Sacred Sacrifices - A Prolouge

PROLOGUE:

         A cold, piercing autumn’s wind whipped against her elegant features. Her flaming red hair flowed behind her like fire itself. Her eyes darted to and fro the forsaken scenery before her; searching, searching for a place to hide from her pursuer.
         Rain poured down around her, drenching her from head to toe. But she did not care. If she did not find a place to hide from this antagonist, the consequences are far worse than getting a cold. Far worse.
          She heard a peculiar sound coming from behind her, like metal hitting the pavement, growing louder and louder by the second. Panic flowed through her veins for she knew what was making that sound and she knew what it was looking for. She tried not to think about it. It made her harder to focus. But it’s really hard to ignore, especially when it keeps ringing inside your eardrum. The cold did not help either. It was so hard for her to concentrate, making her oblivious to notice the fact that shadows of lampposts, buildings and other objects were following her every move, pointing in her direction wherever she went, straining to be released from their limits.
         She could not find any refuge. She knew that she was defenseless, vulnerable. Even the abandoned buildings around her could not give any protection.
         She could hear her pursuer getting closer, just by the other street. Adrenaline rushed in her blood, amplifying her senses. She could hear the distinctive echoes of metal pounding the earth below her feet, the four inch claws scraping the cement and the hot breathing of the creature.
         She ran as fast as she could, not caring where to go, as long as there’s a large gap between her and whoever’s following her. The antagonist, sensing its prey’s velocity increase, ran faster as not to lose her again. It was determined to get her this time. It may have underestimated her the first time, but it was sure not to make the same mistake again.
         The girl heard its acceleration go faster. She ran without stopping, the will to live as her determination. Something snagged at her jeans, sending her face to collide with the ground and causing her to bruise parts of her body. When she looked back to see what had snagged at her jeans, shock and fear was plainly written across her already pale face.
         What she saw filled her with fear and admiration. The creature holding her back had the most stunning features. It looked like a wolf but is a lot bigger, about five times larger than the average one. The wolf-like creature was made of clear glass, crystals and diamonds. It had the most beautiful eyes, made of the darkest ruby she had ever seen, almost as dark as blood. And its claws were made of a black, sharp-edged stones that she assumed would cut through anything, especially the skin of a simple teenager. She would have appreciated more if it wasn’t going to kill her.
         She tried to scream or even to utter a word just to break the unbearable silence that surrounded them, but no sound would come out. She heard footsteps coming from behind her. She looked back to see who or what it was. But before she could accomplish the 180 degree turn, she felt a hot, stinging pain where her heart should be.
         She felt blood flow freely from the open wound as the wolf retrieved its claw from her body. The person, a few meters away from where she now lay, could only watch helplessly as her life slowly faded away. The wolf sank into the shadows where it disappeared completely, intangible whispers following its wake. The boy ran towards the girl that lay on the cold wet pavement as her blood mixed with the rain that poured around them. She just lay there, motionless, without sign of life.
          The boy kneeled beside the girl, who could not see him clearly but could still make out his silhouette with her clouded vision. She had the most peculiar feeling that she knew him from somewhere. A friend perhaps?
         Among the cold rain, she felt a warm tear fall across her face, full of sorrow and regret.
         “Whose tear is that?” she asked herself. “Is it mine or is it from the person kneeling beside me?”  “So this is how it feels like as your life fades away. Well, at least I’m not alone”, she thought to herself. The boy said something but she could no longer hear him. “Thank you” she told the boy. “Thank you for being here with me till the very end”. With these last words, her soul sank into Oblivion, as all souls do when their body expires.