Capturing Destiny

Chapter Nine

Stethoscope

I kept walking, and time lost it's meaning again. I barely registered the difference between night and day and the days quickly turned into weeks which turned into months. I was still skirting the outskirts of society, I occasionally moved close to humans but was never near enough to be affected by them. If I knew I was coming upon a town - I was practicing with my gift constantly but still never saw anything passed the following few weeks - I would often turn and walk in the other way, finding a way around.

I had meant to work on my control after leaving the white house behind but I could not bring myself to do it, I was simply so easily distracted I did not think of it. I felt as the seasons turned and on the winter Equinox I watched in marvel as the sun began moving higher in the sky once again. I tried desperately to look for both the blond boy and the family with golden eyes but nothing I could find was helpful.

I kept walking as life began to bud in nature around me and when I next came across a large area of woodland I immersed myself in it. I saw for days in the same spot, watching as tiny flowers pushed their way through the earth and bloomed just for me. I also hunted like never before, the animals were slow and grumpy when they awoke, particularly the large brown bears that would put up terrifying fights but always fell to me.

I had just fed upon a particularly vicious one, who had actually managed to pin me and rip my threadbare dress before I snapped his neck and was making my way towards a tree I had noticed was close to blooming when I was hit with my strongest vision yet.

One moment I was walking through the forest, enjoying the calm of light rain that pattered on the highest leaves and the next I was by a tall cliff.

The wind was battering me, the sky dark and foreboding but my focus was immediately brought to a figure standing near me. I knew her immediately, she was the woman from my first vision but not, she was human, her eyes a warm brown and her skin was slightly tanned, her heart was beating quickly and tears streamed down her face.

"Why?"

I heard her scream into the wind, the sound disappeared almost as soon as it left her mouth.

"After everything... after everything that happened, after everything you put me through you took him away from me!" I wanted to comfort her, to hold her and tell her it would all be okay, that I had seen it, but she was not aware of my presence, this had not even happened yet... could I stop it?

I looked on in horror as she took a step closer to the cliff, her hands beating against her body.

"There's nothing else... there is nothing left," and with that she stepped over the cliff.

I screamed and ran forward; jumping off behind her and trying to catch her but my hands went straight through. I fell with her, righting myself and she landed with a thud next to me. I did not dare turn round. I could still hear her heartbeat, her rapid breathing but they were slowing.

Suddenly there was commotion around me, someone had seen her, there were men in white coats checking her, pulling her up on to a board and into a motorcar. After I heard her body covered I managed to turn and look at her again, following her into the car and down the bumpy road into town. Her heart was still beating, only a couple of beats a minute though and I begged them to move faster – wished I could be there to run her to someone who could help. I stared deeply at her face, memorising its tiny lines and wrinkles as the pinkness left her skin and lips to replaced by a grey-blue. It seemed like hours later when we finally arrived at a large hospital. To my dismay when her vitals were checked by a doctor in a white coat he covered her face and directed those who had brought her in to the morgue. I yelled, screamed, desperately tried to get someone to see me, hear me, to let them know that she was still there, that her heart was still beating – how could they not hear it?

I followed in horror as they took her down to the basement, her heart still beating defiantly and I stayed with her as they closed the large door, leaving her alone with several newly deceased individuals. This was all wrong, this was not how it was meant to happen – she was meant to be my mother. I didn't realise anyone else was down here until the door opened quietly and I turned. It was the blonde man, the one with the compassionate eyes and I realised with a shock he was already like me. He moved quickly towards her, hearing her heartbeat as easily as I could and positioned himself beside her. Carefully he lifted the sheet and looked carefully at her, his eyes showing confusion, compassion and indecision. It only lasted a moment though before he carefully picked her up, keeping the white sheet wrapped carefully around her and began running.

He was fast but I followed him easily, out of a back entrance and into a nearby deserted building, it wasn't until he stopped that I registered the white coat he wore, so he was a doctor, and apparently he worked with humans.

He laid the woman down carefully and gazed at her before leaning forwards and kissing her lightly on the mouth. "I hope you forgive me," and then he lent in and bit her quickly. Moments later he moved to her wrists, and then down to her ankles, although he faltered slightly when he lifted her long dress. I absent-mindedly rubbed over my own, identical scars. As soon as he was done he checked her vitals again, placing his head just above her chest to check that the venom made it to her heart. It began to beat with more strength and he sighed in relief and picked her up again before making his way to the door.

And then I was back in the forest.

The moss was damp underneath my feet, light filtering through trees. What had just happened? It was the most in depth vision I had had so far, everything else had just been glimpses, moments in time but this was long, I knew looking at the light that it had taken a number of hours.

My throat was also burning again - all the exertion of meant that the sloshing feel was long gone from my stomach and I quickly ran back to hunt again, forgetting all about the tree.

A/N: Sorry it's a bit shorter than usual but it was the best place to break up the chapter. Thanks for reading!