8Tina tossed and turned restlessly, her mind refusing to rest as she thought about Daniel. Where was he now? Was he safe? Eventually she sat up and sighed, the digital clock on the bedside table showed the time as 4:30 in the morning. She looked over her friends who were sleeping deeply, their breathing steady and slow. She stood up and quietly grabbed her clothes before slowly creeping across the room, making sure she didn't disturb anybody from their sleep. The door clicked shut behind her and she went to the bathroom, got changed then went downstairs. She picked up a pen and a piece of paper and wrote a note, explaining her disappearance. It was as follows:
Gone to find Dan. Don't worry. Tina
She then walked out the door, locking it behind her and posting the keys back through the door. She splayed her hands and elevated into the air, soaring through the skies with the wind in her hair. She felt free and could relax while she was up here. She loved it! The breeze against her face was cool and refreshing. The view was simply amazing, everything looked tiny and small which when put together looked like one of those shots you get on the geography channel. Absolutely stunning! Beneath the sound of wind in her ears, she could hear the birds that swooped by unperturbed by her presence. While she was up here her mind always wandered, making her think about memories, the present, the future, her friends and her family. Her friends had always been there for her, as long as she could remember. They'd grown up together, made it through the good and the bad times, developed their magic together and nothing could have been better. But then Daniel had come along, with his charming ways and his funny attitude. She'd fallen under his spell almost immediately, not knowing it was love until a few months later. It had started off as them talking about life, crushes, past loves…then it had gone onto more serious matters. The things which scare us and the most frightening memories we've had, he had then surprised her by asking her to go out with him. She'd said yes with a giddy but delighted feeling in her stomach. She could still remember it now! It was the start of something special, and it had been amazing since then but now he was gone. Disappeared. Torn out of her life by none other than Corey Barden. How she despised that name right now. If he hadn't taunted, fought and annoyed Dan like he does then he would still be here. Be safe. Not with her but he'd still be safe. She had no idea where he was and it scared her. It wasn't easy to admit but it did.
She snapped out of her thoughts when she caught sight of a car traveling below her. The sun was just edging its way over the horizon, spilling its golden light over the waking world. She enjoyed a minute more of flying free then slowly dropped into a deserted street. As soon as she touched down she started walking. She recognized the street and knew where she was going if she needed to go back but at the moment she was headed the opposite way. She was determined to find Daniel; nothing was going to stop her. She drifted yet again into her own thoughts. This time she was thinking about places he could be. If he wasn't at home or anywhere else in Hampton then the only place to get away would be Orton. She gasped and stopped in her tracks. Of course! There was a place which he had told her about, a secret place. A paradise to escape to. She turned and ran down a nearby alleyway. It wasn't pleasant at all, it was very dark, dank and smelly but she didn't care about that at all, all she wanted was to reach this place quickly. The place in question was a small pond which was in the middle of a lush forest. He had showed her this place and to her it had been magical, the way the light had reflected off of the water that day, brief flashes of colour from the fish beneath the surface. Now she was returning to this place…
She burst out of the alleyway, appearing behind a pub. She walked briskly around it and was about to turn down yet another street when she caught a glimpse of a figure in a hoodie following her. Her heart rate sped up as her breathing quickened. She fought the urge to run and instead walked on, missing the street entirely. When he crossed to her side and carried on following then she started to silently panic. She turned left and entered a slip road which she could make a get away from but before she could run, she saw four others walking up to her. She turned into the guy who had been following her initially and backed up. She collided with somebody else behind her who roughly pushed her forward. She spun in a complete circle. She was surrounded. Surrounded by a group of five people who wore the same sick smile, the same expression that foreshadowed many unpleasant things.
" 'ello sweetpea," one of them cooed, causing shivers to race down her spine,
"What's a small thing like you doing out around here this early in the morning?" another asked, the voices completely different. The first one was deep and gruff whilst this one was softer and more nasally.
"I could ask the same thing," she responded, hiding her fear under a mask of indignation.
The leader of the pack sneered at her. He wasn't very tall but he was very muscular and she could see a load of tattoos on his arms. He was wearing a leather jacket with ripped jeans, accompanied by flat knuckle dusters and large boots. Altogether he looked like a stereo typical biker dude minus the painful looking scars and beard.
"Got an attitude problem, eh?" he asked mockingly. She stayed silent, not wanting to give him the upper hand. She felt a hand on her back, grabbing her shirt. She span and resisting the urge to use her powers, glared at the man. He was tall, thin but somehow not gangly. His hair was shaggy and layered with grime. He laughed a sharp brittle sound that almost made her flinch. Almost.
"Oh no! Not the glare! Anything but the glare!" he mocked, exaggerating every word. All the guys around her laughed as well, she attempted to surprise them and lunged for a break in their barrier but she had misjudged their instincts. The pack leader grabbed her arm in a vice like grip, causing her to gasp in pain. She clawed at his fingers to try and loosen the hold but it was an impossible act to achieve.
"You're not going anywhere!" he shouted but all she did was turn and shove him back, causing him to stumble and loosen his grip. She tore his hand off her and ran desperately. She almost got to the end of the road where a gate was situated. She went to open it as it was never locked at all, to find that it was. She cursed herself and was debating whether or not she could climb the fence when rough hands hoisted her round and right back against the fence behind her. Gang leader was right in her face this time, fury burning in his eyes.
"You little rat-bag. I'm gonna kill you for that," he whispered, menace dripping from every word like honey. She took a deep breath to scream but he quickly brought his knee up and winded her, causing her to bend over as well. He then pulled back his fist to smash her head in but she moved at the last moment and he hit her shoulder instead. The momentum sent her sprawling unceremoniously to the floor. She rolled over quickly and was about to spring back up but she something which stopped her dead. Paralyzed her as she silently prayed to whatever god was listening. The pack leader had drawn out a gun and was pointing it straight at her head. Her eyes went wide and she found it impossible to draw them away from the barrel, the dark hole which contained a life killer. A bullet. All her courage was gone. She could stop it but these people were only human. It was illegal to show her powers in front of them. She was as good as dead if she did. She somehow managed to look past the barrel and into the leader's eyes.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" she squeaked, fear constricting her voice.
