Page 53 of The General's Captive
He reached out and slowly traced one with his thumb, the action reminding me of the General making me slowly pull my arm away as if they belonged to the man who haunted my dreams since.
“I don’t understand, you think he believes these tattoos mean something?” I shook my head and told him,
“They aren’t tattoos Riley…I…I lied.” I confessed, feeling the shameful tears build, the shock on his face was one that I knew was only about to get worse.
“I don’t understand…what are they?” he asked now looking down at them as if they held the answers.
“I don’t even know!” I cried out tossing my arms up before getting to my feet ignoring the pain as I limped to the wall before sliding down it so as I could hold my head in my hands. Hands that shook with emotion.
“Alex, come on talk to me.” He prompted, his voice gentle and full of understanding for my struggle.
“What is there to say? That I was there…right fucking there Riley! Right there where it first happened, one minute I am walking along like life is fucking great, my future laid out right in front of me after this last adventure before life really started.” I said feeling the bitter tears fall, his face a mixture of concern and confusion.
“And the next minute I am falling to my knees as pain tore through me! Fuck but the pain, Christ it was…it was like someone was setting my soul on fire”
“Jesus, Alex.”He whispered.
“And then the next thing I know is that I have these scars burning my skin, the inside of my thighs, my wrists, behind my ear and they burn Riley, every fucking time those creatures get near they burn. Each time just a reminder of that day, the day I felt the Earth shaking beneath my feet as I ran from the Rift opening before my eyes! It started in the exact same spot I had been standing when I got these!” I said thrusting my wrists out like it was some fucking plague I was showing him. His eyes wide with shock. Never expecting any of this.
“And now you tell me…tell me that…that I might be the reason they came…all those that died…fuck, but I could have…” I couldn’t speak anymore as I sobbed, my words catching in my throat and just before the last piece of this mental stone dam broke, Riley was there. Right there on the floor with me. He pulled my shuddering frame into his body holding me tight, cradling my head to his shoulder as I cried. Cried like I had done that day, the day I felt responsible for losing my Uncle.
“Ssshh now breathe baby.”He cooed as he stroked my hair back from my face. And after a time I lifted my head up and gave him my watery, heartbroken gaze,
“I should just leave.” I told him on a broken voice that looked as if it stabbed him in the heart.
“No…don’t say that.”
“It’s true, if I stay I will only be a risk to everyone.” I said knowing now that he thought it too.
“We don’t know that for sure.” He lied and I swallowed hard before admitting,
“The General, he told me…told me that he needed to find me before the darkness does…what else could he mean if not that?”
“He said that?” I nodded, affirming it by telling him,
“In my dreams last night. I don’t know how but it seems like we are connected somehow.” At this his expression hardened, no doubt hating the idea and squeezing me tighter because of it.
“So, you see, I have to leave because I will never forgive myself if I end up putting anymore lives at risk.” I told him making him sigh.
“Then like I said, we leave together.” He stated.
“And everyone here?” I asked.
“We stick to the plan, we get the train operational in case of another attack and we hope the base is salvageable. If it is, we get everyone back to it and then we pack up and leave after we have helped in getting everyone safe.” I nodded wondering if even then it would be too late.
“And where do we go?”
“As far away from the Rift as we can get. We find some remote place to live and we make it work…together.”He said after cupping my cheeks and making me nod in acceptance.
A plan he sealed with the sweetest kiss yet.
Ifound myself walking around the base in a daze like a cloud of guilt hovering above my head whenever I looked at all the people effected by leaving the previous base. Now seeing it all in new eyes I couldn’t help but blame myself. Riley’s words haunted me as I was forced to ask myself if it was true, if I was the reason the attack happened?
But I also questioned the General’s part in all of this as there seemed to be so much more I still didn’t understand. Why had they turned up and started fighting the dark ones? Why did he speak of the darkness coming for me if he himself wasn’t the one who commanded those Myths?
Had they come after me against his orders? Or was it all just some trick, part of his master plan to pull my strings and get me to do his bidding. To tell him where I was so as he could finish us off? Had he just wanted to take over the base himself? But if that was the case then why not simply wipe out the rest of us when he could unless it was the civilians he had wanted to get to?
After all it was known he took people alive, so perhaps that was what he had needed and we had stopped this by evacuating them before he could get his fill, was he using me now to get to them?
