Taken Over

   Aiden led us onto the back porch that was enclosed with giant panels of glass. The sun glinted off the glass and lit the dancing field of grass and wildflowers that rolled through the backyard. I took a moment to stop and admiring the soft beauty before me. It may not be the world I had always known anymore, but its beauty could still rob me of my breath. It could still awe me completely.

   My eyes were drawn from the field as Aiden stepped past me into the room. Furniture had been shoved to the side and tables placed about. It seemed that Bishop had not expected us to fail in our mission and was well prepared for us. Bishop looked up at us, breaking into a bright grin as he shoved his glasses further up his nose. “It’s good to see you.”

   “You too.” My eyes were drawn back to the windows though. “Beautiful.”

   “It is,” Bishop agreed but he was already going through the bags that had been placed on one of the tables. “You guys did great. Was it difficult?”

   I didn’t feel like answering that question and apparently neither did Je

CHAPTER 10

   It was the first time in a long time that I was not completely filthy. I was clean; my hair was neatly brushed into a ponytail and back to its soft honey hue. My stomach rumbled slightly, but for some reason the thought of food made my stomach turn. I was worried that I might be getting sick, but I feltperfectly fine. I was still sore and slightly bone weary, but I didn’t feel ill. My appetite would come back soon; it was just buried beneath my lingering anxiety, fear, and disquiet. I had tried to take a nap, but even though the mattress was soft and the pillows inviting, sleep eluded me. I sometimes wondered if I would ever sleep normally again.

   I studied my reflection in the mirror, unsure of the person staring back at me. She looked harder, older, and wiser than her seventeen years. Myseventeen years. My eyes, once a sparkling bright blue, were haunted. They didn’t appear to be my eyes. Not anymore. These eyes belonged to a woman, one who had seen far too much, and experienced far more than she had wanted to in her lifetime.

   M ylifetime.

   I had to keep reminding myself that though I did not recognize her, the woman staring back at me was actually me. I gently touched the corners of my eyes, understanding that it was my fingers touching them, but still oddly disassociated with my reflection. Gone was the young girl of only a month ago.

   This woman was harder, with more pronounced cheekbones and lean muscles honed by lack of food, exercise, and training. I wanted to weep at the sight of me, but there were no tears. Not anymore. I pulled the sleeve of my shirt down, frowning at the sight of the wound marring my shoulder. It was healing well, and so far I didn’t feel anything crawling beneath my skin trying to take me over. It would just be another scar to match the scars that still marred my hip and thigh from when that thing on the beach had grabbed me. Scars I would always bare to remind me of Cade’s death, of his sacrifice for me, and of my hatred for our enemies. It could have been much worse, I reminded myself, but it did little to ease the sorrow swarming within me.

   So many changes, so fast. So much lost. So much that could never be regained.

   I rested my hand on the glass, pressing my palm flat against its cool surface. I didn’t recognize the person staring back at me; I didn’t recognize the person living within my skin. Harder, that was the only word I could think of. Just harder. That’s what she was. What Iwas.

   I knew that I had to be harder to survive, we all did, but this hard? This cold? Abby still exuded i

   How could anyonelike me anymore?

   I sighed, my shoulders collapsed beneath the weight of my thoughts. I pushed back a lock of my hair. I needed to get out of here, needed to escape if only for an hour or two. I needed to be alone. Though I knew it was impossible, what I truly wanted was to escape myself, to flee from the stranger staring back at me. To shed her like a snake sheds skin.

   I pulled my sleeve back up, covering the wound as I thought over the layout of the house. It was fu

   I slipped two pistols into my waistband. Unfortunately, my rifle had been left downstairs. There was no way that I could retrieve it without being seen, and stopped. Shoving the window open I peered down at the ground. It was the second story, but if I hung out the window it wouldn’t be that far of a drop to the long grass below. A month ago I never would have contemplated such an action, I would have most certainly broken my ankles, now I had no fear that such a thing would happen, I was agile enough to pull this off.

   I wiggled out the window, grasping the sill with both my hands before releasing it and dropping to the earth. I rolled upon landing, softening the impact. Swiftly regaining my feet, I quickly sca

   Joy filtered through me as I ran, jumping and darting, avoiding obstacles with a grace that I had never possessed until this moment. I didn’t stop to think about that, didn’t pause to wonder how on earth I hadn’t managed to kill myself yet in this heedless dash. I just ran until I couldn’t breathe, until my legs hurt so bad I could hardly take it, and then I ran some more.

   I was free.

   And I wasn’t going to stop, not now. If it had been physically possible I never would have stopped. But I couldn’t run forever, something that my body was firmly reminding me of now. I fell, tried to climb back to my feet, but the exhaustion of my muscles finally outweighed my intense desire for flight. I fell back to the ground, my fingers dug into the leaves and pine needles beneath me as I panted rapidly. For a moment, as I lay there, inhaling the musty scent of decaying leaves and wet earth, I found peace. I found comfort in my world, my Earth.

   I let it wash over me; let it soothe me as it settled into my bones, into my cells, into my very soul. In this moment of utter aloneness and freedom, I finally found the tranquility I had been so desperately seeking. It did not heal my broken heart, but it helped to salvage the pain of my savaged spirit. It was like putting aloe on sunburn, it helped to ease the sting of the pain, but the burn was still present beneath the cool balm. But it felt better, in that moment Ifelt better.