Archaic

by Regan Ure

  He shook his head. I could not imagine what his mother had gone through.

  "Why didn't your mom abort the pregnancy?" I asked. In her shoes I didn't know if I could have gone through with a pregnancy that had come from a violent act like that.

  "Hue kill human babies because they're of no value to them. The Archaic cherish every life, so to us every life is valuable. My mom wanted the pregnancy."

  After his emotional words I felt guilty for even suggesting what I had.

  "So what happened?" I asked, needing to know what happened next.

  "My mom had twins."

  "You and your brother?" I gasped as pieces of the puzzle started to fit together and I was getting a glimpse of the bigger picture.

  "Yes." His brother was Hue. Everything was starting to fall into place.

  "I'm two minutes older than Mason."

  Mason. My attacker had a name. I thought by hearing his name it would make him slightly more human to me, but it didn't.

  "Did it work?"

  "What?" he asked.

  "Are you and Mason stronger Descendants because you were born from a mixture between Hue and Archaic Descendants?"

  He paused for a moment.

  "Yes."

  His eyes were serious as they held mine.

  "Remember I told you that Archaic Descendants have a white scar on their right hand and the Hue Descendants have the same scar in red on their left hand?"

  I nodded my head, remembering the scar that looked like a burn in the palm of his hand that looked like a jagged bolt of lightning.

  "Mason and I have both."

  My eyes were fixed to both of his hands, which he opened in front of me, palms facing the ceiling. In his right hand was the white scar and in his left hand was the same scar in red.

  Wow!

  "So you and Mason are the most powerful out of the Hue and Archaic, Descendants and all?" I asked.

  He nodded. Knowing that made the rest of the puzzle slowly come together and I understood why he was in charge.

  "Does that mean Mason is in charge of the Hue?" I asked.

  "No," he answered, raking a hand through his hair. "They have a council who control the Hue."

  "Will your children be the same?"

  "I don't know."

  That had to be hard, to be one of two and not knowing the impact of it on your future. In that moment, I found myself looking at him differently, with a little bit more respect for what he had to deal with.

  "I don't understand why he attacked me."

  Jared's eyes met mine and he let out a sigh.

  "My brother's hatred for me knows no bounds, but I don't understand why he didn't kill you."

  I frowned.

  "What do you mean?" I asked.

  "If he wanted you to be dead you wouldn't be here now."

  That hit me hard. Jared watched me. After a few moments I recovered and more questions entered my mind.

  "Why?"

  He shrugged.

  "We don't know."

  There was a reason he'd allowed me to live and I didn't know what it was.

  "Do you think he'll be back?" I asked, not sure if I really wanted the answer.

  "Yes."

  It wasn't what I wanted to hear. Panic set in and I could feel it rising inside of me at the thought of him returning.

  Jared soothed me as he sat down on the bed in front of me, pulling me into his arms. His warmth and words soothed my rising panic. I closed my eyes briefly as I tried to calm myself down. My lungs eased and I drew in a breath. After a few more minutes I was able to breathe again. Air flowed easily into and out of my lungs. Jared pulled away slightly and looked down at me. His long, slender fingers brushed my hair out of my face. His touch was so gentle and my skin tingled beneath the soft touch.

  "Are you okay?" he asked. I couldn't talk so I just nodded my head.

  "I will do everything I can to protect you. Do you understand?" he assured me.

  I nodded, but I didn't believe him. Mason had gotten to me once before, so what would stop him from getting to me again? I closed my eyes. I was feeling tired again.

  He released me and I lay down on the bed. I yawned.

  "Get some sleep," he suggested while he covered me with a blanket. I'd slept so much already. I didn't understand why I was still feeling so tired.

  "Your body needs the rest to heal," he said in answer to my unspoken question.

  Our eyes held for a moment. He was so close to me that the smallest movement would put my lips against his. Nervously I ran my tongue across my bottom lip. Jared's eyes flickered to the motion and held for a few moments before he pulled away.

