Blood in the Water

I was running through the dimmed hallways, with other people who seemed dead and decaying at the corner of my eyes as if they're trying to latch on to me with their hands, but it seemed that they can't touch me and I was just passing through them. "You did this." I heard, everyone's eyes seemed to be glued on to me as I frantically try to escape this endless corridor with them at the sides, sticking their cold bloodied hands at the middle where I was running at. "You will pay for your sins..." "A punishment is waiting for you." "Curse you..." Their silent whispers kept coming and coming, their voices filled with hate and despair, drowning me with the awful memories I had 4 years ago. This place seemed endless, and as I was about to give up on escaping, a light shone brightly at the end of the hallway and it seems like it was the exit to this never ending nightmare. I ran faster towards it, feeling warmth as I get closer to it. Hope immediately rushed through me knowing that I can finally escape, but as soon as I was about to step inside the blinding lights, I was grabbed by the neck from behind and was pulled back in harshly, pinning me to the ground. "I got her! Hurry and tie her up!" The large man yelled, strangling me with his huge hands. I've been running through this same dark place that I've been hallucinating that I was still inside the school just now. As you can see, I am being chased down by a group of people who were against my very existence and is thirsty to kill me with their own hands but... I can't afford to get caught now, not with this child. I won't let them hurt us. "Let go!" I yelled, black shadows immediately bursting out of my body and tackling the man who just pushed me down. Immediately, I stood up and continued running as fast as my pricked feet can take me. The sound of the crunching dry leaves on the ground echoed throughout the woods as I step on them, taking much more attention from the people who were chasing me. Hurriedly, I ran as fast as I could while carrying the newborn baby in my weak arms hoping that I would outrun them who were yelling and bearing a lot of fire arms. "Surround the whole area! Don't let that monster escape!" I heard a voice, filled with anger and distaste from a far distance. I can also hear gunshots everywhere and loud barks from aggressive dogs they brought. I gritted my teeth as I saw a lot of them them already blocking all the exits of this place through my red eyes. What have I done wrong to them? I stopped from killing people ever since that incident and lead on a normal life. I'm just a 20 year old woman who had just bore a baby by myself, I'm still weak from just giving birth an hour ago and they suddenly appeared and burnt our house down, can't I have a normal life for once? "I can see her! She's over there!" I heard someone yell from just behind me, I glimpsed over my shoulder and saw a lot of flashlights pointing at me. They're gonna catch me any second now with the help of their dogs who can smell my scent, but I can't let that happen. I must protect my child no matter what happens, even if I'm just all by myself. I summoned my shadow demons, not to kill them but to just block their paths so they won't reach me. In one swift hand motion from me, a group of shadows appeared in front of them, blocking every possible way they can go. "Whats this?! Hurry and get rid of these things! She's escaping!" They yelled as they stab the shadows with their knives but nothing happened, their hand just passed through like they just stabbed a cloud. I ran faster, feeling my soles burning from running with bare feet. The bloodied white dress I was wearing was torn to pieces when I encountered one of their dogs a while ago and tackled me down on the ground and managed to bite me on my right foot, that's why I was limping my way to escape this place. After I think that I managed to create a far distance away from them, I sighed in relief but didn't stop from running. "Don't worry... I won't let them take you away." I looked down on my sleeping daughter, and can't help not to notice the birthmark on her chest that resembles the curse mark I had. I gave her a sorrowful look as I realized that she's the same as me, a blood thirsty demon... and that only means that the world wouldn't accept her either. She would probably have the same fate as me... "I'm sorry..." a tear trickled down my face and landed on her small face, waking her up from her deep slumber. "There she is! Shoot her!" I heard again, but this time it was near my location. I looked behind me and a group of other people was dashing towards me, aiming their large guns at me and pulled the trigger, sending multiple bullets at my back. I screamed in pain from the iron pellet submerged in the flesh of my limbs, but I made sure that my baby isn't hurt. Some of the bullets scratched my weak spot which is my neck, making me fall on the ground and becomes paralyzed. "Hn... guh.." I whimpered as I realized that my vision was once again becoming dark and blurry. My baby began crying as my blood drip down on her soft face and down to her neck. "Haha, that was easy." I heard them, walking to my direction and kept their guns aimed at me. "Take that baby monster, and let's go." The leader of this 'group' ordered and a guy went to my direction, kneeled down in front of me before reaching his arms for my baby. "N..no" I mumbled, feeling someone stepping on my wounded back to keep me pinned