To Fall (The To Fall Trilogy Book 1)
Read To Fall (The To Fall Trilogy Book 1) Online
Authors: Donna AnnMarie Smith
Copyright 2015 Donna AnnMarie Smith
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
My love, my light, my all.
To believe is the next greatest gift to love.
Thank you for both.
1
The dream changed, assimilating my real life into this dream world. The dark world. The world that appeared when I closed my eyes and refused my release until the evil found me.
The beginning was always the same, though. I woke up within my dream and sensed it before my eyes opened. On first glance, there wasn’t anything different about my room, but that did nothing to ease the prickle of raised hairs on my neck. It was coming. Nearing. Closing in on me.
Sucking in a deep breath, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and strained to hear any noises within the house. The normal bustle downstairs from my parents making breakfast was missing. I didn’t hear my sisters fighting over the last of the Cocoa Puffs. Even the bitter scent of Margaret’s coffee was absent; she was usually downstairs by now, desperate for a caffeine fix.
Pushing the covers off, my toes tapped the carpet in search of my sneakers. I slipped into them, and the scratchy fabric scraped against the tender skin of my feet. My stomach churned with unease. I had to hurry. It would find me here.
A shiver ran through me and my skin bristled with goose bumps from the Arctic breeze of the air conditioner; Dad was notorious for setting it too low. Being cold was temporary and the least of my problems.
My door creaked open and I peered into the hall. Grimacing, I realized how I was dressed and contemplated darting back into my room to change, but there were worse things than rocking a nightgown peppered in pink ice cream cones. I stepped down the stairs and poked my head over the wooden banister. Nothing. At the landing, the green light shone on the house alarm; maybe everyone was out in the backyard with the dog.
I snatched Mom’s car keys off the hook and opened the front door. The heat leaked onto my skin before the brightness hit my eyes. The summer Arizona sun was intense, even early in the morning. Squinting, I blinked away the tears gathered in the corners of my eyes and waited for my vision to adjust while I looked for the silver Camry. I hated not telling my parents or Margaret I was leaving, and guilt racked me for taking Mom’s car. I didn’t make a habit of either of these, but options were few. I had to draw it away from my home, away from my family.
It only wanted me.
It wouldn’t stop until it had me.
The ball of unease in my gut leaked into my blood and raced through my veins as my feet carried me down the driveway. Mom couldn’t park in the garage since the air conditioner broke. Water damaged the drywall and pieces of ceiling dangled on one side that were sure to crash down at any moment. Dad fixed the unit right away, because air conditioners were a necessity by March in the Valley of the Sun. After constant nagging from Mom and hours of YouTube videos, Dad was convinced he could repair the damage. But we all knew, after five months, Mom was never parking in the garage again.
Finally, I reached the Camry. Fear, heat, and racked nerves were a bad combo. My heart thudded, breaths came in harsh pants, and sweat dotted my forehead. Whipping my head in all directions, I scanned the area like a tweaked out Secret Service agent and found nothing.
Focusing on the remote, tinny clangs of the keys shook in my hand. I depressed the button, but the locks didn’t release. Looking up and down the street once more, I sensed it like walls erecting all around me. I tried to force my body to relax by taking in another cleansing breath, but the air was too dry in my throat.
I thrust the key into the lock, metal ground against metal, and I gripped the handle, cursing at the blistering heat on my palm. Sliding into the seat, the air inside the cabin was stagnant and too hot to breathe; I left the door open. The leather seats scorched the back of my thighs and the cotton nightgown stuck to my back.
Checking the side mirrors, then the rearview, I spotted it and my blood went cold. It was at the end of the street, unmoved, watching me. Its form was like a human, but I was certain it wasn’t. It felt masculine. Aggressive. Powerful. Dark.
Evil
. It hid in the shadows as though the purity of the sun would destroy it. The form or look of it wasn’t as important as the feeling it gave me. Its desperation was palpable from this distance. It wanted to hurt me.
I forced my trembling hand to stab the key into the ignition and cranked it. The engine was silent. No radio. No dashboard lights.
Nothing
. A familiar, dull ache began to spread through my chest with the realization of what this meant.
I had to run.
Here was where I abandoned all common sense. If I were watching a movie, I would be screaming at the stupid girl to go back inside the house, grab the biggest knife she could find, and call for help. But even if I were Matrixed with some serious ninja skills, a knife wouldn’t help me. Bullets wouldn’t stop this thing.
The help I needed was out here with me, somewhere. But I had to find him first.
With all of my being, I had faith he would save me.
Throwing my feet back out of the car, I stared at the black asphalt. I said a silent prayer and ran. Within seconds, my chest screamed for me to stop. Each heartbeat was strained, my lungs burned with effort, my leg muscles so unfamiliar with this type of exertion. Feeling the evil encroaching, I pushed harder, faster. The slap of sneaker on the asphalt competed with my loud gasps of breath.
There weren’t any neighbors backing their cars out of their driveways, the dogs weren’t barking at their wooden gates, and no one was outside doing yard work. The cicadas in the Palo Verde trees were silent; the absence of birds’ chirping was disturbing. It was as though this was planned, to wipe the neighborhood of life, leaving just me.
I was all alone.
My eyes darted over my shoulder. It was still there, glaring at me with black eyes, mocking my efforts of escape. It knew it would catch me, and I knew I couldn’t outrun it, yet I ran anyway. It played with me like a pawn in its sick game. I ignored the crushing pain in my chest, the stretch of sore muscle, and the need to breathe.
