Daisy lightly touches my shoulder and points to a beautiful deer in the distance, twenty or so yards away, looking me in the eye. “I can’t kill a deer, no matter how desperate I am, Daise.”
But she’s already walking towards it, in amazement. I have no choice but to follow her, and she’s walking at such a brisk pace it’s almost jogging. We get to a clearing where the trees are all a good distance from each other. I feel cool air tickling me by blowing my hair around my face.
And the deer is gone, and I have this awful feeling creeps up my spine, like somebody has grabbed inside my body and made every limb of mine go cold with fear. Daisy isn’t smiling anymore. “Millie? Millie, can you hear me?”
Suddenly, just for a moment, the world goes black. And then it’s back, but it’s a million times worse than before. A million times worse than I thought possible. Horrible images filling my head, horrible thoughts. Like thought spirals I used to get when my anxiety was worse, and it’s still pretty bad, but not as bad as before.
Images of Margeaux being killed right in front of me (blood, so much blood, oh, Margeaux-) and my parents laying in the ground looking up at me with their distorted-from-battle faces from a casket (I’m so sorry-) and Images of Daisy’s disappointed face staring at me when we got into an argument (I didn’t mean to hurt you yes I did I’m an awful person I didn’t mean to yes I am an awful person what’s happening) the crying face of my brother after our parents died and me not knowing what to say to console him (I should have helped you but I was helpless but I should have helped you) all the misery from any point in my life piling up and crashing down on me in one wave. Awful things, so many more awful I can’t describe. Things that physically hurt me to think about that make me want to collapse like my whole body is burning it hurts so much even though nothing’s happening to my body.
No, no no no. I can’t let this happen to me. A little voice above the chaos It’s just the shadow’s. Daisy is right there holding your hand she’s right there. It tries to drag me away from the anger the pain. Snap out of it. Think of Damien and Vic and Daisy and Grandma and Cillian, your best friend that’s not dead think of all these people. They love you.
And just like that I crash to the ground sobbing but Daisy pulls me up. We run and run and run and run. The images are gone from my head, I can control my thoughts now, but I can still remember them and they’re so, so bad. There’s an underground entrance to the house. We climb down into it and pull the door shut above us, locking it. Daisy’s still holding my hand as we find a hiding spot in the bunker behind boxes, in a dark corner, underneath the rooms of our cave-like house.
I’m shaking really hard from all those things that were in my head and I’m trying to keep my sobbing quiet so we’ll be safe. “Hey,” Daisy whispers, pulling me into her tight, holding me in a hug.“You’ve been taking care of me for so long. I’m going to take care of you now. I’m going to protect you. We’ll be okay.”
After about another hour, after a few scares of hearing, more like feeling shadows up above us, the warning lights stop. Everything is safe. I hear Damien letting out Cillian in the floor above us. “Where’s Millie?” And then muffled words I can’t hear.
Soon enough they figure out we’re in the bunker because Daisy knocks on the trap door. They come let us out and Damien, Vic, and Cillian all realize what's happen to me and Damien tries to hug me, but Cillian gets there first. After he lets go I keep a hold on Cillian’s arm. “We’re letting people out of their rooms but nobody can leave the house. And nobody can get in either.” Damien says. “Everyone meet in the kitchen at seven.” Him and Vic walk back down the hall.
“You okay?” Cillian asks me, rubbing my arm.
“I’m fine,” I tell him sternly. I’ve always been like that, haven’t I? Always lie about being okay. He raises his eyebrows. “I’m fine. Let’s just go chill until seven.”
We go back to Cillian's room and chat for a little while as Cillian makes popcorn and then they squish me in the middle of them on the cozy blankets of his bed. "Millie-" Cillian starts, then stops. "Never mind."
"What?" I ask.
"I was just gonna ask….what did they show you? The shadows?"
"Nothing," I say too quickly. "Just, Marguex, my parents, Daisy after a fight, and…..some stuff."
Oh, yeah. Horrible images of what could have been in the future. Awful images, terrifying images.
They just filled my head and poured into my soul.
We sit and talk until seven o’clock comes. Damien warns us about Shadows, lets us eat dinner, and then releases us to our rooms.
While Daisy and I are walking to the rooms, I feel a sharp pang of fear. I suddenly need someone to rely on. I’m terrified.
“Daisy?” I ask.
“Yeah?”
“Can you...stay with me tonight? I’m scared.”
Daisy blushes, then nods. “I’ll sleep on the floor.” We head to my room and get ready for bed.
“Thanks, Daise,” I say gratefully.
“No problem, Mil.”
I close my eyes and drift to sleep.
***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***
Comments