Dragonfly

Chapter Fourteen

Everything seemed to be normal from there. Not a single piece of suspicion when it came to my being Fae and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the normality in all of it. I sat there, in the lecture whilst I continued taking notes, hoping that days like that would continue.

I couldn’t have been more foolish.

“Oh! And there are records of there being a type of Fae known as Banshees and not to mention the-” Cleo’s constant whispers about the Fae were cut short and I couldn’t help but feel thankful for that brief moment where she had stopped talking about them, when my mind finally registered what it was that had interrupted her. I looked to the window, my mind growing crazy with fear as the gunshots echoed outside.

Screams filled the lecture room, causing my heart to stop for a brief moment as I began to realise what I could hear. Swiftly, I stood along with the rest of my class and hurried to the window to see a mad man stood in the centre of the protesting Fae outside, a gun in his hand and a crazed smile upon his face as he began to slaughter my people. My kin.

Without a second thought, I ran towards the door. No longer did I care for my education or the thought of living a normal life. All I cared for were the lives that were put to waste outside of the building.

“Riley! Where are you going?” Cleo shouted.

“To help them!” I snapped and before anything more could be said, I left. Storming down the stairs, my shoulderblades burned as the anger flooded my veins, setting them alight. The cold air brushed against my skin as I stepped out of the building. “Stop this madness!” I shouted angrily, my voice echoing around us.

In my voice, I heard a strength unlike anything I had ever heard and I could barely believe it. Something about the way I spoke, reminded me of ice and the cold winters breath that surrounded us all.

But despite my words, the man didn’t stop. Instead, he turned his gun on me and his gaze met mine. In the brown of his crazed eyes, I could see the madness of his soul. My heart paused for a brief moment as I came to terms with it all. He was going to shoot me.

It was either him or me and I wasn’t ready to die. There was no way of talking sense into him, I could see that in his eyes. Something deep with him had broken, probably long before the Fae had revealed themselves and something in my heart told me that his rage wasn’t because of the Fae, though he had directed it at them.

A reason to kill, nothing less.

Time seemed to slow around me as my instincts took control. The gunshot echoed around me and I lifted my hands in a pathetic attempt to protect myself from the bullet. I closed my eyes tightly and half expected to feel the pain of a bullet wound, but I didn’t.

I hesitated for a moment before opening my eyes, half believing that the man had seen sense at last minute and intentionally missed me. However, my hope for such a thing was as foolish as my belief of living a normal life as I opened my eyes and witnessed what I had believed to be the impossible.

In front of me stood a wall of ice and encased in it was the bullet. Frozen into place with no more power behind it. For a brief moment, I stood there remaining an ice sculpture as I found myself unable to move, my heart unable to beat as I stared at the impossible.

Had I done that in order to protect my life or had something else? Had it been instinct?

Whilst I remained distracted, the gunman took the advantage and took a second shot. The bullet shattered the wall of ice and scraped my arm, breaking open the skin and creating a large open wound on the upper of my arm. The pain brought me back and made me able to move once again.

As the cold sanguine liquid trickled down my arm causing goosebumps to rise on my skin. Without hesitation, my body moved with pure instinct taking complete control over me. Before the gunman could take another shot at me, ice formed and took grip of the weapon in his hand before it began to crawl up his arms like bony fingers.

“Fae!” The man screamed as his eyes grew wide with fear. Once he was unable to fire another bullet, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the badge before running my index finger over it whilst staring at it intently.

Should I wear it? Should I be proud of what I am? I wondered, my thoughts mere whispers like those carried through the trees by the wind.

I looked up from the badge and to the man with the gun in his hand as I began to remember all that I had seen on the news. All the pain, hate and death that had plagued the world since the Fae had revealed themselves to the humans.

It had all been a mistake. A huge mistake.

My heart continued to remain still in my chest or at least that is how it felt as I glanced over my shoulder and to all those that had stepped out of the buildings to gaze upon the scene that had occurred on their very doorsteps. My gaze met those of my friends.

Lola appeared both concerned and afraid; I couldn’t help but wonder whether she was afraid of me or the gunmen who had killed several of my kin, their blood soaking the earth beneath our feet. I didn’t want her to be afraid of me, she was one of my closest friends and I knew that I would never hurt her; not after everything she had done for me over the years.

Cleo appeared to watch me intently, something about her appeared obsessive over what had occurred and I knew that I had just become apart of her obsession. Her best source for information on the Fae.

Finally, Alice looked to me in a similar way to Lola and I wondered the same thing for him as I had for her. Were they all afraid of me?

I saw Lewis step out of the crowd and towards me, I mirrored his step.

“Stay away from me! All of you!” I shouted at the very top of my lungs as my eyes burned with tears, threatening to flow down my cheeks and destroy my composure. I turned and ran, not wanting to remain there a moment longer.

“Riley!” Lewis shouted after me as I ran. I wanted to escape and there was only one place that I could go. I ran to the forest and hid within the shadows of the trees.

If I embrace it, will I ever be safe? Will Lewis ever be safe? Could we actually be together? Be safe, together? My thoughts continued to whisper softly as I wandered through the trees. I threw my cardigan aside and tore the bandages from my shoulderblades, freeing the thorns that had grown from my back to see that they had grown a little more since I had hidden them away that morning.

All I want is a normal life. A safe life. A life without danger or drama. A simple life. Is that too much to ask? My thoughts turned from whispers and into silent screams.

Behind me, I heard the breaking of a twig as a foot crushed the leaves, growing closer to me. I span around on the balls of my feet, my heart pounding violently in my chest as my gaze fell upon a face I hadn’t expected to see in the forest.