Ø∏∑A Chapter by Broken Hearted FauxWhen protagonists meet protagonists hahaAshes to
ashes. Fire gnawed at
the remains of the structure, tearing it down, licking away hungrily. The
flames were hot, intense, burning with heated determination to rid of whatever
stood in its path. Pieces crumbled, breaking and flaking off into the scorched
earth below. Stones rolled knocking and pouring out towards the licking waves
below the cliffs. The structure groaned, creaking, struggling to hold itself up
as a shadow stumbled along to find shelter from the hell-fire. Claws dug
themselves into the dirt, the massive body behind it, legs fighting with their
last shreds of willpower to move. It
shook, trembling as the body collapsed onto its side, face buried within ashes
and splinters. Cries shattered the silence as a pair of jaws opened wide and
the head tilted back. Agonizing roars rippled outward into the sky, echoing off
the crumbled walls surrounding it. My hands
balled into my sheets as my eyes fought to continue its gaze upon the helpless
shadow, tears welding up inside them. I wanted to reach out. Wanted to comfort
the beast as it burned, but I withdrew when my eye notice the fire still hungry
for more. It leaped for my legs, biting and nipping at my ankles as I backed up
onto a rock, climbing desperately away. I tried to
move, but somewhere in the nerves between my brain and legs nothing would
respond. I did the only
thing I could register in that moment. I shouted, yelling and screaming till my
voice died out. My voice cracked like the rolling thunder on the east winds,
lashing out at the beast as if my words could strike it like lightning. “Get up!” I
screamed at the beast. I winced at its bellowing and cried as its
limbs dangled helplessly on its side. I continued to scream, throat burning and
aching, bleeding while I coughed. The fire was getting stronger. The smoke
poured out in black clouds, clinging to the air around it. My chest tightened
up, the smoke wrapping around my throat like a snake, tightening itself inch by
inch. My hands
fought in vain to loosen its hold on me, finger slipping and gliding through with
no prevail. I had imagined
death before, and though I never frequently thought of it, I did now. Sparkles
danced upon my vision, swirling in stars and colors as I gagged, fighting for
air. I could already feel the cold blade of death’s scythe against my throat
while I dangled in his grip as he laughed in my face. My face
smacked the wall as I woke with a start, hands absentmindedly rubbing my throat
as I sat in the darkness of my room. I held my head, thoughts bumping and
swirling around inside as I tried to calm my breathing and savored every breath
to enter and leave my lungs. The air tasted sweet on my tongue as it drowned
out the aching burn of my sore throat and the peppery taste of smoke which
lingered on the back. Everything had
been so vivid and I felt so torn. Every night seemed to have brought a new
dream and a change of atmosphere, each building up from the last since the
summer had rolled in. The only things I was hoping to worry about during the
summer before classes had begun was if I was going to continue onward with said
classes. Now I had these forever changing nightmares on my mind each night. Five
forty-three flashed in red on my clock beside my bed. The sun had already begun
the day with his face poking out over the Hizarian hill peeks. The orange
flames branched out like the ever-hungry paths of hell-fire in my haunting
dream. I shivered at the thought and rubbed at my throat once more. Fighting and
weighing my options to exit bed or try to sleep for another hour or two
stumbled and tumbled around in my thoughts. Unfortunately, I already knew the
outcome seeing as I didn’t want to take my chances of being dragged back into
my nightmares yet again. I groggily threw the covers off my bed and grabbed the
towel off my dresser while making my way to the bathroom. Tossing it
aside onto the towel rack, I wiggled out of my nightie and make a quick stop on
the toilet. My eyes wandered the room as it winced at the unforgiving bright
lights I regrettably installed just a week ago. Who knew power saving light bulbs would be so cruel to one’s eyes so early in the morning? Those light bulbs had to go. It was them or
my poor eyeballs. I stretched
while setting the temperature, giving myself a once over in the mirror, shaking
my head in rejection to my own reflection. Though I wasn’t a work out gym
hugging kind of girl, I preferred to keep my body with whatever curves I could
manage with work, classes and life in my way. Though I seemed to be allowing
the brick walls of life pound me into submission and be lazy enough to miss
days and sometimes even weeks of working out. The little ball of pudge on my
tummy made me sigh and curse under my breath to give present me a reminder to
kick future me’s a*s to work out more regularly once time travel becomes a
thing. My auburn hair stuck out in attention from sweat and summer heat, some
curled around my face in sweaty rings. Sighing, I
relaxed as the hot water rubbed its fingers down my spine, working away any
tension or stress that still resided within me during the fights with my sheets
moments earlier. The shadowy image of the beast was burned into my mind,
lingering in my thoughts. Though it was
fuzzy to my eyes, the shape of the beast had been massive, probably weighing in
tons, and even on its side seemed to be the size of two college buses. I
couldn’t wrap my mind around what beast it was crying out into the heavens. It
sounded so broken, so lost as though it had lost something precious. Just the
thought of it made me tear up and shudder. It was well
into six thirty-five when I exited the shower, wrapping my towel around me and
tucking the corner just under my breast. I grabbed another towel beside me,
rubbing it against my wet hair while fighting with the cord to my hair dryer. After a good
ten-minute fight between the towel and hair dryer cord I groaned and tossed the
towel aside to put the plug in, smirking in victory. Hot air greeted my face,
smacking me with a wall of heat as I groaned. I made quick
work of drying my hair, stripping off the towel around my body to replace it
with a fresh pair of undergarments as I glanced at the clock. Nearly seven ten
as I hooked my bra into place, digging through my drawers, making several reminders
to spend some cash for more clothes while I was out. By seven
thirty I was out the door in an old pair of jeans and a black tank top towards
Bridget campus to check one final time on my classes starting next Tuesday.
