Out Of Darkness

I stopped, feeling my heart pounding in my chest, my breath now laboured as my hands tremble in fear. Everything was still, and everything was silent. The darkness surrounded me darkening my soul within, causing evil thoughts to linger in my mind. It had begun to take over me slowly, tearing out any goodness left inside. I tried to stop it, but it was too strong. I could feel my heart rate speeding up, my throat now desert dry as I tried to catch my breath. What's happening? What is this? What is this demon-like creature doing to me? I was wondering if this would be my last moments of life, or my last moments out of the darkness.

I think we should go back to where the story began...
It was a bright, warm autumn's day. The scenic beauty of the orange, brown and reddish colored leaves were hard to grasp. I took in a deep breath of fresh air and headed down the street, taking each step with pride. I could feel the chilled wind blowing through my golden blonde hair as I skipped towards the bus stop by the mailboxes. It was the first day back to school after the long weekend and I was confident in myself for once. I had a wide smile glued upon my face as I approached two boys standing at the bus stop, waiting and talking about video games of some sort. Not realizing how rude it would be, I interrupted them with a loud, cheery "Hello there!", my smile still wide as ever. The two boys glanced towards me with confused and startled looks on their faces. The taller, more husky boy gave out a smirk, with a raise of his eyebrow and spoke in a smooth voice "Well hey there."
The short, scrawny boy next to him gave him a dirty look, then looked towards me and mumbled "Hi."
I let out a small giggle and reached forward to shake their hands, but before the shorter boy could react, the husky one scooted in front of him and quickly took my hand, shaking it gently. "Name's Ricky." he said with confidence, a smirk still planted upon his chubby face.
The other boy scoffed and rolled his eyes, then sat down on a dirty rock in the ditch. I pulled away from Ricky then bent downwards, learning into the ditch to shake the boy's hand. As I did so, Ricky came up behind me and gave me a slight shove. I slid over the dirt and collapsed onto the scronny boy, scraping my knee on the rock. I pulled my leg up to my stomach and rubbed the spot where I'd been injured, then glanced towards Ricky with a dirty look, forgetting I was still on top of the other boy. "Sorry, didn't mean to bump ya." Ricky chuckled. "But you don't seem to mind being on top of my friend Michael here."
I then tilted my head towards the scronny boy once more, then stood up, removing myself from his personal space. "Sorry! I-I didn't mean to squish you. Are you okay?" I stuttered, my cheeks blushing rosey red in embarassment.
"I'm fine." he said sternly as he dusted himself off. "What about you? That was a nasty fall. Ricky...don't be such an ass next time."
I giggled and managed to mutter out "I'm okay."
Ricky winked at Michael as the bus pulled up. I quickly reached down for my bag, but in surprise touched Michael's hand as he was trying to get it for me. "Sorry." I whispered, pulling my hand away.
"It's no prob. Here you go." He smiled as he handed me my bag. He then jumped up out of the ditch and took my hand to pull me out.
We rushed towards the bus, and Michael stepped to the side out of my way to let me on first, but Ricky ran in front of me and jumped up onto the bus steps. Michael and I glanced towards each other and let out a small laugh before I climbed up into the bus, Michael following closely. I walked down the aisle of the bus, examining each and every face. Some looked back, some kept their head against the fogged up windows and others tucked down occupied by a good book. As I took my seat in the middle of the bus, between the grade 7s and 8s, Michael stopped and slid in next to me as Ricky continued to the back where the grade 9s all sat. I turned towards him with a confused look on my face. "Why aren't you sitting in the back with Ricky and all the other grade nine kids?" I questioned curiously.
"It's boring back there. All those guys think they're cool for being mean when they're not, just like Ricky. I only hang with him because he's my cousin. You seem way more cool to me." He smiled and pushed hair out of my eye that had escaped my headband. I blushed nervously with a small grin, then turned back towards the window. I was about to wipe the condensation markings off, when Michael leaned forward and shaped out a heart with his index finger. He pulled his hand back then turned to the aisle, where in the seat next to us a grade seven girl sat. My cheeks went back to their pale, freckly selves as the blushing faded.
