B008GMVYA4 EBOK (25 page)

Madison spun her head around expecting to see Gabby hot on
her heel. The alleyway was empty behind, but she didn’t stop - she kept
running, undeterred by the sight of the empty alleyway. She fought for breath
as her body powered on, fear rising within her and panic erupting from the
missing silhouette of the raging Vampire which pursed her. Madison twisted her
head around once more, bracing herself for the sight that she had been
dreading. The alleyway appeared empty again, but the rain and darkness clouded
her version. A stream of light shone down onto the wet concrete in the distance
from the open fire exit of the nightclub. Madison couldn’t make out whether
Gabby was still stood in the doorway nor did she want to stick around to find
out - she continued to run. She had been running for longer than ten seconds
and Gabby had insisted on giving her a ten second head start. She twisted her
body around one last time - the alleyway still remained empty. Madison stopped
dead in her tracks. The doors of the nightclub were situated in the very
distance. An odd feeling of
Déjà vu
hung
heavy over Madison; it was as if she had been here in the alleyway before –
reliving this same occurrence before. But Madison had never ventured into the
alleyway behind
luxuriance;
it had a reputation of being
dodgy
.

 Flash backs of the recurring nightmare that Madison
had suffered for months exploded in her head. The alleyway was almost identical
to the alleyway in her nightmare, even though she had never seen it before and
the absorbing darkness, the littered scattered concert and the large green
dumpster had all been present in her nightmare. The dream had been a
premonition of her fate; the lurking danger in her dream had been Gabby all
along. Madison felt physically sick, there was no way she could have known this
was about to happen, but somehow her consciousness had been trying to warn her
all this time. There was haziness about tonight which caused her to wonder
whether she was dreaming now. It was the same fearful, surreal feeling Madison
had had last night during the incident with the Skin Crawlers. But she knew
deep down it wasn’t a dream, it was real and Madison’s life was once again in
danger for the second time in 24hrs.

Her mind span in panic and fear, she was unsure what to do
next. She threw her hand up over her face and scrapped away the sodden hair
that stuck to her cheeks and forehead. Frantically she scanned the alleyway,
but she was helpless – a sitting duck.
Had Gabby given up the chase?
She
had planned her attack and motive so carefully it was unlikely that she would
have given up the chase so easily -  unless there was some other kind of
motive, maybe, she was just trying to scare Madison away? But it was more
likely that she was playing cat and mouse, the game that she had already
intended to play. This whole game was a twisted in jealousy, a pathetic excuse
to keep Brendan all to herself.

Madison knew she couldn’t let her guard down, if she were to
relax for even a split second that would give Gabby the advantage to make her
move. Just like a bird she would swoop down and devour her prey.

Madison’s heart leapt into her throat as a shadowy figure
filled the stream of light that followed onto the concrete from the open fire
exit of the nightclub. She ducked quickly as her eyes fixed onto the shadowy
figure. Madison leapt over towards the side of a large green dumpster that
stood to her left. She cowered, her face creased with fear and her hands shook
violently at her sides once again. She tired frantically to make her body as
small as possible, tucking in her legs and arms, curling up into a small ball
against the damp concrete – forcing herself to be invisible. Large drops of
rainwater fell from the plastic rim of the green dumpster onto her weak body.
The rain was beginning to ease; now only a light rainfall fell down into the
alleyway where Madison hid.

Step, step, step, step, step.

Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the alleyway. The same
heavy footsteps had been present in Madison’s nightmare, they were a sign that
this living nightmare was slowly coming to an end.   

Madison lifted her shaking hands up to her mouth and pressed
her fingers tightly against her lips to prevent herself from making any sound
that would draw attention to where she was hiding. The urge to scream was
overwhelming and her voice withered quietly through the sharp intakes of air.
Her body was stiff with fright but her mind raced in panic. Tears rolled
continuously down her already wet and flushed cheeks.

Step, step, step.

