A/N:my first COTC fanfic. Hope you enjoy (based on the 2009 movie...lol not really that different but I like the Malachi in that one better)
Chapter one
I pushed back my long dirty blonde hair that fell in front of my eyes and attempted to stand up from the hard wood floor as he commanded.
My father stood over me and spat on my shirt before pushing me to the front door and out onto the moonlit front porch which opened up to a large terrain of farm land. He began yelling things to me like he normally did, slut, bitch, unworthy. The air blew my hair around my face, making it whip around all over because of the coming storm. It was thick outside with the tension of the not yet fallen rain.
This wasn't something I wasn't already used to. Getting attacked viciously was an every night thing for me. But tonight was going to be different. Tonight would be the last night this would happen to me. But there was no possible place for me to run to. We lived on our out of business farm right outside of Gatlin in Nebraska, keeping to ourselves. The town was pretty much deserted, our house being right on the boundary line between the two towns, surrounded by the neighboring corn field on the far side of our property.
Suddenly I felt a foot to my rips, making me scream with a jolt of pain before leaping up and running down the yard with my dad short on my heels. I tripped over something in the ground and he tackled over me, throwing punches in all directions. Before he could take it farther, I lifted up my booted foot and kicked him square in the face, making him recoil in pain. This gave me enough time to leap up and run farther for the corn field, hoping that I could get to Gatlin and find a police station or something.
That sick bastard would be put in a cell to rot like he deserved.
I made my escape by bolting into the field of corn and I could hear him right behind me, my unbuttoned red and white plaid shirt flew around in the wind, holding me back so I just took it off and threw it to the side, keeping my white tank top on under it with dirty jeans. Right when I thought I couldn't run anymore and my breathing was border line dangerously fast, he grabbed onto my foot and with a lucky shot, pulled me face down into the dirt. My head spun and I knew that I would pass out soon. It was throbbing with pain and a wave of nausea appeared. He crawled over me and attempted to take off my tank top and I swung a few punches at his face, unable to get in a good hit.
But right when I thought I was going to die, he was flung off of me and a few feet into the dirt. Before I could look over my vision was going blurry, and it was like the television on a channel that didn't work with all of those black and white specks flying around. They took a distant shape above me of a tall boy with long hair, wielding a massive knife in his hand, staring back at me. My mouth opened slightly, letting out a groan before I blacked out.
It seemed like it was just a feeling, like floating, or like my whole body was under that fuzzy state like when you sit on your hand for too long. It was just me and then someone sitting beside me. I couldn't make out his face too well but I could feel his hand, fingers, his warm touch, rubbing down my leg. His nose was nuzzled into my neck which uncontrollably I returned, our noses touching softly before his lips pressed to mine.
I woke up to the feeling of a wet cloth over my forehead, my eyes fluttered open slowly to find a girl a little younger than me, about thirteen, staring back at me. She had long wavy brown hair which seemed kind of frizzy. Her big brown doe eyes darted from me to the door.
"H-hello," she quickly muttered, her eyes bigger than the bump I could feel on the top of my head.
"Hi," I attempted a small smile, not wanting someone who was helping me to be uncomfortable.
She seemed surprised, "How are you feeling?"
"Fine I guess. What's your name?"
"Rachel."
"I'm Emily," I groaned, attempting to sit up. The first thing I wanted to ask her was about the boy from before, who he was, anything…
"When you're feeling up to it Isaac wants to meet with you," she darted out the door, leaving me in the small barn room alone. Isaac? Was that the name of my savior?
Fully sitting up and leaning back on the wooden wall, I put a hand to my face and wiped away wisps of hair that fell into my eyes. I noticed that I had my flannel shirt back on and it was cleaned along with my jeans and tank top. My shoes were sitting next to the bed, cleaner than I had ever seen them before. Slowly standing up from the hay bed, I slipped my brown work boots back on and walked out the door, noticing I was completely surrounded by a corn field.
There were about ten kids walking around the barn that I was in, all of them staring directly at me. My eyes wandered around to a big rock where a few boys about sixteen, my age, were sitting. They were all looking down at their knives, sharpening and cleaning them. But one of them stood out, long red hair flowing to his shoulders, was staring directly at me with harsh dark eyes. His features were intense and angry looking, but his glare showed a hint of curiosity to it and something else I couldn't pin point. I felt that my mouth was hanging open slightly, unable to look away.
A little girl with blonde braids stood next to me and tapped my arm, "Excuse me?"
"Yes?"
"Do you need help finding Isaac? You seem lost."
"I…uh yeah I think so."
She began to walk away and I hesitated before following after her past the rock, the red haired boys eyes trailing after me as we walked through the thick corn field.