  I watched as he left the room. The tiredness pulled my eyes closed and I fell asleep.

  A few hours later I woke up alone once again in Jared's room. It was late morning. I got up and I went to the bathroom and checked my reflection. I looked a little better than before. The dark bags under my eyes were clearing up, but I still looked a little pale. I was hungry. Still dressed in someone else's clothes, I quietly walked out of Jared's room and down the hallway. As I got to the top of the stairs, I could hear voices coming from the living room below.

  I stopped.

  "He's up to something," Tyler said in a frustrated tone.

  "We know that," replied Jared. "We just don't know what yet."

  "Do we know of any cases of humans surviving an attack by a Hue?" another voice, I didn't immediately recognize, asked. It sounded a little like Nathaniel.

  "No," another voice explained. There was no mistaking the coldness in the voice. It was Jennifer.

  "Until we can find Mason we'll have to just keep an eye on her," Jared said.

  "Do you think they're trying to change humans?" Catherine asked.

  There was a heavy silence.

  "Maybe," Jared murmured.

  Change me?

  I leaned against the wall for support, suddenly feeling overwhelmed.

  Change. Change into what? I tiptoed back to Jared's room and quietly closed the door. I didn't want him to know that I'd overheard them.

  Sitting back down on the bed, I rubbed my forehead as I tried to understand what I'd just overheard. At this point I didn't think I could really take anymore. Yesterday I'd nearly died, and today I found out I might change into something, but exactly what I didn't know. I dropped my head into my hands. It was just too much.

  The door opened. I glanced up and saw Catherine walk into the room with a tray of food.

  "I thought you might be hungry," she said as she put the tray next to me on the bed.

  "Thank you." I gave her a weak smile. My stomach was too knotted to be able to eat anything.

  "How are you feeling?" She watched me with genuine concern.

  "Much better."

  "I washed your clothes. I'll be back with them in a moment," she said before she disappeared out the room

  I rushed to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. I didn't know why I was looking at my reflection, maybe to see if there were any physical changes. Taking a deep breath, I released it as my hands gripped the counter. I needed to calm down and think about what I'd heard in a logical way. Just because I'd survived an attack by a Hue didn't mean I would change. I was overreacting. I took another deep breath and released it, trying to calm my emotions.

  Catherine appeared at the door of the bathroom. She handed me a towel and my clothes.

  "Thank you."

  "My pleasure," she replied. Then before she left she turned and touched my arm.

  "I'm glad you're okay," she said softly.

  "Me too," I replied. But was I okay?

  It was nice to stand under the shower for a few minutes and forget about all the chaos that had happened. I felt like I was stuck on a rollercoaster and there was no way to get off. Under the heat of the water, I closed my eyes and tried to push all thoughts of the attack from my mind. I stood there for a few more minutes and then rinsed the soap off. Once I was done I switched the sho
wer off and climbed out. I dried myself off with the towel and got dressed. I hung up the towel over the shower door.

  I was surprised to find Jared sitting on the bed when I walked out of his bathroom.

  "Hey," he said and stood up.

  "Hi," I greeted back nervously. He made me nervous, but it was a good nervous.

  "You feeling okay?" he asked as he stood closer to me. He cocked his head to the side, his eyes scanning my face.

  "Yes, I'm fine," I replied, determined to be fine. Any thoughts of what could happen from here on I pushed away. For the moment I just wanted to be glad I was still alive.

  "I need to go home," I informed him. I wanted to get back home to my own space so I would have time to sort through everything I'd been through.

  Then I remembered Anne. I remembered when I panicked about Anne not knowing where I was. He'd said that it had been taken care of and that she thought I was sleeping at a friend's place.

  "You haven't explained how you convinced Anne I was sleeping at a friend's house last night." I needed to know what the story was so when she asked I could stick to the same story. Thinking back a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't been a very good liar but now I was getting plenty of practice.

  I felt a pang of guilt for betraying Anne's trust even though I didn't have much choice.

