Cat Eyes: Acrux [Book 2]

Chapter 10: A Surprise

I ran through the dry forest, brothers Alpha and Centauri following me. I felt alive, free like the other animals. The wind hit my face, the birds sang in the trees, some dared to fly close by. Soon a desert would open up before us. Perhaps some natural internal compass, a sixth sense, something inside myself guided me. I knew the town I was headed for, to the south. Maybe that's where he had left Meadow.

I remembered it. I came with her through these places.

"We're already far away." The memory of my own voice came to the fore.

"Yes," she replied, exhausted.

She stopped, and I skidded to turn to see what happened to her. She was resting her hands on her knees, asking me for a second to rest.

I approached as she caught her breath. She was still in transition, so I had to understand. I looked in the direction we had come from, afraid that they would show up, those bastards in their cars, with their weapons and other things.

I strained my ears to be alert, but her arms around me took me out of focus.

"Are you okay?" I questioned in a whisper.

My heartbeat quickened.

"I just can't believe we're out. I'm scared."

She looked up, backing away a little. My lips curved into a very slight smile to calm her down.

"We're outside. I'm not going to let them touch you. Come on. We have to continue."

She nodded with mild enthusiasm...

A hillside greeted us, and it took me by surprise for having been focused on my memory. We ran downhill until we reached the plain, the desert. There was very little left to see that place...

Rosy returned to my mind. I worried again about the situation in which they were left there. It had been almost five days since we left. Sirius also left. Just when the opportunity to escape presented itself, there was a problem, EH attacked the city, but it was solved. I managed to hear something about Sirius' whereabouts, so I thought I'd let them know as soon as I got back.

First, I had to get to that town and come back. I wanted to see the curly-haired girl. I already missed her. I prayed that nothing would happen to her while I was gone. We saw in the distance what seemed to be the town I remembered and at the same time resisted appearing in my mind.

A scent caught my attention. Gunpowder. Another memory. Vehicle smoke, the smell of gunfire, hot metal, and noise. Smoke and dust taste in my mouth from having run and fallen against the ground.

But in that memory, I was not alone. Apparently, I was trying to free someone, desperately pulling on a metal net. He yelled for me to go. His voice was very familiar to me from all my life.

Family...

I tripped and fell. I rolled in the sand and coughed a bit. Alpha tugged on my arm, and I was soon on my feet.

"Let's keep going!"

We resumed the race. That feeling was still with me. I knew that young man. He was the one with honey eyes like mine. The idea that he was my brother arose. Perhaps the one waiting for me in that town was a brother I had forgotten. Maybe there was my old home.

Maybe even my parents were there. That made me feel hopeful.

I didn't speed up because I didn't want to leave the brothers behind, but I already wanted to find someone. I already wanted to feel accompanied again. I was aware of the hole in my chest that I had grown used to. It was always there.