Pouring Shadows (Chapter 11)

‘Are you sure it’s this way?’ Edward asked, looking at the map of the town that displayed on his GPS screen.

‘Yes.’ Iris spoke confidently.

They were driving through the streets of the town in the dead of the night. It hadn’t taken them more than fifteen minutes to get here. The town had been so close and the more they drove through the streets, the better Iris was able to sense the shard.

‘I’m not sure how you’ll explain your current appearance to your parents. Why did you run away again?’

Iris didn’t take her eyes off the road. She did not feel it necessary to answer his questions. However nice of a man Edward may be, there was no guarantee if she could pull off another lie in front of him. She chose not to speak. Iris watched as the slanted rooftop houses passed by quickly. She remembered living in one of those houses.

Memories flashed by just as quickly as the houses did. Iris was small once again. A five year old, to be precise. It was when her parents had refused to take her to the park that she had unleashed her first tantrum filled with strong vibes that slashed out to her surroundings. She had shattered all the light bulbs at once and started rocking her parents’ chairs just to get them to listen.

It had been the worst mistake possible, for Iris had had no idea she was not supposed to be able to move objects telepathically. Shocked as her parents were, they started calling people, asking for help until they found one. She came to their house uninvited, having heard about Iris’s strange abilities. The tall lady promised to help, telling Iris and her parents that they would be able to meet whenever they wished.

Iris saw her take out a checkbook and sign it. She knew her numbers by then, she was a smart kid. From what she saw, it had been a large amount of money, now that she thought back. Iris had been sold to a tall, wicked stranger who ran experiments on her, treated her like an object, never talked politely with her. Throughout the years she spent in that prison cell, she had never been allowed to meet with anyone. Even her parents never showed up, for some reason.

Iris had begun to lose hope. She was never told of others like her in that facility but she could feel their strong vibes. Only she had the power to sense. She had always known she wasn’t the only one. Soon, as she grew up, began to understand things more, she started detesting the place. She couldn’t count the number of times she tried to escape but failed. This was the first time she had come so far out of that small room, and she wasn’t willing to go back now.

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Cheryl blinked at me. Her body was stiffening under my gaze. Her hands slowly reached up and without a word, she wrapped her fingers around my wrists.

‘I’m sorry,’ she murmured.

Before I knew it, my entire body was struck with an excruciating pain. Sparks started to crawl over my skin, burning it as they moved. I could feel them scratching all over and the heat just kept increasing. My entire body trembled as I gritted my teeth, trying to fight it off. I couldn’t speak but I looked at Cheryl once again. Those dark eyes knew more than they showed. At that moment, they were fixated at me, at my astonished face.

‘Ch-e-rl… s-sto-p…’

My legs were beginning to wobble and I knew I couldn’t take it anymore. She was too powerful. It felt like the sparks had entered my body and were roasting my skin from underneath. Every part of me was shaking badly, but all I could look at were those eyes. No matter how hard I tried to search for Cheryl inside them, I couldn’t find her. It was like an invisible barrier had been created between the two of us. I couldn’t feel her connection anymore.

‘No…’ I whispered in pain.

I wasn’t about to give up yet. I couldn’t lose her. I had to try at least. I pulled myself closer to her, still trembling under the pinching sparks. I placed my hands on either side of her cheeks which felt cool compared to what my skin was going through at that moment.She tried to increase the voltage but I took her by surprise. I pressed my lips against hers.

For a split second, I couldn’t feel a thing; it was like my mind had been drained empty. It was like time had stopped, and everything was blank white. Only a second later did I realize that the sparks had ceased. My body had probably gone numb after enduring all that.

I pulled back to look at her but I couldn’t see what her face looked like. Everything was too blurry. I tried to step back a little but my feet gave way too quickly. I felt my mind black out as I fell to the floor. I barely felt the ground as I lay there unable to move anymore.