PROLOGUE – THE RUNNING TIME
Kyle stared into the mirror; she was disgusted by the reflection that stared back. Her once fair-face, was ravaged by sickening scars that pulled her face into an irreversible scowl. The scars were deep and red; even the bright blue of her eyes could do nothing to detract attention away from them.
The accident in which she received her scars occurred when she was a mere child; no older than thirteen. Her life had ended that day, she had never been the same since, and she never would. She could no longer walk down the street without attracting curious stares and saddened glances. People felt sorry for her, they looked upon her like she was deserving of sympathy.
Kyle was pulled from her thoughts by the soft tone of her mother. It was breakfast time, which usually meant burnt toast and awkward glances. Kyle's relationship with her parents was forced at best, they were very protective and they were always scared of saying the wrong thing to her. Kyle felt uneasy in their company. "Kyle Honey, Breakfast is ready!"
Kyle descended down the stairs and into the country-themed kitchen. Her father was already sat at the table, his plate half full and his glasses perched on his nose as he read his paper solemnly. When he heard Kyle's footsteps, he dropped his paper and withdrew his glasses. Even her own father took his glasses off to look at her.
Kyle took her seat opposite Rory, her younger brother. A smile grew on her lips as she watched him shovel food into his mouth like there was no tomorrow. He only stopped to look up at Kyle. "I see you haven't put your make up on yet?"
Kyle's Father, Henry scowled at his youngest child with the upmost anger, Esther on the other hand slapped her son across the head with a frying pan, the fried egg nearly landing on his head. Rory sighed loudly, and Kyle laughed, effectively diffusing the situation. Esther returned to her cooking, whilst engaging Kyle in a light conversation.
"Did you get a good sleep sweetheart?" Esther asked kindly, placing the charcoaled toast onto a plate and handing it to her daughter.
"It was fine," Kyle lied. She didn't want to tell her mother she had slept hardly a wink, Esther was aware of her daughter's insomnia and she had been demanding she visit a doctor for it for weeks.
"Oh...it's just...I heard you screaming again," Esther spoke accurately, "I thought you had another nightmare."
Kyle went silent; unfortunately her mother's hearing had always been very alert. Rory unintentionally broke the tension by performing a record breaking burp, it echoed across the room and bounced off the walls. Henry's brow deepened. "Would it kill you to have some manners Rory?" He lectured "You're at the dinner table for goodness's sake,"
"Sorry, Da!" Rory grinned before shoving a boiled egg down his throat hole with surprising speed.
Kyle finished her breakfast quickly, and excused herself to go upstairs. She threw herself across her bed and slid her iPod into the docking station. The music instantly burst across the room, and the melodic sound of Keane filled Kyle's thoughts. She breathed deeply as if in some sort of trance. Her trance however was short lived. There was a knock upon her door. Rory.
He was stood at the door twiddling with his thumbs, biting his tongue. Kyle shoot him a glare before he opened his mouth. "What is this rubbish you're listening to?"
"Keane,"
"Care to allow me to educate your taste?" Rory asked, Kyle shook her head hastily, but could do nothing as her brother placed his own iPod into her docking station. She grunted loudly as he chucked her IPod across the room with about as respect as he had table manners.
Kyle's ear drums burst as Rory's music blasted across the room. She knew the sound all too well. Her brother's favourite ever band. Metallica, she had never seen the attraction herself, a few songs she could abide, but as a whole she found her brother's taste in music very dull and overall, just a lot of noise. Music taste was just one of the issues they disagreed on, but with all the differences in their personality they still were inseparably close.
"Well Rory, this music would be all well and good if I was depressed from wasting my life on a video game," Kyle teased, earning a glare from her brother.
"I do more...than video games!" Rory protested, "Well...alright, look at it this way, if we ever become trapped in a medieval world I'll know how to handle a weapon,"
"Hm, if only," Kyle's eyebrows rose "Anyway, I'm getting you out of the house. How about a walk?"
"A walk it's pouring with rain!" Rory exclaimed.
"Yes, and? A little bit of rain never killed anyone. And before you give me some example of someone dying from a little bit of rain, your protests aren't going to change my mind, your. getting. out. of. the. house!"
Rory grunted loudly before retreating to his bedroom and returning with his jacket on, the wrong way around. Kyle, of course, being a perfectly considerate sister did not tell her younger sibling of his wardrobe mishap and instead allowed him to walk out to the street as he was. They walked toward the woods, a place where Kyle had spent a lot of time after her accident.
They walked, and walked. Talking, and laughing and joking. Sharing their problems and teasing each other. Finally they arrived at their destination. The edge of a cliff.
Only a tiny wooden fence stood between them and a sheer drop to hard ground. Kyle bit her breath as Rory balanced himself upon the tiny piece of wood. He always was a daredevil, some of his stunts would have sickened even the most daring of stuntmen.
"Rory, get down of the fence," Kyle yelled, "I don't want to have to tell mum and dad why their son's spine is bent at a ninety degree angle!"
"You always bring maths into everything," Rory rolled his eyes, jumping of the fence. It gave a sickening crack and Kyle flinched.
"God, you are such an idiot? You could have died?"
"I could die at any moment, at any time," Rory begun, "I could be hit by a car tomorrow or I could have a heart attack the next. Life is full of uncertainties Kyle, I'm not going to live my life running from danger for fear of death. If I spent my life fearing it, then I will not live at all,"
"Although your philosophical point of view is very admirable, it is also incredibly stupid," Kyle snapped. "What's the point in living if you're dead? Now, I think we should get back the rains getting even heavier,"
"And so is this conversation," Rory shrugged. "I want to stay out here longer. You can go home,"
Kyle thought for a moment. She watched the grey clouds roll in across the blue sky, devouring all the light and leaving only the familiar sense of gloom in the once bright sky. The rain poured heavier and a sickening rumble could be heard as thought it was from within the earth's crust itself. Thunder. A sharp spiral of light flashed across the sky, causing Kyle's vision to flicker. Lightning.
The wind grew so fast that it almost swept the pair from their feet, their hair fluttered amidst the breeze and Kyle lost her footing. "Fine, I think it's time to head," Rory concluded smiling.
Kyle grinned, feeling around her neck. She flinched. Her necklace was absent. Rory looked at her questioningly. "I've lost the necklace granddad gave to me..." She breathed. "I can't...I need it Rory,"
Kyle looked around and her heart gave a loud thud as the dog tag caught her eye. It was dangling from a branch. It was perfectly reachable if it wasn't for the one hundred foot sheer drop below. Rory didn't even think for a moment, adrenaline sweltered through him and he stood upon the same rickety fence and reached out to grasp Kyle's beloved necklace. Just as his fingers enclosed around the dog tag the fence gave a sickening crack beneath him. Before Kyle could reach for her brother, the fence collapsed, and with it fell Rory.
Just when Kyle thought all hope was lost she saw the familiar hand grasping the grass at the edge of the cliff. She flew forward and grabbed his hand, trying with all her might to find the strength within herself to hold onto her brother's hand. She was weak, too weak to hold him up. She stared at his desperate face, his eyes filling with tears. It only took one gust of wind to knock Kyle over, in effect causing both her and Rory to fall
Rory fell, plummeting to the ground, and so too did Kyle.