[BOOK TWO]
"Anniversaries to some are like counting the years spent doing something great, years spent together, or years spent alive." I started slowly, voice dropping to a drawl as I peeked cautiously out of my bedroom blinds, scanning the road to...
"YOU CAN'T GO!" Within moments, Bella's hands were attached to my wrist, her eyes urgent and wide as she shook her head. "Death is after you. He won't hurt Minnie. We can get Gabriel to go. Heck, even Cassiel! But once you go, he will end you."
I could feel my heart skip a beat in fear, but nevertheless, I shook my head. "Bella, Minnie is our friend. I know that I could die on this trip but I will never let myself rest if she is not safe."
"Then I'm coming with you," she said, flipping her brown hair as she grabbed a nearby jacket.
"No, Bella." Shaking my head solemnly, I held onto the brunette's wrists as the glint of fierce determination in her eyes melted away into worry. "I need you somewhere safe. I'm not going to lose the both of you to Death."
Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
Each tick of the second hand grew louder than the last as Bella fought to find a word to rebut. Her face echoed desperation, but I could see it plain as day that Bella was afraid. She was afraid to be thrown into the situation of last year's party again. She was afraid to face a group of monsters that weren't human. She was afraid of death.
During the events of last year, Bella was the one that had suffered through the most amount of pain and physical injury. It took way too long and way too many treatments before she could even function properly again. Though Cassiel -- or to be exact Death -- had used his magic to fix up Bella's wound, the injury was only pushed away for mere hours before the pain came back in full force. She barely made it into the hospital when blood started to pour out of the newly opened wound, her strained voice piercing through the hallways of the hospital due to the pain doubling in intensity.
And to think that all this pain could've been avoided if I wasn't curios enough to want to go the party. If I had stayed at home, none of this would've happened.
As expected, Bella nodded very reluctantly, the loyal side of her wanting to fight on and insist on tagging along, but the rational, the fearing side of her told her to pipe down and just pray for my safe return. Easily for me, the rational side of her senses won over as she dipped her head low with embarrassment. "Be safe," she mumbled.
In an instant, my arms were around her as I pulled Bella close to my own figure, burying my face into the crook of her neck as we both sobbed out our last goodbyes. "Cassiel will take care of you, okay? You'll be safe here in town."
My best friend could barely even nod before I grabbed a ready-packed emergency backpack by the door (I can never be too ready after what happened last year), stepping out into the cold of the evening and closing the wood behind me with a slam.
-----
The sun had long set as the winds howled ferociously, tossing my blonde hair in wild directions aimlessly. The temperature had started to drop, reducing to a cold ten degrees and much colder than the average Riverside Creek winter nights.
Truth to be told, I had no idea where in particular I was headed to. My feet had began walking around the area by itself, stepping cautiously over the grassy plains as I made my way into the forests of our town. The secluded area was said to be haunted, and due to that, the last time I had been here was as a baby with no further recollections. There was a sharp drop somewhere in the woods, hidden by all the mist and darkness that any adventurer would have easily plummeted to their death had they not been wary of where they stepped.
A low hoot came from a distance away as I spun around madly, picking up a pistol in which I had stashed into the back pockets of my jeans. The large glowing eyes belonging to an old barn owl stared back, never blinking as it hooted once more before taking off into the night. Owls were not a very familiar sight in this part of the country, and to see one so casually flying by in the winter only added panic to my baggage.
The night seemed endless, like a blank canvas that trailed off the edge of forever as dark foreboding clouds covered the once glittering night sky. The trees in which had all lost their lush and green towered over my small body, it's twigs and naked branches resembling bony fingers that haunted many of my nights. A sudden gust of wind blew about the edges of my long gray sweater, causing a rustle in the long grass as my eyes darted about, stepping quicker away from the scene than I had previously planned.
One feet after another, I stepped without even looking much, too desperate to get away as the infinite row of ominous trees trailed a long way down. Glowing eyes of amber lit up in the dark, their pupils all following my movements as my breath quickened, lungs moving rapidly to help regulate my breathing. I could feel the anxiety from before slowly seeping into my body. They rushed my blood, allowing the red liquid to roar loudly in my ears as the various sounds of the night filled my senses.
Glowing eyes, distant rustles, hoots of owls and howls of wolves.
My heart pounded against my ribcage as my breathing grew heavier than as of before, the scene before me changing as I whipped my eyes all about me.
And then, my feet was in contact with the air, no dirt to support my weight as I screamed, voice piercing into the night as my body weight pulled me backwards and down into the night. Darkness enveloped my body before I even made contact with the ground, and I was falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