  "Simple, really. I got Neve to message your grandmother from your phone to tell her you were going to stay out at a friend's. Neve apologized that it was last minute and Anne said to have fun. She really trusts you, doesn't she?"

  "Yes. That's why I get to do pretty much what I want," I explained. What I didn't tell him was that she trusted me enough not to put rules in place as long as I didn't betray her trust. Neve messaging her and lying to her hadn't been my decision, but I would go along with that and in that action I would be betraying her trust. I felt the heaviness of my guilt.

  "You're going to need this," he said, giving me my phone.

  "Thank you," I whispered. He knew what I was thanking him for. He'd saved my life.

  "You don't have to thank me for that. If it hadn't been for me you wouldn't have been in that position in the first place."

  His jaw tightened and there was no mistaking the guilt in his strong features. He blamed himself for what had happened to me.

  "Thank you anyway." I turned to leave and he stopped me by touching my arm.

  "I failed you once. It won't happen again. There will be someone watching you all the time. My number is programmed into your phone. If you feel threatened or in danger you call me anytime, day or night, do you understand?"

  "Do you really think he'll come back for me?" I asked. It wasn't like Jared had a crystal ball where he could see what was going to happen in the future, but I was sure out of all the Archaics he knew his brother better than anyone.

  "Yes."

  I nodded even though I had my doubts. Could he really keep me safe? I wasn't so sure. Mason had gotten to me once, he could get to me again. I left Jared's house with that thought running through my mind.

  "Hi, Ava," Anne called out in her usual bubbly voice from the living room when I got home. I walked into the living room and I smiled when I saw her sitting on the couch watching TV.

  "Hi," I greeted as I sat down next to her on the couch. She had a marshmallow in one hand and the bag of marshmallows in the other.

  "How was your sleepover?" she asked. She had no idea how close I'd come to death. I swallowed my emotion.

  I couldn't tell her anything. I had to lie.

  "It was fun," I replied, trying to keep my voice light even though I felt so heavy inside.

  "I'm glad you had fun."

  "I have some stuff I need to do." I leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek before standing up and leaving the room.

  Inside my room, I looked for anything out of place. I wasn't sure what I was looking for. It wasn't like I was expecting Mason or another to be hiding under my bed or in my closet. Being attacked just outside my house had stripped me of any safety I'd felt before. I didn't think I would ever feel safe again, especially when Jared was convinced he would be back.

  For a little while, at least, I wanted to be alone. My bedroom window and curtains were open. After shutting my bedroom door I walked over to my window and closed my curtains. I took my clothes off. I didn't know if I would ever be able to wear them again, since every time I looked at them they reminded me of the attack. Unable to deal with the reminder, I stuffed the clothes into my trashcan.

  Once I changed into my pajamas, I sat in the middle of the bed, resting my chin on my knees. I didn't want to do anything. I just wanted to be alone and quiet. For a while I sat there feeling numb. Maybe it was delayed shock or something like that setting in. After another hour I thought maybe I would feel better if I ate something.

  I popped my head in the living room to ask Anne if she wanted anything to eat but she was fast asleep on the sofa with the TV still on. Pulling a blanket over her, I switched off the TV.

  Inside the kitchen I searched through the cupboards, trying to figure out what I wanted to eat but nothing I usually ate held any appeal. My mind drifted back to the last time I'd eaten and I realized I hadn't eaten anything in twenty-four hours. To not have eaten in the last day and not feel hungry wasn't normal, but then anything that had happened recently couldn't be termed as normal either.

  Maybe the healing had something to do with it.

  I ate some toast and drank some water before I went back upstairs. I climbed onto my bed and tucked my comforter around me and lay my head on my pillow, staring at the wall in front of me. Eventually I fell asleep.

  I was walking home. Footsteps echoed behind me. I knew who it was and I knew what was coming. I wanted to run to escape but I couldn't veer off the path I was walking. It was like I was just watching and not able to change what was about to happen.

