by Jamie Gray
Suddenly, Lexi felt her arm grabbed as she was pulled up off the ground, severing their trance-like connection. She broke eye contact with the guy to look back at the person who had begun dragging her down the sidewalk. It was Brooke. "Are you okay?" she asked, concerned and worry in her voice as they continued to hurry down the path. A part of Lexi wanted to turn back and talk to that guy, but she knew that her and Brooke needed to keep moving if they wanted to get home before curfew. Lexi’s face was still frozen with shock as her mind and body felt numb. "Come on! We need to keep going!" Brooke reminded, pulling her along as she weaved them through the odd groups of people, continuing towards their house.
∞∞∞
Upon finally reaching their house, Lexi and Brooke were panting like dogs after their long and stressful run home. Their house was medium-sized, decorated with white walls and a grey roof, comfortably housing their entire family. Their neighbourhood was large but very quiet. Every house looked the same. Each lawn was perfectly cut with a decorative tree at the front of each home, and each house had a small porch leading to the front door. Lexi noted that Kadence and Adrian were already home, as their bright orange car was back in their driveway across the street.
Knowing that they had arrived long passed their assigned curfew, Lexi knew they'd be in some kind of trouble. She cautiously opened the front door to the house, peeking inside for a moment. She didn't see anyone at first, so she pushed the door open for them to sneak in unnoticed, but despite their quiet entry, they were expectedly met by their mother, Katherine Danvers. She wore a pair of black tights and a blue buttoned t-shirt. Her chestnut hair was in a messy bun, and acne covered her chin and forehead, thanks to stress, no doubt. "I told you two to be back by eight o'clock. It's nine-thirty! Where have you been?" she shouted, her arms sternly crossed as her loud, angry voice echoed outside the open front door for the whole neighbourhood to listen in on. She looked both girls up and down, undoubtedly noticing all of the dirt and dust their clothes had picked up. Her face turned bright red as her head darted back and forth between them. "You were exploring again, weren't you?" she roared.
"No! Bsh, no way. We would never take part in such reckless activity,” Lexi lied, shaking her head as she looked at Brooke for support, who quickly began nodding along. “We just had to trudge through some mud on our way home, since we had to walk. That-that's why we're so late."
Their mom crossed her arms and tilted her head as she looked down at Lexi. She knew her punishment was coming. There was no way her mother believed that lie. "Mmhm. Danvers, if…" she began loudly, but was quietly cut off by her husband as he came up behind her.
"Katherine," David Danvers interrupted, placing his hand on his wife's shoulder, a warm smile across his face. He was greatly taller than their mom, and had short brown hair and a long beard that covered the entirety of his chin and cheek bones, and lengthed to touch his chest. "I'll handle this," he insisted in a soft tone, guiding her back into the house.
Their mom stiffly nodded and stepped aside, but before walking back towards the living room, she turned to her husband. "What they're doing is incredibly dangerous."
Their dad nodded, his expression warm and understanding. "I know. Just let me talk to them," he reassured with a light smile poking out from beneath his beard. Lexi and Brooke's mother then closed the front door behind them and stomped back into the living room, leaving her husband to talk to their daughters.
"Dad, we didn't do anything-"
"Relax. You're not in trouble, but I just want you to promise me that you will call if you're going to be late getting home, like this." He spoke in a much calmer voice than their mom, but that was to be expected. Their dad had always been the softer and more easy going parent. "You had your mother and I panicked out of our minds today. We were about ready to send search parties out after both of you."
Lexi nodded as a smile formed along her lips. "Yeah, sure! We promise. Thanks, Dad!" she cheered gratefully before racing past him and up the wood paneled stairs.
"We promise. Thanks, Dad," Brooke repeated, quickly hugging her dad and heading up the stairs after her.
Chapter 2
Lexi tossed and turned in her soft bed beneath the warm covers. All she could think about was that guy she bumped into on the sidewalk. That pain she felt when they touched. How it came and went within the blink of an eye. Did it even happen? Could it have all been her imagination? She pondered as her gaze wandered along the bottom of the bunk above her, where Brooke slept soundly. Something about that guy drew her in. He held her mind captive, leaving her unable to think of anything else. After what felt like hours, her thoughts became mindless, blurring together as her eyelids grew too heavy to hold open anymore. As they fell shut, her body laid limp and finally drifted into a soundless sleep.
∞∞∞
Lexi walked continuously through an endless prairie field. My feet... they won't stop moving forward. Where am I going? There's nothing out here... nothing in sight, she thought as confusion began to fill her. She looked down to see that she was wearing a white corset dress, her feet hidden beneath the waves of crops that surrounded her for miles beyond her eyesight. It is so peaceful here. No whistling wind or a single cloud in the clear blue sky. Only silence. But where am I? How did I get here? She asked herself searching for any indication or explanation.
Her feet had begun to ache more and more with every step she took, which was strange since she hadn't been there long... or at least she didn't think she'd been there long. She had also done track since she was ten years old, so she was undoubtedly used to travelling long distances on foot. She felt as though she had been there all her life. So familiar, yet so confusing and unsettling.
