The Holders

Chapter 3 - Talia

I ducked behind a bin, breathing heavily. I stayed there, crouched down, trying to make sense of the situation. Suddenly, I feel the ground beneath me crumble away. I manage to dive out of the way as the bin tumbles into the dark hole in the ground.

Standing up, I see the monster thats been following me for half an hour. The little girl of about 7 is standing on the other side of the hole staring right at me.

You could easily mistake her for a real girl but I can see the red pupils in her eyes and the fingers which are sharpened to claws.

I freeze staring at her. She watches me, almost curious, to see what I'll do next. Do I run? That's all I've been doing so far and it isn't going very well. Should I fight her? I scan the deserted street, how could I fight her? I can't get close enough to do her any harm.

I had been too deep in thought and hadn't seen the girl raise her arm. In front of her hovered a giant boulder made out of earth. The girl made a quick flicking motion and the earth boulder hurdled towards me.

I dodge the boulder just in time. I heard it crash behind me. Suddenly, water surrounded my feet. I stood up quickly, wondering if it was that girl. However, the girl was also staring at the water around her confused.

I realised the boulder had crashed into a water pump in a construction area on the side of the street. The girl got over the shock and I realised mud was starting to climb up my legs, forcing me to the ground.

I tried to pull the mud off but it was too slippery. I couldn't move my feet at all now. The mud slithered over my knees, incasing my legs in a solid layer of earth.

I lost my balance and fell forward. I put my hands out in front of me and as my hand touched the water I felt a small static shook. I pushed myself back up again. What is that? I thought as I saw the water.

Light appeared to be coursing through the water, outwards from where I was standing. It wasn't light, it was more like electricity.

The electricity reached the girl and she froze. Then she started shaking as if she had been plugged into a electrical outlet. Her arms swung by her side and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

Then she vanished.

I took a step back, then another. The mud fell away and the water was seeping into the earth. I turned around and found myself face to face with a guy. He had floppy blonde hair and dark brown eyes.

"Come on," He said and grabbed me by the arm. He wasn't dragging me anywhere, more guiding me. I suddenly stopped.

"Who are you? Where are you taking me?"

"We need to go." He insisted.

"Not until you tell me who you are." I demanded. He rolled his eyes, unimpressed.

"Look, those things always work in pairs, you may have killed one but the other one will be angry and determined to avenge her sister."

What things? Did he mean that girl. No. I corrected myself. Whatever it was, it was not a 7 year old girl.

He led me through several deserted alleyways until he we reached a small street where two people were deep in conversation. They stopped talking when they saw me. It was a girl and a boy, they both looked my age.

The girl looked very pale and had practically white hair. Her eyes were frosty blue and as soon as we appeared they stared at me before looking around, worried.

The boy was browner and had short brown hair. He had brown eyes as well. When we got closer I realised his eyes were hazel, not brown. He was watching me, curious.

"We need to hurry," The blonde guy said before walking down a narrow alley way. I stood there for a moment hesitantly. The girl and the boy stayed and watched me.

The girl spoke first, "Hi." Was all she said nervously.

The boy smiled at me, "I'm James." His eyes darted to the girl next to him and then back at me. "And that's Zara."

"I'm Talia," I replied. It was strange how normal this conversation was compared to what just happened.

"So," James continued, "You're probably wondering what's going on."

"Oh no, being attacked by demonic little girls and getting dragged of by weird guys is normal, just everyday stuff in New York." The boy - James - laughed. "But seriously?" I asked.

He shrugged apologetically. "I don't know either but we do need to - Zara? Zara?"

Zara was staring around in panic.
"Something's coming." Her eyes rested on a small building before she turned around and ran off down the alleyway after the blonde guy.

James, who was now worried, grabbed my wrist and pulled me after him after Zara. I didn't protest, which was strange. In New York you shouldn't get a habit of strange men pulling you into dark alleyways. However, Zara was right.

As I went into the alleyway I quickly looked behind us and in the doorway of the building Zara was staring at was a little girl.

She looked like her sister; red eyes and claw fingers but she was older with darker hair and a more murderous look on her face.

And she was staring right at me.