Down End Road

I stood in front of Ben, Gun raised in my hands. The tingling feel of that strange power burning in my veins, begging to be let out of its mortal cage. "What have you done. No, no, no, no, no! It was supposed to be you." Ben screamed, cradling his head in his hands, skin flushed red with anxiety and rage.

"They'll kill me." He whispered. "I've failed, they'll kill me for it." Ben said again, dread seeping into his tone. Suddenly, the grey steel was raised in his hands, its muzzle aimed at my head.

My hands didn't think twice before they pulled the trigger.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

My heart rang out a heart wrenching melody that weakened with every second. I fell to the ground. Vaguely hearing another loud bang ring out in the distance.

But I couldn't think about that, thinking was just too tiring. Loud shrieks and roars that resembled a Shifters wails rang in my ears, their outcries bringing an odd smile to my face. I liked this sound, my tired brain thought. It reminded me of all the tragically beautiful things in this world.

That same weary smiled remained on my face as hands went to grab my head and waist. Shkrrr, my legs grated along the gravel as I was pulled into something warm and hard. Two thick lines of heat banded around me. I let out a quiet content sigh, feeling the heat of this embrace guide me into an even more exhausted state.

I could hear some muffled sounds around me, but I was too tired to concentrate on them. That same lethargy made my limbs heavier and circulated a calming numbness around my battered body.

Vaguely, I felt something warm spread slowly around my belly, rolling down into the band of my trousers. It felt warm, sticky and wet on my skin.

*It was too tiring to think anymore. To breath. Rocks piled onto my chest, that was the only suitable description of what it felt like to try and breathe. Too heavy. So pointless. Peaceful bliss arrived, when the world came to a pause.

A perfect pause. One where I wasn't on the floor with the rain battering my already blue tinted skin. Where I felt like I was floating on silky air that coaxed my body downward, toward a beautiful black oblivion that patiently waited to swallow me whole into its dark abyss. It was unnatural how calm I felt. How complete my death made my soul feel.*

A sharp jab to my abdomen caused my body to convulse and curl in on itself around the sharp pain, before my spine lengthened into a ram rod straight line.

The worlds noise came back into full focus in a too quick blare of sound and bright light. My chest heaved with new found adrenaline, my senses tingling with fire that spread to each and every nerve ending.

My jaw clenched together to silence the scream that raced up my throat, begging to be let out. Eyes screwed shut to keep in my unshed tears. Muscles coiled in preparation for a non-existent threat. To my great reluctance, a tear slipped past my clamped shut eyelids. Trailing salty dew behind, marking its path down my skin.

That was the last dent in my armour before it all fell away to pieces. The pressure of keeping all of it in became too much as I then proceeded to let out a wail so fierce, so agonised, it chipped a piece of my soul.

The warm bands around me tightened, with my hands immediately going up to pull them impossibly closer. It was then I realised, I was in someones arms. I knew exactly whose, but was in too much pain to acknowledge it.

The leaking whole in my stomach was painfully slowly knitting itself together. I could feel every fibre of skin connect with another. My slashed legs and arms blazed with a new type of torturous pain. My own brand of suffering.

Sobs shook my shoulders, which only made Alex's arms tighten around me. I weakly leaned further back into him. My unseeing eyes blurry with tears, could just about make out blazing orange hair.

"D-da-dad" I croaked in between sobs. "D-da-dad" I cried again. I lifted a trembling hand and tapped Alex's arm, directing his vision to my father laying prostrate on the gravel.

I felt him stiffen around me. His arms squeezing me, almost to the brink of more pain. A sliver of lightning flashed in the stormy sky above. Ominous and eery, two men entered my line of sight, their tall figures clothed in scraps of cloth and their chins coated in thick patchy stubble.

Their hair was long and dreaded, one was platinum blonde with fair skin and pinkish cheeks. The other was his opposite. Dark skin and dark hair with milky brown eyes. Both of them held such odd looking swords, that for a moment, I had assumed I was hallucinating.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" Ben cried. He was on his knees, the icy rain and relentless gusts of wind making his clothes flap like bird wings. He was still alive, I thought bitterly. "You two are supposed to be DEAD! I killed you eighteen years ago!" Ben screeched in disbelief.

My features contorted into a look of confusion; eyes scrunched, brows furrowed, lip jutted out. I almost felt like a toddler again, displaying my thoughts so plainly on my face.

"You tried to." The blonde one said, his grip on the odd curved sword tightening.

"And for that, dear friend, we promise to kill you for it." The darker one said. They circled around him, coming to stand stock still at Ben's sides. Like predator and prey.