Suddenly, dark clouds consumed the clear blue sky and intense winds trying to force her down to the ground, but she was able to catch herself as her feet freed themselves from whatever hold they were under. Now that she had control over her own body again, she saw no other choice but to sprint deeper into the field as if she could to escape the raging storm. Though, before she could get very far, all the crops around her suddenly exploded into a sea of flames. She slid to a stop, feeling her flesh burning as fast as the plants around her. Before she could even take a breath, all the crops for as far as she could see disintegrated into ashes. She began spinning in a panic, terrified to see what would come next. She didn't understand what was happening. Darkness surrounded her. Her heart was pounding like thunder in her ears as her entire body shook, and she crumbled to her knees. A high pitched scream filled her ears and vibrated through her skull. Her hands flew up to cover her ears, pressing against them with all her might. She wanted so badly for this all to stop... to block out the ear-piercing scream that seemed to go on for hours. Blood began to drip from her ears and run down her arms and neck as the screams continued. A sudden feeling of anger and fear completely consumed her in a matter of seconds, and her entire body collapsed but never landed on the ground. Darkness clouded and swallowed her vision as she continuously fell.
∞∞∞
Lexi awoke as her head slammed against something hard and metal. It was pitch black. "No… no!" she cried, pressing her eyes as wide as she could possibly open them, trying to let in as much light as possible. Any shapes, surroundings, sounds. She couldn't have fallen into complete darkness, could she? The noise of a speeding car was music to her ears. As it passed, its headlights illuminated the brick wall in front of her for a split second. She blinked wildly as she whipped her head all around, taking in her surroundings as she realized she wasn't in complete darkness. It had to have been a dream, all of it. But the question still stood on where she was now. It certainly wasn't her bedroom. Beneath her the ground was rough and wet, not to mention dark coloured. It felt like concrete. As her sight began to adjust to the dark she saw that there was a giant dumpster right beside her head, most likely the object she hit her head on that ultimately woke her up. It was the middle of the night as the moon hung at its peak, shrouded by fog in th
e center of an endless void of darkness.
Her vision had begun to adjust, and she could now see that she was lying in a dark, dingy alleyway… and there was someone standing in front of her. She opened her mouth to scream at the silhouette, when they suddenly lashed out at her, throwing their gloved hand over her mouth as the back of her head collided with the stone wall behind her. Her heart was pounding through her chest as the person's facial features became more prominent. That scar across his face. It was that same guy from the sidewalk. She was sitting on her butt as he crouched down in front of her. Her heart was racing like she never thought possible. This is it, she thought. This was the final straw for her. She was trapped with no idea where she was, how she got there, and she certainly didn’t know if she would be able to escape. She felt tears begin to water as she looked into his grey eyes. Her stomach continued to turn and twist itself inside out, pulling and ripping at her insides as a warning for her to leave before things got worse. But there was nothing she could do. She was frozen in fear with a guy twice her size in build standing between her and escaping.
The guy looked her in the eye as he spoke softly, just barely above a whisper. "I'm not going to hurt you, but I do need some answers," he told her, nodding along with his own words. His voice was calm and focused as he presented something of a English accent in his speech.
Her heart was pounding so loud that she was sure he was able to hear it as well. A part of her felt insecure, as if him having the ability to listen to her heartbeat somehow gave him more power over her. It was as if he now held her in his palm as his hand covered her mouth. With his gloved hand pressed against her lips, she couldn't help but remember that painful shock she felt when they touched on the sidewalk. How scary and violent it felt. All it did was remind her of the amount of fear she really should be feeling.
"I'm going to take my hand off your mouth so that we can talk, okay. Just talk,” he whispered, his eyes locked on her, forcing her to look back at him. He waited for her to nod before slowly pulling his hand away, watching her cautiously as if she could leap at him at any second.
She paused for a moment, staring silently at this guy as he shifted on his heels to lean down onto one knee. They both looked the other up and down, taking in their appearance and threat level before speaking. He appeared intimidating with his attire and build, and his calm voice only terrified her more. How could he be so calm? Why was he so calm? What kind of answers was he looking for? She thought rapidly, trying to figure out what exactly he wanted from her, so that she didn’t unintentionally say the wrong thing and possibly make matters worse for herself. The only answer she could come to was the shock she felt. This had to be about that. How could it not be? It was the only feasible explanation. Maybe he’s angry about it for some reason, she thought to herself. Or maybe he’s trying to play some kind of mind game with me. With her mind racing and her body completely numb, all she could bring herself to say was, "So you felt it too." Her voice was barely audible.
He hesitated, leaning back with an alarmed expression. He clearly hadn't expected such words to come out of her mouth, as his gaze began to shift from side to side. "Um…"
She swallowed, pressing her lips together to stop them from quivering as her stomach continued to turn and cramp. "You know. That shock."
