Chapter One - Lorelai
Chapter One
Lorelai
I’m running. My feet are pounding into the dead crumbling leaves that coat the ground. My thighs are burning, so are my lungs. I’ve never ran this hard in my life. Not when my commander gave the order to bomb the tunnels. Not when my father was on his death bed and my family was waiting for me to visit from half a world away.
The rustling behind me is growing louder. The growls penetrate my ears like a shrill alarm. The claws grasp at my skin and blood drips down my body with an acidic burn. Still, I run. I have no choice, right? If I were to stop, if I were to let them catch me, I would never make it out alive. I can feel my heart beating frantically behind my ribs, and in the distance, a light begins to peak over the horizon. They hate the light. Don’t all monsters? I can feel the warmth within my grasp and suddenly, like a wave pulling you under, I’m dragged backward.
My screams wake me. One second, I’m writhing on the black Egyptian silk sheets, in the next I’m panting and wiping my sweat soaked hair off my neck. It takes me a minute to remember where I am. Then, the fact that I’ve had another nightmare hits me. It’s always the same, a beast I can’t see chasing me through the woods. I’m always trying to escape, to make it to the light. I never make it. I wake up after the beast catches me. Sometimes it’s just as the claws are tearing through my body. Sometimes it’s when I’m being dragged by my hair. It always brings me back toward that horrible place where my mind meets reality and my darkest secrets come to light. That place where I am the victim instead of the victor. They never told me I’d end up like this. Wallowing in hatred and craving death.
With a deep sigh I throw my legs off the bed and drag my feet to the attached bathroom. The shower is calling my name for the fourth time tonight and I try my hardest to keep my thoughts clear as I scrub every inch of my body.
Dawn has set in shades of red that match my steaming skin. I open the bay windows to let in a breeze before I get dressed, enjoying the chill that settles in my bones. My phone dings a few times, reminding me that I have a life to get back to. One that, although rewarding, is full of regret. I look down at the phone, contemplating reading the messages. In the end, I leave it sitting on the dresser as I head downstairs to breakfast. In hindsight, I should’ve taken it with me.
