A "Perfect" World

Chapter 8- Life or Death

Lark's POV-

Goosebumps covered my arms and legs, I stood there for about a minute until my mind made it's way back to the present situation. My eyes met Doaklan's and tears poured out. So much was happening and I couldn't grasp the situation we were in. I just broke down, but right before I sank to the floor, Doaklan ran over to me and helped me back up. I fell into his arms, feeling completely lifeless and mentally drained.

"Lark, what happened?" Doaklan asked while stroking my hair.

I handed him the papers and continued sobbing into his shirt. There was a wet stain on the pocket of his t-shirt where my tears had been falling. I watched as his eyes widened, and he looked as if he might faint.

"What? How? I don't understand. This can't be true...it just can't be." He said exasperated.

I felt weak. All I wanted to do was lay on the floor and hope that I'd fall asleep and never wake up. Escaping this nightmare was all I could think about, but there was no escaping this reality. As I started to pull away from Doaklan, I heard loud footsteps, as if multiple people were running just outside the door. Doaklan and I exchanged glances and I felt my stomach drop. I quickly wiped my tears and stood in between the door and Doaklan.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!" We could hear guards yelling and pounding on the door. I held my stance, ready for whatever was coming. They must've figured out we were in here, which I didn't care enough to ponder on the thought for more than ten seconds. My heart was racing, but I was ready to fight back with everything I had, there was nothing else for me to lose. In about thirty seconds the door swung open to reveal Sir Arian and two other guards standing at his side. He ordered them to check the other rooms down the hall, and then fixed his eyes on me. He stared straight into my soul, his sharp brown eyes made me want to cower but I held my ground. I knew he was trying to intimidate me and make me back down, but I refused. I could hear Doaklan's heavy breathing and was worried he might pass out.

"You just don't know when to quit do you?" He said without releasing his eye contact. "I told you if you fought back there would be consequences, but you just don't listen." He smirked and pulled out a three-foot sword, freshly sharpened, and it reflected the light coming from the bulb overhead.  He stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. I stepped back, unsure of what he was going to do next, but I knew I was in a life or death situation right now.

"YOU DON'T SCARE ME! GET AWAY!" I screamed trying to hold back tears.

"Awww are you gonna cry?" He swung the sword at me and I fell back into Doaklan's arms. He completely froze, he didn't blink and I could feel his heart pounding through his chest.

"Doaklan, c'mon you gotta snap out of it." But he just stood there, blankly staring straight ahead at Arian's sword. I shook him, hoping he would realize the situation we were in but nothing worked. Arian slowly walked closer, taunting us by waving his sword around.

"Last chance, you come with me...or I slice your heads clean off." Arian inched closer.

"YOU WILL NEVER GET THE SATISFACTION OF SEEING US BECOME THE QUEEN'S MINDLESS ROBOTS!" I shouted into his face. He had no reaction, instead, he just grinned an evil grin and had his sword ready.

As he aimed for my head, I ducked and plowed right into his stomach, knocking us both to the ground. The sword flew out of his hand and landed right by Doaklan's feet.

"Doaklan! C'mon, grab it! Snap out of it" But he just stood there paralyzed by fear. I saw his hand slowly move up to his chest, and he grabbed his heart. I was on top of Arian and I began to punch as hard as I could. All the anger I held in rapidly rushed out of me, as I wrapped my fingers around his neck and with all my strength, I repeatedly slammed his head onto the ground. Blood started to collect on the floor, and I could see myself sucking the life from his eyes. His veins were popping and his eyes looked like they were about to fall out of his head. He tried letting out a scream but only muffled sounds came out. I enjoyed watching him squirm as he tried to push me off of him, but I only tightened my grip around his neck.

"huh...HUH...Lar...Lark." I heard Doaklan wheezing, barely able to get a word out. I spun my head around so fast and rushed over to him, leaving Arian gasping for breath, lying barely conscious on the floor.

"Doaklan! Breathe...please just calm down, it's okay, just breathe!" I said frantically while trying to calm him down. It was clear he was having an asthma attack, and all I could do was just watch him suffer. Arian moaned and struggled to get up. I didn't know whether to help calm down Doaklan or finish off Arian, I was stuck and couldn't think quick enough. Something shiny caught my eye and I looked down to see the sword still lying about a foot away from us. Arian was able to get up, blood trickling down the back of his head. All of a sudden Doaklan threw me to the side, crashing into the cabinets. He bent down and grabbed the sword firmly, still struggling to get a full breath of air. I ripped papers that had fallen onto my face and just watched as Arian and Doaklan stared each other down.

I didn't have enough time to react, but before I knew it, Doaklan had driven the sword into Arian's leg. Arian winced but didn't let the pain show. He grunted and continued walking toward Doaklan. I saw him reach for his gun and point it straight at Doaklan's head. Doaklan looked straight at me and tried desperately to get the words out, "La...Lark, I love y...you". He threw the sword, aiming for Arian's head, while Arian fired the gun.

"NOO! NOOO! DOAKLAN!" I let out a blood-curdling scream and watched as Doaklan fell to the floor, blood spewing from where the bullet entered. Everything seemed like it was happening in slow motion. I looked to over by Arian and saw the sword lodged through the door, seeing it had missed his head. Adrenaline and built up anger coursed through my veins as I managed to get myself standing. Arian turned his attention to me and laughed.

"See what happens when you try to fight back. But don't think I'm gonna let you off easy now." His voice hoarse from me strangling him. "I'm not gonna kill you, I wouldn't dare give you the luxury of an easy way out." He began walking over to me, ready to release his anger on me.

"Don't you dare come any closer!" I said assertively hoping he would back off. But he persisted and the look on his face scared me. I put my hands up to protect my face as he swung at me. His fist still managed to connect with my jaw and my vision went blurry. I saw stars and I couldn't think straight. Still disoriented, he grabbed me by my hair and pulled me to the ground. I let out a cry, while he dragged me out the door by my hair, and then picked me up and hauled my limp body over his shoulder. I was in so much pain, but all I could think about was Doaklan's dead body just lying on the floor.