NOW PUBLISHED!!
This is the unedited version of The Collected. You can now get the completed version with the link
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The story of a lost boy, a fisherman's daughter, a heartless soul and a lonely mechanic lost in the stars.
The Collectors a...
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My legs hurt. The wound on my arm stung. My head was pounding. And this whole escape had hit a wall.
Although Zillah said she knew where we were, I didn't believe her. We were in some deep tunnel or hall where there were no Collectors in sight. The sirens didn't even go off here.
Until we were free, I could not believe.
Our feet clanged loudly, echoing down the hall. No one spoke but our breaths were still loud enough to draw attention. My palms were sweating yet I felt a chill run its way down my spine.
My father once told me we were never trapped unless we allowed ourselves to be.
I would not allow myself to be trapped any longer. I would fight tooth and nail just to feel the ocean breeze again. To see my father's smile or Char's hand on my shoulder.
But they were gone.
My father a subject to the hidden rocks in the water and Char to his own people. He sacrificed himself for me, taking my place when I was one of the chosen to be left alone to die. I would not risk the chance he gave me, the multiple chances.
Max stepped up beside me, tapping my arm lightly. Without thinking I jerked my arm away, in fear of my skin sizzling beneath his touch.
"Uh, sorry." He looked hurt and my gut twisted, how had we come to this? "I just, I need to know what happened and what is happening to me. What really happened when I lost control?"
I didn't want to think about it, let alone talk about it. Max had been shot, and for a minute I thought he was going to die. Until that thing inside him emerged to the surface.
"When they shot again we scattered for cover. But you didn't, your skin was tainted a darker blue and you became the monster inside your head." His face twisted when I said the word monster and I made a mental note not to call it that again. "You attacked the Collectors like an animal, tearing them apart."
The memories were so vivid in my mind, I tried to erase Max's face from his actions.
"Did I hurt anyone other than the Collectors?" It was like he was holding his breath, not knowing if he wanted to know the answer.
"Almost." I didn't look him in the eyes as I spoke, concentrating instead on the path ahead. "Nicholas came up behind you at one point and you almost turned on him. You pushed him to the ground and-"
I didn't know how exactly to explain it to him. But we were all sure Nicholas was going to die at Max's hands. Such an odd thing that would be if we were to go back to when Max and I first arrived at the Collecting Point. We were both so different back then.
"And?" He urged me on and I shrugged, trying my best to brush it off.
"It was fine, you stopped when you saw it was him." I looked ahead of us to where Nicholas walked close to Andrea's side, their fingers brushing as they walked.
