Alpha Klayton | ✔️

44 |

Have you ever been to a Halloween party as a kid; the one where the mom makes you stick your hand in a bowl of spaghetti?

When you're a kid, you squeal and jump back —thinking you have just touched a bunch of worms.

Today, I grew up, and my hand reached deeper.

~

I was snapped back to reality.

It wasn't Halloween —this was no cruel joke.

I was holding a heart in my hand.

The heart; I could feel that it was a strong organ, pretty much all muscle, and to feel it pulsing in my hand was unlike any other rush of adrenaline.

With every beat of her heart, mine beat twice.

I was stronger. My body pumping blood faster; because I was finally ready.

I wasn't sure how I had broken through the skin and the sternum, but it didn't matter.

I was going to do what I was promised. I could feel every inch of my body humming, bracing for the power about to be expelled.

I twisted my hand. Hard, with all the might I had, and pulled back.

The next moments moved in slow motion, I was unsure if I was truly awake.

The force of my tug made me stumble backwards. I felt as if I had been kicked in the stomach, all the air leaving my body.

My immediate flight response had me bringing my arms around my centre. My hand releasing the object that still seems to pump in my hand. I refuse to look, knowing I will find the bloody mess that is Artmetis's heart. Instead, I search for her body on the ground.

I find chaos around me, people are running, screaming, unable to comprehend the scene before them. But they seem to be hazy, as if they don't really exist. 

And then there is Klayton, making his way to me from where he had fallen across the lawn. He is crystal clear, as I watch his every move.

I look into his eyes, expecting to see the relief I was feeling. Instead I find them brimming with panic —which additionally matches my own. I start going towards him... I just want to feel his embrace.

My steps are heavy, each time I lift a foot off the ground I can feel the weight pulling me back down.

Then my line of sight is cut off.

Artemis standing in front of me. Well, as much as someone could stand in her shape.

Her bow and arrow appear on her back. My eyes follow to the hole in her chest. Tendons and hanging tissue indicate the massive damage that had been inflected. I could see her bent ribs, the bones sticking in every direction. And beyond the muscles the gaping empty cavity that should have held her heart.

I am unable to process how this is possible. I have no time to think for myself. I needed help, I didn't know what to do.

I feel a warmth behind me. I see a flash of pink hair.

Destiny.

I feel her breath on my ear, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"Take it Adira, it's the only thing keeping her alive, the source of her power. Take the bow and arrow for yourself!"

And then she was gone —as if she had almost never been there. Maybe she hadn't.

I move quickly. My eyes roam the ground until I finally find what I need. I pick the small tissue back up, with a speed I didn't know I had.