Some others were walking their usual zombie pace beside me while I rammed my
headphones into my ears and shuffled through my iPod. Four hundred and
twenty-three songs, yet I clicked shuffle and only listened to about five of
them a day. Pointless I know. I finally
parked my a*s into a chair in the main lobby, trying to look distracted or
bored as my eyes jumped from the people around me to ones just entering in
behind me. Honestly, I was looking for the few people I cared about on campus
that made my first two years better with them around. I smirked at the memories
that flooded in as soon as they did. They always entered as a pack, always in
their own style and that’s what drew me their way, that and Maddi swore to fill
my bra with pudding every night if I left them. As if on
schedule, every piece fell into place as Maddi and her brother Caspian argued
back and forth over a topic only they could argue about. Forever by Maddi’s
side stood her lovable side kick and twin Moxxie. They lived on different sides
of the spectrum. Maddi always wore dark clothes and kept her blue hair in her
face and over one eye, hiding her freckles while her Moxxie had never dyed a
single strand of hair on her head in her life. Moxxie’s blonde hair was thick,
and swooped under her chin, framing it perfectly. She always had a cheerful
glow around her, as if a yellow aura beamed off every inch of her skin and she
was always caught smiling with her favorite shade of red lipstick. Caspian was
the outsider of the group, wandering in and out of our conversations and lives
on many occasions. He had the bad boy charm and looks but the laid-back attitude
of a stoner on a good day. He was riding through college on an athletic
scholarship for soccer, but had lately begun to waver his decisions towards
theater arts after participating in last year’s Theater adaptation of Snow
White when he managed to snag the role as the prince and received numerous
praises for his acting. He ran his
fingers through his blond hair a few times before waving off his sister and
making his way over to greet a few of his soccer teammates. They exchanged
laughs and a few punches to each shoulder before disappearing into the crowd
and I was met with Maddi’s face in my own. “Done gawking
over the rat, Val?” She smirked. I chuckled,
meeting her gaze, “Only if it’s to piss you off.” Arms wound
themselves around me in a Moxxie hug as I stood and smiled at her. I gave her a
tight hug in return, trading off to hug Maddi when she managed to peel Moxxie
off me. The twins exchanged a glance, communicating in only a way twins knew
how. Once their
gaze returned to me Maddi smirked, “So tell me how much you missed me.” I rolled my
eyes at her Moxxie bounced on her heels in place. Maddi loved to always pick on
me to get a rise out of me, something of which I gladly shot back at her to
knock that giant ego down a size or two. Dramatically I
knelt and kissed her hands. “Oh so very much my queen. I don’t know how I ever
lived without your presence by my side.” A blazing
blush grew on Maddi’s face as she pulled her hands away. She furiously tried to
keep her attention focused on anything but the scene I was causing and the
ever-growing stares of old and new classmates surrounding us in the lobby.
