Choleric

Chapter XXI

Sorry I've been MIA, had a heap of uni stuff I had to work through.

[Unedited]

"Isn't it sad when you get hurt so much you can finally say 'I'm used to it'" – Unknown

The bodies had been placed in their rightful packs while the survivors kept huddled in penguin formation in attempt to hide from the horror they had witnessed. Celia wished willfully to be apart of the group that huddled together and comforted the strangers beside them. Instead she found herself being poked by the harsh grass that covered the land, just metres from the red scene and the small group of Alpha's trying to figure out what to do next.

Her back itched against the thick paper-like bark that wrapped itself tightly around the trunks of the trees that cealed in the tortured clearing. Eve lay beside her, her head in her lap as her bleach blonde mane entwined with the earth beside Celia's knee. The tears had long passed, leaving a dry trail that cut through the dirt on her porcelain cheeks. Her crystal blue eyes stared longingly at the trees above, watching the gentle sway of branches as they danced to the tune of the wind.

Celia closed her eyes and leaned her head against the tree trunk as her fingers gently brushed through the soft strands that spread over her thigh. Aria sat beside them, braiding the front of Eve's startling blonde hair, slowly pulling the wisps away from her soft features. The Kookaburra's laughed cruelly at Eve's dispense as they floated from branch to branch, their curious eyes taking in the scene before flying away, dragging their loud cackling with them.

It all felt so surreal, Celia thought to herself. The hair gliding through her fingers felt to soft, the eerie feeling that crept up her stomach reminded her that something was off. Everytime she breathed in the air was too sweet; like a fruit that had been left in the sun to rot. It was sickening and it took everything inside her not to gag.

"He saved me, you know," Eve's voice cut through the air like glass, startling the two girls. "Everything was perfect. We ran into each other when I tried to get out of the clearing. He didn't say anything; just took my hand and ran. We sprinted for what felt like hours and when we found a large tree we climbed it and stayed there the night."

Celia let out a slow breath, not daring to interrupt her friend as the memories of last night came out of her mouth like a flood. Her blue eyes remained on the trees as Celia's jaw clenched as her heart seemed to become wrung out.

"That's when we spoke about ourselves," her lips formed a ghost of a smile. "Everytime he smiled these dimples would show and I could literally feel my heart falter at the sight of it." Her voice caught and Celia wanted to crawl into a ball and forget this all happened. She didn't want to hear what Eve had gone through, but she didn't have enough courage to tell her to stop.

"When the sun came up I jumped down from the tree. It was stupid of me, I didn't even check if it was safe. Around him I felt as if nothing could touch me so it caught me by surprise when the bad soul grabbed me." It was then that Celia felt something in her head click, as if she had laid down the last piece of the puzzle and it all came crashing together.

"No," she breathed out, no longer aware of Eve's mindless rambling as she shoved her into a sitting position. In the corner of her eye she saw Aria slide backwards on her bottom, as if she too had come to the same conclusion. "Eve stay still okay?" Her voice came out in a demand that made her friends back straighten immediately. Without hesitation Celia pulled up her friends mangled top, looking at every inch of fair skin that stretched across her smooth back. Finding nothing her shifted over to face Eve's front, her knees scraping across the uncomfortable floor as she did so.