Chapter Three: The Escape Attempt (Molly Cassidy)

After a strange dream, Molly flees, determined to find civilization.

March, 2013

            One warm spring night shortly after my fifteenth birthday, I make a life altering decision. I've been wavering for months, my fear of the unknown and loyalty to my brothers keeping me from taking the final leap. It is a dream that finally makes up my mind...

...

            The moon is full, and the leaves crunch beneath my feet. I am chasing two dark figures through the trees. Their paths diverged, and I have to choose which one to follow. From their strides, I can tell that one is a man, and that the other is a woman. I pause to catch my breath and make my decision.

            The woman makes a sharp turn and comes running back towards me. She stops a few feet in front of me and smiles at me with her mouth closed. I gasp at her eyes, which are a startling bright blue. It isn't their color in itself that causes my blood to run cold, but how they are offset by her dark skin and hair, which seem to cause the rest of her to disappear into the surrounding night.

            The woman turns on her heel and sprints away. I am tempted to follow her, and I start to, but then, without my mind commanding it to, my body changes course in pursuit of the man. I catch up to him, and up close I can see that he has a long, dark ponytail. I reach out and grab his arm. He spins around to face me. His eyes are an iridescent  yellow...

...

            I jerk awake drenched in a cold sweat. I am breathing heavily. I know only one thing; I have to find the people from my dream. They are as real as Jordyn Lobo. I don't know how I know this, but I do.

            I rise from my bed and pack a bag full of clothes, my favorite books, a canteen, some bandages, and a package of the shortbread cookies my brothers know that I love and are always sure to bring home with them from their trips into town.

            I lace up my shoes and glance over at my brothers, grateful that they sleep so soundly. Christian is sprawled out on the bed, and Jaden is halfway off of it. With a sigh, I tiptoe over and gently rolled Jaden over so that he won't fall off. When he's awake, he is strong, but when he's asleep his body is pliant.

            Then I move over to Christian and lightly touch his cheek. His brow crinkles and his blue-green eyes crack open. Even in his deepest sleep states, he responds to my touch.

            "Molly?" He mumbles sleepily. "Wha're ya do'n? Ja h've 'nother nigh'mare?" He scoots over and pulls the covers down in an invitation for me to join him. Whenever I have a nightmare, I wake him up and he offers for me to climb into bed next to him. He wraps his arm around me, and I fall asleep to his steady snores. I am momentarily tempted to forget all about my plans and do just that. Then I think of the woman with the icy eyes, and the boy with the yellow ones, and my resolve hardens again.

            I sigh and shake my head. "I'm fine, Christian. Go back to sleep." I murmur to him.

            "Mm'k." He sighs. His eyes slide shut, and seconds later he is snoring away again.

            I pull the covers back up over him and smooth them down.

            I turn away from my brothers. I pause in the bedroom's doorway. I left a note for them. They'll find it when they wake up in the morning. I hope they'll forgive me for my transgression. They've been so good to me; cared for me; for my entire life, and I feel guilty for repaying them by fleeing, but...I can't whittle my life away in the middle of nowhere. If I do, then I'll never find the people from my dream, and I have to find them. It is as essential as breathing.

            I shut the cabin's door softly, and step off the porch. I glance about. It is dark out, but the moon is nearly full. I should have brought a flashlight, but I hadn't thought of that, and if I go back inside the cabin now I might change my mind and stay. I can't risk that.

            So I stumble through the darkness, and quickly trip over a fallen root and fall forward. I catch myself on a tree branch, but slice open my left palm. I bite back a cry of pain, and clutch at my bleeding hand. I reach into my sack and pull out the bandages. I wrap them around my hand. It is awkward and difficult to do one handed, especially with my non-dominant right hand. My mind wanders to all the times my brothers patched me up when I've been injured. I can see their panicked faces as they wake to realize I'm not in the bed beside theirs. I push that thought away when tears spring up in my eyes.

