Unbound: A Siren's Quest for Freedom

By Zoe D Targett

Freedom means nothing if you're the only one free.

Stefan has only ever wanted a peaceful, normal life without harming anyone...but that's not the life he was given.

Growing up with two brilliant sisters, Kesia has always wondered why she was born...she needed to find meaning in her life.

When these two lost souls meet, a new hope arises for both of them. A chance to right the wrongs and give meaning to their lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jan 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9781528947589

Zoe D Targett

Zoe was born and raised in Devon; she is now living in Kent, having moved there in 2004. She was raised with a love and respect for reading and writing. Zoe has travelled widely in the UK and abroad, including Washington DC; six weeks travelling across Australia, taking in Western Australia, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra; and two visits to Japan, visiting most of the major cities there. She worked for over ten years as a nursery nurse but is now concentrating on her writing and other artistic pursuits, as well as volunteering at a local charity bookshop.

Book preview

Epilogue

About the Author

Zoe was born and raised in Devon; she is now living in Kent, having moved there in 2004. She was raised with a love and respect for reading and writing.

Zoe has travelled widely in the UK and abroad, including Washington DC; six weeks travelling across Australia, taking in Western Australia, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra; and two visits to Japan, visiting most of the major cities there.

She worked for over ten years as a nursery nurse but is now concentrating on her writing and other artistic pursuits, as well as volunteering at a local charity bookshop.

Dedication

To my nan, Vera ‘Vicky’ Targett. Your belief in me never died (1927–2007).

Copyright Information

Copyright © Zoe D Targett (2019)

The right of Zoe D Targett to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781788238946 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781788238953 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781528947589 (E-Book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2019)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

Acknowledgements

First, I would like to give thanks to my English teachers, Mrs Hamlyn from my primary school and Mr Ferguson from my secondary. Although my spelling was never great, you saw through that and inspired the potential within me.

On the subject of teachers, I also want to give thanks to David Smith, a diligent volunteer who ran the Creative Writing group I attended in my adult life. He helped push the imagination into overdrive with fun prompts and sometimes unusual story plots.

Through the process of writing this book, I did not show many people its contents, but one exception was a former work manager of mine, Kim Ziolkowski. Sharing the same taste in books as yours truly, as well as being a great manager, she was kind enough to not only read, but give an outsider’s opinion on my (at the time) budding novel. She was only able to read the first few chapters before she regrettably had to move to another location, but her encouraging words and feedback will forever stay with me, and for that, I thank her.

I would also like to mention Richard Burridge, someone who has been helping me this past year to come out of my shell. In fact, without him coming across a certain publisher’s advert in his magazine, this may have never been possible.

And lastly, but never the least, I would like to thank my parents, Suzanne and David. Without these two, I would have never learnt the enjoyment of reading. I had always had many stories in my head, but if it wasn’t for my parents, those stories would have never made it to paper, and now, writing my stories is a part of my life, a part I never want to stop doing.

So thank you, all of you.

Chapter 1

Stefan—

Well…once again, I had sated my appetite…for now anyway. As I got up from the bed, I looked back towards the girl, still sleeping. Around 19, pretty good looking with chestnut brown hair spreading over her tanned skin with a light sprinkle of freckles on her upper arms…such a shame.

I felt disgusted with myself, always destroying the lives of innocent women. But it was the only way I knew how to survive…that was not how it should be…I hated myself more and more every time.

I put my clothes back on as quietly as I could to avoid waking up the girl and tiptoed to the window. The cool breeze of an early dawn caressed my face as I opened the window. Grabbing the windowsill, I carefully avoided looking back at the bed as I jumped out into the sunrise, gently landing on the velvet grass of the inn’s garden. No one around…good, I did not want trouble.

But as I started heading out of the grounds, I had an uneasy feeling that someone, unseen, was watching me. I looked around but I saw no one. Putting it down to the terrible guilt that I felt, I shrugged off the unseen eyes and continued along my path.

The path I took to escape my crime was pretty generic, at least to me. I would always establish a place to escape to before…feeding. I would always escape to the woods and normally set myself by a quiet river so all I had to do was follow the sound of water once I entered the dense woods. But that simple rule I followed also allowed my mind to wander, making it almost impossible to block out the horrors that were always in the back of my mind but surfaced in times like these.

