Chapter 14

Saturday rolls around quickly. Climbing into the back of James’s car I find myself feeling anxious. The last time I had gone shopping didn’t end well. Still, I’m glad to be getting out of the gates and into the real world.
The journey is shorter than I am expecting. In less than half an hour we are walking through the front doors of a large shopping centre.
This is going to be a long day.
James leaves us at the entrance, allowing us to shop alone. Before he leaves, Misty and James stare at each other silently, their heads tilting or nodding at times. Strange, I think as I watch them.
Misty drags me from one store to the next, I never knew shopping could be so exhausting Misty is not tiring though, shopping is her thing.
“Oh my gosh, that is the dress, you have defiantly got to buy that, it’s perfect” I have tried on a dozen dresses, finding something wrong with each of them.
“I don’t know, Misty, do you think it is too short?” The dress comes to just above the knees, Pretty and elegant. I do secretly like it but feeling a bit conscious of revealing that much skin. Gold see-through mesh covers both my shoulders and neckline. The top part of the dress hugs my skin. The back dips dangerously low, showing off the small of my back. The material is a pure, crisp white satin. At the hips it flares out like a skater dress. I decide to take it. Misty hands me some white heeled shoes that I am sure I am going to break my neck in or cause serious damage.
Slipping the shoes on my feet, something does not feel right. My nerves quickly become jittery. Temperature in the air drops dramatically and a slight buzz fills my ears. I bend down to remove my shoes. A ruff hand clamps over my mouth the smell of garbage turning my stomach.
Terror takes hold as the scenery changes into a swirl of colours. Dizziness rushes over me as my terror turns to panic.
I’m pushed to the floor. Cold seeps into my bones instantly. A door slamming shut echoes around me as I’m plunged into darkness.
Standing up on shaky legs, I blindly feel my way around the room. The walls are made of rough bricks, the floor solid stone. One exit and it is locked. Sinking to the floor, I pull my knees up and tuck my chin in my body shaking with cold.
I sit there for what feels like hours, how much time has passed I do not know. My joints are stiff from the cold. A brown rat scuttles across the floor. I scream. The rat darts through a small gap in the door.
The sound of screeching metal alerts me. I jump to my feet.
It is Hulk, one of my attackers who unfortunately set off all these bizarre events. He circles me. His eyes bore into mine.
He lunges. With my face firmly in his large ruff hands, he pulls the back of my dress down. He exposes my shoulders. His sour breath insults my sense. His hand runs over my birthmark, which is located on my left shoulder. It is the shape of a rose; it looks like there is a large thorn sticking out from the stem.
“In every generation, a girl will be born, until the girl who bares the rose’s thorn.
“Rules will be disobeyed that were made to be sworn.
“The girl will rise through light and dark. She will bear the mark.
“Hell will be opened. Evil will be welcomed.
“The child from earth and light will bear the fight.
“She will end the war once and for all. With her they will all fall.
“The sky will turn red to mourn the dead.” His chanting makes no sense. His hands run down my body. His face lights up with a demented grin. Roughly he pushes me into the stone wall. Pain sears up my back.
He presses his overly large body against mine.
Fury wells up from the pit of my stomach. Heat flares in my chest and burns through my veins like a spark following a fuse. My body buzzes like a live wire as electrical currents race along my nerve endings spilling out. I place my hands on his chest to push him away.
He screeches as the smell of burnt flesh floods my senses. He steps back with a look of astonishment. I follow his eyes to my hand.
A blue ball shoots from my hand, hitting Hulk in the chest. He falls to the floor. Violently he convulses and twists. I stand stunned for a couple of minutes. My legs move on their own accord. I fly through the open door.
The high heels that are still placed on my feet do little to help me with speed and balance.
I walk as quietly as I can down a dimly lit grey stone corridor. Candlelight flickers, casting ghastly shadows upon the walls.
Turning the corner, a flight of stone steps come into view, and I am soon dashing up them as gracefully as I can. I emerge through another door into what looks like an old theatre hall, a group of around six men shoot to their feet, all eying me in astonishment.
My eyes dart around furiously. I spot a sign that reads emergency exit. Problem is the men are approaching from that direction.
Darting forward, a tall muscular man dive for me. I push a chair in his way, narrowly escaping his grasp. One of the men grabs me by my waist, lifting me of the ground.
My back to him, I lift my leg a fraction before plunging my heeled foot into his thigh. He drops me upon impact.
A shooting pain runs along my palm and a stinging sensation assaults my knees.
No time to assess my injuries.
I jump to my feet. The other men surround me, trapping me in place.
Willing some power to come to me I spin around. Nothing happens.
The mouse-like, beady-eyed man lunges for me. I dive out of the way. Another man grips my hair, pulling me towards him. A searing pain runs along my scalp, burning and pulsing.
Gasping for breath, I throw my head back, connecting with his chin, he momentarily loosens his grip, giving me time to wriggle free.
I look around at the sea of angry faces. I spot a leg that has snapped off one of the chairs. One of the men comes running at me but I dive to the ground. Misjudging his step, he collides with another man and they both crash to the floor.
I pick up the stick as I get to my feet. The exit is a couple of feet away. Adrenaline curses through my veins and my heart pounds in my ears. Heat burns through my veins like a spark following a fuse. My body buzzes like a live wire as electrical currents race along my nerve endings.
My palm begins to glow a light blue before a ball of what looks like electricity forms in my hand. Tiny white lines dance inside. I panic. I do not want to hold that thing. I shake my hand frantically. The ball flies forward, hitting the man in front of me. He too drops to the floor convulsing and twitching with a deafening shriek.
Hurling my body forward, two men come at me at once. I swing the stick wildly in the air. I trip as my heel snaps off my left shoe. I roll onto my back. One of the men trips over my broken heel, falling on top of me. An awful squelching sound makes my blood run cold. Blood drips from the corners of his mouth. His body turns a dark grey then crumbles into ash.
The chair leg has killed him. Pushing my aching body up, a foot connects with my shins, causing me to land on the ground with a thud. Torturous pain cripples me. Refusing to give up, I drag myself to my feet once more.
Pure anger fills every pore of my body, sick of being thrown about like a ragdoll. Wind howls as the air changes. Chairs and other objects circle us as the wind intensifies, picking up everything in its path.
The men hold onto anything in their grasp. The wind drags them into the air as if they weigh nothing.
Not knowing how to make the wind stop that I have created, I thrust my hand to the far wall my palm flat.
Everything sweeps past me at lightning speed, breaking down the wall as everything goes quiet. Light shines through the gaping hole, blinding me.
Not wasting any time, I run in the opposite direction and out of the emergency exit while hobbling with a broken heel.