Guardian Angelwolf {In Editing}

Dark One

Chapter Eighteen

Dark One

Peyton's P.O.V

My head pounded heavily as nausea slowly twirled around my spine. My heart began to beat faster. Thump-ba-thump. Thump-ba-thump. I strained my neck in the shower to see the swirling black lines along my side. I didn't recognise the markings at all.

They scared me. These thin, black lines along my spine twirled and intertwined each other, forming half-shaped moons, and five-pointed stars. That couldn't be good. They stopped just above my hip-bone, and slowly, my mouth turned dry. What if more appeared? What did they mean? What. If. They started..to appear places that were visible to other people?

I wrapped my clammy fingers around the cold pipe and turned on the shower, freezing instantly as the icy droplets of water splashed into my face, before it came on harder, and cascaded down my body. As a reflex, I automatically began to lather the lavendar soap all over my skin.

I embraced the cold water, hoping it would wash the markings away. I glanced down at my side. No such luck. The white foam hid them partially from view as I scrubbed, and I scrubbed and lathered, my mind swirling with images I didn't want to see.

I closed my eyes as I brought the soap to my face.

I was drowning, drowning. Gasping for air as my body kicked and floundered underwater, grasping at nothingness and darkness. There was no air. There was nothing to hold onto, I could feel my lungs growing tighter, and my energy fading as I sunk deeper and deeper, and deeper...

My eyes flashed open as I pushed away from the shower head gasping. I clutched the white tiles of the shower, gasping as the memory of my almost-drown came back to mind. That was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life...my hands began to shake; and it didn't even come close to being attacked by vampires.

The water flowed uselessly with a monotonous 'shhh' sound, as I stayed glued to the wall. I couldn't go back under the water...I just couldn't. What if something...happened? A person could drown in any body of water; I think I'd read that somewhere.

I was feeling irrationally afraid. I was fine a moment ago; before I saw the tattoos...then suddenly it was like all my fears and pent up emotions came crashing down, causing me to react like this. I swallowed. Zaurus.

What if he wasn't dead? What if...Raphael only thought he killed him? Wait a minute. No. I saw Raphael burn his body parts...I audibly swallowed, as a sob escaped my throat. Oh my God. I saw Raphael burn his body parts. That's...that was something horrible to see!

Horrible! I closed my eyes, as I tried to hold in a tremendous wave of tears. My entire body was shaking now, as salty water leaked from my eyelids. Oh my God. So many awful things happened to me...and this was supposed to be a vacation! I was supposed to be getting away from all the lies and the hurt of my parents!

Instead...I was forced to lie...lie to my friends...and I got hurt myself. My sobs were getting louder now, becoming intermixed with hiccups as I tried to stop them...but they just wouldn't stop.

I felt like the shower got louder as I sank my naked butt to the cold, wet floor of the shower. I held my knees to my chest as I cried, I was crying so much and I didn't know why. Goosebumps rose on my arms in the cold room, and there I sat, shivering naked and crying on the cold tiles.

I remembered closing my eyes again at one point...and I don't remember much after that.

****

I woke up cold. Alone. In the dark. In the dirt. I could feel the familiar feeling of moist, dark dirt under my skin, and the smell of the forest, and of rain, and of nature creeping heavily into my nostrils. Only when I felt a gust of wind wash over my skin did I think something was strange.

I gasped, sitting up, and opening my eyes. A wild expanse of trees and dark green grass were all around me. My heart was beating wildly as I drank in the twilight dome above me. I gasped again, looking around me, scared and alone.

Where the hell was I?

How the hell did I get here?

I looked down at myself, in a sunflower summer dress. My lips parted slowly. I didn't...I wasn't wearing any underwear...hurriedly, I got to my feet, as a blush flushed my cheeks. Something dawned on me then. The last thing I remembered was being in the shower...I narrowed my eyes.

Oh my gosh, my breathing matched the rhythm of my heartbeat. How had...five hours...it couldn't have been...I couldn't have...did I black out or something? I turned on my heels in the dirt, wrapping my arms around myself as a gush of wind swept around my shoulders.

I hated this. I hated feeling deserted, and confused, or alone. Hating myself, I began to cry, my lower lip wobbling as my eyes forked into half-almond shapes. I felt hollow inside. Where was I? Was I in the middle of the forest?

With the blink of an eye, the sky grew darker, shifting from a greyish hue to a stark navy blue. There was not one star in the sky. The winds grew heavier now as I stood, in the middle of the forest, all alone. I struggled to keep my skirt down even though no one was around. My hair blew wildly in the wind, this coursing, rushing wind that echoed in my ears.

Something was eerily wrong here.

I was not supposed to be alone...if only someone could help me...someone could come to my rescue...and explain to me why I was so confused. I drew in a breath.

I only had one hero.

Summoning all my strength, I brought a cave over my mouth, getting ready to shout into the night. I closed my eyes. He would hear me. I knew he would. I got ready.

"Raph!!" I screamed. "Raphael!!" I hollered, voice hoarse.

I stood shakily in the night waiting for the reply I knew would come. My hero would save me. I knew he would. He always did.

"Wrong." Came a dark, sarcastic voice suddenly, making my eyes shoot open.

"Wrong, wrong, wrong babe. Raphy-boo can't save you this time. You see, Raphael can't save you...'Cause he doesn't exist." It snickered, as a cold dark feeling shot down my spine. I stood frozen as the owner of the voice dominated my personal space, filling my nostrils with a familiar musky smell. Raphael.

I took in this stranger...that appeared out of nowhere...I took in his leather jacket, black t-shirt and black jeans, all signature Raphael-wear. I took in his aura, and slowly, I lifted my eyes to meet his.

I staggered backwards, not believing my eyes...not believing his eyes. I stared at this stranger with his emerald green eyes, sparkling with the smirk that owned his lips.

I felt like I was punched in the gut. This..this person wasn't Raphael?

He took two steps towards me, strikingly familiar.

"You can call me Brus, babe; and yeah. I'm the dark one."

*****

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