I always wondered what my victims would do next. Suicide? Insanity? Inactivity? One of these was always inevitable for them. After 60 years, you would think I was used to it, that the guilt of my conscience would have faded away or at least be easier to carry the burden, but for me at least, it only got worse. No matter what I tried to avoid it, the pain only got stronger, but I would not have it any other way. Despite my seeing no way out of my endless nightmare, I could at least carry the pain with me, no matter how much it tore at my insides, because not feeling any remorse for my actions, was an insult to the memories of those whose lives I had destroyed.

When I finally reached the river, I fumbled around in the nearly hollow tree stump, where my hands found the familiar smooth surface. I gently eased out the flat book that was my sketchbook with a pencil tied to its bindings by a string. With the book in hand, I sat myself at the edge of the riverbank, the calming waters lazily followed its path to the great blue sea, many miles from here.

I opened my sketchbook to a blank page and scanned my surroundings for inspiration. I finally set my sights on a nearby bird’s nest, the brown, speckled mother feeding her tiny chicks as they chirped excitedly. I focused all my energy, letting my creativity flow though my pencil. The lines on the paper felt like my despair was temporarily pushed aside as the picture splayed across the page.

Almost an hour had past and my mind had cleared as I gently put my book aside and sighed, wishing I could just draw forever, maybe I could even take up painting and sell my work or even just hang them up in a gallery somewhere so everyone can enjoy them, but alas I could never have a life of my own choosing like that.

Then suddenly I heard a decidedly loud bang and felt a small object speed past my head and my body stiffened as I slowly turned in the direction of the sound. I saw a forlorn man, aged and tense, with tears streaming down his cheeks. He had a gun pointed directly at my head, I guess I knew what the small object was now. There was something horribly familiar about him, yet I know I had never met him before, so why the familiar feeling?

I slowly got to my feet and turned to face him, he kept his gun steady as he moved its aim to my chest.

You killed her! he spoke with stifled anger in his voice, YOU KILLED HER! This time, his voice boomed around the forest floor and even seemed to disrupt the flow of the stream.

I felt an unpleasant stirring in my gut and realised that the presence I had felt back at the inn was caused by the very man before me; please, do not let it be what I think it is!

I feigned ignorance. I am sorry, I do not know what you are talking about. I lied.

Don’t lie! roared the man, I saw you leave my daughter moments before she jumped out her window to her death!

Suicide. That answered my earlier question regarding her fate. And that familiar feeling, I could see now, he had the same tanned skin as her as well the brown eyes I remembered from when I first found her. This man was the father and I had just taken his daughter from him.

Unable to find the words I needed, I simply stated in a solemn tone, I am sorry…

Sorry won’t bring her back, damn you! the man exclaimed as he squeezed the trigger tighter.

I sighed deeply and decided it was no use trying to talk the man out of his rage. Once again, the forest shook with the sound of a gunshot, and I felt the bullet pierce the fabric of my shirt and ricochet off my chest to fall harmlessly to the ground. The man looked briefly shocked and twice more fired his weapon.

Die…DIE! he raged at me, twisting a mental knife in my mind as the physical attack bounced harmlessly off my pale skin.

Seeing that his bullets had no effect on me, the man dropped to his knees, still loosely holding the gun in his hand. His anger turned to horror as he looked at me with shocked eyes.

What are you? You monster… he asked in a low, shaken voice, No matter how many bullets I fire, you don’t even bleed, not to mention that you took the same jump that claimed my daughter’s life and yet you survived. WHY? Every part of his body showed that he was a broken man…and I had denied him the chance to avenge the girl that he obviously cared a lot about.

Even if I told you, you would not believe me, I answered sadly, I am truly very sorry.

Just when I thought I could not hate myself any more. This had never happened before; someone close to the victim finding me to take revenge. I guess he was watching over her; well, he was her father after all.

I have nothing left to live for… The man suddenly gripped the gun tightly, No…she was all I had left…and now… He slowly moved the gun up his body.

My body went cold as I realised what he was doing. No, wait. Please stop—

I have nothing… he stopped the gun, pressing it against the side of his head, tears still streaming as he eyes glazed over, empty and hollow.

Wait, NOOOOO! I cried out.

