Chapter 4

            Faith's bare feet churned with recklessly wild abandon, slapping noisily against the wet cement. The noise might wake someone in the house, and draw attention to her, but Faith couldn't have cared less. All thoughts in her mind faded away but one that stood above all the others: find Grace.

            She'd heard the screams, she'd heard every horrific, haunted cry echo up to her window, as clearly as if Grace had been right next to her. Grace, sweet and silent, fragile as a wisp of smoke, would never make such a noise unless there was something terribly wrong.

            Of course, without a moment's hesitation, she'd leapt up to go to her aid, only to be thrown down relentlessly by the second quake. And as much as she desperately felt Grace's need, all she could do was lie low and listen helplessly to Grace's tormented screams fade away. The second tremor had been drastically stronger than the first, and had taken a while to wear itself out. As soon as the shaking had stopped at last, Faith was out the door in an instant. She wondered why no one else had been awakened by the quakes and the screams. Even now, the entire house remained dark.

            There was only one problem that Faith faced - but it was a big one. She had no idea where Grace was.

            The Mayberry manor was vast. It covered acres and acres of fields and forests, all of which were pocketed with peaceful hideaways for Grace. She'd drift all over the property, first here then there the next moment. It was impossible to even think of tracking her down. 

            Nonetheless, Faith was not one to give up.

            She'd searched every inch of the horse paddock - much to the annoyance of the old swaybacked mares - and had scrutinized the courtyard behind the stables. Back on the main path, she was heading towards the plum orchard; Grace always loved to sit high in the shady, gnarled boughs.

            Faith was getting a stitch in her side. She slowed down to a jog, then was forced down to a walk. Breathing heavily, eyes scanning the moonlit landscape, Faith's mind reeled with tangled thoughts.

            She had no idea whatsoever what Grace was doing out of bed so late at night. Grace was always the dutiful, obedient one of the two. She'd never broken a rule in her life. True, Faith herself had been plotting to sneak out at the dead of night to investigate - 

            The flower.

            It can't be... Faith thought in horror. That morning glory was not ordinary in the least. She'd been right from the beginning to never trust it. She'd suspected that Grace shared her impressions about the flower... Grace wouldn't venture deeper into an uncomfortable matter. 

            Wouldn't she?

            She'd better check anyways.

            Faith veered right onto the lawn, still rather damp from the last watering. Stabs of cold nipped at her toes as her exposed feet met the icy evening dew that had collected on the grass. Stray fragments of the pine cones that fell from the conifer by the path pricked the soles of her feet. It hurt, enough for Faith to think about something besides Grace for a change. She lifted each foot gingerly, deliberately pulling it high and setting it down cautiously. It was slow going, and Faith was concentrated on stepping with care. 

            Suddenly she stopped. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach.

            The grass ahead of her was slightly parted and matted in places. They were not very heavily stamped down, though, and were rather far apart. Probably made by a light-footed person running across the lawn.

           Grace.

           Faith looked up. Her eyes traced the path of Grace’s footsteps. Her heart sank.

           They made a beeline towards the garden.

           “Oh, Grace,” Faith breathed. “What have you gotten yourself into?”

*       *       *

           Grace was falling. At least, she assumed she was, because of some distant memory she had of falling out of a tree...

           What’s a tree? her blurry mind wondered. Her thoughts were smudging together. Tree, treeeee, trrrrrreeeeee….

           Falling, falling…

           She’d been traveling now for what seemed like hours. She could recall nothing from the past. Who was she? What was she doing? All thought seemed to have faded from her mind.

           She was drifting down in a dreary dream of blurs and shadows, lights and darks. Falling, falling…

           Warm, relaxed…

           Suddenly a stab of cold reached her numb face. Grace shook her head as if waking up from a dream, and took deep drafts of air. For the first time she looked around.

            The world around her was blurred into streaks of shadow and faint bursts of color. She must be moving very, very fast.

            How did she get here? Grace struggled to pull her thoughts back together, bring up any sort of memory that might hint at where she was, who she was.

            Suddenly the falling sensation changed. Grace was no longer falling; she was caught on the teeth of a howling wind, blowing her at an impossible speed. She was propelled forward with unimaginably powerful force. The colors and shadows around her warped and writhed.

            Suddenly there was a massive bang. Grace couldn’t pinpoint its source. She still felt its vibrations deep into the core of her body. Suddenly the wind at her back accelerated and she found herself blown effortlessly straight out into the void ahead. The mysterious world of shadows and blurs was twisting, morphing…

            And then there was no world around her at all. Only infinite blackness, pressing against her from all sides, threatening to strangle her with its thickness.

            Then, the wind abruptly vanished. Falling again. But this time, it wasn’t a dreamy falling �" this was real.

            Too real.

            And suddenly -  she was falling through real air. Real, substantial air, that she could inhale in deep breaths and could feel combing through her auburn locks.

            Grace turned her head �" and there was the ground, rushing up to meet her.

            Grace’s screams were lost in the wind as she plummeted down, down, down.

Reviews

[Artiste de Mots]

This is amazing! I love how the story is progressing! I would never have thought of this. I LOVE THIS! I can't wait to read on!!!

[JadeForever]

YES finally another chapter..I waited so long for this. WHY DIDNT U SEND ME READ REQUESTS!?!! WHY?!?!? anywayz..great job. I especially enjoyed how u switchd POVS. so fluently without making a seperate chapter. i need to learn how to do that. cant wait to read more of your book!!! LOVE IT. LOVE IT. LOVE IT!!!!