Torn

Chapter 7: Lynz's Point of View

It had been 3 nights since the dog incident. I was in my room, consciously dozing. An urge to go downstairs drew me out of my room. I took each step down quietly. Brenda was cooking in the kitchen, a sweet smell creating an aromatic path. I stood at the doorway, knocking on the door frame to get her attention.

"I went to the therapist today," I said when Brenda turned to me. I made an attempt to smile a little.

"I know, she called me." A short silence followed. Brenda's tone had been emotionless, like she didn't care. I had at least expected a small praise.

"I'm going to check out the backyard."

"Okay. Don't stay out too long, you start school tomorrow." I still stood there, waiting. Brenda returned to cooking. She wasn't gonna say anything else, so I went back up to my room, checked my phone for any messages from Scott, and strode into the crowd of trees behind the house.

I planned on wandering until I found something interesting or I became restful. The cold temperature convinced me that I was alone, and it felt peaceful. I had been walking for about twenty minutes when I took a breath of rushed wind and was thrust against a tree. The figure's body heat emanated, caressed my bare skin from the closeness, and combined with the cold of the night. Even his quick exhales were warm, coming in the form of white puffs. He held me tight by pinning my shoulders.

"What are you doing here?" An intimidating, masculine voice asked. Over the past two years, I had lost the human quality of fear; counter-intimidation took its place. This person couldn't have been worse than Law.

"What, I can't go walking around at night?" I spat back.

"You live here now?" The guy's grip on me loosened and his tone became confused. I tried to keep my lips a straight line, showing no answer. Who knows, he could easily track where I live.

Then, he fully let go of me. He smiled. "Follow me." He started walking deeper into the forest, angling to the right. While driving to the house for the first time, I noticed that a mountain rested in that direction a long ways away. Don't follow him, Lynz. This guy is a weirdo, you don't know him! He could rape you and kill you!

What are you waiting for? Follow him! You've lost Law, this guy could be the new him! You know you need to feel pain to feel alive. Do it!

I resisted the temptation to follow him. The session with Rachelle seemed to work; I wanted to resist the pain and suffering the bad voice pressured me to do. I never really wanted it anyway, I only caused myself pain to stop the voices. When I would please the good voice, the other would complain and call me all the names it could list. He stopped and turned back to me, realizing I wasn't following him.

"No," I replied strongly. I stood my ground, not allowing him to scare me. With the little moonlight given, I could see some of the boy's features; he was young, most likely late teens or early 20s. He had jet black hair, a bit spiky, and dark eyes, standing out because of his light skin tone.

"Follow me," he repeated. His voice didn't raise or lower. This time, I was pushed toward him. I looked behind me at the invisible force, seeing nothing. What are you doing, Lynz?! Don't follow him!

Yesss, the bad entity purred. I tried to push my legs back, resisting the force. It was no use; it was as if gravity had turned against me. At that moment, I realized I might die soon. The further I went, the sooner I would be isolated with this creep. He could be a second Law, or not as cruel; he might just kill me after he tortures me.

We walked for a long time, the only thing I was sure of. I couldn't stop, and my legs started feeling numb. The sky got darker with time and more compact trees, the heavy smell of douglas fir and pine inescapable. I looked around for some type of landmark; none. We must've been miles away from any town or city. I cursed under my breath because I forgot my jacket. Oregon was much colder than New York.

"Where are we going?"

"You've moved in recently. There used to be barely anyone living around here since it's expensive, and I know everyone that lives here. So you're new and asking me where we are going?" Even with his smartalec tone, I knew he was right. I would end up in a ditch or under a pile of leaves within an hour or less.

We approached a slight hill, a small, flat clearing waiting at the top. I could hear a girl's voice arguing with someone else. The other person's voice was low and I could barely hear him or her. Their voices became clearer as we came closer. Light made the clearing have a half-circle of orange, more than likely coming from a camp fire.

"Andrew, it's been 40 minutes! He could've been shot or something! We should've followed him like I said."

"Hails, take a breath. He's fine, he knows what to do. You can't always follow him around. Danny's a big boy." The voice said the last sentence jokingly.

"Yeah, I know, but I'm his sister! I'm supposed to take care of him!" We reached the side of the clearing. A thin but curvy girl with blond hair and black tips stood with her back turned to us. The person she was arguing with, a boy with medium-length golden hair, was standing opposite of her, glancing at us, then back to her. When she noticed he was looking behind her, she turned to us. She smiled when she saw the boy next to me, but immediately wrinkled her nose and partailly furrowed her eyebrows when she looked at me. I expected her to say something, but instead of her talking, "Andrew" was the one that spoke.

"See? Danny's okay. He even brought us a quick snack," He walked over to Danny and patted his shoulder. "Thanks, buddy."

Danny smiled, then looked at "Hails". "No, she's not a snack."

"Well? Aren't you going to introduce her then?"

He turned to me. ''I'm Daniel, this is Hailey, and Andrew. We're all adopted siblings."

"Hailey, Andrew, this is Lynz." My eyes widened. How does he know your name?? the innocent voice asked.

"Is your name really 'Lynz'?" Hailey questioned, cocking her head to the side. My head was spinning and the pattern of the forest was twisting around me. The two voices shouted demands, not knowing about each other. My thoughts became cloudy, and I attempted to answer Hailey's question to not raise suspicion.

"Yes."

"It's her. I have no doubt she is."

"What are you guys? Vampires? Werewolves? A cult? Am I some sacrifice? And how do you know my name?" I didn't know what came over me. I blurted out questions. I didn't even think about them before I let them out.

"Alright. If you think she's 'the one', then tell her about us." Hailey challenged Daniel. He came over closer to me and took my hands. I didn't care what he was doing; I felt like I wasn't in control of my body now, like one of the voices in my head was taking over. I must really be insane.

"I-I've kinda been looking for you for a while...and...ugh." He dropped my hands and jogged over to the camp fire. I noticed there was a pile of soil and rocks, a bowl of water, and a japanese hand fan. Fire, earth, water, and air, the sweet voice said. A syringe filled with red-violet liquid rested in Daniel's hand when he walked up to me. The voice I despised spoke up, Told you, you wouldn't regret following this guy. This is the last thing you haven't tried yet. The cloudiness in my head didn't go away. I felt the urge to take the needle and shove it into my arm. Without thinking twice, I felt the pain of liquid fire mixing with my veins. When the substance was emptied into my arm, I dropped the needle and tried to stay up on my two feet.

Daniel looked stunned. "Are you feeling okay?" He took my arm worriedly, and tried to steady me by placing his hand on my back.

"Eahhifeelohkehy-" I slurred the words, then collapsed, my knees giving out and the darkness of the night stealing my consciousness.