Time seemed to freeze. Me, desperately reaching out to stop the man, his hand, squeezing the trigger. Then all I heard was an echoing bang, and I saw red painted on the forest floor, my sketch book, laid forgotten on the stream’s bank.

I did not hear myself scream, I did not feel my legs buckle, all I knew was that it was my fault that the man lying still before me was dead. No, it was my fault that all the girls I had seduced, were never given a chance for a future. I knew that, I hated myself for it but I still buried my head in the sand, trying to ignore the harm I caused. Now I felt like someone had yanked my head out the sand and forced me to look at the horror I had left in my wake.

I did this, me! This is not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair! I frantically cried, tears streaming down my face, holding my head in my hands. I hate it that I could not die, hated that all I caused was pain to everyone around me, including to myself. I was just a monster, a demon in an angel’s form, preying on the minds and hearts of innocent women.

But that was the fate of my kind. After all, we were not human…we destroyed lives to prolong our own. Well, not anymore! Not for me anyway. I would do the only thing that would stop the pain.

Knowing what I must do, a strange calmness washed over me as I pulled my hand up to untie my blue hair-tie and gently wrapped it around my wrist. There was another thing about us that made us different from humans. Allowing my hair to flow free, I set my mind for what I needed to do and I felt my hair change its flowing state, eventually forming huge wings. My powers allowed me to do this, it was natural for me but must be unsettlingly supernatural for ‘normal’ people…normal, I would like to be that myself. Even within my own kind I was different…a freak.

Spreading my ‘wings’, I looked up towards a gap in the tree canopy, closed my eyes and jumped while pushing down hard on my wings, shooting towards the sky. In my emotional state, I could not enjoy the usual free feeling of flying through the air like I normally would, all I longed to do was get to my destination, Willow’s Grove. Home of Mother and where our kind came from.

* * *

As a sea of trees spread out beneath me, I finally spotted the old ruins of an ancient village which marked our home, Willow’s Grove. Its namesake came from the variety of pale willows trees that have made their home around different parts of the ruins. Because of their unusual colour, we have nicknamed them ‘ghost trees’. The only part of the ruins that had escaped both the destruction and the roots of the willows, was the castle in which Mother herself resided in.

Most humans knew to stay away from the grove, we have had a few hunters try to wipe us out, but my sisters never showed them any mercy and the hunters always fell and eventually, gave up all together. For their own sake, it was a good call, no need to waste any more lives than those we had already taken.

I landed on the outskirts of the castle grounds. Mother did not like us dropping in without notice so, as if on cue, Leila appeared to ‘greet’ me. Leila was my oldest sister and Mother’s right hand, a role she took with pride. Her light-blonde hair was untamed as the tips appeared to be as deadly as the spikes she adorned around her neck, but it was her piercing golden eyes that reflected her true nature as they lit up with malicious pleasure whenever someone was in pain.

After taking in my grim appearance, her mouth curled to a small cruel smile, Red suits you, she sneered, pointing to my top. The blood must have sprayed more than I realised, my insides twisted at the thought.

I do not have time for you, Leila. I wish to see Mother.

Well, well, killed a human yourself, did you? smiling as she revelled in my pain.

I flinched, feeling my breath catch. I hurried to compose myself again before giving her any more reason to twist the knife in my mental wounds. Just hurry and call her, I need to speak with her now.

All right, all right, I guess I will watch the drama unfold when she is here, and with that, she turned and glided to Mother’s castle.

Normally I would mutter curses at Leila behind her back, but I had more pressing matters at that moment. Why was it when you are waiting for something or someone to come quickly, time seemed to slow down? In my impatience, I started walking in small circles as I mentally prepared my words.

Brother? Turning at the familiar voice, I saw my little sister Sophie approaching. I had known Sophie all of her life and she had been my only source of sanity in the chaos. Her bright and cheery outlook was the only reason I had left to smile about anymore. This was going to be hard for Sophie, no matter what happened, she would get hurt.

Hey, Sophie, are you doing OK? I responded, trying to mask my grief as I forced a smile, but my fake smile was not fooling anyone.

This is not the time to ask about me, you look like death, She said, annoyed at my lying smile.

I am sorry, Sophie but I would rather not talk about it, I replied in an emotionless voice.

