DESTINED BY FATE

CHAPTER 11

Charles had celebrated his birthday with his mom, Liam, and Kyla a few days ago. To him, the day was perfect because he’d needed to clear his head of all the thinking he’d been doing lately, and thankfully it had worked.

Since they’d all enjoyed the last one so much, his mom had planned another picnic in the park, and when it was over, he was helping her pack up and carry things back to the car when Liam called his name

“Charles, you forgot the baskets, man.”

He sighed and placed full the load he’d carried in the trunk of the car. His mom, sensing his frustration, walked over and rubbed his back, immediately comforting him in a way only a mother could.

“Go help Kyla pack the rest, would you, honey? You know Liam can be very lazy when he wants to.”

Charles tried to grumble but couldn’t because he knew Liam well enough to know that he just wanted a way to do as little as possible. Liam never really cared about work, but Charles still wondered how he stayed in such great shape with all his laziness. He guessed that God decided to bless his friend with a perfect body, or Liam was on steroids.

Charles got to Kyla in time so he could help her carry a few items. “Let me help you with that; give me the bags, and you can take the basket and plates,” he nicely suggested. He didn’t want the load to be heavy for her to carry since she was a girl after all, but little did he know the kind of power she possessed.

Charles took some of the supplies from her then headed to the car to drop them off when the sound of something hitting the ground and breaking caught everyone’s attention. They were all facing Kyla, giving her their full attention with surprise and confusion written all over their faces. Kyla’s expression, on the other hand, wasn’t anything compared to the rest. It was that of total shock and horror as if something terrible had happened or was going to happen.

Liam was the first person to reach Kyla, checking to see if she was hurt, followed by Charles, then his mom.

“Are you okay? What happened?”

Liam tried to get an answer, but Kyla wasn’t responding. It was like she was in a trance or deep thought. Kyla then went straight to Charles’s mom and whispered in her ear. Charles’s mom’s mood changed within seconds, leaving Charles confused, and Liam panicked.

His mom ordered everyone into the car and told Kyla to be drive, but neither of the boys knew why. They both obeyed and climbed in the back seat while Charles’s mom sat in the passenger seat.

He tried to ask what was wrong, but she wouldn’t say anything, and with Kyla so focused on the road, he wasn’t getting anything out of her either. Kyla probably never noticed how many red lights she had run or how fast she was driving; it only took about fifteen minutes to get home because of her insane driving skills, and Charles wondered how she knew where he lived or how she knew the route so well.

As they all got closer to the private gates, Charles could see plumes of smoke and fire coming from inside, and he couldn’t help but notice how stiff Kyla was and how tight she was holding the steering wheel.

Once inside, the scene before them was total chaos; houses were burning, and dead bodies were everywhere. It was a bloodbath.

“Everyone get out; you all should look for somewhere to hide. I have to go find someone,” Kyla said after stopping the car.

“I can’t let you leave! We don’t know what is going on, and you don’t even live here. Stay with us until my mom can get to my dad or your parents,” Charles said. If only he knew what was going on, he would freak out.

“I can’t explain, Charles, but I’ve got to go; I’ll be back, okay?” Kyla said before speeding away from him.

CHARLES’S POV

I stood there as I watched Kyla drive away, and I couldn’t help but feel the need to go after her, but I had to make sure Mom, Liam, and Charlotte were safe first. We decided to stay inside the house until Kyla came back with help. A few minutes passed, and Kyla still hadn’t returned yet; I was getting impatient because I had a strange feeling that kept telling me to go find her. I stood up and was ready to leave when my mom stopped me.

“Where are you going? Don’t even think about going out there; it’s not safe for anyone until we know for sure what is going on,” she said, grabbing my hand.

“I have to, Mom. I don’t know why, but I have to be sure that she’s okay with whoever she went after. There are dead bodies everywhere! I have to go after her,” I said, freeing myself from my mother’s grip.

“If you’re going, we all are,” Liam said.

“Fine, you can come, but make sure you guys are right behind me, okay?” I said to both of them.

We left the house with mom and Liam following behind me, and the smell of blood was everywhere! I wondered what could have caused so much death. Was this the apocalypse? After a few minutes of walking, we heard screaming, and as we got closer to the fields, we saw something terrifying! More dead bodies were scattered around, and those still alive were fighting each other, struggling to stay alive. I had to remind myself to breathe because the whole scene was like nothing I’d ever witnessed before.

“Stay behind me, Mom, and hold Charlotte tight; don’t let go,” I said as I scanned the area for Kyla.

We kept moving slowly, trying to avoid drawing attention to ourselves. I stopped when I felt my mom’s hand leave mine, and when I turned to look back at her, I saw horror and fear in her eyes. She wasn’t looking at me but at something else. I turned in the direction she was staring at, and I was filled with fear when I saw what mom was seeing.

My dad was fighting a man I hadn’t met before, but he reminded me of someone; I just couldn’t think of who. Dad was beaten up; his clothes were torn and stained with blood. The man threw my father to the ground, and as he spoke, he pulled out a sword. I couldn’t hear what he was saying. I was still in shock over everything that was happening. As the stranger raised the blade to drive it into my dad, I, all of a sudden, felt a massive wind behind me. When I opened my eyes, I hadn’t even realized I’d closed, I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. Charlotte was safely in my arms, but the relief of her bing safe immediately faded thanks to the scene before me. At that moment, my entire world was destroyed.

“Mommmmmm! Noooooo”