"How are you making out baby girl?" He asked her with a concerned tone.
"Has anyone been bullying you? Do I need to punch someone? Well, come on, answer me."
The girl giggled and looked up towards him, as she was significantly smaller than him and shook her head with a big smile on her face. "I'm fine big brother."
I sighed with relief, knowing that she was only his sister and not a girlfriend. I'd never really thought about all that boyfriend girlfriend junk until a few weeks ago. And now that I'd met Michael, I was REALLY starting to think about it. I wanted so bad for him to ask me out, because he seemed like an amazing boy to be with. Most of the other boys that went to my school were either older jerks, same aged idiots, or nervous little seventh graders.
He nodded at his baby sister then turned back towards me with a nervous grin. "Sorry, I really needed to check on her."
"It's okay, I get it. You're looking out for your little sister." I replied with a slight frown.
He took my hand and scooped hair away from my face. "What's wrong cutie?"
I blushed slightly at his cutie remark, then looked into his eyes, down at my hands and sighed. "I wish I'd been there for my little sister. She was kidnapped three years ago and she was only five years old. Maybe if I'd done a better job at looking after her that would never have happened." I stuttered as I wiped a few tears from my eyes.
"I'm so sorry that happened, but please don't think it's your fault. It could've happened to anybody." He said with a sympathetic tone in his voice, wrapping his arm around me he pulled me close giving me a safe, warm hug. I tucked my head into his shoulder, hoping he wouldn't see the big smile on my face, but he probably did.
As the bus came to a hault, we stood up together as Michael held onto my hand with a big smile on his face; revealing his beautiful, pearly white teeth. I smiled back and kept my hand loosely against his as we walked off the bus together and onto the pavement in front of the school. Other girls stared at us with envious looks glued upon their faces. My reaction was to smile and wave at each and every one of them, rubbing it in even more.
We circled the building together once, before going around to the side doors and entering them. We skidded our feet across the floor down the hall making annoying but funny squeaking sounds, before taking a left into the jam packed cafeteria. I looked at him with the question "Where on earth can we sit?" written clearly across my face. He grinned and pulled me over to a group of guys sitting at a round table located in the corner. He signaled one side of the table to scoot over. Michael sat down tugging on my arm until I sat down next to him, and as I did so he played his arm around my shoulders snuggling me closely.
"Boys, this is, uhm, I didn't catch your name yet. Would you mind introducing yourself?" He looked at me then towards the others with a slight grin.
"Uhm, h-hi. My name is Anniah. I'm 14 and from, well, here." I stuttered, giggling at the slight joke I'd made. Nobody else giggled and kept their blank faces, all staring at me at once.
"Well Anniah; this is John, Ryan, Josh, Liam, Zachary and Auguste. Auguste is french if you're wondering where that name comes from." Michael said confidently as he pointed around the table, naming names. He turned his attention back to my blushy face and smiled. Noticing my hair was caught on my lip, he reached his hand upwards and gently brushed it away, looking deep into my eyes. As he did so I could feel blades of his love and affection cutting deep into my soul, my heart melting with every look and touch. He held his hand upon my cheek, just glaring into my eyes with a warm smile. He then leaned forth, pushing his lips out towards mine. Before I could react, our lips were touching, his gently pressed against mine. I wanted to pull away, but at the same time I couldn't. It felt so magical that my heart stopped in my chest. After a long, 30 second kiss, he slowly pulled his head away with a large smirk glued upon his cute face.
