My Monster

We See Ourselves

Chapter 6: We See Ourselves

Sam

    Sam wanted nothing more than to collapse in the snow and closed her eyes. Fatigue and fear clouded her mind and she stopped for a moment to breathe. The odds of finding Braelyn were slim to none. Why was she even doing this? Sam closed her eyes, forcing the thought away with such violence that she gasped. Braelyn needed me, Sam couldn’t let her down. Sam pushed on, gritting her teeth against the discomfort. She didn’t know how far she had come, or how late it was, but she knew it had been a long time. It was late, because when Sam passed a house it had its lights off. She kept going, her body almost numb from exertion, following those wretched tracks. That’s when Sam noticed the lights. Down, far down the road was a garage, light pouring from the doorway. A burst of energy ran through her and Sam sprinted for it. When she burst into the garage, a boy was working at a table, making something.

“Please, I need your help, please.” She panted. The boy turned to see her, full of snow and with blood on her face, hazel eyes wide. “I need your bike please. It’s life or death.” She wasn’t afraid. The boy thought in that moment if shr wanted to rob him. She wouldn’t be pleading. He dug in his pocket and handed her the keys. “You may have saved a life tonight. Mind if I borrow that?” She said motioning to a rusty machete on the wall. He handed it to her and slipped it into her boot.

“What’s your name?” The boy asked.

“Sam West.” She said and hopped on the motor bike, kicking it to life and peeling out. The boy felt in his heart that she was doomed, and wished her luck. He does not understand his charity, but feels it to be just.

Jared

    Brown eyes burn with anger. Jared Rinaldi is angry at himself. He sits and watches his goddess sleep, and he feels anger. He is used to anger.

    Anger is all he’s ever had.

Brandon

“God dammit, just listen to me. We need to go after them!” The policeman took Brandon by the elbow, and dragged him away. It had been three hours since Sam left.

“Now son, we’re doing our best. We have a BOLO on the van. We have officers tracking Sam. Your job is to stay here and comfort Miss James. Now can you-” The officer was cut off by the squawk of his radio. “We’ve got a hit on the van.”

“I’m coming.” The policeman started to argue and Brandon wrenched himself away. “No! I’m going. If Jared sees you he’ll run, you know he’ll run. If he sees me he will try to explain. I’m coming.” The policeman scowled and nodded, leading him away. Brandon knew he had to save Braelyn. For all of them, he had to save her.

Braelyn

    I must have screamed myself to sleep, because I woke up in a bedroom. The first thing I noticed was my hands and feet were bound this time, I had a gag in my mouth and my arms were tied to a bedpost above my head. It was still dark, so either an entire day had passed, which was likely, or it had to be early morning. It was nearly dark in the little room, an unknown light source glowed softly somewhere behind my head. Jared sat in a far corner by the door, staring at me. I saw that I was still wearing the hospital gown. I twisted on the bed, testing my bindings. Tight and firm, no loose ends. Jared sighed and sat up, shifting slightly.

“I never wanted it to be this way Braelyn. I just want you safe. With me you’re safe from people who want to hurt you.” He stood. “You don’t know the full story, I’m just trying to protect you. When you kissed me, it really pissed him off.” He had his hand behind his back. Oh god help me please. “It’ll be okay once you’re safe.” He took his hand from behind his back, a needle in his grasp. When I saw that needle coming I thrashed, twisting and turning, forcing the gag out with my tongue, screaming, this whole scenario screaming date rape. Fighting against his strong grasp as the needle slid home, ice in my veins. “Hush now my sweet heart, you’re safe, you’re safe…”

Kathy

    All this panic over that thieving bitch. Even Brandon was gone, trying to play the hero. Braelyn never did learn to fight her own battles, always had her entourage to protect her. Sam, Jared, now Brandon. Kathy didn’t have a soul in the world fighting for her! She had to save herself. Kathy walked away from Braelyn’s mother, leaving her alone. Giving condolences was never her thing. Weeping for what is lost never helps, it just makes your makeup run. Kathy knew in this world She had to fight to survive. No one was going to weep for her anymore.

Sam

    The machete in her boot wasn’t sharp enough to cut her, but it looked deadly. Sam knew fighting Jared physically wasn’t going to work, but Sam knew she had hit a nerve with him. The tracks still headed south, and the snow wasn’t as thick here. Sam sped forward, praying she wasn’t wrong.

“Hold on Braelyn just hold on!” Sam whispered. When She passed a homeless man on the road she stopped. “Did a van go by here? The driver would have been huge.” The man looked cold.

“Yeah, he stopped too. Had some girl in the back.” Sam grinned and pulled the man into a hug, gave him a ten and got back on the bike.

“Which way did he go?” 

“South. This girl in some sort of trouble?”

“Big. You may have saved her life. Thank you so much.” She sped off, with a look of vengeance only seen on the faces of the damned.

Jared

    He felt fear. His father would find him he knew, but by then Braelyn would be safe. Her safety was what mattered, and Jared knew her friends would take care of her should he die. But he wasn’t going to give her up easily. She was his, and anyone who got in his way would regret it.

Brandon

    He felt cheap, and the damn cop wasn’t helping.

“So you cheated on her because she wasn’t attractive enough?” Brandon crossed his arms across his chest and glanced out the window. Kathy had slithered on him, he could have stopped her yes, but she’s so toxic. Especially at the dance when they were both in the closet. Before Braelyn came in and stopped him from making the biggest mistake at the age of 15. But as the years progressed Kathy became even more toxic and she was the only one he wanted to be with. But when he sees Braelyn, Kathy could never compare to her beauty. He shook his head and got back on topic.

“I’m not good at making choices.” Brandon muttered.

The cop glanced at him, “You made a good choice tonight.”