Witness Protection ✔

The Days That Follow

It had been days since the accident and she still couldn't remember.

Darius had been nothing but patient towards her. But even though he tried to hide it she could see him grow more nervous about her state as time went on. Every day she tried to remember but to no avail. Her memories always seemed to be just out of reach.

She looked over to Darius's peaceful sleeping form. She was apprehensive at first about sharing a bed with someone who was practically a stranger. But as the days went on she noticed he barely touched her at all. It was only during the night when he'd sometimes reach out in his sleep to drag her closer to him. She didn't mind that though, his steady heartbeat helped her fall asleep.

She scooted over to him and put her forehead against his arm. She found his warmth as well as his scent to be soothing. It brought her a familiar kind of sense of security like she knew she'd always be safe with him. She closed her eyes and before long she drifted off to sleep.

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She was running through dark alleyways, but every turn she took just revealed another one. It didn't matter what direction she chose, it went on and on. Like a maze without an end.

She needed to find light. It was so dark. If she'd just reach the light she'd be safe.

Turning another corner, she ran as fast as she could. The footsteps behind her were getting closer now and she was getting out of breath.

The light, I need to find the light.

She didn't dare look back in fear of what she'd find. She just ran, she needed to go get out.

It felt as if she'd been running for hours now, and she couldn't breathe anymore. She couldn't go on.

Someone grabbed her from behind, pulling her to the ground.

"We've got you now," a faceless man laughed.

"You betrayed us, and you know the price that needs to be paid for that," another one said.

Panic rose within her. These men were murderers. She had to get away. But she couldn't breathe. She couldn't do anything. She was trapped.

Suddenly a gun was pressed to her forehead.

She didn't want things to end like this. It just couldn't end like this.

He pulled the trigger and she screamed.

She sat upright clutching her chest. Every breath she took hurt and the room was nothing but a big blur. What was happening to her?

"You're doing the right thing, kid," the officer stated, "I'll go get miss Julia Verne, she's in charge of the program."

"What program?" Nathalia asked, her voice cracking. She hadn't talked in a while now.

Officer Mclain gave her a funny look as he was getting up. "The witness protection program, of course, we went through this last Friday remember?"

The door burst open as Darius barged in, his eyes scanning the room until they landed on her panicked state. His eyes widened when she moved away from him, scooting further on the bed.

"Miss Schuyler, my name is Julia Verne and I'll be your caseworker for the upcoming months."

Nathalia shook the blonde woman's hand and muttered a 'nice to meet you' back, but couldn't muster the strength to sound upbeat like she usually did.

"This right here is Darius Gardner, he is tasked with your protection and will be accompanying you the next few months."

His grey eyes upon her made her nervous, yet she didn't want to look away from them.