The guy didn't respond. His widened stare flew all around as if he was searching for an answer to respond with. He appeared to be as confused as she was, looking at her as though she was speaking a foreign language to him. The silence between them screamed louder than anything else, as tension grew. The weighted air pressed against her like a weighted blanket, relentlessly pressuring down on her chest until one of them finally spoke.
"Yeah, I felt it," he finally whispered, furrowing his eyebrows judgingly.
She let out a quiet breath, trying to release some of the tension that had stiffened her entire body. “So, what do you want from me?”
He paused again, pressing his lips together as he squinted at her. He opened his mouth, but whipped his head to the side as if to cut himself off. He glanced down the alleyway before looking back back at her. His face had narrowed, and he reset his focus, placing an invisible pressure on her to answer him. "You’re acting awfully casual about all of this," he grimaced, keeping his distance from her as he held his kneeling position.
“Casual?” she breathed out. What about this situation was casual for him? Did he kidnap people often? Was this all some test or sick joke to him?
He shook his head at her as every muscle in his face grew tense. Within the blink of an eye, he had lashed out towards her, pushing her up against the stone wall with his elbow pressed hard against her chest. "What game are you playing? Huh?" he barked, pressing his elbow deeper into her chest as if trying to pierce her skin.
She had never felt such fear and panic rush through her body as she did in that moment. She wanted to cry. She was completely at his mercy, and she had to sit there knowing that there was nothing she could do about it. She could hardly get in a single breath, as it felt like he was pressing all of his weight onto her tiny chest. She was sure he could feel her racing heart rate pumping wildly against her chest. She looked up into his eyes and saw only flaming desperation. "I-I don't know. I promise you, I don't know what you’re talking about," she blurted out, tumbling all over her words as she knew she'd stand no chance against him in a fight.
"How dumb do you think I am?" he barked again, shaking his forearm against her chest. He clenched his jaw angrily, his expression filling with irritation as he glared at her.
She could feel the tension begin to build in his muscles, as his arm pressed up against her chest. She was quickly running out of options. "I think you look very smart,” she began rambling. “I mean you were able to hull me out of my house and drive me here without anyone noticing. That's pretty smart," she quivered, gasping for breath between short spoken words. All she wanted to do was punch this guy off of her, and to run back home where she could feel safe and secure, but she knew her fantasy was nothing more than that. Fantasy. There was no way she'd be able to get him off her with her physical strength alone. He was too big and had twice the amount of muscle she had. All she could do was shiver in place, and she loathed it.
The guy paused, jolting his head back as his eyebrows scrunched together. "You think I drove you here? In a car?" he asked, reverting back to his calmer voice.
"Okay, maybe you walked. I don't know. Please don't hurt me.”
The guy froze and fell silent as his eyes wandered through hers, searching for something. The silence was looming and drawn out to the point of awkwardness. Eventually, he pulled his arm off her chest, straightening up as he took a couple short steps back from her. With a baffled expression, he kept eye contact with her. She couldn’t help but feel as though by looking into his wide grey eyes, she was looking into a mirror. His panic and shock matched that of what she was experiencing in that same instance.
She took in many deep breaths, as she felt her chest reopen to allow oxygen to pass through into her lungs, now that she was freed of his pressure. She kept her back pressed up against the stone wall, looking up at him attentively.
They both froze, mere inches away from each other as his stare drilled into her. "Where do you think you got that necklace?" the guy finally asked, his English sounding voice sharp and direct while his expression conveyed genuine interest in her answer.
She was at a loss for words as her chin rose. She found herself sinking deeper into his gaze as if pulled beneath the surface of a dark sea of mystery. She could hardly process the words that had come out of his mouth. She took a breath in, and when she released it she tried to speak, but all that came out was, "Wha-"
He nodded down to her chest.
As though she had been smacked upside the head, her senses returned and her hand shot up to her chest, feeling it's bareness. Her pendant. "Where is it?" she screamed, realizing her necklace was missing.
"Just answer the question," he
sighed.
"Did you-"
She jumped wildly, as he kneeled back down and slammed his hand against the wall next to her head. "Answer the question!" His voice thundered aggressively against her ears.
"My pare-" she screamed, but paused. She swallowed hard, her words rough against her throat. "My birth parents give it to me."
"Who are your birth parents?" His grey stare held her captive just as his extended arm did. She could've sworn he hadn't blinked once this entire time.
"I don't know."
"Why?" He struck the wall again.
"They left me on a street corner," she blurted, jerking wildly as the bang echoed in her one ear. "And before you ask, no. No, I don't know why they did that," she added in a hurried bitter tone.
His voice lowered. "So, you're adopted."
"Yeah, that's what I just said!" she shouted back, not thinking before she spoke.
The guy pulled his arm away. As he slowly backed up, his expression loosening and he turned his head to look down the alleyway, appearing to be deep in thought. After a long moment of silence, he shook his head and clenched his jaw. He glanced up at the night sky. "Why me?" he mumbled with a sigh. After another tedious period of eeriness, the guy turned his attention back to her, who had only begun to relax her heart rate, but kept her back pressed firmly to the wall.