The Silent One: Cursed Daughter (Book 1)

Protect Her

(Tate's POV)

I could feel something touching me, running up and down my skin. It's wet, but not cold. Slowly, I opened my heavy eyelids, and I could see her. It's Alice. She's crying silently while gently wiping the smeared blood from my sore body. After looking around, I noticed we were no longer in the woods. It looked like a girl's bedroom, with pictures of Anna and Alice plastered all over the walls. The bed I was lying on had purple sheets and blankets with white pillows. There was no doubt in my mind that it was her room.

I tried to sit up, but I was in too much pain to move. She noticed my attempt to move, and her gaze met mine. I began to feel that tingling sensation again. Only this time, I could also feel her pain.

"What happened?" I asked with a groan.

Alice wrung out the cloth she used to clean me with. The bucket is white making the dark red water stand out even more. Had I lost that much blood?

"We were attacked," I heard a voice say.

"Who said that?" I asked.

I looked around the room, but I saw no one. It was only Alice and me, but her lips weren't moving. Is Anna in the room? No, she couldn't be, or else I would have seen her. Unless she is standing in the closet, but the doors are closed, that didn't seem right. I must have taken a beating to the head because I couldn't make sense of any of this.

I looked at Alice for answers, but I knew she couldn't speak. She attempted a half smile, but I couldn't stop staring at her sad, dull eyes. They no longer looked like rolling waves in an ocean but rather like a dark stormy night. They lost the light they once had.

"It's me, Alice... This is the only way I can talk," a girl's voice says. "I believe it's called telepathy, or at least that is my guess based on the research Anna and I did..."

She placed her hand on mine as her voice trailed off. Suddenly, all my memories started to flood back. I remembered sitting in the principal's office. The old wooden chair was so uncomfortable that I felt like I would get a nasty splinter from it. While listening to him reprimand me, I watched the girls wander off into the woods through the window.

After seeing someone follow the girls into the woods, I excused myself from his office. I quickly found the exit and followed them. The girls caught me hiding in the bush, and that's when I saw Alice. She looked different, which explains her ability to communicate the way she does.

Then there were those men who attacked us. A sudden hint of sharp pain reminded me of how I became unconscious. The last thing I remembered was waking up here. I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something I didn't know or couldn't remember.

"Do I scare you?" She asks while pulling her hand away.

"No, I'm not scared," I said as I sat up. "I've seen stranger things."

She smiled softly before standing up. After picking up the bucket full of bloody water and soap, she walked towards the door.

"Where is Anna?" I asked sincerely. "Did she get hurt too?"

Alice froze in her tracks before turning her head to look over her shoulder. Her long blonde hair draped over her face and down her shoulder. I could barely see her eyes, but I knew tears were waiting to fall as they glistened from the bright ceiling light.

"They took her, they took the wrong girl," her voice said softly, barely above a whisper in my head. "They always grabbed the wrong one."

I slowly stood up, using the wall to balance myself. She turned to face me, the bucket still in her hands.

"What do you mean by the wrong girl?" I asked curiously.

"I don't know who it is, but this is the second time they have come after us," she said softly while looking away.

Her words shocked me. Why would someone want to kidnap either of them?

"You think they want you, but they've always tried to grab Anna?" I asked confused.

"The first time I transformed, it happened during the first attack when they tried to take Anna away from me," she explained while a tear escaped her eye. "That's when they said I was the one they wanted."

I had to take a moment to process all of this new information. What had she become and why did they want her? What am I getting myself into?

"I have to do whatever it takes to find her, and this time you are not coming," I heard her say as she turned away. You'll be safer this way, and you won't get in my way this time."

Her hand reached for the doorknob, but I stopped her from opening the door. She looked up at me with a hint of anger but also of hope. I could tell she didn't want my help, but she knows she can't do this alone.

"You don't have to do this alone," I said before smirking as a thought crossed my mind. "I can help, and I know someone else who can help, too."

"No, I refuse to bring you; it's already horrible enough they have Anna," she said while attempting to turn the doorknob. "I promised her I would always protect her, and I have failed her. I refuse to put anyone else's lives in danger."

Her tone is aggressive, yet also caring at the same time. I understand where she is coming from, but I know too much about this for me to walk away from it all now. I'm too involved. Why won't she let me in?

"I refuse to let you face them alone when I know I can..." I tried to say before she cut me off.

"No, I can take care of myself," she said with her eyes closed. "I couldn't save you both then, and if you come with me, I won't be able to save either of you."

I tried to say something, but she looked at me with her dull, sad eyes, and I could see the pain dripping from them. It was clear that she was feeling overwhelmed by the burdening weight of guilt. I could tell it was eating away at her.

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something were to happen to either of you," she said after looking away. "They only want me that's why I must do this alone."

Alice attempted to turn the knob on the door again, this time with more strength. She was fighting me, and she was strong. Stronger than she appeared to be.

"I refuse to let you do this alone," I said as I tightened my grip on her hand. "You'll need all the help you can get."

"No, I don't," Alice said as she shook her head.

"You don't even know what you're up against," I pleaded with her. "You're just a girl, against a group of creatures you know nothing about, and won't be capable of doing it on your own."

I struggled to keep her from turning the knob, but I was not about to give up. She must have realized that because she put the bucket aside to use her free hand to attempt to pull my hand away. I was taken by surprise at the amount of strength she possesses.

"No! That's my final answer," she said through gritted teeth. "I'm not just a girl, and you don't even know half of what I'm capable of."

"Then tell me," I said as I struggled under her grip.

"You could never understand anything about it," she said defensively. "You're just a boy."

I let go of the doorknob, and the door swung open. She stumbled backwards, falling into my arms. Her eyes filled with shock at first then anger.

"Why do you care so much anyway?" she asked while standing up. "We only met a few hours ago."

I thought to myself for a moment. Why was I so drawn to this girl? What is it that makes me want to protect her? She said there was so much more to her, but I wasn't sure what she meant by that. I know I have my own secrets, but I was more determined to figure her out. Who is she? What is she?