Hazel- On the Run

Chapter 10- A friend's return

Chapter 10: A friend’s return

Hazel had to do something.

She ran. The men ran too.

She desperately scanned the landscape trying to find somewhere to hide, but never slowing down.

She had never been a fast runner but now with adrenalin pumping through her body she was definitely running faster than she ever had before. Hazel could feel her heart beating in her chest. She looked behind. They were gaining on her. She heard a motor and saw some of the men had jumped back into the cars. One of the cars raced towards her.

It passed her, skidding sideways and sliding to a stop in front of her, blocking her path. She could feel heat rushing to her cheeks and her breath was becoming heavier. She spun around to avoid the car, only to find another one behind her. Two more drove up to close the gaps, trapping her in a cage. Men came out of the cars and headed towards her. What was she going to do now?

“Stay away from me!” she shouted to them.

“Don’t worry. We’re not going to hurt you,” one of the men said.

They walked over and one of the men reached out to her, grabbing her arm.

“Get off me!” Hazel shouted pushing them off. She thrust her arms out and everything went flying. It was as if a great wind had arisen. The men flew backwards, the cars flew backwards, everything coming crashing down a few metres away. Hazel felt a surge of energy leave her when she had released the power. She stared at her hands not knowing what to do. What had she done? She tried to run but her legs wouldn’t move. Philip Mercedi appeared beside her and Hazel turned a shocked expression in his direction. Where did he come from?

“What do you want?” she called to him. The world seemed to have drifted away and even her own voice sounded distant. The crashed cars and groaning people felt far from where she was. It was just her and Mercedi.

“I know your secret,” he said, walking closer and touching her arm. “The way my little disc didn’t work on you. Now, someone I can’t control won’t do.” His voice sent shivers down Hazel’s spine and she wished for someone to come save her from his gaze. His eyes compelled her and his voice had a calming sensation. She tried to flinch as his hand came and touched her face, but she found she couldn’t move.

“We will have to do something about you, won’t we? You’ll ruin all of our plans,” Mercedi continued.

“You won’t get away with anything,” Hazel replied, finding her voice again. “Someone will stop you.”

“But that’s just the thing,” Mercedi said. “The only one that can stop us is you. Everyone else we can control. All the other paranormals are stuck, powerless and the ones you rescued from the camp have left the country. They won’t try to save anyone, and anyway what could they do against me. Once you’re gone, we will rule supreme. Hazel Solomon will die along, with everyone else.” His speech ended. Hazel realised that Mercedi had a secret too. He was paranormal, just like her. That was how he had appeared out of nowhere. He was a telepath, a teleporter. Hazel realised Mercedi was not one to mess with. She had to get away from him but she couldn’t move.  Hazel couldn’t tear her gaze away from those dark eyes staring into her own. She would do whatever he wanted her to. Her head was hurting as her mind screamed for release but she was helpless. Completely under his control. Hazel’s eyes felt suddenly heavy and her mind started slowly leaving the world behind. She knew that if she didn’t stop him, her mind would leave completely and she would never wake up from the sleep she wanted to go into. The pain would stop in that place.

 In the distance, she heard a faint whinny. It took all her concentration to remember why the whinny was familiar. Alice.

Her mind snapped awake once more and she managed to tear her gaze away. She could feel Mercedi pulling her back but somehow she resisted. The world came back into focus and she saw the white mare running at full speed towards her. She threw all her remaining power in his direction and watched as it hit Mercedi at full speed, knocking him to the ground. The power over her dropped and she could think again.