Fate of the Blessed
Chapter 7

Amara

The voice led me along the barren street, its grey hues and endless pavements bringing to mind an old black and white movie. It was mesmerising to behold. I stared in fascination at the odd window of neon pastel lights and I wondered whether anything dwelled behind them, but the quietness of the area told me this was unlikely. My bare feet flopped against the cold, damp cobbles as I ambled along, picking my path over the uneven surface. Trying to be careful not to fall.

The sound echoed along the street causing my heart to rise to my throat as I wasn’t sure if it would attract anything.. unsavoury. The haunting melody of my name kept me going, straying further from the safety of the cottage.

“Come to me.” The disembodied voice was almost sing song and despite the dread growing in the pit of my stomach, I had no choice but to follow it. I continued on in my trance-like state when I came to a sudden stop. The fog in my brain cleared somewhat. I stood with my mouth agape.

Could this place get any weirder? 

In front of me, the buildings faded away. The pavement morphed into fine grained sand that led to a well-worn wooden boardwalk. I let my eyes follow along until it led up into an old abandoned fairground. I settled on a flickering sign hanging from a rusted entranceway. Glowing bright white lightbulbs illuminated it, casting an eerie shadow. More than a few had been broken. In huge bubble style writing the words “Funland” were lit up, it left an eerie glow beneath the entrance. The imposing sign beckoned me to come inside. It appeared as if it was daring, not taunting me to find out what lay inside its walls. I figured it wasn’t anything good.  

Funland? That I doubted.

I hesitated before carrying on and tried hard to drag my feet, but curiosity burned inside of me and despite my apprehension, I let the intrigue take over.

My brow knitted into a frown as I walked underneath the flickering sign. An old, dilapidated ticket booth stood to the right. For a moment I thought I saw a flash of light illuminating inside revealing a shadowy figure, but as quick as it came it disappeared. I stepped further into the amusement park. Old rusted rides filled the space like metal beasts imprisoning their prey. Aluminium behemoths that blocked out most of the night sky above.

Is this a good idea?

I followed up the middle walkway until I stopped outside of a broken-down merry-go-round. It held a sense of foreboding, like it was mocking me. A shiver ran up my spine, and the hairs on my arms stood to attention. This wasn’t a fairground where happy memories lived. It was where nightmares lived. This entire world was like one big, psychedelic mind trip. An uneasiness had settled in the bottom of my stomach. The disembodied voice had stopped. It was eerily quiet, the calm before the storm. Silence was not a good sign.

I heard rustling behind me. The hairs on the back of my neck joined the ones on my arms, standing to attention. I tensed, my fists balled up so tight the pain struck where my nails pierced my palms. It will have drawn blood. I steeled myself to turn around, but before I did a chilly hand placed itself on my shoulder. Panicking, I spun around on my heel and let my fist fly out on instinct. It connected with a target. Pain shot through my knuckles, and I cradled it with my other hand as a cry left my lips.  

“What the hell? What did you do that for?” Connor said, dabbing at his bloodied nose. If looks could kill, I’d be dead on the floor.  

“Oh, my god, I’m so sorry!” my hands flew to my mouth in surprise. He was the last person I’d thought I’d find here! Wait, what the hell was he doing here?

“That’s a pretty good left hook you have there.” He let a wry smile spread across his lips. His frown returned when he dabbed at his nose. I didn’t like when his face scrunched in anger. It looked foreign on him to lose his boyish charm.

“Why are you out here?” I folded my arms to seem like the punch hadn’t hurt my hand. In reality, it throbbed like a mother clucker.

“I was following a voice, but it stopped here.” I said, pointing to the merry-go-round behind. We both looked at it. Nothing moved. Even the decrepit behemoths would not give up their secrets. Connor raised his eyebrow at me, as though I’d just gone mad. He folded his arms across his chest, his lips pursed in disapproval.

“I know what you’re thinking, I know this is crazy.” I pleaded with him, but he just shook his head before pinching the bridge of his nose.

