CHAPTER NINETEEN

“Let him go!” Stacey yelled at the masked man, he rolled his brown eyes at her and pressed the blade closer to the boy’s throat who froze with fear. I sighed as I sat down from boredom and exhaustion, I watched the scene in front of me with hooded eyes, Lindy next to me was munching on a sandwich she bought from a few blocks.

“This does not concern you, scram!” the masked man said, I agreed with him but Stacey was not having it as her blue eyes gleamed under the brown contacts she was wearing and a gloomy blue cloud like surrounded her body, she was close to shifting, but for whatever reason was unknown until me at that moment.

“It is my concern because he is mine!” she yelled and lunged at the man, I watched with my eyes open wide like a deer caught in headlights. I heard rumors of people claiming others as theirs like an owner and his objects. But they used a certain name that described their relationship, soulmates.

The beast of a man once told me that there is a person in the sky who watches us, that person’s name is Fate. He said Fate has two personalities, one that is kind and loving, and the other that is cruel and unforgiving. When Fate is kind and loving, they bless us with our heart’s greatest desires, but when Fate is cruel and unforgiving, they curse us with our mind’s greatest fear.

According to our deeds and our thoughts, Fate blesses and curses us. The beast of a man described Fate as a great villain in all our lives, he said “It blesses and gives us our heart’s desires. Only for it to take it away as that is our mind’s greatest fear. It does not give us a clear path but rather a maze to walk through on our own with no guidance whatsoever danger we might come across”

I understood that Fate blessed Stacey at that moment and I awaited the time Fate would shift and curse her too.

Stacey lunged at the man with inhuman speed and threw a punch at him sending him across the dirt road that was lucky empty, I waited for the man to get up but he did not, his heartbeat stopped and he laid their like he was asleep “You killed him!” Lindy shrieked and I cringed as she yelled at Stacey who slowly walked at the petrified boy who looked at his feet.

I turned to Lindy who was so pale as she looked at the dead man with tears in her eyes like she had lost someone so precious to her, yet she did not even know the man nor his name, but there she was crying and feeling bad for him like her tears would bring him back. I hated that feeling. The feeling of grief.

“Hey, it’s okay. I won’t hurt you” Stacey cooed causing the boy to look up to her with fear and awe, I looked at the roughed up boy who looked like he was dragged through the dirt; scars covered most of dark skin, his brown eyes were darker that I almost mistook them for black, his short kinky black hair was in five braids, and he was taller than me but taller than Stacey.

“Plea- please” he whispered and tears welled up in his tears, I froze with a blank face as I watched the two shamelessly. Stacey clenched hands into fists “I won’t hurt you, I promise upon my life” she said and I held in an eye roll at how they were already in love in a spam of seconds. But I also felt some type of jealousy as my mind pictured Nwosu, and I wondered what he was doing.

A tap on my shoulder broke my train of thoughts as I turned to Lindy who looked at me with concern in her eyes, I frowned “What?” I inquired and she smiled at me a sad smile “You’ll be okay” she said and I frowned at what she meant, she ignored my gaze on her and faced Stacey and the boy who were in each other’s embrace like lost lovers.

“Aww…I totally ship it” Lindy said and I frowned at her choice of words not knowing what she meant at that time but I did not have time to ask her as Stacey and the boy walked towards us “Guys, this is Andy. Andy these are my…ah my,” Stacey trailed off as she locked eyes with me and I frowned not knowing what she wanted me to do “We are her friends, nice to meet you Andy” Lindy said and I looked at her. Friends?

The last people I called friends killed me and left me. As far as I knew, I had no friends. They were a blessing form Fate and Fate deemed me unworthy. But I kept my thoughts to myself and watched as they introduced one another.

It had been a total of two days since we left area ninety- five, two days since my mission finally began and I was enthusiastic to find and eradicate the next target. I just had to find out which area they were in and go there.

“Come on, Rose. Andy knows a place where we could get some rest until we find a place to do whatever” Stacey called out and I noticed they were a great distance between them and me, and I could not help the feeling of loneliness that nested in my chest and started to make a home there. I sighed as I tried to catch up to them.

“You can sleep here, you look exhausted” Lindy said and I nodded my head tirelessly without a second thought and snuggled into the mattress. I closed my eyes and fell asleep as my mind released the demons to torment me in my dark abyss.

I was there again, I knew where I was and who was coming in next “Ahh little Rose” his voice was enthusiastic today. I looked up and there he stood there smiling at me “What do you want Leon?” I asked, my tone dripping with venom and he glared at me.

In three quick strides, he was in front of me and my face turned so fast that I wondered what happened but the throbbing in my cheek told me what had happened. He slapped me! I looked up to him with a glare, but what I did not expect was to see the beast of a man standing were Leon was “making friends are we now!?” he growled and I shrieked in fear.

I made him angry. Fear consumed me whole, my body trembled in my spot and my heart thumped rapidly “Aren’t I enough for you?” he asked heartbrokenly, “Haven’t I lived up to my expectations of you?! I have given you everything and beyond! Yet I am not enough that you go and seek other’s attention and love! Do I mean so little to you?” by the end of it, I was consumed by guilt and shame.

I wrapped my arms around him as his tears dripped on my head like rain “I’m sorry, you’re all I need. You love me and I love you. Your friendship is more than anything in this world. I love you, Dargailas” I said and just as I said that, the scene in front of me changed and I stood there unmoving as I watched him exploded in front of me.

Before I could even scream, I started to shake and I gasped as I jolted up from my sleep with wide eyes “Whoa! Easy there” a famine’s voice said and I turned to my right to see Lindy with a look of worry on her face. At the moment I was still skeptical about her, I did not trust her nor was she of any use to me, but she was good company.