Organized Chaos

Chapter 11 Nightmares

            My savior and half-brother turned to me as Black held a gun to my head. I was gagged and tied up. My hands and ankles burned from the ropes. My heart was pounding and I knew Black could hear it. He was a vampire after all. He smiled and exchanged a glance with Dylan. Then Dylan turned to look at me. He knew, just from my eyes, that I was begging him to save me.

            “I have to explain. When you were in the hospital, I was immediately concerned. You are my half-sister after all. When Black heard about it, he ordered me to kill you. But how could I? The closest thing I had to family. But he explained his reasons. And I began to understand. So I made it my mission to get close to you. Get you to trust me. And when I finally succeeded, I knew I had to get you here. But then my emotions started acting up. My own sister. I couldn’t let that bother me though. I went through with the plan and got you here. You’re wondering why Black wants you in the first place. The answer is simple. Your blood. You’ve cheated death five times. Your blood could be the only way to true eternal life in vampires. I’m sorry it has to be this way,” he finished as he pulled a gun out of his pocket. “Please don’t hate me.”

            I almost laughed. Hate him? HATE HIM?!?!?! The brother who betrayed me and is now going to murder me? Of course I’m going to hate him!

            Movement caught my eye, and I recognized the silhouette of a man I last saw in an airport. Mr. Lyle. Of course he was working with Black. And he was currently getting a needle ready. If they needed my blood, they needed my heart beating. Well, that wasn’t going to happen.

            Just as I figured out how to untie the ropes, a loud bang alerted us to a new visitor. With Black and Dylan distracted for a few seconds, I untied my hands and knocked the gun out of my brother’s grip. Someone came up behind me. I was just about to punch him in the head, when he grabbed my hand and whispered in my ear.

            “Don’t move. I’ve got your back.” It was Zach. Relief washed through me. I just might make it through this alive, I thought. Because the dust was still settling, Dylan and Black were confused and desperately trying to figure out where we were. Zach, being trained in martial arts for the last seven years, went to take on Black.

            I, however, went I pursuit of Dylan. He and I were almost evenly matched. The only difference was that I was able to tell what he was going to do before he did it. And I could tell what his emotions were. For a few seconds, I was distracted by Zach’s blood-curdling scream. My heart almost stopped. Black had cornered Zach was torturing him beyond imagine. It was in those seconds that Dylan kicked me in the chest. Hard. I moaned in pain. With every ounce of strength I had, I turned around and punched him as hard as I could in his nose. That did it. I heard the break and saw the blood. Just as Black was about to make a lethal blow to Zach, he caught scent of Dylan’s blood.

            As much as I hated my half-brother, I couldn’t let him die this way. I advanced on Black. A strong kick to his gut and a sharp blow to the head sent him sprawling. Then I twisted his arm behind his back in a painful position. He howled in agony. A final kick to his head and Black was out cold.

            I ran to Zach’s side. He was bleeding from his head and as far as I could tell, he was barely breathing. Tears started running down my cheeks. My heart cried out in pain. Why did everything have to turn out so bad? Why did evil always have to win in some way? I put my head over Zach’s chest. His heart was still beating. It was weak, but it was there.

            I knew we had to get out of the dungeons. I tried to wake Zach, but it was useless. He was out cold. I’d have to carry him. I slowly picked him up and carried him to the entrance door. There, I could hear voices. The one I heard above all others though, was Austin’s. And they were right above us.

            “HELP!” I cried. “Austin! OPEN THE DOOR! I NEED HELP!” He heard me.

            “I’m here, Olivia! Just hold on!” he replied. He opened the door and his eyes widened, astonished. Almost frozen, he helped me carry Zach up to his car. I sighed, relieved. Joey was driving and headed toward Zach’s house. We were all going to be safer there.

            Except Zach and I, of course. Since he was the only one certified in first aid. Seeing as he was knocked out cold, I had no idea why and could only make sure he had a soft place to lie down. I, on the other hand, had a terrible pain in my chest where Dylan kicked me. It was getting to the point where it was hard to breathe. And Zach was the only one who knew my situation and what I’d need.

            Austin seemed to sense my distress and wouldn’t let me out of his sight until we reached the house. “You okay?” he asked as he helped me lay out on the couch.

            “No. My chest hurts and Zach is out cold. He’s the only one who can help me,” I explained.

            He understood. “Go get some rest. I’ll wake you when Zach gets up.” I figured it was worth a shot. I walked over to the other couch and carefully laid down. In seconds, I was asleep.

            Dylan turned toward me and his red eyes seemed to stare into my soul.

            “I need to kill you. So why don’t you cooperate and it’ll be as painless as possible,” he coaxed. I was not going to let him get to me. If he wanted me dead, he was not going to be the one to do it.

            As he backed me to the edge of the cliff, the gleam in his eyes reflected his excitement. I had two choices. I could either give in to Dylan and let him kill me. Or I could jump one hundred feet off the cliff to my death into a rushing river that of course ended in a waterfall. As much as I hated these options, I chose the jump.

            My brother’s eyes widened as my feet left the ground. “You’ve just killed yourself!” he screamed. Just as my feet hit the water, I felt a tap on my shoulder. My entire body entered the water and submerged over my head. Something shook my body. As I felt death taking my life, I awoke.

 

            “Olivia, wake up,” someone said. I opened my eyes and everything came back to me. It was just a dream. As I became more alert, Joey spoke.

            “It’s Zach. We can’t find his pulse.” I think I stopped breathing. Zach could be dead. But there was still a chance that he was alive.

            I slowly got up and walked over to him. As I tried to find his pulse, I couldn’t help but notice how cold he was. When I couldn’t find his pulse, I moved to his chest. Because I could hear better than any of us, they of course chose me to make sure Zach was dead. But the emotional toll was a big price. After a few seconds that seemed like eons, I could hear his heart beating. And I breathed a sigh of relief.

            “He’s alive,” I whispered. Everyone seemed to let out the breath they were holding. I broke down and cried again. Austin came over and hugged me.

            “It’s okay. You both are alright. As soon as he’s better, he’ll make sure you are, too. Wait for him to wake up, you’ll feel better,” he whispered. I nodded.

            I let go of him and sat down next to Zach. I held his hand in mine, too scared to leave him. A spark shot up my spine and that’s when I realized I loved him. I started crying again, but then I saw his chest rise. He was breathing. I could breathe again, too. The boy who held my heart would live to know that he did. Just then, his eyes fluttered open.

            “Olivia,” he breathed.

            “I’m here, Zach. I’m here,” I replied. He noticed I was holding his hand and gave mine a slight squeeze to let me know he was here. I looked down into those emerald eyes that took my breath away and whispered, “Zach, I love you.” He smiled. And then he fell back asleep. For once in my life, everything was going to be okay.