The Darkness Within Her

Chapter 13: Too Late to Save

BANG!

            I opened my eyes to see that the gun that had been between my eyes was now facing away from me. Smoke floated slowly from the barrel, Dad’s forefinger holding the trigger down. I turned my head, ignoring the ache in my skull as I pulled against Caleb’s hand gripping my hair. Horror washed over me as I watched Timotheus collapse to the ground, his hands clutching his chest. Blood spilled between his fingers, not even slowing. He had been running towards us, trying to stop Dad from killing me.

            And he himself had ended up getting shot.

            I grinded my teeth before snapping my head forward, my eyes watering as strands of my hair were ripped from head. Caleb started to yell but I flung my head back to slam into his face. I heard a loud crack, warmth pooling into my hair and down the back of my neck. His grip loosened around my waist and I threw myself forward, landing on my hands and knees. I looked up to see Dad pointing the gun at me. I rolled just as he pulled the trigger again.

            The bang was deafening.

            Ears ringing, I staggered into a standing position and ran forward. I slammed into Dad and we both went down in a tangle of limbs and curses. I could hear gunshots behind cursing, screaming, and me. I hoped that Heather, and Michael, and Jon were going to be okay. And Timotheus. He had to live. He couldn’t be dead. Dad still had a hold of his gun and he was trying to point it at me. I grabbed his wrist and twisted so the barrel wasn’t pointing at me. I jabbed my thumbnail into the flesh between his thumb and forefinger, trying to break his grip. Instead he slammed the butt of the gun into my forehead. I fell sideways, frozen in shock. When I got my wits about me, Dad had me under him and once again the gun was in my face.

            I clutched the dirt under me and threw my hand up, throwing sand in his eyes. He yelled, twisting to get away from the flying dirt. I bucked my hips, causing him to become unbalanced and I flung my arm to knock the gun from his hand. The contact caused me to howl in pain. I clutched my forearm to my chest, trying to lessen the pain when Dad’s hand wrapped around my throat. My startled cry was cut off as he squeezed.

            His eyes were bulging in crazed rage. I clawed at his hands, trying to get him to let go. But he held on. I tried to suck in a mouthful of air, only to choke. I coughed and gagged, twisted and turned, cried and screamed. I slapped his face but that only caused him to release my throat with one hand and backhand me. I lay there, stunned and choking. The edges of my vision blurred, tears spilling onto my cheeks in helplessness, pain, and frustration. I could see Timotheus lying off in the distance. I reached a hand towards him. I never got to say how I felt before I died.

            How did I feel? I wasn’t in love with him. Or was I?

            I would never know.

            He would never know.

            Just like I would never know if Mom had loved me.

            Because of Dad.

            I turned my head slowly to look up into his eyes. I blinked once. Twice. Slowly. God, I couldn’t even blink. It was so exhausting. Darkness was reaching out to me, promising me a life of simpleness. No pain. It was tempting. So tempting. I found myself standing in a hall, between two doors. Both were open. One door had the pitch black that was whispering seductively at me. The other had green crackling flames. Not promising anything. Except living. I looked into the green flames, wondering if it was worth it. The pain. I looked back over my shoulder at the black. I licked my lips before stepping into the green fire.

            My eyes snapped open to look into my dad’s face. I raised my hands to place them on either side of his face, watching as the veins underneath my pale skin pulsed once, green and vibrant before flames of the same color slipped from my pours to cover my skin. I looked into Dad’s eyes and let the rage wash over me. He howled in pain, his grip instantly loosening on my throat, as I transferred the power that pulsed in veins into his skin.

            The skin underneath my hands shrunk and wilted, turning black. He tried to pull back but I only went with him. His eyes bulged with terror as I held on. I could feel the energy in his body transferring to me as I slowly caused him to whither. Dad screamed gibberish at me, trying to convince me not to do this. But we were both beyond saving. He would die. And I would be the one who took his life. Everything else faded as I watched his eyes roll into the back of his head, his lips forming the words “monster” before his entire body crumpled into ash.

            The flames on my skin settled into a simmer but stayed there on my skin. I watched, marveled before turning to look around. I didn’t even get to look around before someone slammed into me. Caleb straddled me and gripped my shoulders, lifting me up and slamming me into the ground. Once, twice, three times. The air was knocked from my lungs, my vision flickering as the back of my head slammed into the ground with startling force. Caleb looked absolutely insane with his hair sticking up, his face flushed, blood from his nose covering his mouth and neck.

            “What did you do?” he screamed at spraying spit, blood and me across my face. I writhed, trying to get away. He screamed at me again, “What did you do – AH!”

            I watched in horror as he was flung backwards off of me and Heather strode towards him, her eyes glowing red and the flames around her roaring. Despite the power of her flames, I could still hear her as she screamed, “Don’t touch her again you asshole!”

            She snapped her fingers and he burst into flames. The screams that escaped Caleb’s mouth were inhuman. I felt a brief flash of pity before it vanished. He was just like the rest of them. He had known, and hadn’t done anything. In a matter of minutes, all that was left was a black corpse. I sat there, watching silently. Heather turned to look towards me, she opened her mouth to say something but I saw Timotheus just beyond her, his hand reaching out towards me. His entire front was red with blood, his hands also covered in blood. I stood, ignoring Heather and racing forward towards him. I fell to my knees, skidding to a halt and clasping his hands, just as his breath hitched in his chest and he went still.