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Chapter 24
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Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 25
The screech of tires echoes in the now vacant underground parking lot. The scenery is creepy at best. Only pillars stand holding the place up. There's nothing and no one in sight. But it's only a matter of time until my victim shows up.I lean against a dusty wall, my palms sweaty as I revisit the details of my fragile strategy. The Elite's mission was clear: find a hybrid and make him join the ranks. They made it sound almost simple.Ryan had the courtesy of showing me the best candidate, the rest was up to me. I don't want to do this, I don't want to touch one of them, I don't want him near me, and all that I wish doesn't even count.My demotivation and disbelief are strong enough that Ryan is restless beside me. I don't blame him. I'm a time bomb waiting to implode."What's the plan?" Ryan whispers as we huddle close, waiting for the hybrid to spring up."To not kill him," I reply in a clipped tone. The hybrid is the enemy; he represents a threat; to let him live is going against e
Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 26
"This is your plan? To torture him?" The question barrels through me, erasing everything else. I close my eyes while I attempt to gain a sense of my surroundings. Ryan doesn't understand, of course, he doesn't, how could he? I've practiced these techniques years ago; became used to the hybrids crying out in pain. The screams pleaded with me, forcing me to hurt them, to prepare them for the shift, lest it killed them."Hey! I'm talking to you. I deserve an answer!" Ryan continues, escalating his tone. My eyes open on their own accord to shoot daggers at him. "How many times have you shifted?" I ask, accusingly. Ryan falters but doesn't relent in his anger and so, I fuel mine to match his. "Once, right? You never tried it again after your body forced you to. Tell me I'm wrong."Ryan grits his teeth, and his tense form towers over me, demanding respect. My questions throw him off guard, and as soon as his voice drowns in the silence, I know that my assumptions are correct. I gesture
Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 27
I take advantage of Eric's state of unconsciousness to move him from the floor to our car, parked just a few steps away. Ryan helps me without as much as a complaint, and I can see that there's something he's dying to tell me, but his pride refrains him from it. We deposit the limp body on the back seat, and Eric doesn't jolt awake, too drained from the shift. I say nothing as Ryan starts the car and drives us to the nearest safe house. And I don't have to. Ryan clears his throat. "That was... brutal," he comments lowly, almost testing my reaction to his words. I stare out of my window as sadness fills me to the brim. "You were right. About mates," I reply in the same tone. Ryan's eyes snap in my direction, but I refuse to look back. Instead, I focus on my intertwined fingers, and for a split second, I imagine another hand holding mine."I would never torture anybody. Not now, not back then. I would never put somebody through the hell I lived. And for you to even accuse me of it..
Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 28
I'm numb. I'm in another dimension as Eric turns on the TV, and my name appears on each channel. A picture pops up next to it- how they got it is beyond me. But there's no mistaking my identity. My breathing becomes shallow, and I become hyperaware of it. Ryan and Eric speak, but the sound is lost on me. Ryan finishes the arrangements with Eric, and all I can do is focus on the air quickly leaving my lungs. I'm done. I'm utterly and irrevocably done. I can't do this anymore. This was the last straw. The thin grip I had on reality just escaped my weak hands. They are coming for me. The words keep replaying in my mind as I try, in vain, to stay tethered to this moment. I'm slipping away. My back burns, reminding me of what they will do when they find me. I can smell the scent of burnt flesh and feel my skin reaping apart beneath the sharpness of the whip. They're coming. I can't breathe. Ryan must have noticed because he quickly leads me away from the building. Still, when he tr
Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 29
Devin tenses, reluctant for once, but he doesn't deny me the truth. "It started four days ago. Your parents asked me to not say anything. They wanted to talk to you first, to deliver the news."I stare ahead once again, pondering over this new piece of information."Don't be too harsh on them, Audrey. They want to protect you. They just don't know how."I bow my head to hide the disappointment and the fear. The overwhelming and all-consuming fear that threatens to untether me from this earth. Against my will, my hands start to shake uncontrollably, and I can feel myself slipping away to another reality, to another time. Slowly, I begin to fall into another flashback. Devin's hand suddenly covers my own, and I flinch out of instinct at the unexpected connection. Still, he shows no indication of moving them soon. This, too, is a change, the ease with which he touches me. "Hey," he says softly. "We won't let them hurt you. You have my word," Devin vows passionately, squeezing my hands
Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 30
Even though the tension in the room was suffocating, my parents and I managed to come up with a plausible story for my disappearance. We predicted all of the questions and created the answers. Bethany informed the police that I was discharged and was finally ready to be interrogated. How she got a doctor to play along with the act is beyond me. They came to the house, a man and a woman, and spoke as if not to scare me away. They revised the pictures of my wounds and inquired about every single detail: who they were, their appearance, and what they wanted. I answered as truthfully as I could, except for the purpose of my abduction. I played the role of the devastated victim: fragile, defeated, and heartbroken, to prevent them from confronting me. My parents stood beside me, one on each side, encouraging and aiding the scenario of the destroyed family coming together. It takes us about 2 hours before they're satisfied, though I doubt this will be the last time I hear from them. Onc
Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 31
I open my eyelids and focus on the middle-aged man in front of me. His full beard, bald head, and relaxed posture strangely put me at ease, as if I were talking to my own father. His calm green eyes try to read right into mine. What does he see? Desperation? "Why did Sean banish his son?" I ask defeatedly. It's not much to go on, I'm relying on pure instinct and curiosity, but I have nothing else to tether to. He crosses his arms and replies nonchalantly. "Because of what the hybrids did to his son."I nod. Everyone knows this much. The hybrids scarred his son. However, I remember the discomfort my dad displayed when he mentioned this, how he said he could never have put me through something like that, and so, I follow his lead."Because of a mark? What, Sean can't handle a scar?" I provoke. The result is immediate. Fierceness replaces tranquility, battling among his wrinkles, anger directed at the perpetrators. Rage that I recognize all too well. "It's more than that," he takes
Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 32
Today, I see the graves. Today, I finally say goodbye. And so, I'm all nervous energy, walking around my room aimlessly, just trying to calm down. I barely slept, too afraid of the monsters lying waiting for me with open mouths and sharp teeth.Devin and my parents have tried in vain to calm me down these past couple of days. I can see the worry that oozes off them in waves. Even though being near them is a welcoming distraction, it's not enough. As the hands of the clock get closer to the desired time, my heart escalates to an alarming rhythm, the blood quickly traveling through my veins, rushing, screaming, begging for relief. My mind is so scattered that I've successfully tricked myself into believing that the scars on my back are open. I keep glancing at the mirror to assure myself it's only an illusion. The hallucination is so real that the scent of blood tickles my nose, and my back burns exactly like it did all those days of torture. My brain keeps balancing between past and
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Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 36
The hours pass by incredibly slow as we attempt to deal with all the bagagge that just landed in our laps. So, we do everything we can to minimize the collateral damage. We talk, we walk, and we pretend that the world isn't falling apart right beneath our feet. We fall into a dependent rotine, concerned that even the slightest detour could send us reeling into the somber pit we barely escaped of. When my phone buzzes in the middle of the second night, disrupting the quiet of our small hotel room, I all but jump to it, because there's only one person that would try to text me.Can you come downstairs?I frown. What is Devin doing here so early? Something must be seriously wrong. My heart kickstarts in my chest. I look at my mother's sleeping form once before I push the sheets back from my body, and rapidly tip toe to the exit. I close the door as softly as I can, but I'm already anxious, torn between launching myself into a stream of apologies or questions. I fly by the empty, bare
Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 35
The walk to the hotel is a blur. So much so that I have no idea how my mother achieved it. She calls someone as soon as we arrive- my father, no doubt. The word 'therapist' is repeated often, but I'm in no condition to resist. The air in the room is pungent with crippling dread, and awkward silence. Nothing I can say can fill the empty void, and it all seems useless. If the cemetery is any proof, it just showed that I can't deal with my past. Any of it. And it's finally catching up to me. What a mess. My mother gets us a few sandwiches for lunch, and I attempt a smile. I don't think I could handle leaving this room, even if I wanted to. She cleans the superficial wounds I created while scratching my back, and we fall back into silence.We sit side by side on the single bed, reeling from the entire experience. It seems like hours before my mother breaks the silence. "How are you feeling?" She asks timidly, and I want to punish myself for making her uncomfortable around me, for push
Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 34
"What happened at the station?" My mother asks, abruptly rescuing me from my wandering mind. We walk through the empty streets on our way to the cemetery side by side. The air is filled with tension and dread, mostly mine. "Nothing," I reply quickly. She turns to me and gives me the look. The one that says that I'm not fooling her. "It's a bad day," I justify. I can't see she's not happy, but she doesn't force me to say anything else. And all too soon we reach the black iron gates. My steps falter as my heart gallops straight to my throat. "We don't have to do this now. We can come back another time," my mother says noticing my hesitation.I shake my head vehemently. "Let's go," I say with no determination. We navigate through the cemetery, each step weighing more than the previous, my blood rushing, my eyes burning, my breaths shallow, and then... then I find them. The sight brings me to my knees in front of them. My mother attempts to grab me, but I'm in a distant world, so
Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 33