The footsteps echoed louder throughout the alleyway as the
danger continued to approach closer and closer. The reoccurring nightmare
flashed back into her mind, she saw herself running through the tunnel of
darkness that was the alleyway. The heavy footsteps growing louder as it
pursued her like a hunter pursuing its prey. The arms that would eventually
pull her desperate body from behind the dumper, consuming her in darkness would
be the last thing she saw.  Madison fate had been written in the stars,
decided for her by some higher power that had placed Madison in all these
unknown circumstance leading up to this point. There was no other explanation
for her dreams becoming reality. Now all that was left was for Madison to
except the knowledge that she would never see Brendan, Stephanie or Phil again.
That the end was drawing near and nothing was left for her but to wait.

STEP STEP STEP.

Silence fell as the danger halted at the side of the green
dumpster where Madison hid. She tightened her hand which covered her mouth
trying to mask the wheeze of her breath, not allowing a single sound to escape
her mouth. The little hope that had remained beneath the expecting end had now
diminished. The air froze in her chest, her eyes widened in fright and the
final tears froze on her cheeks.

Her fingers dug into the skin around her lips as the danger
took another step closer. The silence was deadly and almost frustrating,
waiting for an untimely death.

Two hands grabbed Madison from the side and pulled her to
her feet so quickly she no time to react or scream. She caught her breath as
the pressure of two hands tightened at her forearms. A vast eruption of panic
overflowed like a volcano, causing her to become dizzy and almost faint. 
As she regained control Madison threw her hands up in defense, a scream
erupting from her sore and swollen throat.

“Madison! What’s the matter? Are you okay?!” said a familiar
panicked voice.

Madison ceased struggling, stopping dead in her tracks. Her
eyes focused on the familiar figure stood before her. It was Brendan. His face
was stricken with fear and concern, his eyes scanning every inch of her face as
he tried to piece together complex pieces of the puzzle of what had happened.
He supported Madison’s frail body up with his hands as she struggled to regain
control of her senses. She was disoriented and everything had become muddled
and surreal.

“Brendan…” Madison whispered, the tears beginning to flow
heavily again. She threw her arms up round his neck, allowing him to fully
support her limp, broken body. She buried her face into his hard cold chest and
wept uncontrollably.  

Brendan held her for a moment, both arms wrapped tightly
around her fragile frame as he scanned the alleyway wearily.   

“Madison, what is it? Who has done this to you?!” Brendan
asked frantically.

He pushed her small body away from his, staring into her
hazel brown eyes, searching for the answers to his questions.

Madison’s vision was blurred. A frosty white firm peeked at
the edges of her sight, like an out of focus picture frame around Brendan’s
face. She inhaled deeply, trying to speak through the mental and physical
trauma she had injured.   

Brendan’s eyes shifted down towards the deep gashes on her
knees, he grabbed her arm twisted it carefully around to examine the foot long
gash of the back of her forearm.  

“Madison. Who did this to you?” Brendan asked again, anger
flaring in his voice.

 Madison stared into Brendan’s piercing blue eyes. The
fear began to subside but the traumatic experience had left her weak and near
unconsciousness.

“G…Gabby” she stuttered.

“Gabby?! Why would Gabby do this to you?” Brendan muttered
in disbelief, staring at the foot long cut on her arm.

“She knows! She wants to remove me from the picture
completely. I’m just an obstetrical in her way.” Madison spat at Brendan, her
words bitter and cold but truthful.

Brendan’s face hardened. Madison’s words had cut like a
knife. Gabby had been Brendan’s friend, companion for centuries, the thought
that she could have done something like this made him feel sick to his stomach.

“Gabby wouldn’t do this. She’s not that stupid, the coven
would kill her for murdering a human. You must be mistaken…” Brendan protested
defensively, but unsure at the same time.

“Not if they thought I was going to tell your secret and
Gabby just so
happened
to be in the vicinity when I was about to tell
someone or that I had given her the impression that I would. She knows that I
know Brendan!” Madison said more gently, but angered at Brendan’s attempt to
defend Gabby.