            I pick myself back up and start walking again. From the high branches of a nearby tree, an owl hoots, and I nearly leap out of my skin. I work to calm my breathing, and shiver from the temperature. I can see my own breath. It is always cold at night in the woods, and I foolishly didn't wear my jacket. I wrap my arms around myself and rub them to try and keep warm from the friction.

            I hear a low growl, and my head swivels in the direction of the sound. My heart catches in my throat. There is another deep, throaty growl on my other side. I turn that way, a gasp of fear escaping past my lips. I swear I glimpse a dark figure low to the ground stalking through the trees. My brothers warned me against going out at night, especially alone. I want to be back at the cabin, cuddled up next to Christian, safe and warm right now.

            Another growl sends me sprinting. I don't stop or slow down, not even as my muscles ache and my lungs burn. My breathing becomes ragged. My legs wobble, and then give out. I land on pavement, and it's rough against my bare hands and knees, scraping them. After the initial sensation of pain, a realization dawns on me. Pavement! I've reached a road! I've found civilization! I rejoice at my success.

            Then I hear it; not a growl, but the loud blare of a horn. My hands fly up to cover my ears. There is a pair of blinding white-yellow lights headed towards me. A car is hurtling in my direction, going too fast to stop. I whimper. I don't want to die, but I can't seem to force my rigid body to move. It recognizes the hopelessness of the situation, even if my mind refuses to accept it.

            Somehow, above the blaring of the vehicle's horn, I register the same low, rumbling growl as before. I feel jaws clamp down on the back collar of my shirt and drag me backwards out of the road and into the trees. I scream as I wonder which is a worse way to die; being hit by a car, or being torn apart by a wild animal? Neither seems like a good option.

            The car zooms by, missing me by mere inches. The teeth released me. I lay on my back on the hard packed earth. I am afraid to open my eyes; terrified of what I'll see when I do. I slowly peel my eyelids apart. Christian's furious face looms over me. I gasp in surprise.          

            "Get the hell up!" He snarls at me. I cringe.

            I stand up slowly and brush myself off, wincing as I do. I must have gotten all sorts of dirt and debris into the cut on my hand. It's throbbing and stinging at the same time.

            Christian, of course, notices my wince. Nothing escapes him; certainly not me. His gaze falls upon my hand. Most of the bandages have been torn away. He grabs a hold of it, and though he's angry, his touch is gentle. He brings my hand close to his face to examine. The laceration is bleeding again. The blood might bother some, but I know he doesn't mind. He's cared for plenty of my bloody scrapes and cuts before. He's cleaned up after me when I've been violently sick. When I asked him how he manages to do it, he claimed nothing bothers a big brother

            "Did you disinfect this?" He asks me. "It seems deep by how much it's bleeding. You'll likely need stitches." He murmurs.

            I gasp. I've only had stitches once before, when I fell into a creek and sliced open my forehead on the rocks at the bottom. My brothers had been so upset with themselves; they couldn't believe they'd let me out of their sight long enough for me to slip away and get hurt. If Christian hadn't found me when he had, I would have drowned. I still have a bumpy scar, though it's mostly hidden by my hairline.

            Stitches are painful. I don't relish in having more of them.

            "What the hell were you thinking, Molly?" My brother demands gruffly.

            He doesn't wait for my answer; he starts back towards the cabin.  

             I briefly contemplate trying to run, but it would be pointless. I wouldn't get far before he caught up to me. So I begrudgingly follow him. When my foot catches on a loose rock and I stumble, he catches me and swings me up into his arms.

            "That's it, I'm carrying you." He tells me.

            "I'm heavier now than I was the last time you did this." I mumble against his shoulder. I wrap my arms around his neck, and wind my legs around his waist, ensuring my hold on him is secure. His arms encircle my waist. Once I rode on his shoulders, and I miss that. 

            "You're never too heavy for me to carry." He says. His voice is softer, but there is still an edge to it. He isn't pleased with me.

            I notice, for the  first time, that his clothes are in tatters. The side of his left jeans' leg has a six inch long tear in it, and the sleeve of his right arm is nothing more than threads. Half of his chest is exposed; the fabric of his shirt hangs loosely.

