Between Two Worlds
Death

The sun beats down on me, as I slowly walk through town. It’s been three days since I said goodbye to Lou. I snuck around from town to town until I put plenty of distance between me and Lou. Now, I wander slowly from town to town, doing my best to be seen, but pretending to be hiding.

“I finally found you,” Altair says.

I turn around and see Altair standing behind me along with three armed men. I feel the familiar shot of fear as it races through my body. “Uh, hi, Altair.”

“I told you I would replace you again.” He sneers. I feel his fingers close around my arm like a vice grip. “You won’t be so lucky as to get away from me, again.”

“Ow, that hurts!” I say. “Can you loosen your grip a little?” I see anger fill his eyes, and then feel its sting as his hand connects with my face. It’s a good thing he has a tight grip on my arm because he hits me so hard that I would have fallen over; instead, I just stumble back a few steps. Stupid! Why did I say that?

“Your brother and his little girl may both be dead, but don’t think that I can’t still make your life miserable, because I can. I can make your suffering so intense that you beg me to kill you. Now, let’s go, we have to get back home.”

Why did I think this was a good idea? Can I really put myself through this again? Can I put myself back under the thumb of this tyrant? Why am I surrendering myself to a life of torment? He thinks Lou is dead, and as long as I never go near her again, he will never know otherwise. I can run and hide. I just need to wait for the right moment to present itself. It doesn’t take long for that moment to arrive. A few hours later, after being marched through town, at gunpoint, like some kind of common criminal, we are camped in the middle of nowhere. I laid down, closed my eyes, and pretended to sleep while just listening to Altair and his men talk. I can feel Altair lying down next to me, and it took every bit of self-control I have to not shutter or pull away from him. Soon after, the conversations slowed, then stopped, and the snoring began.

It’s been quiet for a while now, hopefully, they are all asleep. I count to one hundred, in my head, just to be safe and then I open my eyes. In the flickering firelight, I can see that Altair’s men fell asleep. Good. I ease myself to a sitting position and squint in the dim light, trying to make out Altair’s face, I’m pretty sure he is asleep as well. I watch his chest for the steady rising and falling that indicates sleep. Either he is very good at fake sleeping, or he really is asleep. I carefully climb to my feet, and silently creep through the camp and into the woods. Good thing the moon is full, I can see where I am going. A loud crack echoes through the quiet night air. Oh, that’s just great! A tree branch!

“What the?” one of the guards shouts, surprised.

“What are you waiting for? Stop her!” Altair shouts.

I try to move fast but the brush is thick and keeps tripping me. A loud bang fills the air and pain rips through my back, causing me to scream and fall onto my stomach.

“You fool! That’s not what I meant! You were supposed to hunt her down on foot!” Altair screams.

The pain in my back is so intense, I want to scream again, but breathing has become difficult, and I doubt I could even talk. I have got to move before Altair replaces me! I try to push up off the ground, but the slightest effort causes wave after wave of pain. Soon, I see boots in front of me. And I’m too tired to try and figure out who’s they are.

“You killed her! You killed my plan! Now what am I going to do?!” a voice asks.

“I’m sorry sir.” Another voice says.

The world around me starts to fade. The moonlight starts to dim and the sounds around me start to fade out. The last thing I hear is, “You’ll all pay for this!” And then the pain fades away, and so does everything else. A new kind of darkness embraces me like a long-lost lover, as I slowly slip out of this world, never to return.