Part Four (or the part in which wounds heal, woman rights are demanded, and Jynx travels to another world.)

*All parts will be written in Jynx’s POV unless otherwise noted*

Grey-Girl’s POV

The snow was everywhere. The cold blanket enwrapped the entirety of the surrounding forests. It was as if the world was a fresh page. We were all starting anew. There would be red ink somewhere. The question was, who was the first to spill it?

Blue, Misty, Jynx, Annabelle, Luna, Tony, Jaime, Vic, Mike, and Kellin were all around me. Lynn was nowhere to be found. I assume the blind woman had wandered off. I mourned for her loss, but we had to find her quick.

However, the vampires weren’t far behind. I knew that. There was that sense in the air that warned me of danger and of looming uncertainty. Kellin helped me up as I fell to the snow once again. The blizzard had increased. The rumbling thunder overhead had just started up. Dark shadows danced across the sky. I squinted and threw the man a small smile.

“Come on, we have to find Lynn.” He encouraged. I was the oldest of the girls here. I had to help encourage them to go. We were all tired and weary. It had been a day since our last meal. It had been three days since we last felt warmth. Blue yelped and collapsed face first in the snow. Her feet were the first to give out.

One by one, we were collapsing. I had no feeling in my legs except for a sharp cold. If this was the price to pay for freedom, so be it. It was due time we got out of that hell hole.

“I can’t stand.” Luna whimpered behind me. Tony knelt by her side and gently helped her to her feet. We all trudged faster and faster as soon as the first wolf howl shook the forest. It was so ethereal, it couldn’t be real. Maybe we were just imagining it.

“You’re fast, you’re strong. Hold up your head and keep moving on. Read the skies and watch the wind, ‘cause we’re the smartest and we will win.” Blue sang out, encouraging the others. Jynx threw her a smile. She had certainly perked up since leaving the castle. I couldn’t imagine what it was like for that poor girl, but she was determined to make it back to her village.

“Let’s listen to Blue, guys. She’s got the right idea.” I turned to face ahead, right as the wind snapped at my legs. I rubbed them to keep warm. When I turned back, I saw most of the group laying down in the snow. Jynx huddled over herself to keep warm.

“We should stop for an hour. It’s tiring to walk through three feet of snow.” Misty stuttered through blue lips. I licked my own chapped ones. Shaking my head, I went to the others, trying to pull them to their feet.

“We can do it! Just a little further and we can put enough distance between the vampires and us. The snow is covering up our tracks. It’s best to use this to our advantage!” I smiled.

“Please, just a moment mo-“ Annabelle whispered before collapsing into the snow. Jaime ran to her side and tried shaking her awake. No luck. She’d wake up in due time.

She had to.

“Okay, a minute. I’ll watch.” I suggested. I was too awake to sleep. As soon as I said those magical words, everyone dead passed out. No one was left awake. It felt like my own eyelids were battling against the flurries.

I couldn’t help but think of poor Lynn. She must be wandering the forest alone and scared. She might be dead already. During our last rest stop, she had wandered off. We tried to find her, but couldn’t afford to waste too much time to search for the old woman. It was either the cold or the wolves to get us. One of them probably had gotten her…

But that’s when I heard a crackling branch.

A sharp snap rang out on the crisp snowfall. I whipped my head around to see a figure, a single figure, stand between the trees. His raven hair and his already pale face were set in a concerned expression. I glared at him, hard and stale.

“Let them go.” I snarled, low in my throat. The man held his hands in surrender, still not saying a word. How could I trust him? Could I? He let the others use us as objects for trade and disposal. He was the head of the clan and should be in control of the others. Did he honestly care about us?

Then again, he came out all this way for us. But would he want to lose a prize so easily?

“Darling, you’re freezing. Your scent is going stale.” He whispered sadly. I shook my head, standing my ground.

“Just let them go.”

He stood there, mournfully. Why would he mourn? Falseness littered his heart, I could tell.

“You won’t last to midnight. The sun is falling fast. If you think it’s cold now, you won’t believe how icy it will be.” He spoke softly, but just over the roar of the wind. The gusts were biting into my bare arms.

It was my turn to stand silently.

“Let us help you.”

“Chris Motionless, last time you said that, you took me from my village and used me as an object. I think, therefore I am no object.” I countered angrily. Chris stood there sadly.

“I won’t force you. I never wanted to hurt you-“

“Then why did you take us?”

And he sighed. He sighed long and deep and I felt pity for the man. He was damned to an eternal life with no other companionship besides that of his clan. Chris was lonely, and so was I. We were damned, although in different ways.

“I won’t force you to come with us. I just want you guys safe and not dead.” He encouraged. Blue whimpered behind me. I knelt down, but her face was already pressed in the snow.

“Why should we?”

“Because if you don’t, you’ll die.” He replied simply. Silently weighing my options, I took my time to think about it. The boys were shaking in the background, lips frozen shut but eyes like hawks staring at us the whole time.

“We can make it.”

“I don’t want to see you dead. I care about you too much to let you go off and die.” Chris begged me, taking a step forward. I glared, angry as could be. Yet, we were at a stalemate. I couldn’t let the others die. But I couldn’t let them lose their freedom. A sharp pain in my legs started to overcome me. My teeth chattered and my arms shook.

“You’re cold. Please, let us take you all back to the castle. We’ll get you warmed up. You’re too far from the nearest village to make it in time. Let me help you!” Chris pleaded more. I fell to the snow. I don’t know if I had a choice anymore.

“When I’m dead.” I spat and fell face first into the snow, collapsing into a world of blackness and numb feelings.

Notes