By the time we hit the road, I'm convinced my heart has finally and utterly given up. My mind swirls around the kiss I shared with Devin, trying- and failing- to make sense of what exactly happened back in my room. Does this change things between us? Does it have to? Still, it's a welcoming distraction from the overwhelming and all-consuming anxiety creeping steadily on me. My mom drives while Devin cheerfully chats away with her from the passenger seat. There's a boyish grin plastered on his face, threatening to split his lips, something that wasn't there this morning. It's strangely fascinating how at ease with each other they seem to be, how the conversation just flows. I can only hope one day to have the same ability. To walk without my ghost's weight crushing me or to endure it as they do. How do they do it? Every so often, Devin glances back at me and smiles with abandon. I know this is just a ruse, a trick to stray his conscience away from the lingering worry. Worry for
Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 32
Today, I see the graves. Today, I finally say goodbye. And so, I'm all nervous energy, walking around my room aimlessly, just trying to calm down. I barely slept, too afraid of the monsters lying waiting for me with open mouths and sharp teeth.Devin and my parents have tried in vain to calm me down these past couple of days. I can see the worry that oozes off them in waves. Even though being near them is a welcoming distraction, it's not enough. As the hands of the clock get closer to the desired time, my heart escalates to an alarming rhythm, the blood quickly traveling through my veins, rushing, screaming, begging for relief. My mind is so scattered that I've successfully tricked myself into believing that the scars on my back are open. I keep glancing at the mirror to assure myself it's only an illusion. The hallucination is so real that the scent of blood tickles my nose, and my back burns exactly like it did all those days of torture. My brain keeps balancing between past and
Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 31
I open my eyelids and focus on the middle-aged man in front of me. His full beard, bald head, and relaxed posture strangely put me at ease, as if I were talking to my own father. His calm green eyes try to read right into mine. What does he see? Desperation? "Why did Sean banish his son?" I ask defeatedly. It's not much to go on, I'm relying on pure instinct and curiosity, but I have nothing else to tether to. He crosses his arms and replies nonchalantly. "Because of what the hybrids did to his son."I nod. Everyone knows this much. The hybrids scarred his son. However, I remember the discomfort my dad displayed when he mentioned this, how he said he could never have put me through something like that, and so, I follow his lead."Because of a mark? What, Sean can't handle a scar?" I provoke. The result is immediate. Fierceness replaces tranquility, battling among his wrinkles, anger directed at the perpetrators. Rage that I recognize all too well. "It's more than that," he takes
Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 30
Even though the tension in the room was suffocating, my parents and I managed to come up with a plausible story for my disappearance. We predicted all of the questions and created the answers. Bethany informed the police that I was discharged and was finally ready to be interrogated. How she got a doctor to play along with the act is beyond me. They came to the house, a man and a woman, and spoke as if not to scare me away. They revised the pictures of my wounds and inquired about every single detail: who they were, their appearance, and what they wanted. I answered as truthfully as I could, except for the purpose of my abduction. I played the role of the devastated victim: fragile, defeated, and heartbroken, to prevent them from confronting me. My parents stood beside me, one on each side, encouraging and aiding the scenario of the destroyed family coming together. It takes us about 2 hours before they're satisfied, though I doubt this will be the last time I hear from them. Onc
Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 29
Devin tenses, reluctant for once, but he doesn't deny me the truth. "It started four days ago. Your parents asked me to not say anything. They wanted to talk to you first, to deliver the news."I stare ahead once again, pondering over this new piece of information."Don't be too harsh on them, Audrey. They want to protect you. They just don't know how."I bow my head to hide the disappointment and the fear. The overwhelming and all-consuming fear that threatens to untether me from this earth. Against my will, my hands start to shake uncontrollably, and I can feel myself slipping away to another reality, to another time. Slowly, I begin to fall into another flashback. Devin's hand suddenly covers my own, and I flinch out of instinct at the unexpected connection. Still, he shows no indication of moving them soon. This, too, is a change, the ease with which he touches me. "Hey," he says softly. "We won't let them hurt you. You have my word," Devin vows passionately, squeezing my hands
Sacrificed Warrior Chapter 28
I'm numb. I'm in another dimension as Eric turns on the TV, and my name appears on each channel. A picture pops up next to it- how they got it is beyond me. But there's no mistaking my identity. My breathing becomes shallow, and I become hyperaware of it. Ryan and Eric speak, but the sound is lost on me. Ryan finishes the arrangements with Eric, and all I can do is focus on the air quickly leaving my lungs. I'm done. I'm utterly and irrevocably done. I can't do this anymore. This was the last straw. The thin grip I had on reality just escaped my weak hands. They are coming for me. The words keep replaying in my mind as I try, in vain, to stay tethered to this moment. I'm slipping away. My back burns, reminding me of what they will do when they find me. I can smell the scent of burnt flesh and feel my skin reaping apart beneath the sharpness of the whip. They're coming. I can't breathe. Ryan must have noticed because he quickly leads me away from the building. Still, when he tr
