Redemption (Dudley Dursley)

XXVIII. Realisations.

She was running. Her feet moving so fast it was a miracle that she did not fall over. She desperately wanted to look behind her to see if they were still gaining on her, but she knew if she done that she would immediately be at a huge disadvantage. Something up ahead in the darkness caught her attention but there was nothing that could be done. A distraction would without a doubt, be a casualty. A bright red light appeared only a couple of inches from her and she realised with a start that they were catching up.

Felicity ran further into the darkness, her blonde hair barely noticeable in the dead of night. There wasn't a single sound except running footsteps, but there were too many to know exactly how many people were there. Another shadow appeared up ahead but this time directly in front of her, a human shadow. In a single second, she changed her course, running to what had been her left. More jets of multicoloured light from wands, narrowly missing her. In fact, a piece of her blonde waves fell to the ground.

Her muscles were getting weak though. Partially from running and from fatigue. Her stomach rumbling in hunger and her throat desperate for liquid to coat it. She blinked and forced these thoughts from her head, trying to remember as much as she could about basic survival. However, this would be useless anyway because magic wasn't considered. Despite this, it was the only option she had. There was a wall up ahead, the height undecipherable due to her surroundings. Quickly, she looked side to side in case she could get around it, but it seemed to stretch on to the end.

Where even was she?

She licked her lips in a futile attempt to introduce some moisture into the parched skin before eyeing up the wall that was gradually approaching her. She couldn't go straight ahead, nor could she go to the side. And there was no way she was turning back to face everyone chasing after her. There only was one thing she could do, climb the wall. Fear bubbled away inside of her and in a couple of her steps she checked the grips of her shoes, sighing with relief that they were working. With the last ounce of adrenaline that she had coursing through her veins, she sped up and began scaling the wall.

She refused to look down, or to look up. She had no idea how high the wall was but it was clearly built for climbing as there were crevices in the bricks. A few metres up and she still couldn't see the top, but she couldn't go down. Her hands were covered in numerous small cuts and she's sure her palms were covered in both dried and fresh blood. Her muscles were tired though, and despite wanting to push on, she couldn't do that for much longer. Felicity found herself slowing down in her movements as her body ached from exertion. After what seemed like hours, which it might have been, she finally caved and looked down. All she saw was a bright red light heading for her and soon she was falling. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, accepting defeat. Waiting on the impact of her body hitting the ground.

Felicity awoke with a start.

Sweat was pouring down her face and she as shivering so much she was practically vibrating. Her heart was beating so quickly and so furiously she could almost feel every movement the muscle that kept her alive made. Her skin had turned chalk-white and her throat was burning. She had been screaming. At first, she assumed she'd just had a vision, but this wasn't the case as she noted the symptoms were nothing alike. It took her a few minutes to calm down and she went to reach up to wipe her face of sweat. Something stopped her from doing so however, and she frowned deeply.

Suddenly, the memories came back to her. How she had been sketching on top of the hill that overlooked her village. When she first realised that she wasn't alone. When she felt that first touch from a stranger. To fighting them off, and finally to having a cloth placed over her mouth that was covered in toxic fumes. It was only now that Felicity looked around the room that she was in and a feeling of déjà vu hit her full-force. She'd been here before, but when she didn't know. Maybe it had been in a dream of some sorts that she couldn't remember.