The Demon's Daughter

Chapter Five - Captured

Chapter Five – Captured

“Oh my God,” I said, burying my face in my hands. “Oh my God.”

“You need to listen to me,” Mom said quickly. “I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that those people won't hurt you. Okay?”

“Those people – what people?” I demanded, my voice an octave high. “Who is after us?”

Mom bit her lip. “You won't believe me,” she whispered.

“Tell me the truth and maybe I will,” I challenged.

Mom's drumming fingers became faster and louder, until they were the only sound that I could hear. Thump, thump, thump-thump-thump. My fingers itched to clasp her's again, not only to stop the incessant noise but to feel that warmth I felt only a moment before. For the first time in my life, I was cold, and the gnawing feeling at the pit of my stomach demanded food.

A growl rip through the air between us.

Mom's eyes flickered to my belly. “Are you hungry?” she asked, with motherly concern that seemed out of place to me.

“Mom, tell me what you're hiding-”

There was no more light.

The houses around us all became dark, their lights shutting off at once. The people who had been speaking to each other not a second before slowly slipped to the floor, falling into deep slumbers. At the same time, the cars behind and ahead of us stopped moving. Mom screamed and jerked the steering wheel to the side, trying to avoid a crash.

Everything happened in slow motion.

Mom looked at me, her mouth wide, but I could not hear a sound. Her hand reached for mine as the car flipped once – twice – it rolled over the car in front of us and kept going. We were upside down, and Mom's hand and my seat belt were the only things keeping me from flying out of the window. I looked at her, probably screaming and crying but feeling grossly detached.

The car did it's last flip, and I was sent into the dashboard for the second time that day.

XxXxX

The world was upside down. Quite literally.

The street was the sky and the sky was the ground. My hair was everywhere, covering the town, and my hands were hanging above my head like an involuntary cheer. Something was pressed against my chest and thighs, so tightly that I found it uncomfortable to breathe.

“Mom?” was the first thing I tried to say. My voice came out in a croak.

“Mom?” I tried again.

There was laughter. It came from everywhere at first, pressing in on my eardrums, demanding attention. The blur in my eyes cleared with every blink, and so did the noise. There was more than one person laughing – and judging by the crunching footsteps, they were heading my way.