Unbroken (Untouched #2)

Chapter 8

SHE sat on the sill of the window, her finger skimming along the softened corners of the pages. She stared into the darkness, seeing much of the nothingness of the sprawling gardens and hills beyond. Streaks marred the glass like small river, contorting on the smooth surface and casting her into an odd, comforting trance. The heavens had opened overhead and whilst the pattering always worked wonders to tempt sleep, she could not fall back into a slumber that night no matter how hard she tried. So, she was left lounged on the seat of the window with the tome in her lap and her gaze sprawling into the curtain of rain.

Ellen pushed the back of her head back against the wood of the window-frame and closed her eyes. The heavy pounding continued inside of her skull and her thoughts remained anything but coherent. Just when she had thought that the tatters of her life were on the mend and she was reaching a form of normalcy, a spanner was thrown into the midst and she was left lost amongst the trees. The glimmer of hope and heaviness she had perceived on the horizon was torn from her clutches once more.

And now, they were back right where they had started as they were thrust right back into the pages of history, one that appeared to repeat itself.

Would it be this way if it wasn't for me? If I wasn't here, this never would have had happened. I never should have said yes. I never should have walked into their lives. All I do is complicate things and put their lives at risk. I don't know what they see in me.

"You know, it's not too late to do what is right. Follow your instincts. You could be on your way to greatness whilst protecting them too. No one else has to die. It all lies in your hands."

Ellen shot upwards with widened eyes. A gentle voice caressed her ears; sing-song and whimsical.

Musical.

And one that she could not recognise or place. It was close, very close, as if someone was bending close and whispering into her ear from behind her back. She could hear the breaks and pauses in the words; the lingering draws of the words.

With the blood thudding in her ears, she twisted around to meet what was behind her...

...but nothing but the pale paint of the wall stared back at her.

She slowly looked around the room. Her eyes darted over every nook and cranny she could make out in the pitch blackness. The sweep confirmed something that she had suspected deep down inside. The door hadn't opened since she had slipped through the door, and there had not been a since of another living soul since retiring to her room.

She was alone.

She shook her head, her breathing coming out staggered in a nervous rhythm.

This can't be real, she thought to herself as she attempted to steady her reeling thoughts. Your mind's just playing tricks on you. This isn't real. You're tired. You've been through hell and back. You need sleep and this is your brain telling you that.

"Your mind isn't playing tricks on you. What a rubbish thing to tell yourself. I am very much real and I am very much here, talking to you."

Ellen continued to peer around the dark room, fervently hoping that there was something that would put the two-and-two together; that would make her see sense in the absurdity of the hallucination.

"Who are you?" she asked in an ashen whisper. But a low whisper, the words pierced through the silence like a knife. "Where are you? What do you want from me?"

She could hear the angst of Claudia, Hans and Dvorak already, telling her to break off the communication and alert someone right away. She could see Claudia's eyes peering at her through the glasses, a hint of disappointed tugging at the creases of her eyes. The image tore at her heartstrings but the pull was too strong and who knew? Maybe there was a connection and all would be unveiled that would help them in their struggles?