  He grabbed a hold of me and spun me around just as I reached my front door. Mason. This time he wasn't a nameless attacker. This time I knew who he was. Ice cold blue eyes looked at me as he smiled.

  Fear gripped me. I knew what was coming and how much pain he was going to inflict. I watched him as he held me by my arms. I felt helpless. Blond sun-streaked hair, blue eyes and pale skin. His smile widened as an indescribable pain tore through me but this time instead of just a whimper I screamed and I didn't stop.

  The last thing I remember was looking into his dark eyes, which had gone pitch black.

  I woke up with a start, drenched in sweat. I took a couple of deep breaths and managed to calm myself down.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  It was the first day of school after my attack. I'd spent most of Sunday holed up in my room, struggling to bounce back to my normal self. Maybe I needed to give myself more time to get over my attack. Did I really expect to be okay with it after only a day or two?

  I was dressed for school and about to leave my house to catch the bus when I got a message from Jared.

  I'm outside, it said.

  Why would he be outside? I opened the door to see him leaning against his Jeep that was parked in front of my house. I walked over to him. He straightened up and opened the passenger door.

  "Get in. I'm taking you to school," he said as he indicated for me to get into his car.

  "This isn't necessary," I told him. He felt guilty for my attack--that was why he was working so hard at protecting me. I didn't hold him responsible for my attack and I didn't want him to feel guilty.

  He studied me for a moment, still holding the door open.

  "It wasn't your fault," I assured him.

  "Please just get in," he said. "I'll feel better if I drive you to school."

  I got into his car and he closed the door. When he got in, I touched his arm and he looked at me.

  "I don't blame you for what happened," I said softly, needing him to know that I didn't want him to feel the way he did.

  "You should," he said in a clipped tone as he started up the car. "I'm going to make sure it do
esn't happen again."

  There was nothing I could say that would ease his guilt. His jaw tightened as he moved his eyes to the road. I shrugged my shoulders and turned to stare out the window as he drove us to school.

  It was only when we pulled up at school and everyone turned to watch me get out of Jared's car that I realized the gossip about the two of us was going to start up again. He didn't seem to care who was watching when he helped me. There was nothing I could do about the gossip so I just ignored everyone staring, like Jared did, as he walked me to my locker. He remained glued to my side, and it was only when Stacy arrived that he left.

  "What happened between the two of you?" she asked when Jared was out of earshot.

  "We're just friends."

  I couldn't tell her the truth--that I'd nearly died when Jared's evil brother had attacked me, and now he felt guilty because he'd been unable to protect me.

  She looked unconvinced. Kennedy reacted the same when she asked the same question and got a similar answer. I stumbled through the rest of the day. I just couldn't bring myself to care about the whispers behind my back. Normally all the untrue gossip would have really upset me and I would work myself up about it, but today I didn't seem to care. Maybe nearly dying had put things into perspective.

  Jared was always around. The only time he would disappear was when I was with Stacy or Kennedy. If I didn't have a class with Stacy or Kennedy, at the end of class he would be waiting outside for me. He would walk me to my next class and then disappear to his own class.

  At lunchtime Jared still sat with his friends and I sat with mine but I could feel him watching me like a hawk the entire time. Andrew sat with us as well.

  "Hey," Andrew greeted me.

  "Hi," I greeted him back. Even his easygoing nature couldn't make me feel comfortable. He picked up very quickly that I wasn't my usual self.

  "Are you okay, Ava?"

  "Yeah, I'm fine," I lied with a shrug. I just wanted to be alone, so I made up some excuse about having to get a book from my locker and dashed out of the cafeteria. I slipped into the closest bathroom.

  I splashed water on my face and dried myself with a paper towel. There was something wrong with me, but I couldn't figure out what it was. I studied my reflection in the mirror. I still looked a little pale. Maybe physically recovering from my attack was going to take a few more days. I hitched my school bag over my shoulder as I left the bathroom and I walked straight into a hard chest that belonged to Jared. His arms reached out to help steady me.