27

ELEANOR
It was perfect weather today, not too hot or too cold, and the occasional blow of the wind against my face should’ve felt just right. I should be basking in it since it doesn’t happen very often, but I couldn’t stop the uneasy feeling building up in my chest as I watched Clara walk away.
Something about her made the warm, nice weather feel like it was choking the air out of me. It is safe to say I knew Clara well enough, and at the moment, I was almost certain that she was keeping something away from me, and I just couldn’t understand why she would. She’s also been acting strangely since the incident yesterday, so there was that, too.
The Clara from my childhood would scream at the sight of impending danger, making sure I never got myself in trouble either, and I wouldn’t say she was pushing me into it at the moment because I was determined to do it with or without support, but her immediate agreement left me on edge and it was owing to the fact that her eyes seemed to be begging me for the opposite. That and how weirdly she’d been acting lately.
I had tossed and turned around on my bed all night, trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle that was now Clara’s mind, but I couldn’t, for the life of me, come up with what it might be that could have her behaving the way she was and I knew Jasmine wouldn’t have an idea either.
Now watching her walk away when it seemed she’d been so close to letting me in on something that was bothering her, I was left in an anxious mess, but I think I’d handled the interruption pretty well, as I didn’t want to scare her into crawling back into her shell. Her smile as she agreed to talk about it later was supposed to be enough for me, but it wasn’t. I just couldn’t shake off the feeling that there might not be a later as I slowly trailed behind her to the task room.
I was more than relieved when I found out we were to be working at the farm together. This was the perfect opportunity to ask what was wrong, but then everything was ruined in the blink of an eye when I found out I was paired with Jasmine and Clara, with someone else. We were also stationed on almost opposite sides of the large farm, so much for a perfect opportunity.
A sigh escaped my lips as I dug deep into the ground using the tool that was given to me.
“Spill it out Eleanor, you know you’re the most useless when something is bothering you, all you’re doing is adding more to the task at hand” Jasmine points out with a frown as she nods towards the holes I’d been digging, a lot deeper than the shallow holes we were asked to make.
“Sorry, sorry. I will throw some dirt over them now, ” I apologized quickly, sighing in relief when there was no guard in sight as I grabbed a shovel and began covering the holes.
“You know, I noticed you haven’t exactly been yourself since yesterday. Are you still thinking about the incident? I already said I’d help with getting some information that you might need. Does that not help?” Jasmine asks, concerned, and I shake my head, “That’s not it? What’s the problem then?”
“Is it just me, or has Clara been acting strange lately?” I finally asked.
“Clara?”
“Yes… it seems to me that she has a lot on her mind lately, and it’s causing her to act differently. You know, I also wasn’t expecting her to agree to my decision to find Easton, and so easily too. I wouldn’t say I was expecting her to be all calm after the incident with the slave’s death yesterday, but she’s been acting way differently ever since. Something is wrong, and I can feel it.” I finished, and she nodded in understanding.
“Well, I noticed it too, but I wanted to believe that it had been just my imagination, but seeing that you noticed it too, I must’ve been right. Have you confronted her about it?” Jasmine asked, and I shook my head.
“She came to me this morning. There was something she wanted to say, but she was interrupted by the announcement. Something about finding something. I’d gotten that much from her words, but what could it be that she found?” I thought out loud and heard Jasmine gasps.
“What if she’s found her mate?” Jasmine whispers, and I frown, quickly shutting down the suggestion. It wasn’t possible that she had. I’d like to believe she wouldn’t be so skeptical and tell me about it right away if she ever finds her mate.
“I doubt she has. She would have informed me about it immediately, Jasmine. It is not her mate. I think it’s something more im-”
I suddenly screamed out in pain as a loud ringing filled my ears. It felt like radio static and metal scratching at the ground at the same time, and it filled my head, making it pulsate.
I grabbed my head with both my hands as it seemed to only get louder, I could also feel something begin to drip down my ears and, soon, my eyes, too.
“Eleanor!!! What’s wrong!!!? Oh my goddess! You are bleeding… wait, I’m going to go find help!” Jasmine gasped in panic, but I was quick to grab her before she could begin to run.
“Don’t!!! Please don’t… don’t call anyone, ” I breathed out, letting go to grasp at my ears again as the static noise grew impossibly loud.
“But you are bleeding, y-y-you are fucking bleeding, Eleanor!!” Jasmine yells, increasing the pressure in my head.
“My head… the sound… just make it stop, please” l cried out.
“What noise, Eleanor? What are you ta…………………”
I could see Jasmine’s lips continue to move but the sound coming out of them suddenly fades into nothing. The static noise suddenly stopped too and so did the pain and before I could panic about no longer hearing Jasmine, it happened.
Softly like the wind on my skin, I could hear the voice of someone. It was there, but still indistinguishable. I probably zoned out of the real world as I tried to focus, struggling to make something out of it. It seemed like someone was calling out to me and focusing seemed to help. I froze the clearer it became. That voice.
That wasn’t just anyone. It was Clara, crying! She had contacted me through the pack link, the one that I’d thought to be broken the day our pack was destroyed, but I could hear her crying as she reached out to me. She was in danger!
Without wasting time, I scrambled off the bare floor that I had no idea when I’d fallen onto and I rushed in her direction as the smell of blood suddenly struck me, almost sending me back to the ground. I could smell the fear of someone hitting me in waves and that could only mean the person was headed towards me, but I still quickened my pace, now breaking into a full sprint.
Soon, I could see the person break into my line of vision. It was a slave, the person whose fear I could smell from miles away. Something had to have spooked her enough to have her reeking of mortification.
I ran up to her, grabbing her by the shoulders and struggling to hold her still as she continued to scream and cry until I yelled for her to shut the hell up.
“What’s wrong?” I asked when she seemed calm enough.
“H-h-he is going to kill her…. I-I-I had taken a bathroom break and when I came back, h-h-he was choking her, he is going to kill her, he will!” The slave cried as she spoke and I could feel my rage boil over at the thought of someone hurting Clara.
“P-p-please save me” I heard the faint call again, faint, as if she was slowly loosing her breath.
Ignoring the girl’s call, I charged in the direction Clara’s voice was leading me, my fist clenched tightly and my heart drumming against its cage.
As I marched towards her, the only thing I could think about was death. The overwhelming need to tear whoever was behind this to shreds. I didn’t know how I would do it yet, but I could swear I would.
When I finally arrived, Clara was on the floor, with the guard’s hands wrapped tightly around her neck, her fingers that were clawing at his hands slowly fell to the ground while he laughed maniacally and that was all it took for me to snap.
I could feel the rage coming from within me. I wasn’t sure if it was just my face growing hot with rage or my whole body as my brain continued to chant the words ‘Kill’ over and over again.
“Kill, kill him, and tear him to unrecognizable pieces. Kill him.”