“You snuck out by yourself. They might have killed you! All for a bloody disembodied voice!” He continued to ramble on. I hung my head in embarrassment. His anger rolled off of him in waves. I kept my head down. He was right. I hadn’t only put myself in danger, but Connor, too.

“I’m sorry.”

He unfolded his arms and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. The merry-go-round sprang to life; horses bobbed up and down; music echoed across the fair in a haunting cacophony. Connor and I spun around on our heels. Shock covered our faces. From in-between the horses came a young woman sauntering as if she were here for a day out. Her cropped platinum locks shined in the light. She held an ornate bow at her side. The ride shuddered and stopped; she stood at the top of the stairs.

She laughed; it carried off into the wind, taking the atmosphere with it and leaving us void of emotion; she stood smiling, but her eyes were emotionless and uncaring. She was here for a prize and, by the way she stared, that was me. It sent a shiver up my spine; it was like I was her prey and I had stepped right into her trap. I cursed myself for my stupidity.  

My belly did flip-flops as I looked on in disbelief. I took an instinctive step back; I wanted to gain as much distance as possible from her. I stole a glance at Connor. His eyes were wide with shock.

“Who are you?!” I said. She stopped smiling, and her thin lips curled into a sneer.

“Amara, It is nice to meet you.” She said as she took the step painstaking slow, toying with us like a lion would its catch.

How does she know my name?

Her eyes flared in anger when I didn’t respond. She jumped from the ride, striding towards Connor and me. We jumped back; she stopped, her eyes flaring with anger. I looked at Connor, who responded with a puzzlement on his face.

“Nemesis, I’m glad you held onto these two for me.” It was Phobos. My body tensed in response to his gravelly tone. Some might have said it was sexy. I’d begged to differ. Connor pulled me closer to him as we tried desperately to search for an exit. They trapped us between Nemesis and Phobos, who stared at each other with daggers in their eyes. Tension hung in the air, so thick a knife would slide through it. It was suffocating.

Oh, just fucking great.

“Don’t stare into his eyes.” I said in a hushed tone.

Connor gave no verbal response, but he squeezed my hand. How could I have gotten us into this mess? I prayed Connor had something up his sleeve. Deep in thought, I hadn’t seen Deimos stride behind his brother.

“Connor, Amara!” Shanti said, wriggling as Deimos kept a tight hold on her shoulder. He didn’t move as if it was no effort at all. My stomach dropped to the floor. This was all going horribly wrong.

Deimos pulled her back as if she was nothing more than a rag-doll. I stood thinking about what to do. ’Tis was all too much for me. I struggled for a solution. It wasn’t everyday you were wedged between three psychopaths. Bravery wasn’t a strong suit of mine; I wanted this to be a dream; to wake up with Snappy looking at me from his terrarium. I instead elected to stay silent.

“Let her go.” I heard Connor say. Phobos sniggered.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Nemesis sashay in front of me, her movements cat-like and gracious. Like a lioness stalking her prey before she moved in for the kill. She stopped a few feet in front of Phobos. Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. The tension in the air suffocating. 

“This is my hunt.” She spat, looking him up and down with disgust on her face. The very thought of him leaving a foul taste in her mouth.

“I know.” He said, shrugging his shoulders. A sly grin spread across his lips, like he didn’t have a care.

I guess these two have history?

The anger filled the surrounding air. My head darted to either side, waiting for somebody to make their move. I needed to get Shanti away from Deimos. I let guilt fill my heart. It was all my fault that we were in this situation. I shouldn’t have left the cottage. As they were arguing, they had forgotten about us. Nemesis notched an arrow to her bow; she was furious at the interruption. She pointed it straight at Phobos’ head; he didn’t move, just stared her straight in the eye. Now was my chance. I refused to be helpless anymore.

If I can just get to her.

Connor took action first. It all continued in slow motion from there. It didn’t register with me when Nemesis notched an arrow on her bow; it didn’t register when she let it sing and it didn’t register when I saw it flying towards me.

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