I felt a slight pang in my heart when Sophie looked even more worried. What are you doing here anyway? I thought you hated it here.

Sophie would panic if she knew why I was there, so I chose to dodge the question, I just have some business here. That is all. She would find out soon anyway.

Brother, please, just tell me what happened. You are driving me crazy here!

I walked up to her, resting both my hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes You are better off not knowing, but do not worry, it will all be over soon.

I hated making Sophie upset. She was almost like a daughter to me and I knew that she somehow revered me, though I could not see why. But my influence on her had caused her to be almost just like me, from the similar taste in fashion (to be fair, she gave it a more feminine flair), down to having the same outlook on the way we lived, and how wrong it was. It was as if these thoughts were taboo.

As I felt a familiar powerful presence looming towards the two of us, Sophie stepped behind me, shivering with fear, while every cell in my body urged me to do the same but for Sophie’s sake and my own, I forced myself to remain steady. Showing fear would not help my case. From the shadows of a nearby willow, out stepped a woman, her feet barely touching the grass as she almost floated towards us, conveying an aura of both tremendous power and absolute terror as I clasped my hands together behind my back to stop them from shaking.

The woman was tall and incredibly slender, but instead of making her look frail, her thin frame brought about the image of a human icicle, strong, sharp and cold. Her almost white skin only served to strengthen this analogy. Her hair was the only proof of how ancient she really was as streaks of white could be seen in striking contrast to the rest of her light blonde hair as it fell past her feet, but thanks to her immense magic, not one strand of hair touched the ground…this deadly woman…was Mother.

She stopped just a short distance from me. Even though I was taller than her, her cold, unforgiving eyes seemed to glare down at me, making me feel like the child I was many years ago.

So you wished to have an audience with me? Well, out with it then! she snapped impatiently.

I took a deep breath. There was no point in beating around the bush with her and she would only lose her temper. Mother, I…I wish for you to terminate my life.

Whispers erupted from all over the grove. I did not even realise that we had an audience besides Sophie. Leila had crept back with Mother, leaning against a nearby tree as she grinned, revelling in my pain. There were also many more of my sisters that had come to watch, but I only knew a few by name as I had always kept to myself. Sophie looked very upset as she was about to step forward, but luckily another one of my sisters pulled her away from us. I was grateful for that as I was sure Mother would have punished her for interrupting.

Mother briefly faced the whispering crowd, silencing them with a look, then she turned back to me, her glare sending shivers down my spine, Explain!

Does it matter? Should I not decide my own fate? I said defiantly, even though I was still petrified inside.

At that moment, pain surged through me, my blood felt like it was on fire, my muscles spasmed out of control. Oh my God, the pain! When it stopped, I found myself lying on the ground, Mother standing over me, with her hands outstretched. Out the comer of my eye, I saw Sophie straining against one of my sister’s grip. To my relief, however, she was unable to break free.

This was Mother’s power, to control us using pain and even kill us if she wanted to. In fact, she was the only one that could grant us the peace of death, nothing or no one else could.

You know not to speak to your Mother like that, she whispered, her voice was venomous, When I ask you to do something, you do it. Now, I will say again. Explain!

I got to my feet, breathing heavily, but I was determined, I have had enough, I will not take any more souls. It is not worth this pain. I refuse to be a part of this anymore. If that means my death, then so be it.

Another painful sensation washed over me, knocking me to my knees as I screamed in pain.

You wish to not feed on humans anymore? What do you think you are? You are a siren. You are meant to feed on humans! she yelled angrily. After a while, she stopped the pain and stood a mere inch away from my face to say in a low, deadly voice, You are brought into this world by me. Your purpose is to seduce any female that you can and take their souls from them. That is the only way for you to live and do not forget that.

I shakily lifted myself off the ground and steadied myself as I stood up. There must be another way for us to live without destroying lives. When we feed, it is not just our victim’s lives we destroy… I looked down at the ground, trying to keep my trembling under control, …but the lives of their families, friends and their soulmates that they will never love. I looked up at Mother again. If I die, there will at least be no more female victims.

Silence followed my speech. Mother folded her arms and closed her eyes for a moment. I had no idea what she was thinking, I do not think anyone did. What seemed like an eternity, passed, as we all watched Mother. She suddenly burst out laughing darkly, making us all jump.

