's fire, burning my intestines, my stomach, my throat, my face, my entire being. Somewhere through the pain I can hear screaming and roaring, and feel wind all around me, then, nothing.

***

The burning subsides, and I sit up, gasping for air. A shadowy looms above me, and I look up. It's the stranger, and he looks furious.

"What the hell!" He yells. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

I shrink back into myself, staring wide-eyed at this... creature.

I'd never seen him up close before, no-one has.

He's not exactly a normal human, but he doesn't look like a monster, either. He's actually quite handsome, with white, almost translucent skin, silver eyes, and blackish-silver hair. Most of him is silver actually, including his shirt. He's taken his black cloak off, and I spy it crumpled up in a corner.

"Why the hell would you do that?" He continues, his mouth curled into a snarl.

"I wanted to come." I say quietly.

"Honestly, what is it with humans? They're so bloody naive!" He storms.

I clear my throat, and try again.
"I wanted to come."

He stops, and looks at me.
"You... what?"

"I wanted to come." I repeat.
He shakes his head, staring at me, making me uncomfortable. I look away.

"Why?" He asks, and I'm surprised by the amount of confusion in his voice.

"Because... why not? I mean, you've been taking our children for three years, I think I have the right to see who the hell is behind all this." I tell him. "I mean, what kind of messed up do you have to be to do something like that?" I add, and immediately regret it.

His face screws up again angrily, and he turns around, stalking away, leaving me against the wall I had backed myself into unconsciously.

I stand up, stretching my joints, and look around.

I'm standing in a dark room, made entirely of wood - not planks, but actually wood. It smells faintly of vanilla and smoke, which I sort of like.

There's a bed in one corner, which is very skinny, but freakishly long. On the bed there are a few outfits, which are very dark, and there are also a few weapons. I glance towards where the stranger disappeared, and walked briskly over to the bed.

I pick up a small dagger and slip it into my left boot, then go back to where I was and sit down, hugging my knees to my chest.

I hear a bunch of muffled whispers, and snap my gaze up, to see the stranger's silhouette standing above me, and three smaller shadows a little way behind him.

"Are you okay?" he asks gruffly. My eyes widen and I lift an eyebrow.
"Why would you care? It's not like you've shown any sign of caring about people the last three years." I snarl.

There's a gasp from the smallest figure, and I glance at them.
"Who the hell are you?" I demand.

The stranger turns around to gesture for the three to come forward, and looks back down at me, the shadow of a smirk playing in his lips.

The middle one, a black female, stares me down with cold eyes, frown lines creasing her beautiful face. She studies me for a second, before stalking off and disappearing. The stranger ignores her, watching my face instead.

The tallest one smiles warmly at me, and offers me a hand, ignoring the stranger's snarl. I take it, hauling myself up, and gaze up at the friendly face above mine. He has a golden tan, even in this dank, dark cave.

"I'm Evan." he tells me, his warm eyes twinkling. Though I can't quite see properly, they look almost red, and yet they give me a sense of security.

"I'm Dawn." I say, looking at the smallest one, who is standing behind the female and the stranger. Evan notices me staring, and shakes his head.

"Clay! Get the hell over here, and take off that stupid hood. Do you not have manners?" He yells, making me, and the smallest figure (Clay?), jump in surprise. I like this Evan guy.

Clay stumbles over to us, and sticks out an olive, shaking hand. I take it, and gently shake it. I study the little face I can see, as they hasn't taken their hood off yet. A small nose, bright green eyes, and a delicate chin. No hair is visible, so I assume Clay is a boy.

"Clay! I said to take off your hood!" Evan yells, flicking Clay's nose.
Clay flinches, and hesitates.
Evan huffs, and tugs back the hood. Clay cries out and covers his face, turning around and kneeling in the floor, tugging the hood back on, but it's too late. I've seen his face.

Her face.

I spin on my heel and storm up to the stranger.

"Who the hell are you people, and what the hell is she doing here?"