We stopped after reaching another opening which led to an old abandoned looking town. We stood in an intersection in the muddy street and walked over to a large silver pole.
"What here," she said before walking away, her voice kind of eerie.
A few moments later a short boy with black hair and beady looking eyes came from a building, a dark suit and fedora clothing him. His face was expressionless as he seemed to be seeing right through me, walking closer with a bunch of kids walking behind him, some my age, some younger and older.
"I have spoken to He who walks behind the Row's about you and he told me that you are no outlander," Isaac said. "He told me many things about you…Emily."
"How do you know my name?" I asked, my eyes darting from him approaching me slowly to more children emerging from the corn field.
"He told me your name. He seems to have an interest in you," Isaac kept talking about someone who I had no idea about. "So we will ask for you to stay here in Gatlin for He has chosen your destiny to be here with us."
"Who exactly is he?" I asked, unsure of what was going on.
"He is the Lord. Our Lord," he then went into a huge rant about this 'Him' he spoke of. They worshiped Him as a God and it seemed like Isaac was a prophet in a way.
"So you must stay with us, for He sees great potential in you. You don't belong with the Outlanders," Isaac finished.
I chewed on his offer, if it even was an offer…or a command. But anything seemed better than going back home to my dad.
"Can I stay?" I asked, without thinking.
Isaacs face lit up, "Fantastic. I am glad you made the right choice. He told me that you would. Rachel will show you where you will sleep. But for now I will tell you the rules. No electronics," that wasn't really a problem for me, "no cussing, lying, stealing," he went into a big commotion about sins that I already knew about. "You do not leave this land either, is that clear?"
I nodded, "I already knew not to do most of those things."
"You need to get your name changed. It must be one from the bible. He spoke to me and told me that you must be called Bethel or Beth, meaning 'House of God'."
"Praise God! Praise the Lord!" the children began to chant.
"Welcome Sister Bethel." Isaac smiled wickedly at me.
I sat down on the hay bed that the girl from earlier with the brown hair named Rachel led me to. She lingered in the doorway for a moment before I called over to her.
"Where do you sleep?" I asked, looking around at the square room which held a twin sized bed made of hay that was covered in soft blankets and a few pillows, surprisingly comfortable. There rest of the room was pretty empty looking, holding nothing but a dresser which I hadn't looked in yet.
"I sleep in the other of the barns, with the other girls. There is a boy's barn too. Then there is a barn for the warrior boys and one for Malachi and one for Isaac."
"Sit down," I told her and she sat down next to me hesitantly. "How old are you?"
"Thirteen," she said. "What about you?"
"Sixteen."
"Oh you're an elder!"
I smiled, "Barely!"
"Well we only live until nineteen," she said. "And you have three more years left, that is of course unless He says otherwise."
My eyes darted up, "What?"
"We all must be sacrificed to He who walks behind the rows when we turn to the age of nineteen. It's what he wishes, no adults."
I didn't know what to say, my voice was caught in my throat. It wasn't because I was surprised that they sacrificed themselves and that I was in some cult like community, but the fact that I was alright with it. Somehow I felt like I was finally at home. There was no way I should feel so comfortable here.
There was a knock at the door a few moments later and Rachel leapt up to open it, "Hello?"
Then shocking me even more, the boy with the straight red hair pushed his way past Rachel, pushing her a little on his way in. She scurried out of the room quickly without looking back. The boy stood in front of me, an intense look on his face.
"That was rude," I snapped and he walked closer to me, pulling me to a standing position by my arm.
Our eyes bore into each other's for a long time before his dark voice shattered the silence.
"Who are you?" he growled, holding my arm tighter which I fiercely took away.
"What are you talking about?"
He looked distressed, "Why is it that I saved you yesterday? Why is it that since then I've seen visions of you in my sleep last night and you just won't go away?"
"I've been here for less than twenty four hours, what are you talking about?" I burst out, knowing exactly what he meant. That dream, the feeling I got in his presence.
"What are you doing to me?" he asked, falling to his knees.
After a moment of silence, I subconsciously bent down next to him, and brushed my fingers through his hair. His angry eyes stared back into mine.
"I don't understand this, who sent you here? Was it some sort of punishment for me?"
I felt my heart drop, punishment? How was I a punishment? The day couldn't have gone any stranger, waking up in a place I didn't know about, being 'initiated' into this cult, dreaming about this boy who I had never met before and now he lay in distress before me…
How exactly was this my fault?
I stood up and walked away from him, staring at the wall because I was unsure of what else to do with myself at that moment.
Abruptly, I felt breathing on my neck and I knew he was behind me again.
"Whoever you are, stay out of my head. Or else," he breathed harshly into my ear before leaving the room, being sure to slam the door on the way out.