Chapter 4 pt.1

Kids paraded the halls, pushing in one direction signifying some sort of public gathering. Noise erupted, lockers slamming and footsteps scurrying along with one another.

"It appears it is study hall, we will resume tomorrow," the teacher sprung up off her desk, eyeing the information written on a whiteboard hung on the north wall.

"Nevna, is it?" I turned my head clockwise, setting my eyes upon a group of four girls at least my age. They had unnatural colored hair, cut above their shoulders appearing dead and loose.

"Uh-Uh yes, it is," I stammered with uncertainty, playing with the dead hangnail on my ring finger.

"Want to sit with us outside for study hall period?"

I bit the inside of my cheek making the skin rough and irritated. I hadn't figured the very first day kids would want to interact with me.

"Sure."

My gut felt a sense of oddness, about the situation that unraveled in my palm. I continued not to listen to it but pursued to follow the girl's lead unaware of the choice I had made.

A breeze sashayed in the trees, the sun blocked by thin wispy clouds. The sky was a marmalade, darkest where the sun didn't streak and brightest where the sun set.

I remembered the last I took in the view of the sunset was when I was with my family out on our farmhouse. It was the last I had recognized the beauty of the wilderness with its natural flaws and the way it all corresponded with one another.

I turned around to the empty spots where the girls had stood moments before. Pebbles fell unto my head hitting my scalp and pricking my follicles. I felt confused, my cheeks blushing with anger.

"Nevna, you're not as bright as you seem." Those words ridiculed me, my thoughts boisterous for a fight.

I felt a hard object bruise my left shoulder sending shock and pain signals to my brain.

Facing up, I viewed the group on top of the roof of the building. Smirks and giggles plastered on each girl's face, with eyes that now were void of any color other than black.

Another object flew and hit my temple sending me to my knees. I stared down at what hit me, spotting large stones that laid broken on the cemented ground.

There was no option in retaliating since this was my only chance to be given freedom and schooling. To be sent back to the camps had been the hardest thing in my life other than now.

I embraced the impact as the girl on the left picked up a bigger rock and aimed it at my head. I squinted my eyes shut, digging my nails in my palm.

No piece of rock had hit me, either because of their bad aim or I had already gotten numb from the impact.

I opened my eyes slightly, to only notice the boy from the bus, Cole Boyd. The stone was in his grip, stopping it from its target. His eyes mocked me, eyeing me from head to toe, observing.

He extended his arm towards me, his hand opened with certainty. I hadn't trusted him, given the fact that I had no clue what he was capable of doing. Though this time he didn't seem to be in a teasing or hateful mood.

There it was again that same feeling, that was dormant until these continuous encounters with him.

Part 2.

On the roof of the building, the group stood dumbfounded. They gazed at each other reassuringly, voices muffled by the wind.

My legs fell under the weight of my body, blood rushed, a tingly sensation of pins and needles broke loose. Blood oozed from the patch of skin that was impacted on from the fall. The surrounding skin blushed red, the cut fresh and deep.

I was pulled up off the stiff concrete and rushed towards the entrance. Despite the fall, I could walk almost entirely without limping. The girls remained peering from the rooftop until I could see them no longer.

His grip was tight around my wrist, making my hand go numb and red. His attitude was far worse than before, dragging me behind him and ignoring me completely.

This part of the school glowed in a paled turquoise, rushing like high tide forcing itself upon the land.

I felt vulnerable, unable to fend for myself, with a trait that could lead me to my end. My body fell limp, pain surging through the wounds and up my body.

His strength held most of my body weight now, keeping me from completely dragging. He no longer continued walking. Silence strung and had been the only noise other than the constant ringing in my ears and my own heartbeat.

The ground was ablaze with a blue flame that seemed to maintain life. It felt like a liquid mist, unharming me and Cole himself. I twisted my head around at the ceiling, which was covered in floral and roots that seemed to all connect in a chain. My eyes followed that chain until it connected to a pool of blue flames. The pool hosted a blossom tree that flickered with fireflies and stood massively.

Cole's grip seemed to lessen, his grip moving to my waist. Moments passed, and I was sinking in the blue flame that continuously engulfed my body.

I didn't struggle instead I sunk deeper, sleep conquering me and pushing me to further depths. I woke in a field, the field in which I played in as my younger self. The one I played hide-and-seek in with my sibling. And the one where I was taken from and marched away.