Hidden Within [BOOK 1] | ✔️

Oblivious

imtheoddgirl
|• Thank you for being my best friend •|

Drained to the core; Lyra had been running for two years — from it, from The Hunter.

If she ever knew what it was, she would have gladly taken the honour of killing it herself. None of the remaining people in the world seemed to know how to defeat it; almost as if The Hunter controlled them, refraining people from fighting back. No one has ever survived. No one knows what it looked like. Hell, no one wanted to know. It had moulded their world into a fiery pit of fatal destruction and havoc, snatching everyone and everything Lyra loved out of her grasp. The wrath and hatred burning inside her heart left her feeling numb. Sometimes she wondered, what was she without these feelings? It has turned Lyra into a monster, one it will never control.

The sky was black and shrivelled as always but something was different that day— it was calm and quiet, as if The Hunter was content. A shiver ran down her spine as her mind ran wild, imagining a smile replacing its monstrous lips. Nevertheless, it was a good sign but her mum was still terrified as always. That was what the loss of several loved ones had done to Lyra's mum. She could not even close her eyes anymore without fearing The Hunter's wrath, afraid that it might take Lyra away from her – but Lyra would never let that happen. She was ruthless when it came to her family and she would not let the last of my loved ones to be stolen from her. Never.

"Mum, can we take a break, please." Lyra begged but the determination lacing her mum's face revealed her answer.

"No, dear, we need to cross the river by nightfall." Something had evolved in her mother's visage, something she had not seen in a long time. Anger. "We need to find Candace, I have a hell of a lot of questions for her."

Candace. She was the only person who confused the life out of Lyra. She would always trigger an uncontrollable debate in Lyra's head. She did not know whether she hated her or loved her; because mostly it was either one or the other, there was never a middle ground. Lyra's memories of Candace before The Hunter appeared to be vague; sometimes she would see Candace in her dreams, giving her encouragements when she saw no purpose in life. Other times, she was trying to kill her.

Olivia, Lyra's mum, always got along with Candace but they had not seen her in two years, ever since Candace had lost her son, Duncan. His death had always been a mystery to Lyra, but she loved him like a brother and it hurt when she woke up and discovered he was no more.

"What questions do you have in store for her?" Lyra asked curiously.

"Why on earth are my memories so vague from the past? Where did all the people go? Why are there such less people left in the world?" She fumed.

Lyra was confused, those were pretty straightforward questions. She was certain her mum knew the answers already.

"Well, for starters you're old and our brains forget easily, secondly, there's a beast running wild destroying everything in its wake, but I'm sure you already knew that." She joked.

When Lyra's eyes met her mother's, she could physically see how drained she was, her limbs were flimsy and fragile. For a moment she was scared to touch her, as if she would break.

"Lyra, be honest with me, is there not a dark, jailed part of your brain that you can't pry open?" Her mum's gaze was so intense she could not lie.

Lyra definitely knew what she was talking about. It baffled her every day but she never thought her mum faced the same problem.

"Yes. There is." Her voice was barely audible.

"Have you ever discovered what's in there?"

"No." She whispered.

"Well I have. I've seen a glimpse of it." Lyra stared at her mum's face searching for the slightest clue that she might be lying, but she was not. "Last night I sat by the rocks and lost myself deep inside my head, it felt like I had travelled so far away — and once I pried my mind open, do you know what I saw?"

"No." That was all she could manage saying because deep down Lyra was scared.

Lyra remembered being told by Candace once, 'some things in life should never be discovered because they will only bring you sorrow'. She believed those words to with all her heart.

"I saw Candace. I was screaming at her, saying something about leaving you alone and then..." Her voice grew quiet and her eyes glistened with tears, "She strangled me till my vision became blurry and everything went black."

Lyra was not expecting that. There was a terrible feeling in her gut. She believed every word her mum uttered yet there was a soothing voice in her head telling her that it was all a lie. Lyra forced herself to concentrate.

She looked back at Lyra and said, "And that's why I need answers." She walked ahead of Lyra, giving her some space to think.

Something was blossoming in Lyra's heart, a weird sensation that she could not quite point out. The same feeling that would course through her veins on odd nights. It felt like a concoction of being set free yet remaining caged. A feeling that made Lyra feel somewhat calmer; it transformed her into a more tranquil person.

♟

She looked back at me; a surge of flawless fear encrypted through her — she ran faster, like she had seen a monster. I whirled around to see the world draped in a black blanket, crusted with woeful calamity. Fire scorched the remains. Smoke and ash covered the air leaving nothing to breath.

This was my doing, and I felt proud of it. I looked back at my victim: such a slow runner and meek frame, one scratch would be enough to make her bleed to death. I was not really hungry, but I never let a prey out of sight. With one swift leap I caught up with her, mere inches away from her.

"Lyra?"

Something felt very wrong. A voice in my head begged me to let her go, to be merciful — just once.            
                                                 
Instead, my fingers slashed open her throat, drowning her in her own oozing blood. Her eyes rolled back as she lost herself in a deep sleep, one she will never wake up from.

Sometimes people are too blind to see the monster within you.

—

Hey there reader, I'll give you the honours of choosing what you want to read next. Would you like you know what happened at the beginning or how it continues... or would you rather be left dying in suspense.
It's all up to you.

I hope you liked it!