Hi everyone. This is part 1 of the last chapter. If anyone would like to see what happens next, a sequel is in the works, I'm just curious if anyone would like to read it. Enjoy!
Mina rolls inside the bed, her back arching as she draws air into her lungs, her toes curling and pointing towards the mattress, her hands stretching long above her head, gripping the sturdy headboard. She vaguely feels Steve besides her, her bare thigh touching his, the heat from his body warming her up in the chilly morning, his hand slung over her waist, his chest to her side, breath tickling her neck. She tries to sit up, pushing on her elbows to gaze around herself at the room she is in. For a few moments she can't remember where she is but then the memory of the previous night unfolds before her. Mina looks out the window, hoping the storm has ended and she and Steve can finally resume their journey. She thanks whatever had urged her to leave a few days early from their home, because that means they still have a day or two before Thanksgiving. She sees a dark sky, the sun not yet shining its rays to chase away the night. There are stars, soft blinking lights puncturing the horizon, but they are not many. She shifts her gaze to her feet, her legs tangled in the sheets which she had somehow pulled for herself only. Steve is curled on his side, snoring lightly into his arm beneath his head, facing her. She smiles and leans down gently to press a kiss to his forehead, before she untangles the fabric. She rubs a hand lovingly over her belly, the smile expanding at the thought of their child growing inside her. She already can imagine it – her belly large, swollen, her child kicking, growing, Steve leaning to talk to her bump, her taking his hand to feel the kicks.
As Mina stands, she closes her eyes, inhaling the fresh air of early morning, and struggling to remember if they saw a bathroom on this floor last night. She shrugs when the information eludes her, but she walks the five steps towards the chair where they'd thrown their clothes onto and picks up her shawl, wrapping herself in it. She hazards a stare behind her, shaking her head bemused when her husband stretches his limbs to cover the whole bed and snorts in his sleep. She is quiet when she leaves, walking on her tiptoes, and softly opening and closing the door so that only a click is heard.
The woman wastes a lot of time wandering the hallways, entering room after room in search of a bathroom so that when she finds one, she is nearly bursting. She rushes inside, locking the door behind her. It is only after she gets up from the toilet and finishes showering that she realizes she's left her toothbrush in the car. She opens the cabinet above the sink and is glad to see a seemingly not used brush and what she can only imagine is toothpaste in a closed bowl.
"How old is this thing?" she asks the empty room, scrunching up her nose and smelling the paste. It smells like mint and it is not musty at all, in fact it looks brand new. She shrugs and dunks her toothbrush in it to gather some onto it. She turns on the water and brushes her teeth, spitting out the foam after she's done and rinsing her mouth carefully. She doesn't completely trust this concoction since the house is all but abandoned. But she keeps her thoughts to herself, her teeth are now clean and her body equally so and thus she can only thank the heavens for the state of the house. Maybe they've got an angel watching out for them. She laughs at her own musings.
"An angel? Ha! How stupid." She is still laughing when she enters the bedroom again. Steve is awake this time, his torso naked and taunt as he lifts his hands above his head, his muscles tensing at the motion. Mina is half tempted to drag him into bed again, but she just clears her throat and tells him where the bathroom is. They should get a move on if they want to reach her brother's place by nightfall.
Steve bends to kiss her on the lips, moaning a little at the taste of mint left over from the toothpaste – and she isn't sure it's because he actually likes it or not – and slaps her rear as he leave the room. Mina glares at the wooden door far too long before she decides to change back into her clothes.
"Not them." Victoria whispers aghast, her eyes roving over the figures emerging from the trees, their eyes shining unnaturally in the night. The Others are watching now, their gazes stone cold, mechanic, with their bodies ready to pounce at a moment's notice when she is swept by the current. The water tumbles all around her, dragging her feet from beneath her and pulling her under, mouth filling with river as she is soaked completely. She flails for a few minutes, her arms and legs not cooperating, then she breaks surface, drawing a large gulp of air into her lungs. There are loud rushing sounds in her ears so it takes her a moment to realize Anthony is yelling, his voice gruff even as it rises in pitch. It startles her and she falls back underneath the surface line, her muscles overwhelmed by the tension that they fail to keep her afloat. When she rises again, Victoria is facing backwards so she sees The Scalpel jumping into the river and swimming towards her. She doesn't know if she should swim away or towards him, but he's always been a better swimmer and so he reaches her before she reaches a decision.
"I'll pull you out." He tells her and for a second she allows herself to imagine it is just a stranger trying to help, but as soon as his face enters her line of sight and the long scar screams at her to think, she begins struggling against his body, hands falling harshly onto his arms, slapping at his face, scratching at his back when he embraces her to stop her attack. The struggle forces Victoria to swallow more water as she slips from him, going below his feet and swimming away against the current, but holding her breath she can do for at least a few more seconds. She doesn't get far enough away when his fingers enclose over her ankle and pull her back, lips opening in a silent scream and there is more water gushing in her mouth. Her spine arches away from him when her lower half connects with his front. She pushes with her legs, feet on his shins as she tries to propel herself away, but his arms are like a vice around her waist so no matter how hard she tries, she can't get away. Victoria jabs her nails hard into the flesh of his arm, watching as red mixes with water before it fades away. He does not let up. She twists and turns and writhes against him to escape, but it's useless and he is approaching the Others quickly, swimming with her in his hold, far quicker than she had hoped. She pauses in her struggle to look at them, shivering, goose-bumps on her flesh as they smile crudely at her, teeth white and straight and visible. Their eyes are locked on her, shinning in judgement as she renews her struggle.
YOU ARE READING
Purified by Fire
ParanormalVictoria was going to spend the rest of her life running. This was something she knew, like how she knew her bike was the best and forests sucked. But she never expected to end up trapped in a mansion with a young couple, not with her worst enemies...
