Chapter4:The Pull
1044 Words
Mara
The morning of the meet, I woke up before my alarm.
My shoulder didn't hurt anymore. I pulled down my collar and looked.
The scratches were gone. Completely. Like they'd never been there.
How?
I didn't have time to figure it out. Today was the day.
The Crestwood Invitational. The biggest race of my life.
I got dressed, pulled my hair back, and headed to the track.
The stands were packed. Scouts in the front row. Cameras everywhere. Thorn Media was broadcasting live.
I saw Kai Thorn near the announcer's booth, laughing with someone. His family owned the network. He was loud, warm, impossible to ignore.
He caught my eye and gave me a thumbs up.
I didn't know what to do with that, so I just nodded.
I spotted Lucian Vale in the VIP section, cold eyes and dark hair, sitting alone, even though the seats around him were full. People gave him space without him asking.
He wasn't looking at me. He was looking at his phone.
Typical.
And Ezra Cross was near the finish line, tucked into the shadows, reading a book. At a track meet.
While thousands of people screamed around him.
Weird, I thought. But whatever.
None of them mattered. Only the race.
I lined up at the start. My heart was pounding. My legs were ready.
The gun went off.
Boom!!!
I ran.
The world narrowed to the sound of my feet hitting the track, the burn in my lungs, the wind in my face. Lap after lap. Faster than I'd ever run before.
When I crossed the finish line, the crowd exploded.
I'd broken the record!!!
I looked up at the scoreboard. My time was impossible. Better than I'd ever done in practice.
Better than any human should be able to run.
10.25 seconds
How?
I didn't have an answer. I just stood there, breathing hard, while people cheered.
Damien was supposed to meet me after the race. But when I looked for him in the stands, he was gone.
My phone buzzed.
Meet me in the woods. I want to celebrate alone with you.
I stared at the screen.
The woods??
The same place I heard him talking about on the phone.
After the meet. She'll be alone.
My stomach felt a little bit uneasy..
But I didn't say no. Because I needed to know. I needed to see what he was planning.
Maybe I'm wrong, I told myself.
Maybe he really does want to celebrate.
I walked toward the trees.
The forest was dark. The moon was already rising – full and white and too bright.
"Damien?" I called out.
No answer.
I walked deeper. The path narrowed. The shadows grew thicker.
Something's wrong.
I turned around.
That's when I heard it. Breathing heavy. An Animal.
Not Damien.
I turned around and was shocked by my bones at what I saw. A beast emerged from between the trees, big with dark glowing eyes.
I tried to run, but it was too fast. Its teeth sank into my shoulder, the same spot where the scratches had been. Pain exploded through my body.
I screamed so loud that I could feel my lungs strained..
The world suddenly went black, and I passed out.
I don't know how long I was out.
Seconds. Minutes.
When my eyes opened again, everything was hazy. The moon was a blurry white circle. The trees spun above me.
I was on the ground. My back against the dirt. My shoulder... God, my shoulder.
Blood. So much blood. It was warm and wet everywhere. Soaking through my hoodie. Pooling under me.
I'm dying.
The thought came slow, like honey. Like my brain was already shutting down.
I'm actually dying.
I tried to move. Couldn't. My body wouldn't listen.
Please, I thought. Someone help me.
But no one was coming. Damien sent me here. Damien planned this.
Damien.
His name tasted like poison on my tongue.
Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes. Not because I was scared. Because I was angry.
I've been in sixteen foster homes. I've slept in a garage. I've eaten ketchup packets for dinner. I survived all of that. I survived everything.
And now some boy with a pretty smile was going to be the death of me.
No.
I coughed. Blood came up. Warm on my lips.
My vision was fading at the edges. Dark creeping in.
I didn't even get to say goodbye.
Not that anyone would miss me. No family. No real friends. Just a track scholarship and a boyfriend who wanted me dead.
What did I do wrong?
I thought about my mother. The blur of her face. The sound of her voice that I couldn't quite remember.
I'm sorry, I wanted to tell her. I'm sorry I couldn't find out what happened to you.
Another wave of blood soaked through my clothes.
Damien.
I said his name in my head. Over and over. A curse. A prayer.
Damien Black did this to me.
Damien Black is killing me.
If I survive this, I swear to God, I will destroy him.
My eyes closed.
The dark swallowed me whole.
And then... nothing.
I woke up gasping.
The moon was directly overhead, so full and blazing.
My shoulder was on fire, but different.
I touched the spot. The bite was already healed. No blood. No wound.
What the hell?
I sat up slowly, as I noticed the forest was quiet. Too quiet. I could hear everything – leaves falling, insects crawling, my own heartbeat like a drum.
I looked at my hands. They were steady and so strong.
I stood up. My legs felt different, so light and faster.
I took a step,then another, ad then I found myself running so hard.
I ran faster than I'd ever run in my life. Faster than the record I'd just set. Faster than humanly possible.
I stopped at the edge of the trees, breathing hard, and stared at the moon.
“Where is all this adrenaline coming from,”I found myself asking no one on particular, and that was when i felt it.
Three threads, pulling at my chest. It was painful, but the way I felt it was so intense.
Am I actually dead?
- Writer
