Footsteps – Chapter 25
Flashback (2013)
They tumbled down into the water, the blanket of sea engulfing them. Silva's arms remained on Skylar and the girl's foot slammed into his ribcage. Silva let go of her arm, but remained clasping the other, yanking her towards him. With her free hand, Skylar swung her fist and it met with Silva's jaw, the impact forcing him away.
I won't surrender, I won't surrender, Skylar screamed in her mind.
At that moment, they felt the strength of the current, pulling and pulling them. Silva lunged at Skylar, giving her the chance to shove him away from her.
Without warning, the waves threw her back. Skylar slammed into the wall; eyes wide, vision blurred, her head spinning and bubbles of air floated from her mouth. Her heart pounded, pounded, pounded and her lungs were gasping for air. The blue around her turned to black, the light in her eyes fading. She couldn't see anything, not even Silva.
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Her eyes shot open, her breaths ragged, short and heavy. She felt the trickle of blood flow down the side of her head, sticking to her skin and the spots in her eyes began to fade. She gasped again, breath hitching, tears welling in her eyes. Her heart kept racing and her head kept spinning. She didn't understand. Where was she and how did she survive?
Skylar's head continued to pound, her muscles were stiff and it was an effort to move. For a moment, she wasn't sure if she'd broken another bone or not. She rolled onto her side and it felt no different to rolling over the blade of a knife. Shortly after she sat up, her fingers trailing along damp sand.
Then she blinked her eyes a couple of times, squinting at the light as she became aware of Silva lying close beside her. She screamed and he didn't respond. He didn't even move. Skylar stumbled towards him, her muscles tensing and her heart pounding. Silva was lying face down in the sand and Skylar swallowed the acid in her throat as her trembling hand felt the back of his neck. Nothing. She wobbled and fell, realisation dawning on her: Silva was dead.
Skylar felt a sense of relief wash over her. She wasn't trapped anymore. Silva could no longer keep her with him. It was over. She felt her legs wobble as she rose to her feet, thinking about her parents: because of her father, Johnny had been killed, she'd ended up here and her mother had had to suffer.
Her body began to shake all over and tears streamed down her face. Soon after she clenched her fist, dried her eyes and swallowed hard. It was like everything had stopped; everything behind her. She was numb, hollow, feeling nothing.
And she didn't look back. She just walked away.
A/N: I know I did another flashback but I needed to reveal how Skylar survived, as LilyLunarPotter142 had suggested (That idea of yours will be used soon, I promise). Hope this was good and I'll post the next (and possibly final) chapter of the story soon. Please send reviews.