Green Eyes

If possible, it felt as though in that moment, my whole world stopped. My heart no longer seemed to beat, I could no longer feel aware of the gelid breeze brushing against my skin and I could no longer see anything but darkness. It felt as though darkness was there, threatening to pull me under, to take me away.

If it hadn’t been for the river of tears cascading down my cheeks, I would have considered that I was dead.

“No.” It left my mouth without my knowledge, as if I had no control over what I was saying. My throat felt as though it had closed up, and just speaking was an effort in itself.

Kaylee seemed to be in the same state as me, her naturally pale face paling further at the thought. Because all I knew in that moment was that I couldn’t let it happen. I couldn’t live without them. They were my life, and if they left, my happiness; my sanity would disappear.

“There is a way,” she said softly, her voice almost a whisper.

And suddenly, my heart was beating again. It was slow, but it was there. “How?”

Her voice was quiet, but I heard it as if she was shouting it at us from beside me. “We save them,” she whispered.

****

Darkness seemed to cloud the area, bringing with it an eerie sense of death and despair. We moved in silence, our feet hitting the cold, wet grass without a second thought. We were moving quickly, following Kaylee’s mum without a second thought to our safety.

I could feel myself tingling with the danger as we got closer, my senses telling me to go back, that I couldn’t go forward. But I had to. My heart rested in the place just past the fields, where a man with green eyes could possibly be dying.

It made me wonder if it was too late. If they were already dead. Zacky had said that there were hundreds of them, and only seven of us.

Wait, seven? Who was the extra person?

Shaking the thoughts aside, I focused on what was more important.

Would I feel it if he was dead? Surely there would be pain if your mate died, surely I would be unable to go on?

A hand reached out to stop me and I stumbled to a halt, my blue eyes looking up at the lady beside me. “We’re a few metres away. You both need to compose yourself, and listen carefully to what I say,” she whispered, and I nodded hesitantly, my body becoming rigid with fear.

“Kayla, you stay here. You’re not safe going out there,” Kaylee said sternly, her grey eyes shining with concern and untold fear.

I opened my mouth to protest but someone cut me off. “She has to come. It’s vital. Without her, they all die.”

Kaylee’s eyes burned with concern before she slowly nodded, licking her lips. She obviously held a lot of trust in her mother, even with how long she had been gone. “What do we do?”

Kaylee’s mum held a finger to her lips, motioning to the area around us. “Listen,” she murmured.

It was then that I heard it. The screams echoing out into the atmosphere, the shouts, the cries and the thumps. The ground felt as though it was shaking ever so slightly, and the danger was floating in the air.

“I can smell the blood,” Kaylee whispered, a small, pearly tear dropping down her cheek.

The woman cupped her daughter’s cheeks, looking her straight on in the eye. “You have to fight, sweetheart. You have to do everything I taught you as a child. You’ll be safe if you do it right,” she smiled ever so slightly, her eyes twinkling with both unshed tears and love. “I love you, Kaylee.”

Kaylee smiled, a tears dropping off her cheek and onto the already-wet grass. “I love you too, mum.”

They embraced each other for a moment before turning away, and Kaylee’s mum looked at me. “You, my dear, must do what your heart tells you to do. And remember, what has to happen will happen.”

What the hell? What sort of instruction was that?

“But I don’t kn-“

“You will,” she said simply, the corners of her mouth lifting up into a wistful smile. “We have to be quick. If we don’t, they will die.”

Nodding slightly, I walked forwards, feeling my heart beating rapidly in my chest. The fear and danger seemed to swallow me, its shadow hovering over me like an untold warning. No matter who went, there would be death. People were going to die, and if I could help it, I would make sure it wasn’t the ones I loved.

Kaylee’s hand gripped onto mine as we walked, squeezing it tightly for comfort. Through the clearing I could see the outline of bodies, and my mouth dropped open at the sight of a small army standing on one side, opposing a small group of people. Mentally counting the numbers, I smiled in relief when I counted seven, though I was still unsure as to who the last person was. One of them seemed to be limping, and I could see a stain of blood on the grass below them.

There were dead bodies scattered throughout the army, meaning that our side was at least holding their end. Deep down I knew they would, considering they were the strongest and most gifted vampires around for miles. Plus, they had Matt, and well, Matt was a beast.

Kaylle immediately dropped my hand and broke out into a run towards Matt, her feet sweeping through the blades of grass rapidly. Dropping the trunk of a tree, he turned to her, his eyes widening in shock. But instead of yelling like I thought he would, he was running towards her, ignorant of the fight going on around him.

