Little Dawn

Chapter 9

The sound of heavy metal landing on the floor made her shiver. She was just as scared as she had been the night she left her home. Her legs started trembling as she caught a glimpse of the Cold-blooded above her. Dyron started dragging her towards him, but she was paralyzed by her fear. 

Dyron quickly moved in front of her and grabbed her face with his two hands. 

"Casey", he desperately called her name, "we need to go". 

After a few seconds, she nodded. Casey grabbed his hand, letting him guide her. They ran as fast as they could, not looking back. She could feel her lungs struggling for air, but her legs kept moving. 

"Dyron", she let out breathless. "The others. We need to go back". 

He grabbed her wrist. "We were the only ones left Casey". 

Everything around her began spinning. She stopped breathing and a void fill her stomach. Her legs were wobbling and she couldn't keep her body upright. She fell and sat on the ground. After various deep breaths, she scanned her surroundings. 

"Where are we?" she asked between breaths. 

"I have no idea" Dyron looked around. 

The trees were long gone. They were stepping on dry land. A few dead bushes surrounded them. The sky was dark grey and the cold air filled their lungs. 

They were lost. The realization came a few seconds later. 

"Now what?" Casey asked. 

"I don't know, I don't think someone has ever reached this point", his chest was heaving up and down. 

"Where's the wall? Weren't we supposed to encounter the wall?" Casey stood up. 

"We guessed so. The maps indicated we were surrounded by it", he stopped for a short moment, "Maybe there was no wall after all on this side of Carmona", he concluded. 

"That doesn't make sense", she looked at Dyron. His eyes crossed with hers, the golden color appearing one more time. A split second went through when a sharp pain ran down Casey's back. She let out a moan and looked at Dyron. She touched her neck, where the pain ran down her spine. Something solid and ridgy was plastered against her skin. 

"Casey?" the worried voice of Dyron reached her ears before her body collapsed to the ground. 

+++

Her mother was singing, just like every morning when she woke up. Then, she heard her giggling. That only meant one thing: her father was home. The dizziness came immediately when she jumped out of her bed. She ran to the kitchen and saw her father, his back facing her. 

"Dad?" she whispered. Waiting for an answer. She saw him sitting in one of the crooked kitchen chairs. His back was facing her and her mother was not in sight. She moved her feet closer to him. She extended her arm to touch the man she had longed to hug for years. Her fingertips were about to caress his shoulder but a shrieking sound made her turn around. 

"RUN", her mother's voice echoed. The sound of her voice made Casey shiver. Suddenly, a void started eating her up, and darkness surrounded her. She tried to run, but her feet didn't move a bit. 

"Mom, mom!" she desperately screamed, with tears in her eyes, stretching her arms towards the black void. 

She was suddenly awake, her heart racing inside her chest. Real tears ran down her cheeks. A strong migraine suddenly took control of her head. She groaned and her hand stroked her forehead. She laid her head over a soft fabric, she couldn't recall the last time she felt so warm and comfortable when she woke up.