Here's chapter 3!
3
The man flung his head back in rage, trying to rub the blood off of his face. He stood up and began to back away from me. His hand was over his face, as if trying to protect it. He kicked my side one more time and then stumbled away. I didn’t care to watch where he was going. I just laid there, a little stunned about what just happened. The moon is still shining, but is now lower in the sky. I know it’s going to be dawn soon. I tried to look for a few stars, but they were all covered by the smoke. I had a feeling I should return to the tailor soon. Alex could be wondering where I am now. My fingers grasp at the cold sand beneath me. Around me, potted plants that were not burnt yet are covered in ashes. I realize everything is unrecognizable. I manage to get on my legs and start to walk back towards the tailor. Now I’m starting to feel tired, and I know my ribs and legs are bruised because of the man.
Now I begin to ponder about the man. Who was he? Where did he come from? Why was he killing the survivors? What was wrong with his eyes…? I knew I wouldn’t be figuring this out now, so I continued to walk home.
Home? Err… I mean, the tailor. Where Alex is.
When I got to the door, Alex immediately embraced me. I realize she must have been waiting for me to return the whole time. I step back a little, and she realizes I must be hurt. Her eyes give me a questioning look.
I don’t tell her anything about the man. Instead, I tell her that I had fell and gotten banged up. She gives me a scolding look that makes me giggle. Which I don’t think I’ve ever done in my life. Then she sends me off to bed. It’s odd, being ordered around by someone who is probably only months older than me. But I’m tired anyway, so I go back to my bed where I woke up in. I know I’m not going to get much sleep, but some sleep is better than none.
I often have horrible nightmares. I mean, really. Getting ripped apart by skeletons. Watching myself get torn apart. Drowning. Getting hanged. The worst things imaginable. But what’s also scary is the fact that I have some sort of precognition skill. Usually, dreams are signs of what’s to come for me. I mean, sometimes I just have plain old dreams and nightmares, but I sometimes get dreams that I can tell are signs. They don’t come true exactly, but more like symbolism. They never come true as I expect them to, but I’ve learned to interpret them better than before.
Tonight, was the usual. I had a nightmare about the man, as expected. In this dream, he actually cut the smile into my face. I know I was screaming in my sleep, but Alex didn’t come. The dream was pretty vivid, but that was because the event was recent. Most of my dreams are pretty vivid, especially ones of past experiences. Like my younger sister’s death. Four years later, I still wake up, screaming for her to run. Run away. Get out of the mines.
I wake up gasping. The sides of my face are tingling, and I could almost swear the cuts were there, but I knew they weren’t. I even put my hands to my face to check. I guess you could say I’m pretty paranoid of my dreams now.
After I eat a small breakfast, (there’s not much in this tailor) Alex is waiting for me at the door. I ask what she’s waiting for, and she tells me that the invaders are planning to come back today. They’ve been coming in patterns, and she thinks that they are coming for this part of the town next. She tells me that she’s going to go explore. I’m suddenly afraid of being left alone again, so I ask her if I can tag along, but she refuses to let me go. She thinks I’m too injured and I need to get rest or I’ll never heal my bruises and scars. And she’s right, some of the scars on my face have re-opened. I try to stop her from leaving, but the look in her eyes tells me that there’s no way to stop her.
When she leaves, I feel utterly bored. I try to find something to do in the tailor, but I fail to do so. I take a look further inside the small tailor house to find clothing designs, but they begin to bore me.
I know she doesn’t want me to leave the tailor, but I have to. I need to get out. I can’t stay in this musty building all day. I leave the tailor, and take my coat with me. And this time, I don’t forget to find my jewelry before leaving.
Outside, things seem to be a little better. Some of the smoke has cleared up, but ashes are still falling from the buildings that remain burning. I know this peace is temporary. Because sooner or later, the invaders will come. And I don’t even have a plan of what to do. Run away? Get myself killed?
My scars on my face are tingling a little. I reach my hand up to touch them, but put it back down. I’m still feeling just a little sore, but I manage. I take my time to look at the burning buildings, and try to find something resourceful. Unfortunately I don’t.
Because when I look across the town, my eyes land on a certain sight. And for a moment, that certain sight stuns me.
It’s Alex. The building she’s entering right now is still burning from the top, and the amount of smoke coming from it makes it hard to breathe even from my distance. And then, I notice something. The building is sagging from the top. The roof seems slanted, and it seems to be able to fall… at any moment.
There’s just enough time for a cry of warning to escape from my mouth. She seems frozen for a moment, and her hazel eyes meet mine, seeming puzzled. Her lips begin to form my name.
And that’s when the building collapses.