Seeing a vampire coming up behind him, I opened my mouth to scream a warning but Matt turned around, twisting the neck of the vampire and throwing them to the ground before wrapping his arms around his mate.

I looked further, searching desperately for Zacky, and my eyes met a pair of green ones which were staring at me in absolute fear and want.

Kayla get out! Run! They can’t see you!

Defiantly, I took a step forwards, the light shining down onto me through the clearing. Zacky let out a menacing wail, charging forwards and engaging in a fight with a vampire that was running towards him. I felt a tear escape my eye as another vampire came up behind him, but in a split second Jimmy was at his side, throwing him to the ground.

My eyes sought out the others, and they widened at who I saw standing in the clearing, blood staining his face.

Liam. He was fighting for us.

His eyes met mine for a split second, and fear clouded them before he winked at me, turning away and charging at another vampire. I looked to the far right at a familiar head of long black hair, an automatic smile finding its way onto my face at the sight of my best friend surrounded by a pile of bodies. She sure held her own.

Brian was staggering, his arm dripping with scarlet blood but a determined expression on his face. He looked up, his eyes meeting mine, and he froze in his spot. “No,” I could hear his whisper from here, and see the fear in his eyes. He let out a grunt as he charged forwards, crying out as he wrapped his arms around the neck of another vampire.

”Why the hell do I get such a crappy power? As if anyone gives a damn whether people are lying right now. For god’s sake,” he grunted, his breath coming out in ragged pants as he continued to fight.

I searched desperately for Johnny, my heart aching for him. But no matter how far I looked, I couldn’t see him at all. It was like he disappeared. And that made my breath become caught in my throat, and my eyes begin to burn with unshed tears.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Came an angry yell from the left, and I looked over to see a furious Layton, staring after a head of blonde hair who was moving away from him.

Sammi?

“Get back here!” he shouted, his red eyes blazing.

But she didn’t even turn around. Her feet were pounded against the floor, her eyes set with a purpose, her stance stronger than I had ever seen her before.

Following her eyes, I let out a soft cry as I noticed Brian lying on the ground, his arm stained with blood. My feet began to carry me over but I stopped, realising that she was going to him for me.

She broke out into a run, weaving through the armies of people and dead bodies, her blonde hair dancing with the wind. She stopped behind Brian and he looked up, and I could only just make out the twinkle in both of their eyes. I could see the tear that ran down her face as she pulled him up, cupping his cheeks with her hands and pushing her lips against his.

Brian forced himself up, crashing his lips harder against hers. They pulled away, identical smiles on their faces despite of the situation, their hands holding the other’s cheeks. “I love you,” I heard him whisper, and I smiled as I saw the way her eyes lit up. And suddenly, it all made sense. Every look, every shout; why she changed. He had never been plotting against me, and he had never betrayed us. He was in love. Sammi was his mate.

They turned away from each other again, their hands tightly clenched around each others. I looked back to see Layton steaming with fury, his shouts echoing out across the atmosphere.

I turned back around, my eyes seeking out my mate. I watched as he fought with another vampire, their arms clenched tightly around the other’s neck, both trying to get the upper hand. I let out a loud gasp as Zacky fell to the floor, his head hitting painfully against the ground below. I could feel my body shake with the impact, and before I knew what I was doing a cry had left my mouth and I was running towards him, ignorant of the eyes that were now on me. “Kayla, no! Go back!” It was Matt that shouted, but I couldn’t stop myself. I had to get to him. I had to make sure that he was okay.

It happened in a split second. There were simultaneous screams of my name, their cries sounding out loudly in my ears. I could feel my heart thumping in my chest and hear my breaths coming out in pants as they left my mouth, and feel the touch of the ground as my feet padded against it. The danger was overwhelming me, and time seemed to slow down as I turned around, my eyes dropping open at the sight of a vampire beside me, I large knife in his hands.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact.

It never came.

Because suddenly, I heard a deafening cry and my eyes shot open, immediately catching onto the blood that was now flooding around me. I looked down, a shout escaping my lips at what I saw.

Because I had finally found him.

He was there, lying down with blood flowing out of a gash in his chest, dying on the floor. His face was tainted with agony, his hazel eyes slowly clouding over at the cries that escaped his lips. He sought out my own, and I dropped to my knees beside him, sobs leaving my mouth and tears falling down my cheeks. My heart felt like it was breaking as his pale face turned to me, and he forced his lips up into a pained smile. “I love you, Kayla,” he croaked, his words gashing my heart.

Even when he was dying in front of me his love never wavered. Even when it was my fault and my ignorance that had left him to die.

He had saved me, and as a result, he was dying.

Johnny.