Page 35 of Hunters and Prey

Everyone's Insane

"Hang on, Alice. Don't die on me. I...I didn't say it. You can't die."

"She isn't going to die if you just focus for five seconds."

"Can you two argue later?"

"Ya. We really don't got time for disagreements right now."

"Stop talking. We need complete concentration on this or she won't make it!"

"You can do this, sweetie. Fight for me. Don't leave me too."

Mom? Why does she sound like she's crying? What's going on? I'm scared, Mom.

Iopened my eyes, but all I saw was darkness. I stood there, wondering if there was any way out. It was cold, the temperature dropping as the minutes ticked by.

Hugging myself, I shivered in place while my exhales were puffs of smoke.

Am I dying?

"Yes," a voice replied.

Looking around, I tried to find the source of it, but the sound came from everywhere.

"Is there no hope for me?" I asked.

"There is hope. However, you must listen to my words, for I will only state this once."

I nodded my head, preparing myself to listen to her every word. "Alright."

"You know of the prophecy. One that speaks of a witch who fell at the hands of evil while protecting those she loved and cherished."

I swiftly nodded my head and the voice continued.

"Do not repeat our mistakes. Five is not the lucky number. Let your magic and heart guide you on the path of victory. Don't let the evil get their hands on you, for you are the key. You are the witch reborn. Work together with those chosen for you, and as much as they try to deny their love for you, don't let them. Love conquers all."

"Love for me? Love...conquers all?" I whispered to myself. I felt a sudden wave of dizziness and specks of darkness trickled into my vision until everything went black.

Something cold draped across my forehead. It felt nice, especially compared to how hot my body felt. I'd been semi-awake for a while, but I felt extremely weak. It wasn't like I hadn't tried to open my eyes, but each time I did, it was a fail. They felt like weights or like they had been glued shut.

I didn't know how long it had been since my last attempt, but I wasn't in the mood to try again right now. My mind was more occupied with trying to figure out the various voices I'd heard when I first woke up.

It had sounded like four different guys and Aaron. Mother had been here at some point, saying that there were rooms for the four guys to rest for the night.

Aaron had mentioned he'd stay with me for the night. I wondered how much time had passed. It was Friday, so I was sure Aaron wouldn't get in trouble for staying over. He used to stay all the time, but as we got older, his parents kept saying he had to "grow up".

I never told him, but I hated his parents for that. They never wanted us to hang out with one another, but neither of us could help it. He was my only real friend.

And I loved him for that.

To think he was willing to stay behind and take care of me warmed my chilled heart. It was weird how my body was burning, but my heart — or I guess my chest — felt cold. Lifeless.

I'm sure I was still breathing, and yet at the same time, I questioned it. What happened to leave me feeling this way?

My memory was missing pieces. It had to be because I couldn't remember how I reached this point. Though it bothered me, I pushed it to the side, for it wasn't the most important thing right now.

What I focused on drilling into my frazzled mind were the words of the female voice in the room of darkness. She’d told me that I shouldn’t repeat our mistakes. I'd yet to figure out who "our" referred to, but an evil wanted me, and love was the key.

---