            My heart catches in my throat, causing it to constrict. Was he attacked by some wild animal? No, he bears no injuries that I can see. His visible skin is flawless. The tears don't look like they were caused by the raking of claws, either.

            Reassured that he isn't hurt, though still confused, I breathe a sigh of relief and my heart resumes its normal rhythm. I settle my head on his chest.

            "You didn't answer my question, Molly." He says quietly    

"Hmm?" I mumble. I've already forgotten his question. I am beginning to feel sleepy, lulled by the rocking motion of his steps.

            "Don't go to sleep, baby girl." He says. His voice sounds distant, though it's right by my ear. "We have to talk when we get home."

            I sigh and close my eyes.

            "Hey!" He calls to me. "Stay awake, Molly." He tries to sound authoritative, but it doesn't come across that way. It never does.

            My gut clenches with guilt. I shouldn't have tried to leave...

            "Molly, are you still with me?" He asks me. "We're home."

            I reluctantly release my tight hold on him, and he sets me down. I trudge slowly towards the cabin, but my vision is blurring, and I miss a step and start to pitch forward.

            Christian is there, as he always is, and he picks me up again. I dangle limply in his grasp, feeling safe and content.

            "Alight, baby girl. Perhaps we'll save this conversation for tomorrow...After you've gotten some sleep." He suggests. He strokes my hair.

            I nod mutely. I'm too tired to talk now. The pain in my hand has faded to a dull throbbing.

            He carries me inside, lays me down on my bed, and tucks me in as he has so many nights previously. I allow my eyes to close again.

            "Thank goodness you found her." I hear Jaden say. He sounds very far away, but his relief is palpable in his voice.

            There's a warm pressure on my forehead. One of my brother's hands.

            "I think she has a slight fever." Jaden murmurs. The hand is gone, then, but I wish it would return. It is comforting.

            "We need to talk about this." He says. "I told you we couldn't keep her here, isolated, forever."

            "I know, I know!" Christian groans. "But what are we going to do? We can't let them find her. They're looking again; Rayna told me."

            My mind is muddled from exhaustion, but not so much so that I don't wonder at what they're discussing. Someone is looking for me? Why? Who is Rayna?

            "This is partly your fault, Jaden."  Christian growls. "You brought home that blasted radio! She was perfectly content here until then. And damn Jordyn for coming here!"

            I want to pry open my heavy eyelids and find the strength to tell him to stop yelling at Jaden. I can't stand it when my brothers bicker.

            "There has to be a compromise; some way to give her what she wants while still keeping her safe." Jaden murmurs. 

            There is beat of silence.

            "I think I have an idea..." Jaden says.

            What his idea is, I don't hear.

...

            The next thing I'm aware of is the roar of the truck's engine.

            I blink my eyes open, and shake my head to clear it. I'm in the truck, wedged between my brothers. My head is resting on Jaden's shoulder. I slowly lift it, wondering why it feels so heavy. Christian is driving. Jaden is staring out the window at field after field of corn, broken only by the occasional farmhouse. I glance down at my hand. It's heavily bandaged, and still aches dully.

            I clear my throat, and my brothers' eyes fall upon me.

            "Where are we going?" I ask either one of them. I don't remember the last time I was in the truck when it was actually moving. I played in it as a child, but I only ever pretended to drive.

            "We know why you ran away." Jaden tells me, and I flush at the reminder.

            "It's too dangerous to take you into town." He continues, and my heart sinks.

            "But we decided you could use a change of scenery...And someone your own age to talk to." He finishes.

            I perk up instantly.

            Christian makes a sudden, sharp right turn and pulls into a long, narrow pebble driveway.

            I lean forward to look out the window. We are approaching a one story, butter yellow farmhouse with an endless field of corn to the left of it, and two large white barns and a chicken coop behind it, along with a vast, green woods. There is even a small lake with a dock and a canoe. The property is enormous. I  see several horses grazing in the distance.