You really think I am going to kill you simply because you asked so nicely? Do not be ridiculous! Do you really think I will kill you when you are the only male siren in existence? No chance, you are the only siren able to take the souls of female humans. She paused as if an idea had suddenly dawned on her, However, if you think you can find a way to live without taking the souls of others, I will let you try.

I could not believe what I was hearing, Mother was letting me try another way to live? There must be a catch, this was too easy.

And sure enough, an evil grin spread across her face. But I warn you now, your search will be in vain. There is no other way for you to live. I will give you seven years for you to learn that yourself. If, through some miracle, you are still not taking souls after that, I will grant your wish of your own death for if you do not take souls, you are no good to me. She leant towards to me, lowering her voice again. But I guarantee that you will be back. You cannot go without souls. You will go insane, especially since you cannot die from starvation either.

I gulped. This was a very risky gambit, but I could tell that Mother would not just kill me there and then. No, that would be too easy on me. Mother wanted me to suffer for my disobedience. Still, this was my only choice. Like she said, my search would probably be a dead end, but I had to try. I would not take any more souls, even seven years of suffering would not be enough to redeem myself, not that a siren can ever be redeemed. We were known as monsters disguised as angels.

She straightened up again and stepped away from me, Now leave my grove and do not come back unless you have learnt your lesson and continue to take souls as you have always done.

I clenched my fists, I will not back down. I promise that. But if I do find another way, I promise that I will be back to release everyone from the chains that bind us to you, I said firmly, turning my back on them and walking swiftly away. But not before I caught a glimpse of Mother, jeering at me, clearly not feeling threatened by my promise.

As I reached the edge of the grove, I heard a shout, Brother, wait!

I turned to see Sophie running up to me, my heart sank as I saw her looking terrified, Sophie, I am sorry but I have to do this.

She shook her head, This is crazy. I know taking souls is wrong, but I do not want you to die, Brother. She started to cry and gave me a hard hug, burying her face into my chest.

I felt my heart tighten even more, my eyes were stinging as they tried to tear up. Maybe it was because I had cried too much earlier but whatever the reason, I could not seem to cry right now. Sophie, you know that I love you a lot, but I need to do this. If there is any way for us to live without taking souls, I will gladly do it.

But to say that you would rather die than take souls. Brother, if you died, I—I would not know what to do. She continued to sob into my chest.

I gently put my hand on her head, stroking her till she calmed down, I am sorry, really, I am. One day you will understand why I am doing this. Who knows, if I find a way to live without hurting others, maybe we can all live without feeding on souls.

After a while of her crying, Sophie raised her head to look at me, still watery-eyed, I will see you again, right?

I could not lie to her, I really do not know, but I promise that I will do everything in my power to see you again. If I do, I swear it will be to make you smile again. I started to move away from her, I did not want to make this any more difficult than it already was. Take care of yourself, Sophie.

Brother…

Once again, I stretched my ‘wings’, ready to take flight again. Goodbye, Sophie. Then I pushed down on my wings and flew towards the sky. My last view of Sophie, tear-stained, her golden hair flowing free, blowing in the wind…

* * *

This was insane! It had been two months already and nothing!

I guess, it was stupid of me to think that humans would have the answers, but I did not know where else to go. I was quite good at blending in, apart from my yellow eyes, I looked mostly human.

My first thought, for trying to find the answers I needed, was to try and look for it in books, but try as I may, I could not find anything. I had been to every library I could get to and nothing. I could use the device that the humans called a ‘computer’ but honestly, those things scared me and my head would spin just thinking about them.

The worst thing was, I was starving and I still had not found a way to sate my hunger. This was getting dangerous. The women around here were tempting me so much. The siren part of me wanted to forget this researching, grab the next woman to come along and take her soul, while the other part was refusing to do so.

No, I could not think about them. Think about how else to research a way.

Normally I would have fed about a month ago. I was surprised to have lasted so long, though I did not know how much longer I could last.

As I held my head in my hands in frustration, I heard someone approaching me.

Excuse me, sir, do you need some help?

I turned to see a woman looking at me with concern. I guess I looked distressed. I certainly felt it. But that was not the problem. No, I am fine. Thank you, I forced out, trying not looking at her; as she looked so tempting.