Her words were weak and the feelings that came with them
caused the hurt to fade rapidly - fear had drained Madison. The hopelessness
feeling that had troubled her since she had been a little girl was beginning to
eat away at what little feelings Madison had left. She found it difficult to
hold any other type of feeling apart from numbness and fear.

Brendan’s face turned hard he stared deep into Madison’s
eyes, piecing together her story. She had no reason to lie to him and Brendan
had no reason to doubt her.

The rainfall subsided, only a light mist of rain fell from
the deep black clouds that lined the night’s sky. Madison clothes were soaked
through, the thin material of her shirt clung to her torso revealing her
slender curves. Her mind drifted in and out of the present situation, she
couldn’t grasp one thought without fear pulling her consciousness away onto
something else.

“We’ve got to get out of here” Brendan said suddenly.

Before Madison had time to agree he grabbed her arm and
began to usher her swiftly down the alleyway towards the safety of the main
road.

 “I need to get you someplace safe where Gabby can’t
find you” Brendan whispered.

Her injured and damaged legs shuffled along concrete beside
him. Her Ugg boots were heavily on her feet from all the rainwater they had
sucked up. Blood splashed down onto the wet concrete from the open wounds on
her knees and allowed Brendan to control her body once more. Brendan’s nostrils
flared as he smelt the fresh blood, but he didn’t seem phased by it, he
continued to push Madison faster down the alleyway towards the road ahead.

In the exact moment where Madison had thought her life was
finally about to end, it suddenly occurred to her that everything that had
happened over the last few days was because her path in life had become
accidently entwined with Brendan’s and in that moment she realised there was no
regret. Everything that had happened up until this moment in time was what was
meant to happen. Fate had brought them together and Madison would be grateful
for whatever few moments she had been allowed to spend with Brendan. Madison’s
destiny was now in the hands of fate and no longer could she make a single
conscious decision that would prevent fate from taking its path. A door to
another world had been opened up for her, a world where monsters and demons
were real, where time had no meaning and all the restrictions in the human
world were nonexistent. Life now had a different meaning and although at this
moment in time life had seemed dark and evil, there was always sun on the
horizon.

Madison felt terrified and exhilarated at the same time.
Every feeling or pain was heightened, almost too much for her human shell to
bear, but adrenaline still pulsed round her veins from fear.

They approached the large green fire exit of the nightclub;
both doors still remained wide open. Fearful Madison shifted for her weight
into Brendan so she felt more protected by him. Her heart pumped fast and
loudly in her chest, Brendan’s threw her a concerned look as he sensed her
anxiety.

 “It’s okay, she’s gone” Brendan said reassuringly,
leaving Madison’s side and proceeding towards the open fire exit.

Madison watched wearily her eyes glazed with tears.

Brendan entered the nightclub and stopped in the empty
corridor.

“What are you doing?!” Madison said panicked and confused.

A tear streaked her cheek as she watched Brendan curiously,
fear grinding away at her sanity.

“We can’t leave the doors open like this or there won’t be a
club to come back too” Brendan said thoughtfully.

Madison nodded but remained silent, frozen in fear at the
prospect that Gabby could still be inside the nightclub.

Brendan took another step further inside the bright
corridor.

“Don’t leave me!” Madison almost screamed.

Brendan’s eyes widened at Madison’s distress, he held out
his right hand towards her.

Madison stared at it for a moment, debating whether it was
safer to stay where she was or go inside the nightclub with him. Either way,
she knew she would be safer with Brendan then without him. Reluctantly she took
his hand and gripped it tight; her hand shook violently within his tender
touch.

“Don’t worry, your safe” Brendan whispered as he pulled
Madison towards him.

 The nightclub was still and deathly silent. Brendan
shut the fire exit behind her and pulled her slowly onto the dance floor. She
scanned all corners of the room but there was nothing. Shadows crept along the
long walls of the room, dancing eagerly with each other.