Love & Hate
Selene's hands are clasped behind her back as she skips along the wall of a small, but beautiful pond. The sun is shining down from crystal clear blue sky sprinkled with a few puffy white clouds. She comes to an abrupt stop and then hops down and rushes into the crowd. Her arms hang loosely behind her as she runs, like the ninja she used to so enjoy watching on television. She's clearly enjoying herself, but too quickly, she stops abruptly. A strange feeling swells up inside of her and she darts away. Something in her, it's calling her onwards. She doesn't know what's waiting for her but she's got a feeling that it's not going to be good. In her haste, she doesn't notice the single person out of the crowd stopping to watch her intently. Nor does she notice the strange black mist coalescing around her ankles, and hers alone.
She exits the alleyway hurriedly. The long maze of darkened alleys was an easy place to lose yourself in, but that gut feeling stopped her from doing so. She looks back the way she came and finds that her memories are blurring, just like her vision. She stumbles back a few steps and sways uncontrollably. The feeling is gone. No, not just gone. It's almost as if it wants her to forget ever feeling it in the first place, and everything she did under its influence. The greatest sign of weakness is tears, and she will not let them fall. Still the temptation to finally stop keeping her emotions locked tightly inside her heart is great… A fifteen year old will not and cannot, cry over something she can rise above, or so she tells herself. It makes her feel numb. Very numb. It almost hurts her to do so much as breathe. It will stop though; right? It has to stop soon. Her heart feels heavy. Not the kind of heavy after doing something you regret. It's heavy like it's going to fall from its place literally. Not a nice feeling.
Then it fades. As if someone had pulled away the curtains, taking the numbness and everything else with it. Then suddenly she's on her feet. She can feel reality settle down around her, and she runs. She runs away from the square. There's nothing there that can scare her, or even be a threat to her, but she won't stop. She's running on a feeling; not like the last one, of course not. This is instinct. A basic, primal instinct to run. It's the core instinct of everyone. The basic need of self-preservation. It can, at times, be overridden, but not now. Fear creeps up on her and, like the great beast it is, swallows her whole. She collapses at the side of a building. Her hands grasp futilely at the flat wall as she falls to her knees.
It's there!
"No…" she whispers. "It can't be… Not here!"
Her eyes are wide and carry an expression of pure, utter madness; the likes of which that no one ever truly recovers from. Her eyes squeeze shut and beads of salty tears coat her eye lashes. Another primal force from within her is rising, but just as quickly fades. It was different though. It felt much different. She forces herself to her feet and immediately her mind registers the scream that came from where she was headed. She flinches, scared. There's only one way to go now, and that's back. That square, she'll never forget the way she felt standing there. Something is awfully wrong and it's terrifying. She keeps glancing down one way, and then to the other. Her heart wrenches painfully in her grief stricken chest. In the end, self-preservation wins out. Every step or two she glances behind at a threat that's clearly not there. That obviously to everyone, never was; everyone but her. It hurt deep inside her chest, that same feeling from the last time she was at the square. Still, it wasn't quite as painful as then.
"Watch where you're going!" Jack Atlas snaps.
She peers up at him from under her eye lashes. The fear in her is crystal clear. Never before has she ever felt that she was in such danger. Whatever is coming, it's definitely life threatening…
Author's Note: Got any suggestions or theories? I'd like to hear them.
I own Selene, the brown thing, alien fox and the plot. I don't think I've missed anything out.
-Chapter Edited.