Nanowrimo: Trigger – Chapter 13

Word Count: 15,953

Chapter 13

“He told me it was better if I came alone Ray. Please… just stay in the car and if I don’t come out in like… 10 minutes, you can come in after me and save the day, alright?”

They were sitting in front of the old Spanish style mission. It was dark, only a few scattered lamps lit up the grounds, leaving the rest shrouded in pulsing shadows. The wind had picked up again, the trees dancing their limbs around as if beckoning for something to come down and land on them only to move the other way as if to tell them “But not yet”.

Ray gripped the steering wheel.

“I’m telling you that I don’t like it. I don’t’ understand why I can’t be there. I might as well be family too.”

“You’re really cute when you pout,” Claudia teased. She put her arm around him and laid her head on his shoulder. “I’m scared too. I don’t know what to think. But if I’m gonna get any information I have to at least try to follow instructions. What if he refuses to talk to me if you’re around? It’s just better this way. Give me ten minutes and then come in… deal?”

Ray agreed. He closed his eyes as she got out of the car, only opening them when the door had closed and her hooded figure could be seen walking toward the cluster of buildings. The largest of them had a light sparkling from the front left window. He guessed there was some sort of room there.  He looked at the clock. It was 11:15 (*authors note, I’m not sure if this tiem is accurate with the timeline of the story so far, I’ll fix it later!*)

Claudia’s heart was racing in her chest. She wasn’t sure exactly where she should go.

“Meet me that at 11:00… You’ll know where to find me….”

His words echoed in her head. The only place that looked like it even held people was a large tall building with a light shining from one of the windows. As she got closer to the door something made her look to the left down a shadow laden path.  She stopped.

The feeling of pins and needles tickled across her skin. She blinked and without thinking, the shadows dispersed as if made of rising steam. She saw clearly the path that led to a smaller building in the back. Another light shone from an open door. It was dimmer than the other, as if cast by a candle. Without question, she knew that is where she needed to go.

She began to move towards the path. She knew she was out of sight from Ray at that point and a small voice told her to go back and tell him where she was headed. Instead she just kept walking. The crackling of twigs and leaves under her feet seemed to provide a soundtrack for the thoughts that were racing at light speed through her head.

She would have never thought to look down that path. She shouldn’t be able to make out the scenery of a place that she had never seen before. How had she focused and cleared the shadows? Was she actually seeing what she was seeing? Who would actually be waiting for her in that room. Would this be as enlightening as she thought? What if she was foolish to think she should go alone. What if they did just want to kill her so they could get to her fathers money. Why had he hidden his entire family from her? Why did he say that they were all dead? What in the world was she doing?

She stopped about halfway to the building. The shadows began to sag and drip like splashed of pitch black paint from the sky. She shook her head and with an unsteady step began to move forward again. Afew steps away from the door she stopped again.

“Hello?” She said. Her throat was scratchy and the word barely made a sound from her throat. She cleared it before saying again, “Hello? Alec?”

The words felt like they were coming out of someone else’s mouth. She could barely feel her lips and her mind had almost completely shut down from fear. She took another step. She began to breathe more heavily, her body tensing up as she came closer to the open door. It was made of thick wood and had a small window in the upper half. It didn’t seem to have a handle, simply a notch carved into it’s surface to tug on. She stopped at the edge of the circle of light that spilled from the room. She still couldn’t see inside as the door was blocking the view. She could see that the floor was dirt and the smell of wax and ink seemed to heat up and flow from inside.

“I am not going in there if… if you’re not there!” Claudia said. Her fists were clenched at her sides. She suddenly felt very small and unsure. She felt wetness drip down her cheek. With horror she knew that her eyes had begun to bleed again. She wanted to scream and run. It must be an effect of … whatever it was in her head that made her see through the dark.  She wiped at her face, looking down to see the red screaming back at her.  She wasn’t going to stay, it was a bad idea.

She took a few steps back, tripping over an uneven patch of ground she found herself landing on her backside, the breath flying from her lungs. Her hands flew out behind her, scratching into the dirt. Her head flung back, her teeth chattering together loudly. The tears, be they blood or saline, began to drip from her eyes more heavily. She could no longer see. The world around her had blurred to a mist of black shadows and wind blowing dust around her.

“Help… me…” she stuttered as she tried to stand up. An arm reached under her arm and pulled her up. Relief washed over her. “Ray, oh god, thank you… I’m scared … I’m…” She looked up…

It was Alec.

She pulled away, stumbling again.

“Calm down Claudia… you’re bleeding. Let me take you inside.”

She snarled up at him. She could barely see his face, her eyes had almost been coated with a film of blood. “No! I don’t know you! What do you want with me! My boyfriend is waiting for me, if I don’t get back to him in ten minutes he’s going to come for me. Don’t think you can get away with hurting me.”

She stood with her legs spaced, bracing herself for a fight. She felt like an animal that had just woken up to find predators surrounding it. She wanted to run, but Alec was tall and stood in the direction of the path. She wasn’t sure where she was and she knew she’d probably fall again with her limited vision.

“I’m not going to hurt you. I can’t convince you of anything if you’re agitated. Calm down. Come inside. Let me help you clean yourself. I can give you the answers you seek. I am your cousin, we are family. Let me explain.”

His voice was calm and almost hypnotic. He held his hand out to her and she slowly allowed herself to be led into the room. She looked up at his as they passed under the doorway. He looked down at her. His eyes were almost translucent and blue, almost glowing in the dark. As he passed into the light, a few blinks of his eyes and they had changed back to a dark brown shade. Claudia gasped and pulled away.

“What the… how the hell did you do that. What is going on!”

She backed into a corner and tried to grasp her surroundings.The room was tiny with nothing but a desk and a few boxes pushed in the far corner. A tall candle sat in a holder on the desk, a stack of papers was next to it. There were no windows, only the door. Once again, blocked by Alec.

“You’re talking about my eyes, aren’t you.” Alec blinked again. They stayed dark.

“YES I AM! What is going on!”

“It’s the reason why your eyes are bleeding. You are… learning how to do what I have just done.”

Claudia blinked and realized that the film had washed away and everything was clear. The blood on her face still felt fresh as she wiped at it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“You will…” Alec handed her a dark blue handkerchief from his pocket. It smelled of peppermint. She wiped at her face tentatively before handing it back to him.

“You’ve missed a few spots… please.. I don’t want you to leave her with blood on your face.”

Alec reached forward and began to wipe at Claudia’s cheeks. She felt frozen. Staring up at him, she could see a strange resemblance to her father in the shape of his eyes and cheek bones.  He looked down at her for a moment. He moved his hand down her cheek, a pale streak of blood alighting onto his fingertips.  He tipped her chin up, as if she was a doll. A shiver rose through Claudia’s spine. Her hands hung limp at her sides. She was unable to move. The voice that had been screaming in her head felt like it was gagged and bound in a corner, trying to break free but not succeeding.  She could feel her blood rushing up to her face, as if her body had directed all of her blood to go directly to her brain. She felt herself weakening and his hand slipped around to the small of her back.

Her head tilted backwards and it was all she could o keep her eyes fixed on Alec’s face. He drew close to her, as if studying her features.

His face was so close she could smell his breathe. Also peppermint, and something else, a shade darker… richer… She wanted to say something, she wanted to move away, she wanted to scream. But she could not. She could only stare as his face got closer. And his mouth hovered over hers.