            In the yard of the coop, which is surrounded by a wire fence, there are at least a dozen chickens plucking at the ground. A tall, tan skinned boy with long dark hair tied back into a ponytail is tossing seeds from a bag down at them. My heart skips at the site of him.

            I recognize the buildings and the animals from a book Jaden read to me when I was little. It was about a farm. I never thought I'd see a real one.

            Christian parks in front of the barn, and Jaden gets out of the truck. I slide out after him and take off, barreling towards the chicken coop. Christian and Jaden call after me, but I ignore them, propelled forward by my desire to talk to the boy.

            I run up to the coop, skidding to a halt before I collide with it. I place my hands up against the wire.

            "Hello!" I call enthusiastically to the boy. I work to neutralize my expression somewhat as he turns towards me and smiles. He has a square jaw and brilliant, perfectly straight white teeth. His eyes are so dark they are nearly black, and he has very bushy eyebrows.

            My heart races. I feel an immediate attraction to the handsome boy, and also the strange sense that I've seen him before, which is impossible.

            "Hello." The boy replies much more calmly.

            "I'm Molly Danielle Cassidy." I introduce myself. I still sound overly eager. I wish I could sound as serene as he does.

            The boy bows slightly. "A pleasure to meet you, Molly Danielle Cassidy." One of the chickens hops up and down, its beak snapping at the bag of seeds that the boy still holds.

            The boy glances down at the chickens, and it irrationally bothers me that his eyes have left mine. He makes his way out of the coop, shutting and locking the gate behind him. The chickens attempt to follow him, and congregate there.

            He sets the bag of seeds down on the ground, and the chickens go wild, clucking loudly and sticking their beaks through the wire to try and reach the seeds.

            He picks up my hand and kisses it. I gasp.

            "The name is Jasper Alan Cunningham." He introduces himself.

            A hand clamps down on my shoulder, and I stiffen. I know who it is even before he speaks.

            "I see you've met Jasper." Christian's thunderous voice booms from above me. "And it seems you two have hit it off. How nice."

            I know my brother's voice; I can detect every minor inflection in it. He may sound pleasant, but everything about him; his hand on my shoulder included; screams both protectiveness and possessiveness. For once I wish he'd back off.

            I twist around to face him. "You know Jasper?" I ask him in surprise.

            "We know Jasper." Jaden says, coming up beside Christian. "But he was a lot smaller the last time we saw him. The Cunninghams are old family friends of our mother." He informs me.

            "Jasper's mother, Rayna, grew up next door to our mother. They were childhood best friends. They did everything together." Christian adds.

            I'm stunned that my brothers have brought up our mother. Neither one of them ever speaks about the woman who gave birth to us. I return my attention to Jasper. I think I could stare at him forever, and never be bored.

            "I overheard my mother telling my father that the three of you are going to be living here with us, and helping out on the farm." Jasper comments.

            I feel a stupid grin stretch across my face. My heart might burst forth from my chest it's pounding so rapidly.

            "So you and I," He takes my hand. His dark eyes are shining "Will be getting to know each other quite well."

            I hold back a squeal of delight at the prospect.

            "But not too well." Christian says firmly. I grimace at him, then turn back to smile at Jasper.

            "Jaden, why don't you take Molly inside the house and introduce her to Ted and Rayna." Christian says in a hard voice.

            I open my mouth to object; I don't want to be separated from this beautiful boy; but Jaden takes me from Christian and steers me towards the house. I look back at Jasper with longing. He grins and waves and me.

            "Come on, Molly." Jaden says quietly as he drags me along.

            I sigh in defeat, and resign myself to go willingly.

            "Are we really going to live here?" I ask hopefully.

            "Yeah," He says. "We are."

            I can't tell from his tone or his expression whether he thinks this is a good thing or not.

            It's only when I'm inside that I place him, and I realize why it didn't occur to me sooner.

            Jasper Cunningham is the boy from my dream...The one with the yellow eyes.