The Secrets Within Pages

Corrupt

"Conscience doth make cowards of us all." Hamlet, William Shakespeare.

The air was suffocatingly thick. 

A heaviness lay in my chest. Scatter-brained and anxious, I peer outside as my leg bounces up and down, vines of fear creeping up my spine. 

I was doing the right thing, right? 

I was. 

I am. 

Love means sacrifice. 

Osbourne deserved what happened to him. As did Quill. They both committed heinous crimes. They ruined a man's life, an innocent man's life and in turn destroyed a child, deprived him of a father and a stable, normal childhood. 

There isn't a sin one commits in their life without consequence.

No one deserves to be neglected, blamed or abused. Let alone a child.

An eye for an eye, right?

Pedro grips the wheel so tightly his knuckles whiten, his forehead shines with sweat and I find myself picking at my nails. 

The night is the darkest I've ever seen. The only light shining is from the moon and I can't seem to find a star. 

Tonight, they've been banished from the sky.

Cars shoot up and down the highway, their lights attempting to replace the ones above. 

Pedro takes an exit, leading us to a winding road surrounded by a deep, vast forest with unnervingly tall trees and a hauntingly alluring aura. 

I wondered if Silas had arrived. I was getting increasingly worried that I might not.

In my periphery, Pedro bites his lip, chest rising and falling almost in panic. His eyes dart from side to side as if he is hiding something. 

I whip my head to him. "Pedro, what're you doing?" I demand sharply, hating the fear in my voice.

He glances at me, panic drawn on his face. "I'm sorry."

I grab my stomach, nausea twisting inside. My sight drops to the phone in his hand.

Shit.

Without thinking, I lunge at him, clawing for the device. A series of deafening honks sound as he swerves the car from side to side, attempting to push me off. 

"Are you crazy?!" He shouts, terror lacing his voice.

The thundering beats of my heart fizzle out into a mind piercing ringing, the gear stick digging into my torso as I elbow him to grab the phone and bring it to my ear. 

"We're sending out units to your location, immediately. Stay calm." The dispatcher assures. 

Coldness fills my bones, paralysing me. Terror, like I've never known before, seizes me in my spot. 

I curse under my breath, winding down the window and throwing the phone into the endless forest. 

"What have you done?!" I say through gritted teeth. "Drive faster!"

"It's too late. The police know our location, they'll be here any moment." He says, shakily.

Clenching my jaw, I grab the steering wheel, pulling a leg over and slamming it on the gas. 

"What are you doing, you crazy bitch! We're going to die!" He yells, hands still on the wheel, twisting it the opposite direction. 

"If you keep trying to stop me, we will." I yell back with greater volume, using an arm to pry his grip off the wheel.

Dread spirals up my throat, a lump growing larger and larger. My chest hurts, breathes short and fast.

The world is crumbling down with such speed, I can't hold it all up. Dangeorus adrenaline surges through my veins, fogging my sight. I cannot see a thing. 

There is nothing I can do. I know not of the corruption I am succumbing to. I was never aware of it's capacity within me but now it reveals itself and I can't stop it. 

I'm too far deep. 

In the distance, I see the helipad coming closer and closer the further we drive. 

"No!" Pedro shouts, shoving me into the windshield as he grabs the car. 

My head, heavy and pulsing with pain, dizziness overtaking me. Woozy and weak, I flail arms around in a pathetic attempt to hit him back but as the car veers abruptly, I find myself slipping down the dashboard, darkness filling my vision.

~~~