Even minutes after that sweet, sweet kiss, I continued to think about the feeling of his warm, moist lips pressed against mine. He didn't know at the time, or at least I don't think he knew, that it had been my first kiss. Though we had just met each other that day, I felt a deep connection with him. I could see the beauty in his eyes, the love in his heart, and the magic in his soul. I never really believed in love at first sight, or even true love at that age. The magical moment of his lips resting upon mine had completely changed my point of view on the subject. I believed in love, true love, even at a young age. I believed that such love can grow in an instant, and last for a lifetime.
We may have spent time apart due to our classes, but for the most part, the remainder of that day was time spent with him. During recess, we walked together and during lunch we walked together. When it came time to go home, he blew off his plans with his friend just so he could get off at my stop and walk me home. The entire way back to my house, he held my hand tightly, and continued to glance back at me with his big, beautiful eyes. I could feel them reaching into my soul, and pouring love into it as if he were pouring water into a glass cup. I could feel it getting fuller, and fuller, until it began to overflow and even then he continued to do so. As we approached my porch, he grabbed my shoulder and turned me towards him, grinning as he stared directly into my eyes. My cheeks turned rosey red from blushing as he leaned in, and kissed each one gently before reaching in for my lips. I swiftly turned my head to the side, making him plant them against my cheek once more. I giggled and turned back to him. "One kiss on the lips per day, big boy!" I said in a sort of sassy tone, hoping to come across as sort of some kind of sexy. Sexy wasn't really something I ever thought or cared about until now... until I had a boy interested in me.
"Aww, okay. Goodnight, sweet pea. Have a good sleep. I'll see you tomorrow at school, yeah?" he chuckled as he leaned in and kissed my forehead.
"Of course! I can't wait to see you again." I replied softly, smiling slightly as I looked down, my cheeks even blushier than before. He just pulled my hand up to his mouth, gave it a peck and turned around, slowly walking down my driveway to the street, taking a right to leave for his house. Before continuing on, he glanced back at me and winked then continued walking. I spun in a circle, my hair whipping around my face before skipping up my front steps, and sliding the key in the door. I gave it a quick jerk to the right, wiggled the doorknob, then pushed the door in. It gave out a loud squeak, and I wiggled my key out of the socket before gently closing the door behind me. "I'm home, mom!" I hollered out. I then dropped my bag to the floor and kicked off my bright pink sneakers, before walking a few feet forward and turning to the right where the living room was. My smile quickly faded as I laid my eyes upon the police men sitting on my couch, my mother sitting in the rocking chair sobbing quietly. I turned my attention to the small, oakwood coffee table where an empty envelope and scattered pictures rested. "Anniah...come sit, sweetie." a police man said calmly.
To be quite honest, his tone of voice was worrying me. I slowly shuffled my feet across the floor and sat down on the couch next to a large police officer, his eyes glued to the pictures on the table. "What's going on?" I asked nervously, fiddling my fingers around as I spoke.
My mother leaned downwards, shoving her face to her knees as she began crying out hysterically. A police officer rubbed her back gently, whispering to calm her. Another looked at me with watery eyes and let out a deep sigh. "I am so sorry Anniah...but we found your younger sister's remains last night. We had them confirmed this morning. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know." he spoke softly, his lip quivering.
I looked at him as a tear slowly slid down my face, dropping off onto my pantleg. I quickly pulled my hands to my face and wiped my watery eyes, sighing in disbelief. "No...you couldn't have. My sister is still alive, I know she is! You're lying! There's no way Lily is dead!" I screamed out loudly, tears riding down my cheeks like a surfer on waves. I stormed off, stomping up the stairs. Every time my foot hit a stair there was a loud clunk until I'd hit the top. I took ran straight for my bedroom, slammed the door behind me and dived onto my bed. Curling up in a ball, I pulled Lily's old teddy bear into my chest and hugged it tightly, sobbing into its ear. There was no way she was dead... I kept telling myself they were wrong and that someday she would return to us. My mind wanted to believe it, and accept that it was the truth, but my heart refused to. And that was the day that I decided I would begin a search for my younger sister. I didn't know when, and I didn't know how...but I knew I would.