"What was that? You questioning my judgement? Everybody seems to do that and it ain't nice, neither is it life saving. I've had people at my feet begging to die, begging to live and begging for me to leave their families. Them people are the ones that make me laugh. Ain't that right boys?" the others around her grunted and cheered their agreement, "But then there are the ones like you. The ones who think they're everything and can afford to question me on my actions. I've had enough of it! I didn't escape from the loony bin for nothing; they think I'm off my trolley. All I want is to right the wrongs in this bloody world. I want to hear the small and vulnerable scream in terror as I kill them with a single shot. Brains everywhere! Lovely!"
Tina breathed in deeply as she forced herself not to throw up. It would be good if she could get it on him but he was holding a gun. Less than a metre from her head.
"Let's get started then!" he moved his gun and shot her hand. She screamed as the pain hit. A hole ripped through her palm, gushing out crimson red blood. She started to feel light-headed as she stared at it, silent tears streaming down her face. She didn't mind the sight of blood but this much was too much to her.
"I'm gonna have fun hurting you. Most girls are clever, they don't come out at night and if they do, they have somebody with them. Trying to kill two is what got me tied up with the coppers in the first place. I am not going to try that on again…" he drifted off into thought and Tina was about to pounce but he shrugged and looked down on her teasingly. "You even chose a desolate place for you to die. I'm fed up of playing games but don't worry. It'll be quick. Better say your prayers girl. I'll be the last face you ever see," he clicked the safety and aimed precisely. She just squeezed her eyes shut a prayed desperately again to whatever god was listening. Prayed for the protection of her friends and prayed for the forgiveness of whatever she had done wrong. She took a deep breath and braced herself for what was to come. Tears helplessly creating rivers down her face.
The thug suddenly gasped and muffled a squeak of pain. Her eyes flew open to the most unusual sight. The thug seemed to be battling his own gun for control, at last it broke free and he stared at it, holding his two broken fingers almost tentatively.
"I'm only helping you demon! Ridding the world of The Unwanted! Doing a favour to the Lord above! So you leave here or I swear…" he didn't get to finish the sentence as the gun swung round quickly and hit him on the side of his head. He was unconscious before he hit the ground. The gun then turned and pointed at the other four as a high pitched voice broke the stunned silence.
"I am the spirit of Chanel Watson. The last one who died at your hand. I will not allow this young girl to be hurt more by the likes of you. Your leader has sealed his fate but I will give you the chance to go. Go or I'll shoot and you will join him in the afterlife. You'll die and be in eternal torment for…uh…ETERNITY!" the strange voice announced. As they were distracted Tina crawled out of sight and ripped off part of her shirt and tied it as a temporary bandage for her hand which was still leaking blood. She whimpered a bit as she applied pressure but gritted her teeth and tightened it as tight as she could, bringing ever present tears to her eyes. Once she'd finished she carefully stood up, wary of how much pressure she was using on her injured hand, then came back round the corner.
"3...2...1..." the voice counted, she could've sworn that she could recognize it from somewhere.
"Let's get out of here!" one of the brutes screamed and high tailed it out of there as fast as his legs would carry him, with his friends following close behind as if as if the Devil's hounds were chasing them. The lead thug groaned and lifted his head slightly but the gun barreled into his head, knocking him out again. She suddenly realized where she knew the voice from.
"Daniel?" She was scared that he was already gone but he materialized in front of her, seemingly from thin air. She started crying and hugged him tight, frightened that this was all a dream and she'd wake up to find him missing.
"Shhh, it's alright. I'm okay! Tina, I'm here," she just sobbed harder; when she had calmed down she wiped her eyes hard with her good hand. He looked into her eyes and clasped both her hands, she hissed in pain as he squeezed the wounded one.
"What's wrong?" he demanded, his eyes frantically searching her body, he looked down and saw the bandage, "What happened?" he started to untie the bandage but she pulled it away,
"He shot me, that guy SHOT me!" she gasped, pain racking up inside her. Both physical and emotional, he grabbed her fingers and she almost screamed in protest, "There's nothing you can do! He shot me! It bloody hurts and I don't think you looking at it is going to do anything!". In actual fact, she just didn't want to see Daniel hurt and she definitely didn't want him to start blaming himself. He sighed then grabbed her hand; she started to cry as he undid the bandage, the cold night air causing it to sting. It hurt like hell! She still couldn't believe it though. Shot! Her! But it was the truth. She had come so close to dying just then and if Daniel hadn't come along then… She didn't dare to think about it. He finished exposing her wound and she just shut down completely. He turned it over, examining the place where the bullet had left. Her skin was torn, sore and red and caked in blood. He grimaced and then tied the piece of cloth back around her hand.
"We need to get you to a hospital!" he suddenly exclaimed but she didn't show any sign of hearing him. Just stood there, staring. Tears brimming in her eyes.
"You've been shot!" he stated, needing her to come out of whatever she had retreated to inside herself. She refused and instead stayed silent. He looked guilty then grabbed her arms and shook her. She cried out and just broke down, collapsing to the ground. She gasped for air but was panicking too much. Her body was going into shock and she knew it but was powerless to stop it. She was shivering violently in the cold so he ripped off his coat and placed it around her. She reveled in the warmth it brought to her.
Thanks so much for reading! This is a shared story so we have made a shared account. This story will be transferred over to 'TheFoursome66'. Review please!