Are you sure? Well if you do need anything, just let me know.

I need your soul, give me your soul! Damn it, no! I ran out of the building as fast as I could, not caring what anyone thought of me; trust me, a little rude pushing from me was nothing compared to what damage I could have done if I lost control. As soon as I was in a quiet area, I let my hair loose and flew as far away as I could.

* * *

I felt so weak, I had deliberately stayed away from humans, for I felt that I had lost control of myself and would not be able to stop myself from feeding.

This was bad. How could I find a way to feed without harming others if there was no way to look for it?

I leaned against a tree, my arms trembling, trying to hold myself up. I knew I could not die from starvation, so what would become of me, would I wander these woods forever, barely staying on my feet? Would I just fall down and never get up or, heaven forbid, would I lose myself, forget my purpose and take souls from every female I saw?

I would tie myself to a tree before that happened.

I pushed myself away from the tree and tried to walk again but I felt my feet stumbling, tripping over themselves. Darkness began to creep into my vision and I started to feel dizzy.

The last thing I remembered was the darkness embracing me as I fell…

Chapter 2

Kesia: Aged 7-

Kesia…Kesia, are you listening?

I jumped in my seat after hearing my name. Looking up, I saw Mr Reynolds watching me, tapping his feet impatiently. Uh oh!

Sorry, sir, I was…er…thinking about my answer. I lied. To tell the truth, I was thinking about what to do after school, these classes made my head hurt. I couldn’t wait until I was older when the classes got more interesting.

And your answer is…?

I bit my lip. Of course, I knew as soon as I saw the question on the whiteboard behind him that no amount of thinking would give me the answer. Sorry, sir, I don’t know… I admitted, lowering my head.

Mr Reynolds sighed, Kesia, how old are you?

Lowering my head even more, I mumbled, Seven, sir.

And you still don’t know how to do simple additions?

I didn’t answer this time, I just lowered my head even more, almost hitting my desk. But luckily, the school bell rang for home time.

Mr Reynolds sighed again, Class dismissed, he told everyone, but motioned to me, Can I see you for a moment, please?

With a feeling of dread, I slowly packed my bag, slung it on my back and stepped towards Mr Reynolds. I knew what was coming, I wasn’t dumb, just a little slower than everyone else…at least that was what I told myself.

Kesia, what am I going to do with you? You’ve been here two years now, you should at least know the basic additions.

I started to feel angry. I was trying, but things like this just didn’t seem to get through to me. I wasn’t dumb, I was NOT dumb. I am trying, sir, I said through clenched teeth, don’t get angry Kesia…

It’s not that hard, Kesia, you just need to try harder that’s all, stressed Mr Reynolds, I could hear the pity in his voice.

That’s it! If I’m that much of a pain, then I’ll just go then! And with that, I turned and ran out the classroom, annoyed with both Mr Reynolds for pushing me to do something I just didn’t know how to do, and with myself for losing my temper so quickly.

I soon calmed down as the cool, late afternoon air soothed me as I stepped outside. At the school gates, I saw my sister, Jessica, waiting for me. She was my favourite sister out of us triplets. Jessica had the prettiest brown hair, long and wavy, coupled with her bright brown eyes. She was certainly the best-looking sister too.

When she spotted me, she had a worried look on her face, Is everything all right, Kes? You look really upset. She started looking upset herself. She was maybe too sensitive to a fault and shy with strangers, but she was also very kind and I wouldn’t have changed her for the world.

Saying that, I didn’t like making her sad, so I took a deep breath and put on my best smile, Everything’s fine, you know, the usual. I lied. She didn’t seem convinced but didn’t push it any further.

Just to warn you, I think Amy’s ready to poke fun at you again, she said to me.

When does she not? I sighed. Amy was my other sister, I didn’t like her; she always thought she was soooo clever. Just because she could do long additions, read really hard books and all sorts of other things like that…OK, maybe she was clever. But that still didn’t give her the right to rub it in my face!

Jess looked at me in a serious way, the look that always made her look much older than she was, Please try not to start a fight; you know it doesn’t do any good.

I know, I know. I’ll try. I couldn’t make any promises though, Amy loves to boast at how great she was and how dumb I am and with my short temper, it never ended well.

