The Girl Who Stopped Time

You'll be safe

My mind is racing in a million different directions. A little voice in the back of my head keeps whispering to me that there is no way this could be happening. That maybe a rock had hit me in the head and I'm really just unconscious on the ground; or that I'm at home in my room having a terrible nightmare... but there's an even louder voice screaming that this nightmare is all too real.

After what feels like hours of staring at the unmoving numbers, I finally avert my eyes to the grey cold ground. The initial shock still swirling in my eyes, like a never-ending tornado.

I try to find something to focus on. Anything to take my mind off the unwavering lull of numbers that sit above my head. So, I cautiously look at the damage that might have been done on my body.

My hands are lathered in small cuts, each one varying in different sizes but all containing the same amount of pain. My once new jeans are now ripped and covered in holes which are slowing being stained red with my own blood. Rocks -ranging from big to tiny- stick out of the gashes in my knees. Everything seems to be in a state of ache; nothing hurting more then another. Both my head, hands and knees are throbbing from some type of wound, somehow making the world around me become even more blurry then it already is.

I reach my bloodied hands down to my knees and take a hold of a seemingly large rock that has embedded itself into my skin. The sharp edges latch onto my flesh as I maneuver it out, coaxing out even more of the crimson colored liquid as it is removed.

How did I get myself into this situation? I was always a good student in school, never in trouble. I mean sure I skipped classes a lot but it was the only way to escape my incessant bullies. Even at home I still did as I was told -even if I didn't have the best role models for parents- I never saw the need in doing stupid things and this is definitely stupid. I don't even know what gave me the idea or even the power to walk all the way up here.... Whatever it was, I forever curse it!

I bring myself to my feet, remaining weary of my throbbing lacerations. My eyes once again drift to the clock, causing my breath to get caught in my throat. The numbers are still frozen.... I guess that one sliver of hope in my body allowed me look up and further be filled with the same shock I had when I first laid my eyes on it.

My breathing is shallow as I turn around and start making my way back down the path. My feet stagger and I sway with each step. My whole body feels numb; my vision morphs into a tunnel of my surroundings. It's beginning to feel as if I can barely breath at all.

I am only able to take two steps forward when my legs give out and I find myself back on the rocky ground. Sitting up on my tortured knees. I can faintly hear someone shouting my name. My vision is so obscured I can barely make out my mother running towards me as her short brown hair bounces on her shoulders and dull blue eyes connect with my green ones.

She slides to the ground in front of me, and cups my face into her warm hands. I can slightly see my father's tall dark figure standing behind her, the reflection from his glasses catching the sun and reaching me. My eyes start to droop as I hear my mother practically yelling at me to stay awake, but it is her next words that make my eyes widen.

"I'm so sorry, Avianna. My baby. It was the only way to stop the clock. Please, forgive us." She said to me with tears in her eyes. She moves the hair away from my face and holds me tightly in her arms. She's trying to comfort me but with her holding me like this it is only making me more uncomfortable and scared.

"What...?" Came my voice in a weak whisper. I'm not only confused by what she is saying but the amount of affection she is showing me. She's never been this way with me. She's always only been distant and uncaring towards me. So, what exactly is making her treat me this way?

I have a feeling it's nothing good.

"Don't worry honey, you'll be okay. He promised not to hurt you. You'll be safe." She says more to herself than to me. "You'll be safe" she repeats in my ear then pulls away from me.

Sitting here now, I realize how tired my mother actually appears. Dark bags have formulated under her teal eyes, darkening her features while also somehow making her paler than usual. Her makeup is smudged and the foundation on her face does nothing to help her dry complexion. Her clothes are wrinkled and stick to her body just like her bones do; she is unbelievably skinny. The only thing that doesn't look tainted on her is her crisp white lab coat, which she and my father have both worn religiously for as long as I can remember. Besides that, she looks terrible. Nothing like the well put together mother I grew up with.

The mom I knew would never leave the house with even a hair out of place. She would look at me in distain for wearing torn up converse. Now she looks terrible; almost dead even.

Before I can muster up any kind of response, I feel strong arms lifting me up bridal style. I look up expecting to see my dad but to my sheer horror it is a complete stranger. A stranger who is now walking away from my so-called parents. I feebly struggle in his arms, but it is no use. His strong arms only tighten around my small body, holding me flush against his own chest.

He has dark features: Short raven hair covers his head; dusky brown eyes stare down at me with a look that I can't decipher in my inadequate state. A line of full pink lips lay just under his somehow perfect nose, and my eyes can't resist staring at his stubbled sharp jaw line. It is hard to find a flaw. He is a very handsome, scary man.

I could not be more terrified.

I turn my head away from his sharp eyes, looking towards my mother. Hoping to find her trying to stop whatever the hell is happening. A girl can dream. Instead she stays kneeled on the ground, her head facing downwards. Completely unmoving, almost as if she is frozen. Just like the clock that sits next to us on the mountain.

I look back at the stranger and find a grin beginning to form on his face, I take it as him mocking me.

"Please..." I whisper to him, a plea which can only be interpreted as letting me go. Or maybe it is a prayer for this all to be a nightmare?

"Don't beg, sweetheart." He says, his voice husky and deep. It sends a chill through my veins and before I can even begin to shiver, the warmth from his arms ripples through me; feeling very similar to that of the clocks. "It's not a good look for you."

Dread and disgust enter my body. Who could this man possibly be?

Before my mind can come up with the reasoning behind my fate, my vision blurs completely and everything goes dark, but even in darkness my mind searches for answers. Answers to questions that I know will be impossible to retort. So slowly the questions disappear into the darkness, but one question remains fervent....

...Why?

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Hey readers, hope you liked the new chapter.

*awkwardly gives two thumbs up*

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