Her Heroes

Chapter Thirty-Six

I couldn't stop shaking. Valentin and Matthieu had found me collapsed against the doorway with my hand still frozen in my mouth. Immediately, they called for help, unsure of how to proceed.

The rest of what happened was a blur of shadows and colors. They had seen what had me freaked out. They knew why I had bit my hand so hard it bled. They understood why I had sobbed silently as I looked at the screen. My brothers knew that that image would scar me.

"What do you want us to do! She clearly isn't in a good state after seething that!" My eyes snapped from the wall to look at Léon. His hands were thrown up in the air while he stared madly at Hercule, who watched him calmly. We were all in my room; I was sitting in the center of my bed while everyone else took various spots around the room.

"First, all of us need to take a breath." Hercule nudged his head in my direction and all eyes shifted to me. Everyone took in one breath before letting it out. "Good. Now, we need to figure out how we're going to keep her safe." Safe from the maniac, safe from everything. 
"Alexandre, call a meeting with her guards and our best soldiers. Armel, Léon, Alexandre, and I will be going to the meeting to see if anyone knows anything." Mathieu and Valentin nodded as they looked at my rough form. "You two will be staying here to ensure that she stays safe."

Hercule said a few more words and everyone bobbed their heads before leaving my room.

The silence overwhelmed me as the image painted itself onto everything. 

Blood seeped into my carpet as I was transported from my room to the cell. The cell that was supposed to keep me safe from my fosters, and them safe from the world. I closed my eyes but it was still there, taunting me.

I shivered as their lifeless bodies entered the vision. Rachel's head was turned toward me, her eyes open and unfocused. A dribble of blood leaked from the side of her mouth and onto the floor, next to where her red-tinted hair created a ghastly halo around her head. It was a gruesome sight, one that matched the slit along her throat perfectly.

She was sprawled on the stained and cracked tiles while Neil was hanging over the side of his bunk. His back was to me yet I could easily see a dark stain that had begun to spread. A small pool of blood was beneath his head, showing that he had been bleeding out for some time. I wondered if he had a slow or quick death. Even though he had harmed me in more ways than I could ever imagine, I hoped it was a quick death. Nobody deserved to die slowly, even the man who haunted my waking moments.

Bloody boot prints circled the room in a dizzying pattern, making bile rise in my throat. I was supposed to be safe now, not in more danger than I was before. The words slowly came into focus yet I couldn't get myself to comprehend them.

Times Up,
Dove

Three simple words that when put together, could change the way the world spun. Some of the letters were peeling while others were still dripping, the blood still fresh. No matter where I looked though I found crimson stains. The scene was appalling with the red substance everywhere and two dead bodies. Why would they show an image like this on TV?

"Nadia?"

The vision splintered and dissolved. Gone were the bodies and blood only to be replaced by a scared girl in a world she didn't understand.

"Grab what you need, we're taking you to a safe house." Matthieu looked at me sadly as he left the room.

***

As soon as the plane touched the ground Matthieu and Valentin were guiding me to the open door of a non-descript car. They quickly climbed in after me and signaled something to the driver before we were off.