And sure enough, there was Amy, standing waiting for us, with a smug look on her face. Unlike myself and Jessica, Amy had more in common with Mum as behind her glasses, her eyes were a muddy brown and her long hair was straight and dark blonde.

I groaned as I braced myself for her lame taunts as we walked home together.

* * *

So, how was school today, girls?

I groaned. Why did Dad ask that every day at dinner time? I was trying to eat, I didn’t want to throw up my dinner by talking about school. It was hard to hate someone as caring as Dad though, especially when he glanced around at us, genuinely interested in what we had to say.

I tried to avoid answering, after all, a certain SOMEONE bragging about HER day at school, made my day look even worse and sure enough, Miss Bighead went first, I did my 9 times table today. Mr Reynolds says I’m very clever. As she said that last part, Amy looked smugly my way, I stuck my tongue out in response.

Now, now girls, let’s not fight, said Mum. She was a lot sterner than Dad but she has to be, being a doctor and all, she must get some stubborn patients. Then she turned to Jessica, How was your day, Jess?

Jessica looked down at her food, OK, I guess, she whispered. Jessica didn’t like being the centre of attention as she quickly got back to eating her food.

I braced myself for the next question and sure enough, Dad asked, And your day, Kes?

Trying not to get too deep into it, I replied, Boring as usual. Then, just when I was about to take another bite of chicken, guess who cut in?

Mr Reynolds told her off for not being able to do a simple addition again, Amy said, barely hiding a smile.

A moment of silence followed as Jessica and everyone else braced themselves as they had always did when Amy poked fun at me. She may have been clever, but she was stupid when it came to keeping her mouth shut.

My rage reached its boiling point. You snitch! I shouted at Amy.

Kes—

What? It’s the truth, right? Oh, I’m sorry, was that too hard for you to understand? Amy smirked.

Amy, that’s—

I am not dumb, so shut up! I could feel my eyes welling up. Don’t cry, don’t cry…

Yes, you are, dummy! she taunted, standing up herself.

Girls, really—

Shut up!

Dummy, dummy, dummy! she chanted.

That was it! I took a spoonful of baked beans and threw them at Amy’s stupid face—direct hit!

Amy took off her glasses, dripping with bean juice. Ugh, thanks a lot, dummy! This will take ages to wash off!

Before anyone else had a chance to say anything, I got down from the table and ran upstairs towards my room and slammed the door shut. I got into my bed and laid down, crying into my pillow.

She was right, I was a dummy. No matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to take in words, numbers or anything like that. Why couldn’t I be like the rest of my family? Mum had always been clever despite her lack of knowledge on the housekeeping front which Dad could deal with easily as well as cooking yummy food for us every day. Jessica remembered everything she was taught and always seemed to know more than she let on. And of course, Miss Know-it-all knew lots of things and made sure I didn’t forget it.

* * *

I don’t know how long I laid there crying, but I must have fallen asleep at some point because when I woke up, it was pitch black. I quietly got up and crept out of my room and checked to see if anyone was awake still. Nope, everyone was asleep. I went into the living room and sat down on the sofa, the gentle ticking of the nearby clock helping me think.

Maybe I didn’t have a place in this family, I wasn’t smart like the rest of them and my short temper only served as a burden to my parents, no matter how much a certain person deserved it, but who knows, maybe Amy would be a nicer person if I wasn’t here.

That was it! I should leave home. I’d go out and see the world like I always wanted to do. Most children have to wait until they are 14 years old, but I could handle it now, I knew I could. I knew how to survive outside as I’d been on camping trips lots of times with Dad (Amy hated it outside and Jessica was very clumsy when it came to the outdoors) so I knew what I needed.

I tip toed out of the living room and made my way to the garage where we kept all of our camping equipment. Using a nearby torch, I quickly found everything I needed. My bright blue sleeping bag which was covered in lots of yellow suns, the copper pans we only used when camping (umm, cooking may be a problem but at least I knew what not to eat) and the huge backpack that Dad usually carried…sorry, Dad, but I had the feeling I needed the room.