Moxxie giggled into her hands as she too noticed the budding embarrassment on
her sister’s cheeks. “What classes
did you pick this year, Val?” Moxxie smiled, trying to change the subject to
something more boring to keep the stares off her nervous twin. Always a hero
Moxxie was. I rubbed at my
neck, slightly wincing as I stood. “Well I tried for computer tech and game
design to get some more insight into that career path. Last year’s introduction
to graphics and computer typing got my sparks flying towards those ideas. I
heard those classes are hard to grab though with how high in demand they are with
Virtual Reality being so popular now. I heard the new nerve gear company
Graphic 8Bit has been looking for the best designers and they pay so much. I’m dying to score a seat inside their
walls.” “I heard you
have to be an intern there for like ten years before they even consider you,”
Moxxie grimaced. “But then again, I’ve never really known anyone cool enough to
get into Graphic 8Bit. I hear they’re very picky and harsh on new recruits.” We glanced at
Maddi who had been silent during our conversation. She was
playing with a piece of her hair as she bit her lip, staring out into the new
crowds of people that shuffled their way inside along with the rest of us. Her
eyes were locked onto Darius Zane my dorm roommate two doors down the hall. He
managed to ride his way into Bridget College with his parent’s thick stack of
paper bills. He had no special skills, no traits, nothing keeping him there but
the will that his parents had sent him off to college to get him out of the
house and out of their money. All that money and he couldn’t even afford a
personality. The closest he got was handsome looks and a charmingly devilish
smile that drew in every girl in the lobby, and unfortunately Maddi too. Moxxie scoffed
softly next to me as she shook her head at her twin. “Maddi, he isn’t worth it.
He’s broken every girls heart here on campus and summer has only begun. You
don’t want to be a part of his broken-hearted club.” With a
heavy-hearted sigh Maddi looked back at Moxxie and shrugged, “But a girl can
dream of a day his heart will be as beautiful as that face of his.” We all
exchanged a laugh as the line to the office finally started to shrink and the
twins trailed behind me to check their classes too. We made small talk about
the each other’s spring breaks and vacations. The twin’s family had traveled up to the Velcor city and spent their time there learning about the Velcorian
culture and their history. Moxxie gushed about the new facts and stories they
heard and read about while visiting there while Maddi listened to the blonde
with a bored face and a yawn. “Valkyrie
June.” My head spun
towards the secretary as she handed me a packet with all my classes and their
descriptions listed inside. The bright blue paper nearly blinded me in the
window’s light as I returned to my seat and waited for the twins as they stood
in line, awaiting the call of their own names. Skimming the
packet, I smirked when my eyes caught the bold words of the classes I wanted
into. I had managed to snag the last seat in each class and I smiled to myself
thinking how lucky I was to dodge a bullet of having to spend the last week
before classes started re-picking those two remaining open classes. “Valkyrie
June?” I didn’t look
up, reading over the class descriptions, “Yeah? Who’s asking?” “Oh, well you
see, um.” My gaze
finally looked up to see a tiny, Gothic looking woman standing before me. Her
silvery white hair hung over one eye, the other one staring right at me, almost
through me with an almost pink tone to it. Her skin tone was the same as a
cappuccino and looked just as rich and creamy. Dark freckles covered over her
nose from one cheek to the other. She had on an old band logo tee shirt and a
pair of skinny jeans with a jeweled dragon emblazed down the left side. She was
staring at anything else on me but my face, her cheeks emblazed in a soft
blush. “Can I help
you?” I raised a brow. She quickly
held out her hand, “I’m your roommate.” My heart sunk.
Joy, just when I was adjusting to having the room to myself with two beds. “Cool,” Was
all I could get out, returning to my papers. Her smile fell
as she ran her fingers through her hair nervously when I didn’t shake her hand.
She sat in the chair beside mine, peeking at the papers in my hand. Her head
craned sideways to read them with the way I was holding them. I sighed and
looked at her. “Look, you’re
new, right? First week here?” She nodded. “I see.
Alright. Guess this means I’m obligated to show you to our dorm so you don’t
get lost. Don’t need you sleeping in the park because you can’t find your way
back to your own bed.” I stood, picking up my papers. “Come along, and keep
up.” Her face
brightened up as she quickly grabbed her bag and followed behind me as we
headed towards the door. The twins gave me a questionable glance as we passed,
and I mouthed to them “Newbie roommate” to which they nodded to and gave me a
“thumbs up” in good luck spirits. I groaned when
the sunlight blinded me yet again as we trudged towards our dorm number. The
new girl was more cheerful behind me as she hummed a song I couldn’t recognize
and bobbed her head in time with her melody. “So I never
got to ask,” I turned to face her as I opened the door to our dorm, “What’s
your name?” She followed
me inside, blush returning to her cheeks as she threw her bag down upon her
bed, “The name is Nyx. Nyx Steeves.” I smirked at
her name, “Like that one singer?” She looked
away yet again and nodded, “Yeah, like that one singer.” “Well Nyx,
welcome to Bridget College. I’m Valkyrie June.” © 2016 Broken Hearted FauxAuthor's Note
|
Stats
215 Views
Added on December 3, 2016 Last Updated on December 3, 2016 AuthorBroken Hearted FauxSalt Lake City, UTAboutHello, the name's Lexy I've been on and off from Writerscafe between life and inspiration. I was once a dedicated writer, always with a pencil in my hand and a notebook by my side no matter whe.. more..Writing
|