Valley of Muloor

11. Turbulence

       

Wren

MATURE THEMES

For the first time in a long time, I felt euphoric. I was in the company of friends, singing along to a song that we've shared as a memory for years, tossing all our cares aside. As I relish in the moment, I reminisce on the blissful memories the familiar tune brings as I twirl and giggle at the newfound courage Jimmy has sourced as he grabs Laura's hand and dances with her. Once again the chorus builds and we all sing, large smiles plastered over our faces and Jimmy's glasses characteristically sliding down his nose. I throw my hands in the air as I begin to spin, only for one hand to be caught by something. Rather, someone.

I'm guided by the hand to finish the spin, only for me to stumble into a solid torso. In shock, I look up and come face to face with Hunt, my hand still enclosed in his. Before I could say anything, he smiled and continued singing along with the song, and...

Dancing. With me. And then he span me around, again. And instead of questioning it, or showing my confusion, I also continued to sing along as I was twirled and twirled, slamming back into his body dramatically each time, causing us both to stumble and laugh.
What was happening?

Eventually the tune began to fade out, and I noticed Laura and Jimmy retiring to the edge of the dance floor, Laura plonking onto one of the chairs and hastily removing her heels. I looked back at Hunt, who had followed my gaze. Stepping back, I cleared my throat and smiled up at him. "Thanks for the dance."

"Anytime," he smiled in return, slowly backing away before eventually turning and walking toward the bar where the rest of the Constables were now standing. I made my way over to where Laura and Jimmy were sitting, trying to control the dizzy smile that gradually grew across my face. Laura and Jimmy giggled between themselves, deep in conversation with one another. Taking it as my cue to leave, I quickly hugged Laura from behind and said goodbye. She hastily turned in her seat to face me, a grin lighting up her features. "Call me in the morning? I need ALL the details!" She winked.

"The same goes for you," I winked back, my gaze directed toward Jimmy.

"Shut up!" She slapped my arm playfully before hugging me again.

I pushed open the gymnasium doors and stepped into the stifling evening air. I began making my way down the street, homebound and ready for sleep. The air was thick with humidity that created an eery fog settling around the street lamps, leaving a nagging feeling to settle in my spine and my pace to quicken. As I progressed further down the street, I could distinctly hear more footsteps falling against the concrete behind me. As panic bubbled in my stomach, I sucked in a breath to let it calm. Then the shout of my name left my blood running cold.

-

I stopped in my tracks, slowly turning to face the source of the shout.

Three of them. All friends of Him. All following me.

I could feel my throat tightening. It was if he was here, his hands around my neck all over again.

"What do you want," I let out, not allowing them to see or hear my panic.

The ring leader, Joseph, stepped forward, a smirk spreading across his face. "Oh, we just wanted to catch up. Heard you were back in town, so of course we had to see for ourselves." Slowly, he began to circle me like a vulture. The other two, Tweeddle Dee and Tweedle Dum, stood in front of me saying nothing, however their faces twisted into cruel grins.

I remained completely stoic, showing no emotion. "Well you've seen me, now you can go home," I gritted.

"Now what would be the fun in that? We just wanted to say Hi. From us, and of course, from Julian," Joseph grabbed a strand of my hair, twisting it with his fingers, his eyes burning into me. I could feel my hands beginning to flex in agitation.

"I'm only going to say this once. Get the hell away from me," I snarled. Dropping my strand of hair, Joseph stood back, his hands raised in a mock surrender.

"Oh no, please don't hurt me," he sniggered, causing the two others to snort. Joseph turned to me again, lowering his arms. "Julian sends his regards."

Immediately, my cheek was on fire and my hair whipped across my face.

Did he just slap me?

Flipping my hair out of my face, I faced Joseph head on, my teeth bared in anger. I had trained for this. For three years. My skin on my knuckles covered in scars. I could feel anger coursing through my veins, my hands fisted and shaking.

Before his smirk could even form, I punched, hard and fast, sending him backward.

Immediately Tweedle Dee and Dum reacted, rushing forward and grabbing my arms, holding them back. I kicked and struggled against them, trying to break free. Joseph composed himself, wiping the thin trail of blood that dripped from his nose. "You fucking bitch." His fist colliding with my face, and then my stomach, and then my face again, causing me to hunch over, desperately gasping for air.

Eventually I was tossed to the ground, wetness that weren't tears slid down my face, my knees scraped, my lungs burning. My ears rang as I slowly tried to climb back up, and the ground rocked violently. I noticed various figures running away from me, toward something but I couldn't make it out yet. Then a series of shouts rose above the ringing in me ears, and my eyes finally focused on the scene ahead.