Heart of Ice

Chapter Three

Song: Story of Another Us- 5 Seconds of Summer

Footsteps slam rapidly on the cement behind me as I run down the dimly lit hallways, trying to find an exit. I'm not sure who is chasing me, or how I escaped, but all I know is I need to get out of there before it's too late. As I round another corner of the hallway, the footsteps grow closer, and a voice booms, "Alaska!"

The voice sounds familiar, but I'm too overwhelmed with fear to identify who it is. I pump my legs faster, and as I run further down the hallway, I finally see light peeking out of the cracks of a door. Just as I'm about to reach it, the person behind me tackles me to the ground, and we roll down the hallway. When we stop rolling, I'm on my back, my hands pinned above my head, and hovering over me is Hunter, his eyes icy blue and narrowed in hatred.

"What are you doing?" I scream, thrashing in his hold, and he simply smirks as he pulls a dagger out of his boot.

"What I should've done a long time ago," He stabs the dagger through my chest, my body immediately falling limp in his hold. When my skin begins to turn gray, he lets go of me, walking away without a word.

And he never looks back.

I jolt awake, breathing heavily as I glance around the room. The lights are off, and the shadows around the room are illuminated by a single flickering light in the hallway. Sweat beads along my forehead as I picture the look in Hunter's eyes once again. It's something I never want to see-- especially from him.

He and I have been in the enemy's house for almost a week now. He, of course, is suddenly the enemy's right hand man, while I'm being taken from room to room, supposed to be receiving punishment for God knows what. But Hunter casts a shield around us each time, and the only remnants of what he makes the boss believe he's done to me are fake scars and wounds projected onto me from the illusion. Even though I know he's on my side, I still don't understand why he is so adamant on ignoring me. If anything, that makes being alone and trapped in the rooms he has taken me to ten times worse.

Just as I'm about to slip back to sleep, a cool washcloth is placed on my forehead, and I flinch, immediately recoiling from whoever is holding the cloth.

"Relax", He murmurs. "It's just me."

I open my eyes, seeing Hunter standing in front of me, his hand gently wiping the washcloth across my forehead. He still looks emotionless, but his fingertips wiping away the tear streaks on my face tell a different story. I finally relax against his touch, the vision of the nightmare slowly fading as he cools my skin with the cloth.

"Please stop ignoring me," I faintly beg. I learned throughout the week that if Hunter was willing to communicate-- granted, it was only at times when it was absolutely necessary-- he preferred to speak under his breath, so low that not even a mouse could hear. I was annoyed with it at first, but I soon realized he was doing it for our safety; our voices could carry, and if they found out Hunter was helping me and not doing what he was supposed to be doing, it could end disastrously for both of us. These little stolen moments when his voice is nothing but a careful breath protects us both, and allows our conversations to be solely between him and I.

But alas, he continues to ignore me. I sigh and look away from him, while he remains quiet, focusing on the cloth he wipes around my entire face. Once he finishes with that, he tucks it in his pocket and brushes the pieces of stray hairs out of my face. Hunter's eyes linger on mine for a few seconds, and then he looks away, his jaw ticking. He leaves the room without another word.

I hate that he's ignoring me, and I want to be angry at him for it. But as I think back on the week, I realize how much worse it could've been for me if Hunter hadn't been there. He is an illusionist vampire, so he's able to create shields around himself and whoever he thinks of, and to make the shields invisible from the people outside of them, he's able to create an illusion of what others expect to be happening. When he creates shields around him and I, I'm able to see what tasks the boss had planned for me, and the only way I can describe them is pure, utter torture. I'm not sure what the unfinished business is that the guy who tied me up had mentioned, but it's apparently bad enough that the enemy wants to place me right at death's door and then have his way with me.