on the ground. "Stay down." The person who was stepping on me said, making my whole body embrace more pain. I watched them took my child away from my grip, with aggressive looks on their faces as they stare at her as if they'll kill her. The sound of my baby's cry was deafening that it blocked out the other sounds through my ears, they're gonna take my child away from me... but I can't fight back anymore, my neck has been injured making me paralyzed. "What about the woman, sir?" "Hmm.. We don't need her, dump her in the lake." They began walking away, with my baby in their filthy hands. A large man took my crumpled form and roughly flipped me back over by the legs as if I'm nothing more but than a doll to him. He began dragging me towards the direction of the lake with my head facing the people who were carrying my daughter. She was crying and asking for my help, wriggling around from the man's filthy hand. But I couldn't do anything, my body is less powerful since I was just brought back to life. . Jackson... . If he's here then I wouldn't have to face this all alone, I would have someone by my side while protecting our daughter... Jackson... please save our child. It's okay if I die for the second time, but not our child... she's just a baby and has more things to learn in life. Please... wherever you are right now, please hear my thoughts. "Save our child." I felt cold water envelope my frail body swallowing everything, my blood from the bullet wounds spreading across the water as I sink deeper and deeper to the bottom. I opened my eyes to take a glimpse of what the underwater looks like. It was dark, cold, and lifeless, just like me. Lately, I haven't been feeling happy or sad. I just existed, and I don't know what to feel. I don't know how to raise my child the way I wasn't raised, I want to teach her many things I didn't learned from my parents. But I can't do that anymore, now that I'm sinking in this bottomless pit with no sign of any life while body feels like it was being pulled down from the bottom. Is this the end? Ahh... I hope if I'm reborn once again, I want to have a different life. The life I have been dreaming for ever since I received this power, a happy life. If ever that would happen, I would find Jackson and fall in love with him all over again, because he's the only one who understand me. He's the only one... _ The dark misty water around me is rapidly turning red as my blood kept gushing out of my body for the past minutes, spreading non stop as I sink down. I lost so many blood to the point that the whole water around me turned blackish red. Is this... seriously the end of me? I heard a splashing sound from above, I tilted my head upward to see a silhouette of a person. Swimming downwards to my direction, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back to the surface. As soon as I was brought back up, I was carried bridal style by this person and everything around us was eerily quiet as if there's no one around anymore.. Did they left already with my baby?! "No! No, my daughter!" I yelled, struggling to be placed back down on the ground but whoever this person is, suddenly pulled me up and hugged me in his broad arms. And this person turned out to be Jackson. "J...jackson?" I mumbled as I smelt his familiar scent. "I'm sorry I left you all alone." He whispered, a hint of anger in his tone. It was only then that I noticed that all of the people who were chasing me, is now laying on the ground around us... dead. I don't care what happens to them anymore, but where is my child? "W..where's our--" I asked but stopped halfway as I choke out all the waters I accidentally gulped down a while ago. He looked at me with saddened eyes before breaking the hug and laid me back down on the soft grassy floor, which is where our child also lays, sleeping safe and sound as if nothing happened. I cried at the sight of her and enveloped my cold hands around her tiny body. I almost lost you. "I have taken care of the people who were chasing you, it turns out they want our child so they can sell her in a big amount of money." Jackson laid besides me, staring at our daughter. "She looks a lot like you." I managed to chuckle at Jackson's statement, she does look like me and a little bit of Jackson but it wasn't soon enough as the atmosphere around us went heavy and silent. "I'm sorry I wasn't by your side when you gave birth." He whispered as he stare at the dull, void and bloody lake in front of us. "That's okay. I have my shadow buddies with me that time." I smiled at him and he doesn't looked convinced and has this guilty look on his face. He caressed my face and looked directly at my eyes "I promise you... no matter how much time passes, and even I have become old. I will stay by your side forever, helping you raise our child." The sincerity in his voice was so obvious and I can feel that his cold hands were shaking in fear knowing that he almost lost me again. I smiled, and held his hands that is touching my face gently. "Yeah, I know that since you went all the way just to bring me back to life..." Jackson finally smiled, the smile I was longing to see... "Lets go... far away from this place" He pulled me back up as I carry my child around my arms. Jackson then helped me walk on this secluded woods as I limp besides him. The moon finally revealed itself after hiding behind the clouds for a long time and created a shiny reflection on the river, making my blood in the water more visible.