My Last Breath (Book one of The Portal Series)

Narrator: Part Eight

Greetings my reader, I have come to you with another side story that will soon become relevant. Today, we're going into the perspective of Estelle, into a dream she has while my mother is away at the Donnan Castle.

Estelle's POV:

A trek home from school goes endlessly. I hate the walk after a tiring day. My heavy backpack weighs on my shoulder but I grip my pink lunchbox with excitement knowing my house is just at the end of this block.

At my front steps, I question why the house looks dark from the outside. It's a gloomy day, surely someone would've turned the living room lights on. Mom can't read in the dark.

Going through the front door I catch the house completely silent, a rare feat to experience. The TV is always on when I come home but today it is blank. The door swings shut on its own, and I throw my backpack on the floor.

Where is everyone?

A strange smell hits my nose, this doesn't seem right.

"Mom?"

When she doesn't answer panic washes over me, she always greets me at the door, anticipating me arriving home safely. I recall the cars in the driveway, indicating nobody has left the house.

Maybe she's upstairs, I reassure myself and run towards the kitchen planning to place my lunchbox on the counter as always.

In the kitchen, the strong smell of iron fills my nose. I turn the corner beside the fridge, catching the image of my mother lying on the floor, red surrounding her body and spots along the floor.

I scream at the top of my lungs unable to contain myself, my throat burning. My body becomes hot like somebody threw scolding how water over my head, and it's melting my skin off the bone. A pit grows in my stomach, and I gag.

I stand still unable to move. I stare at my mother, tears pooling in my eyes making my sight go blurry.

Her face looks peaceful and beautiful but like stone. Her eyes are closed. I continue screaming for her to wake up. Ignoring the possibility that she could be dead, but it sticks in the back of my mind. It can't be.

When I see the image of a knife in her chest I run, fearing the danger that could come if I stay inside. My feet move until I'm out on the sidewalk, looking up at the house with a haunting feeling inside of me.

I hear sirens in the distance.

The red front door stays open, slightly swinging in the fall breeze. It feels like a storm is coming, and the air becomes cold. I ignore my fingers going numb.

My mother was lifeless on the floor, blood pooled around her and caked into her clothing.

The sun starts disappearing from the sky, a sudden haze floats around in the air.

A thump nearby makes me jump, I'm unsure where it came from. I blink around, wiping my hot cheeks with the ice sickles I call my hands.

I start running in the direction I take school, unsure if the person who did this to my mother is still here. The neighbors won't be any help, I don't know them. And the ones I do never let me play with their kids.

Rain starts sprinkling down on me, a peaceful but dark storm. After a minute of running, the water is dripping off my hair and down my forehead. The coldness cooling my body, and instantly I'm shivering.

I stop, watching a cop car pull over ahead of me. A man gets out of the vehicle and walks towards me, "Hello, my name is Officer Lee..."

Once he's closer his expression changes to concern, "What are you doing out here?"