Trapped (2 page)

When she found out she was pregnant s
he told him immediately. He promised
her he would take care of her and that everything
would be
okay, but the next day
he
never
arrive
d
at school
. He didn’t show for the rest of the week. She went to his house and found it empty.
He
left
her
. He d
idn’t even say good bye. She became
so depressed. She couldn’t eat or sleep. Wh
en she fain
ted at school the nurse called an ambulance to take her to the hospital.

She miscarried later that day. Her parents were furious with her. She sunk deeper into her depression. She became so ill that one morning her mother went into her room to wake her up for school, but she didn’t respond. Her mother yelled at her to get up. ‘If you don’t get up and go to school then
you’re
not allowed to live her an
ymore, do you understand?’ When Beth didn’t respond she
walked over to the bed and pulled the blanket off her.
The
scream
that escaped from her mother
’s lungs
sent her father racing into the
room. He
grabbed her
and stammered, ‘What is it?
‘Look at her
,
’
she cried. H
e glanced
quickly
at Beth
the
n
ran to get the doctor.

“
She must have died during the night
,” the doctor said as he examined her
.
Beth told me she stood there
in the room
and looked
down
at her
lifeless
body. She couldn’t believe the color of her
skin
,
a
purplish
blue
covered her body
and her eyes
were wide open, staring up at the
ceiling.
She felt
sorry for causing her parents
such a fright but th
ey
em
otion
ally abandoned her
when she needed them the most
. She was
so alone in her last few days. The autop
sy would reveal
that
she suffered from
an infection
due to
the miscarriage and it
spread through her blood. An antibiotic drip would have saved her but her parents didn’t listen to her when she told them how sick she f
elt. They told her she needed to be punished for her sins
.

I turned back to Beth and looked
into her eyes as she continued to stare into the woods.
I followed her gaze again.
At
first I thought
she may have
fallen deep into
despair from drudging up this horrible memory
that she couldn’t help but just stare off into nothing
, but then I saw
something. Just a
flicker of a white light but
I knew it
still lingered
there
.
Someone is
in the woods watching me
.
Beth
knew
this
before
she sat down beside
me
.

I heard the bell and tried to shake off the
trance I felt consuming me
. I
’ll
have
to race back for class
, I thought as I forced myself to stand
. Beth seemed
frozen
as she continued
to watch
the spirit in
the trees. N
o matter how
sorry for her
I felt
, I don’t have a
choice but to leave her
there
. I’ve
exposed myself t
o something I shouldn’t have. I
’ve
put myself
at risk by being out here alone with
this unknown
spirit
so close. I held Beth’s hand tightly then
released her before running
as fast as I could back to the school. Luckily everyone
has gone
back
in and hopefully won’t
notice
me
sprint at an inhumanly possible speed across the field
.

I didn’t see Beth
for the rest of the day. The next morning after my first class I went
to the library to study.
I sat down in th
e farthest corner of the room
. I b
egan
to read the first novel
assigned to us in English. As I absorbed the words
in the Heart of Darkness
she appeared beside me. Beth
seemed happy and relaxed again. Neither of us mentioned yesterday, the story
of her death
or the spirit in the woods. Instead we
talk
ed
about the students
and laughed quietly
. She
giggled
as she told me she
heard the latest news regarding this week’s round of crushes. We
laugh
ed
and gossip
ed
like two normal high school girls. It was the closest to normal I would get.
I wasn’t
interest
ed
in the boys that were tryi
ng to get
my attention. I didn’t want to go to the
school dances. I just wanted
to get through this last te
rm so that I could graduate, begin my travels and
work
for
Clive.

Hayden thought I should concentrate on
my studies and worry about
being a Seeker la
ter. I just couldn’t escape the
constant urge to hunt
. Every
day I c
ould feel the need getting stronger. I would use my senses
during the week
to plan my attack on g
host
s
in the halls and
in the classrooms. I
listen
ed
for
them
constantly
. It still
surprised
me
when I
could hear conversations
between people at the opposite
end of the hall
from me
. In the classroom I could hear the whispered conversations as if
they were shouting. It definitely
made it difficult to concentrate
,
but in those times I
would remember Sofia telling me how to focus
and
how to
fade them out
. I practiced every
day until finally I managed
to zone in on one conversation and
all the others would fade away.

Later in the week
I told Hayden I would be late
coming home from school
. I climbed the
stairs up to the top floor. Walking through the attic I smiled
at
all
th
e ghosts watched me. They knew I saw them and I wasn’t afraid.
I actua
lly believe
they were afraid of me. I found a door and wal
ked out onto the roof. I waited for t
he last teacher
to
finally
leave then
I waited
patiently
for the janitor to lock up. A
s soon as he drove away I skipped
to the
far end of the
roof and raced down the length of it
.
As
I leaped
off the edge I f
lipped
in the air
just
before landing
, exactly as
Carlos
taught me.

I jumped up laugh
ing. I grabbed a hold of Beth and hugged her as I continued to squeal with excitement.
I could see the shock on her face as I spun
her
around
.

“You’re not exactly
living
are you?
I mean
most people can’t jump from four
stories and land on their fe
et without some kind of impact
or injury
,
”
she question
ed, trying to figure me out.

“I’m speci
al Beth
.
I have to
do
that again!
”
I said grinning

I
climbed the school walls,
thrilled with my speed
and agility
. I wasn’t thrilled
by the dirt on my jeans
though
.
Hayden will
definitely
be suspicious, but at
t
hat moment I didn’t care. I need
ed t
o jump again. The feeling of flying
was just too exhilarating and it’s the only bit of excitement I’ve enjoyed in a long time. I loved the rush I felt at the moment my feet
leaped
from the edge of the school
. I
really
wished Carlos could be here
with me
now
. I’m sure he wo
uld have found a way to make it
more challe
nging. I’m going
to call him
later
, aside from Hayden he is my best friend. He stayed by my side during the painful days following my mother’s and Luke’s death. He held me when I couldn’t stand, he sat in silence beside me when I didn’t want to talk and when I did want to talk he listened without judgment. I sighed as I realized how much I missed him.

I explained to Beth that
Carlos
taught me
to fly
, well jump far and land
.
I didn’t tell her
how I achieved this power
though
. I
really
didn’t want h
er to be afraid of me, but I
coul
d tell she questioned this skill I demonstrated
, t
hankful
ly
she didn’t ask
any more questions
.

“Hi Hayden,”
I said as I put my knapsack down on the table
,
trying to control
my exuberance
that
still lingered
.

“
Natalie
, your home
, d
id you finis
h your project?” he asked
, as he walked toward me from his den
. I forgot
which excuse
I gave
him for being late
today
.

“Yes, thank you,
I did,
”
I mumbled.

“
Rough day?” he asked pointing to
the g
rass stains on my jeans. He
notice
d
immediately.

“I fell during a game of
Frisbee
at lunch,
”
I lied.

“I
didn’t know you played Frisbee,
”
he mused,
not exactly accepting my answer.

“I don’t, at least I didn’t but I find I can play a lot
of games now
and I must
admit I am damn good at it too,” I said s
miling, remembering how I
landed perfectly off the school roof.
Hayden wasn’t buying
any of it, but he played along.

“I’m glad
you’re
having fun,
”
h
e smirked looking me over.
I kissed him quickly before
I walked to the bedroom to change.

A
fter dinner that night Hayden told me Cliv
e
called
earlier
with a request for him. Hayden
has
decided to resume his work
, starting tonight
.

“Please bring me
Hayden
, I need to hunt,” I
begged
him to take me but he refused.