He’s not here
. Frantically, I looked for him in doorways, behind saguaros, inside car windows. I opened my mouth to call for him, but he didn’t have a name.
The street looked blurry, and I blinked lashes that were wet with tears. A lump formed in my throat, blocking my scream. He couldn’t have abandoned me to this. He never has before.
My legs were ready to give out and my heart was on the brink of explosion. The pain was unbearable, but I knew once I stopped, the evil would take me away. Take me away from him.
Wiping my face, the street appeared tilted. My feet stumbled to find the ground; my bones were pliable like rubber. I pitched forward and the ground rushed up. Rolling along the asphalt, my flesh tore and stretched, exposed skin burned against the ground as if I were resting on a stovetop.
My lungs constricted, and no matter how hard I tried, air wouldn’t come. The fiery pain in my chest was consuming. The pounding in my ears faded to nothing. Blackness entered my vision and I let it take me. I prayed for it to take me before the evil did. My fight was over.
He never came
.
My eyes slid closed, and a light different than the sun came over me. The light was sweet, comforting, loving. The light wasn’t earthly but beautiful. I felt peace, knowledge that I was a part of this Universe instead of one lost, insignificant human.
Weightlessness took me and heat grew in my chest. A breeze wafted over that wasn’t there before and it smelled clean, pure, as though I were inside clouds. The pain in my heart subsided and air entered my lungs.
“Abby,” he whispered, but to me it was a bellow of hope.
My heart swelled. It was
him
. He was here. He didn’t abandon me.
Before opening my eyes, thoughts rushed through my mind. I didn’t reflect on my life, how lucky I was, or how much my family loved me. Ridiculous, girly notions that I really should have changed my clothes and brushed my teeth before escaping, replaced those important, significant contemplations.
The hand over my heart lifted and fingers swept along my cheek, pushing my tears away. I felt him cradle me flush to his chest that was bare and firm. Something soft danced over my eyelids. Lips.
“Abby.” His voice was low, husky, and pleading.
Opening my eyes, there was a gentle glow surrounding him. Though I had his face memorized, I stared, unable to look away from his beauty. Tousled dark brown hair hung above his brow, just long enough for my fingers to itch to run through it. His nose was straight, set between molded, high cheekbones. His jaw was strong but not too chiseled. His lips were pink and full, the kind of lips I had to kiss at least once in my life. And those eyes. Behind each almond-shaped lid, lay a bed of caramel spun with mossy green. I could stay here for eternity counting those swirls, learning their patterns, becoming lost to their depths.
His arms were strong, warm, and encompassed me in his safety. Wrapped around me, I fit against him. Made for him. I belonged to him. He was my home.
Dipping his head closer to me, his eyes searched mine and his mouth tugged up in one corner. Breaths hitched in my chest and my pulse raced, knowing what that smile meant. Closing my eyes, I relinquished to his hold, his love.
His lips were like a whisper, so tender, sealing over mine. The pressure deepened, demanded more and I willingly gave it. Gripping me tighter, his tongue teased between us, sweeping in like warm velvet. Heat pooled, spreading to every part of me. The kiss became desire and passion. A force beyond my comprehension drew us together. Always here. All question and doubt were lost to the trust and love my heart held for him.
Long fingers dug into my skin, and his kiss morphed into desperation as though this one moment of bliss was all we were given. The light surrounding him brightened and I opened my eyes. Torment reflected back at me. He was too glorious a creature to know the pain this world could bring. He was too pure for Earth’s cruelty.
Hazel eyes spilled with tears and his body trembled around me as he cried out. The raw anguish in his voice ripped through me, fissuring my heart. He put his forehead to mine and begged, “Forgive me.”
Cold broke through his warmth, drove past my skin, leached into my core, and tainted my soul. The darkness reached for me, blackened all light, wrenched me away from my savior, and submerged me into its abyss.
A scream tore out of my throat.
Hands grabbed mine and held me down, bringing me back from the darkness. “You’re okay. You’re safe, Abby. You’re awake now and I’m right here,” Margaret assured me.
Panting, I glanced up to her worried, dark eyes. The beeping over my head was relentless. The loud blips of the monitor matched my heart in their rapid staccato that had begun to slow down, still beating much too fast. I hated when the volume was on, but hearing the sure sign I was alive comforted Margaret. At some point during my nightmare, my earbuds went astray. I’d have to find them later to shut the damn beeping out.
Margaret’s head whipped over her shoulder and hissed, “Make yourself useful and get her parents.”
I looked to see who the poor person was on the receiving end of her wrath today. Large hands gripped the bed rail so hard, the tanned skin of his knuckles were white. Following up his tall frame, faded scrubs fit snug to an insanely muscled body. He wore a hospital mask that was a bit odd for staff to wear if they weren’t in surgery. Dark hair peeked out of his tight blue cap. But what I saw between the cap and the mask had my heart racing all over again.
It wasn’t possible
.
Those hazel eyes pierced into mine and I opened my mouth to talk to him, but he turned to leave.
“Wa…wait,” I choked out. The spasm in my chest overtook me. I coughed, hacked, and fought like hell to control it. “Ple…ase!” I heaved myself up to get closer to him. “Na…me.” That was all I could get out around the coughing.
His back tensed and he paused as though he considered turning back toward me.
Please,
I willed him.
Talk to me. Who are you?
What is your name? How do you exist?
He left.