Born to Die

Chapter Thirteen

I stared at the garden in astonishment. How could something that was once so beautiful become so hideous? The hedges grew out of control and were alive. Well, more alive than any plant should be. They grew stalks out of them which seemed to be devouring the rest of the garden bit by bit and destroying whatever beauty remained in it. The white roses were splattered with a gooey dark red liquid, which I assumed was blood. The thorns from the bushes had transformed into vines that whipped the air with enough force to dig through the flesh of bypassers. The grass was dying and was covered in vicious looking birds, peeking at the abundant maggots that inhabited it. The palm trees hunched over in the direction of the other, creating a barricade to the gate. The most daunting thing of the garden though was what was once the most beautiful, the water fountain. The diamonds had been replaced with blood that gushed out of the nozzle. The base was so full that it was beginning to overflow. Within seconds the stream of blood began making its way directly towards me, and as it did so, it rose in the air, forming some sort of being.

"Quickly get inside!" The old man yelled from the doorway. I suddenly realised that I had absent-mindedly wandered to the center of the garden. I tried to move but I was frozen in shock.

"Hope snap out of it! Get inside! It will kill you!" I tried again but my legs wouldn't budge, it was as if they weren't even a part of me anymore. By now the being had completely taken its shape and stood directly before me, leaving a trail of blood from where it stood now, back to the water fountain.

"Hope! You must get away from that-"  the being lifted it's arm and give it's wrist a little twist, making the front door slam closed. I could hear banging from the inside but it didn't seem to be opening.

The being of blood circled around me, entrapping me in a circle of blood. It then proceeded to move towards the palm trees, creating an intersection-like effect. I immediately understood what it was trying to ask me. Which path I would choose. The path of damnation,  which led to the fountain of blood, or would I try to run, taking the path that would lead to my death. Due to the distance between us, and knowing what my answer would bring, I thought that if there was a chance to escape, this was it. I ran in the opposite direction of the being, towards the side of the house, where the balcony looked down on. I thought I would jump the gate from there, using the bars of the balcony for assistance, but I did not get that far. The stalks from the hedges grabbed me from my waist and tossed me back against the side of the house, making me bang my head and lose my balance. I quickly got up and avoided the areas that the stalks could reach as I continued, but after I had taken a mere two steps, the thorny vines from the rose bush slashed into the back of my calves, making me fall face first into the grass. Maggots began crawling over my face and into my mouth as I cried out in agony from the pain of the birds pecking at the bare flesh of my calves. Just as I began choking, the being of blood reached me, making all the other evils of the garden inch away in fear. Seeing that I had made my choice, it grabbed hold of my ankles and dragged me towards the fountain of blood. I tried getting free, kicking my legs and withering, but I couldn't break free. Once we got to the fountain, it pulled my head back from my hair and pushed my face into the blood, holding me there. I was still kicking and tossing my weight around but it had a firm grip on me. I can't breathe. Oh God, I can't... I can't... Breathe. Just then I took a deep breath and could practically feel my lungs fill with blood. I opened my mouth, choking, but that only made it worse, allowing more to seep into me. I kicked frantically and threw my arms around,  desperately trying to find something to grab onto to help me pull my head up, but there was nothing. Then, as my vision blurred and the world went dark, my body fell completely still.

Out of the darkness of the world came a bright light. I know I said that death wasn't like that but I must have been wrong... Only I wasn't. It was not a just a light, it was a person coming towards me, light emitting from her face. She was beautiful.

"Hello daughter." Daughter? Woah slow down woman. Only I could not possibly know if this was my mother or not as I had never so much as seen a picture of her.

"Mum?" I asked in disbelief. She nodded slowly, smiling.

"We don't have much time I just want to tell you that I'm sorry that you must deal with such evil that your father and I left you with. And we are both so proud of you. But you must be strong.  You must fight. Can you do that for me?" I nodded, not quite understanding what she expected me to do, I was dying for God's sake!

"Good. Now with that, I leave you with this gift." She kissed my forehead and the world went dark again for a moment, before I opened my eyes again to the red blood that drowned me. How am I alive? The being had loosened it's grip on my head, thinking I was surely dead. I pulled my head up with ease and took in a deep breath before the being registered what was going on. It tried to force me back under but a bright light surrounded me, throwing it across the garden. When it landed, it was a puddle of blood again and it stayed that way. Wow, did I just do that? Is that the gift my mum gave me? My thoughts were interrupted by Kim, who came running  outside a moment later. I took one look at her and bolted, ignoring the pain that shot through my calves. She was in on this! They all were. Who can I possibly trust? I have no one... But I knew that wasn't true. I ran as fast as I could towards the police station where I knew I'd find Zeke.

Okay so I hope you are all enjoying it so far, I know it's not great, especially chapter 12 but bear with me I'm trying to make it better. Also sorry for not updating for so long!
Okay so one small announcement, I published the first chapter of my second book earlier so if you's wanna check it out that'd be great :D thanks!!! :)