Next, I snuck back towards my room, but not before I grabbed some food from the kitchen. I needed something to start me off. I continued to use my torch, even when I’d shut myself in my room as the main light might have attracted unwanted attention. I gathered up some clothes, maps (my reading was terrible but reading maps was second nature to me), my scrapbook full of pictures of places I wanted to go to, a spare fleece blanket and of course I couldn’t forget Snuggles, my cuddly toy monkey.

Throwing the huge bag over my shoulder (I was pretty strong for my age, I could handle it) I snuck across the hallway (avoiding the creaky floorboard outside Amy’s room) to the front door and quietly opened the door, stepped outside and then closed the door behind me.

I paused to think for a moment as I slowly made my way to the back of the house. My super-secret hideout in the forest was the best place to head first and it wasn’t far from the house. No-one knew about it as Dad told us it wasn’t safe to go alone to the forest, but I’d never seen anything, plus the trees there were really big, I loved climbing them to see above the treetops. So I decided to sleep in my hideout for the night, then it would be off to see the world…yeah that was the plan.

Ducking under the windowsill, I made my way to the small path hidden in the bushes at the bottom of the garden. I turned to take one last look back at the house; I would be lying if I didn’t say that a small part of me didn’t want to leave, but to just creep back into my room and hide under my blanket. However, I also knew that there was no way I had a place there and it was because I loved my family that I was doing this; they didn’t need a useless, stupid daughter like me around, I would only bring them down.

As I turned my back on the house, I slowly made my way in to the pitch-black forest, even the torch I had with me didn’t cut through the darkness, but that was OK, I could find my super-secret hideout in my sleep.

It didn’t take long for the house to disappear altogether, as it was swallowed by the night…

* * *

Ugh, it’s a good thing I was so close to the hideout, my stomach just wouldn’t stop rumbling, maybe I should’ve eaten something before I left, even just a biscuit would have sufficed…oh well, it would give me a chance to try some cooking, maybe I would make Dad’s soup.

But something seemed different around here. As far as I could tell, I had been the only person ever to be in this area, the only signs of life were the woodland animals I shared this space with. However, the more I looked now, the more I could see that someone else had been here, quite recently too as it had only just rained that morning. The bark on the trees looked like they had been scratched away by a human and some of the damp leaves on the ground had been scraped away into a new trail, revealing the mud beneath.

I paused for a moment, I really wanted to see who else was here, but I would be a true idiot if I didn’t admit that I was at least a little bit afraid of what I might find…but by the looks of the newly made path, whoever made it was not very steady on their feet. In fact, I would have even guessed that they were dragging their feet. They could be in trouble.

I took a deep breath, if someone was indeed in trouble, I couldn’t just leave them. Using my torch, I slowly followed the muddy trail, keeping an eye out for any signs of movement. At one point in the trail, the leaves seemed to be even more disturbed, did they fall down? But they must have got back up because the trail continued, their path now even more erratic.

Finally, my torchlight caught on something a few feet ahead of me, there on the ground, was a grown up. I froze as they didn’t move even with the torchlight shining on them. Excuse me, are you all right? I asked, cautiously approaching them.

No answer, were they alive? I started to panic but I was quickly reassured when I saw their chest moving, they were breathing at least. I took a chance and moved closer. I gasped, it was a man, but unlike any other man I had ever seen.

The first thing I noticed was just how pale he was, the torchlight seemed to light up his skin, making him glow in the darkness. What also struck me was how pretty he was; true, he was covered in dirt but his hair was perfectly straight and he had high cheek-bones. He was also very slender, which was another reason why I said ‘pretty’. If it hadn’t been for his broad shoulders and lack of curves, I would have mistaken him for a woman…then again, who am I to talk as I looked down at my straight body.

His hair was his most fascinating feature, I honestly didn’t know hair could get that long on anyone, let alone on a man, this man’s hair was at least down to his knees. But despite his blonde hair being covered in dirt, it still managed to look very smooth and silky.

Even though I was flashing my torch all over the place, including his face, he didn’t even flinch from the light.

I was starting to get really scared and I tried to shake him a little, Sir? Can you hear me? Please wake up, sir, I said, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible.

But no matter what I tried, he didn’t respond, not so much as a twitch. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know what was wrong with him and why he wouldn’t wake up. I started to shake with fear, what should I do? What should I do!?

There was only one thing I could do,