The moon shined brighter when we walked back to the clearing. It had shed us its light to guide us along the way. I could still feel hundreds of eyes glued on me as we walked through the Dark Woods but having a companion amid this darkness made me feel less vulnerable. We stopped at the edge of the woods right behind the two towering trees that I have seen a while ago before following Sebastien. The fire burned ferociously at the center of the clearing. The old woman was finishing the remaining ration to be cooked over the fire. Rufus and Cordelia were not in the vicinity.
“Are you sure about the plan?” Sebastien whispered under his breath.
“There is no other way,” I told him and I could see the hesitation going in and out of his feature, “and besides, we might not get another chance like this.”
He bit his lower lip after being so deep into his thoughts. He let out a sigh and finally locked his eyes with mine.
“We need to tell the others,” he replied.
Hi. It has been a long time since the last update. I have been pretty busy outside of goodnovel. I apologize for the delayed upload of chapters. I am also juggling my time as a writer and other things in my life. I hope you understand. As a thank you for still staying with me and the journey of “captive”, here are 5 new chapters for all of you. I will be back again next week for another round of chapter updates. Hopefully, I would have enough time to upload daily. If ever that wont happen, rest assured that there will be new chapters every Wednesday and Saturday. I hope everyone is doing well. Happy reading ❤️
This was the first time I have seen myself in days. I have completely changed. I am far from the reflection that I saw on the night of my birthday. It was so obvious with my chiseled jaw, sharp cheekbones, and sunken collarbones that I have lost weight. There were bruises on my face from the beating that I have gotten from the blood drinkers. The blue-violet hues of my wounds were striking on my pale skin. It looked like I had aged in just a couple of days, it seemed like I have seen the best years of my life. I have lost the light I once had. Desmond woke up from my lap and absentmindedly stared towards the fire where his grandma was busy cooking the last pieces of meat. I ruffled his head and stood up to walk towards Ezekiel who was left by Sebastien alone. Sophie sauntered towards the children to accompany them. Celeste instantly beckoned Sophie towards her to let her braid her hair the same way as mine. As soon as I reached Ezekiel, he was already wiping
The night is still young but most of the captives were fast asleep. Some were in the ground and some found places where they could comfortably lay down. The blood-drinkers were back on their carriage after doing another routine of their nightly amusements with the other captives. They had beat up a man for asking for another round of food it wasn’t something the two vampires were pretty keen about. With Matthias back to The Yonder, Sebastien was left outside to join the rest of us. Sophie helped the old lady prepare for a good place the children could rest in. They had gathered a bunch of leaves and other things they have foraged from the edge of the forest. Celeste and Desmond laid side to side with their grandma as she stroked their hair. Ezekiel sat with his back against the large stone where Celeste braided my hair a while ago. I could catch him stealing glances at Sebastien, probably confused as to why he is still around and Matthias didn’t come to pick him up.
The moon beamed against the starless sky, it had illuminated everyone in the clearing. The rest of the captives were fast asleep but there was us on the farther part of the clearing, huddled in a circle, eager to hear what Petra was going to tell us. The children were giddy to hear their grandma’s story, something that would tuck them in a makeshift bed out of things they had foraged. “Grandma,” Celeste impatiently said, beckoning her grandmother to start telling the story. Petra smiled at the little girl and looked around to see if we were already in our places. “Sit down first, Celeste, so we can start.” She took the child’s hand as she guided her to sit down beside her. Celeste carefully placed her head on the lap of his grandmother while Desmond huddled closely on Petra’s side. “I have lived a life long enough to know things that you children didn’t know,” Petra said calmly with a voice of a storyteller. “This wasn’t their first,” she added.
It was as if the puzzle pieces finally linked up and I could see their pieces slowly organizing together, making silhouettes out of a hazy picture. Ezekiel’s eyes just stared at me, the same way I stared at him— shocked but has a sense of clarity. His mother was the witch and whatever the thing that she had made under those 12 full moons, it is linked to my mother. I opened my mouth to talk to Ezekiel but before I could, Sebastien already started talking over us. “We have to escape,” he said his voice barely a whisper. I could see his eyes scan the surrounding, careful for watchful eyes and heedful ears. “We need to go.” Ezekiel shook his head from left to right and mouthed later as we both went back to face the rest of us in the circle. “We’ll be dead if they find out,” Sophie interjected. “We’ll be dead once we arrived at The Yonder,” Sebastien bit back, “It’s either we die trying to escape or just wait for our deaths.” “Besides...” Sebastie
Sebastien further discussed the escape plan with us. He had expounded on how futile it is that we keep track of time and not waste any of it. Just like what he said, every second counts. We rely on it. We cling to the hope that we are midway to Fardojar when Matthias comes back with a dozen or more blood-drinkers tagged behind him. Sophie seemed to still be hesitant as she continued to go over and over each question. Meanwhile, Petra already placed the children on their makeshift bed, making sure that there weren’t any bugs to wake them from their slumber. “What about the others?” Sophie asked as she turned her gaze towards the other captives that were already asleep. I bit the insides of my cheek knowing that there’s only one way to escape, it is to leave them behind. Bringing them along would lessen our chance for survival, the blood drinkers could easily track us down. With these many captives to tag along, we surely cant hide. It hurts me to leave them, to abando
The night stretched longer as things became heavier around us. It was filled with tension from the consecutive conflicts that rose around us. The air felt constricted as if everything was started to fall apart. The bonds we had started to severe and were barely holding together. Sophie left us and joined the rest of the captives that were huddled together. She had made her decision, the same way that we had made ours. “I hope she tells no one about our plan,” Sebastien said as she stared at Sophie from our place. “I think she won’t…I trust her.” I looked at her tiny body slumped against the tall tree. She had her back turned away from us. I wonder if she was crying, maybe she is. But maybe not because of us leaving but because of our selfish decision. “Do you think that is still important right now?” He turned to me with a concerned look, “whether you trust her or not?” I stayed quiet because I know it doesn’t change a thing. “You trust her bu
The sky was grey and cloudless and I could see how the branches of the dead trees reached out to the heavens as if they were trying to touch it, begged for a drop of life. I could hear the gentle sound of water as it gushed down and the distant calls of the birds in the far distance. With every step that I took, the woods grew thicker and thicker and the trail that I have been following seemed to get lost on the large roots of trees that entangled themselves together. “Victoria,” a voice whispered right behind me. I looked back, startled. There was no one. I looked around hoping to catch a sight of anyone, anything. But there’s nothing, only the barren trees that thirsted for life. I walked faster, forward towards an unknown direction. It was as if I was here before but I couldn’t remember. Only my feet to lead the way towards somewhere I hope I know. I dragged on my long dress that constantly gets stuck on the roots of the trees and the prickly bushes that had adorn
I woke up drenched in my sweat. It was as if I took a bath on a river, my clothes were soaked. My heart thumped against my chest, it felt like it wanted to break free from the cages of my ribs. I felt the dryness of my throat as I heaved for air, tried to calm myself down from the dream I just had. I slumped my back against the tree stump near me and caressed my chest as it painfully ached for my mother and the thought of drowning. The sun still wasn’t up and I could see the sliver of the dawning sky through the branches of the trees that crisscrossed above us. The wood fire became nothing but blocks of charcoal and cinder, it was a bit cold without its warmth. A lot of the captives were still fast asleep on the ground. Some of them were huddled together to stay warm and some preferred to sleep alone just like Sophie who laid alone near one of the trees. My eyes scanned the surroundings as my breathing finally went back to its normal state. My throat yearned