❝Hreathoire❞

Chapter 5

Slowly, my eyes unfurled and when I realized where I am, I sat up in shock. My hands still shaking, my mind and heart throbbing in unison, the voices inside my head pounding leaving me restless. Go to Eviloire. Go to Eviloire. A while ago I was trying to scream. Everything that had happened was like a dream and now I'm on the edge of slipping away, the clarity of the chaos has faded.

"Cassandra?"

"Cassandra!" It's only in the second attempt of Ivan that I awoke. I ran my hands through my hair almost wanting to detach it from myself. How I wanted to hurt my being, how I wanted to numb all these things.

"W-where... h-how, how did we get here?" I patted my hands on the sheet of my bad several times then pinched my hand if this was reality. Surrounding me is my cozy room and how I wished I'd feel calm but I didn't after everything.

"What happened to you?" Grace gave me an astonished look.

"You didn't know what happened?" I exhaled a gasp. It's real, I know. I've felt that burning sensation, the vigor, the digging teeth almost putting me into my grave, the shouts of people are still in my ears, the memory of the child being ripped so vivid. How could they not know?

"How d-did we m-manage to escape?" I stuttered, searching for reassurance in their eyes, but the way they look at me like I'm already entombed into madness, I almost cracked my knuckles on the headboard once I moved near it, my body trying to rest but my soul, my mind, cannot.

"Escape from what, Cassandra? We're so worried! Now what are you even talking about?" Ria tried to console me with her arms but I pushed her back, slightly. My mouth quivering and I am now wanting to drown myself in tears. When they saw how savage it courses, they didn't dare move but Ria still explained.

"You collapsed infront of the archade, we all carried you to the car and drove you home. We were all here waiting for an hour 'til you wake up."

"It... it must be real!" I was too eager to tell them what I know had happened. I was too eager to deafen the thought I'm losing myself. "The monsters devouring humans in the mall! The bloodshed! The... the small one who attacked me! Don't tell me they are not fucking real!" Once I got out of bed I staggered and fell, Jamison was the one who catched me and helped me sit on the soft mattress.

The door slammed open. It revealed Nathan.

"Oh thank God you're now awake, Cassandra." My eyes questioned his sudden appearance, I looked at my friends waiting for them to say something but then Nathan hugged me so tight and I didn't want to move, didn't want to remove his hands now around me. I wrapped mine around him too, almost clutching the shirt from his back, asking for safety, for protection that my tears became reckless.

"We called Nathan after driving you here using Jamison's car," Sienna explained, Ria's smoothing my hair. "And because he's worried, he stopped over here too."

"Nathan..." Now I'm slowly getting a glimpse of the truth; that the carnage hours ago wasn't real, I remembered what had happened before. Brianna. The guys. The power. My friends know except him and it hurts me how many troubles are stepping on me now that I feel like I'm not able to move out of this dreading zone. I embraced Nathan more like he's my only foundation and removing my hands from him just means breaking into pieces.

My chest tightens and heaves. Now I'm slowly calming with the comfort of them around me, I unwrapped my hands around Nathan, pushing further away from them and tucking my feet underneath my body. Before, I wanted to scream. Now, I just wanted to cry, cry and cry and tell them everything but my mind's still a blur and I haven't rested a good sleep for what seems so long.

They are all looking at me with worry painted in their faces. "For now, Cass, you can go rest before you enlighten us what's really going on." Amelia suggested but I shook my head.