"Tell Cassie I love her." He whispered with a tears shining in his eyes. That was the last straw, as the blonde cave-man type person raised his sword, the other copying. In one swift movement, their swords sliced through sinew and bone with a sickening sound that made my stomach clench.

I had heard it so many times today, but it only just now affected me. Ben's head landed on the floor with a crunch of gravel and slowly rolled down the stairs and out of view.

I heard a cough to my right and saw my best friend clutch her stomach as she continued to heave her stomach up, vile looking liquid spewing from her mouth. I wriggled in Alex's arms, him refusing to let me go, when I stopped upon seeing Maverick come to her aid. He patted her back and pulled back her hair as she continued to vomit.

I turned away, feeling oddly intrusive for watching such a strangely intimate moment. The two cave-men, turned their massive hulking bodies towards us. They were built like cave-men, not an ounce of fat on their flesh.

The two cave-men eyed Alex and Maverick, a brief recognition flashing in their hooded eyes before it disappeared, replaced by confusion once again. "Who are you?" Alex asked daringly.

A part of me like how the vibrations in his chest rumbled through me as well. I (probably noticeably) leaned impossibly further into him. The top of my head resting on his collarbone.

Miss Wilson, all-knowing as always, stepped forward. Her long skirt flew behind her like a train, revealing a thin band of dark skin around her ankles before it disappeared into her boots. "They are some of my dearest friends." Her voice boomed across the driveway.

It was only once I looked around, that I noticed the Shifters were no longer here. All I could see, was outlines of human bodies, straggling to their feet or standing arounds, their gazes latched onto the scene.

"Aggie?" They said in unison. She smiled ruefully, the simple twist of her lips conveying her everlasting mourning better than her lips ever could.

They walked to each other patiently. Their conversation quiet and private. They were so distracting that I almost forgot about the inflamed injuries that littered my skin. When I shifted, I felt my damp, blood soaked shirt cling to my skin soaked in bitter sweat.

The cave-men's eyes flickered to each boy, both holding girls in their arms. I shifted, uncomfortable under their scrutinising gazes. "What are your names?" Such a quiet question, uttered by men who possessed a possessed a silent but domineering power.

Even the birds stopped their distressed squawks as the two men awaited their answers. Terse silence filled the large distance between us, freezing me in my place. "Alexander Griffin." Alex answered above me.

"Maverick Landon." I heard from my right.

It happened so fast that I knew for sure they used their gifts of speed. One moment they were standing by Miss Wilson, the next the dark skinned man towered over us, the blonde man doing the same to Maverick and Ally.

I felt my veins freeze over as the power rushed in my veins, a primal instinct to protect Alex from all threats surging forward. "Shhh," Alex cooed softly in my ear. "I'm fine, we're okay, no need to turn blue." Alex whispered in my ear, his soft slightly chapped lips grazing the shell of my ear as he talked.

Just as quick as it came, the power left me. The blue, I thought, I shall name this strange power: The blue. "You are the queen," muttered the man.

His powerful legs suddenly folded into a crouch, now eye level with me and Alex. "My name is Roger Griffin. My wife is Rosemary Griffin." We both gasped, a sharp intake of breath that stung my aching lungs. "And nineteen years ago, we had a son. We named him Alexander Griffin, and when he was one year, six months and five days old, I was pushed into the portal and I haven't seen him for nineteen years. That is until now." Roger said morosely. "Unless, you are not Alexander Griffin and your mother is not Rosemary Griffin."

I felt his chest heave with each disbelieving breath as Alex processed what he had been told. I could practically feel the vibrations of his world crumbling apart. "Yo-You, you're m-my dad." Alex stuttered quietly. I felt him clutch onto me tighter.

It was a natural instinct for me to give him a comforting squeeze. At this moment in time, we were the only three people in the universe. "I am." Roger confirmed. I felt heavy arms pull me backwards, before I landed on my back. Alex's arms went limp around me.

I looked back to see he had fainted, his eyes had rolled back in his head and his head had lolled to the side. "Alex." I shrieked, worry clearly evident in my tone.

I grabbed hold of his forearm viciously shaking it, until his brown irises focused. "Alex?" I questioned. "Alex, are you alright?" I asked again.

He nodded, slowly sitting up and staring bewilderedly at his father. "So you're my dad." He stated. His thick accent making the words come out a little harsher than intended.

"I am." Roger answered. I smiled, before remembering my own father.

"Miss Wilson, where's my dad?" I called out, staggering to my feet. An image of fiery curls on the ground came to the forefront of my mind, before I whipped my head to see my father laying unconscious on the gravel ground.