Chapter 7 - Misfortune

(Hayley POV)

I screamed as hard as I could when something hit me. The attack was followed by words I didn't want to hear.

"I TOLD YOU TO NEVER RETURN TO THIS PLACE, MONSTER!!!". A man visibly scared slammed the door with a loud BANG, and the night became almost peaceful again.

I was on the floor, my knees scraped. I could feel dry tears all over my face and my eyes hurt from being crying all day long.

I didn't care about anything now, my last hope… my father failed me.

'What did I do wrong?'.

My head is spinning everything is going black.

I wish a never got out of the bed today.

It was when everything went wrong.

I woke up in my bed, with a little headache.

I wanted to know the time, but my intercom wasn't working. I found it odd and looked around to look for a clock to no avail.

Everything was turned off.

'What's happening?'.

I tried to see outside, but the automatic function of the tinted glassed windows wasn't working either, I opened them manually and found that it was morning already.

It's the first time in my life a was in a situation where none of the devices are working, I got out of the bed and put on my slippers to ask my parents what's wrong.

While I was leaving my room, I remembered that last night an explosion woke me up.

Even with a headache, I quickly left her room to look for my parents to see what's wrong.

I came into the kitchen and found my mother fainted on the kitchen floor.

"Mom?"

I run to her side trying to turn her around, but she was motionless… and cold.

"MOOMM!!!" I screamed took her shoulder to shake her hoping that she would wake up, I heard rapid footsteps coming into the kitchen.

"What's wrong Hayley?" My dad came in and froze when he saw me with my mom.

"Dad something is wrong with mom call an ambulance!!" I begged desperately.

'This can't be true' my tears started falling, but in the corner of my eye, I noticed that my dad was not moving from his place.

After not getting any answer after a few seconds, I looked back and saw him looking at me with a horrified face and visibly shaking.

"Dad? What's wrong?"

"Stay away, are you going to kill me too!!!??"I froze on the spot not understanding what he meant by that.

"What are you talking about, mom was like that when I came in."

I tried to approach him, but he took something that looked like a metal rod he moved it around trying to keep me away as if I was a ferocious beast.

"I told you to stay away, leave my house right now."

My father looked confused, I was trying to hold back my tears.

"What are you talking about I'm your daughter!!, Dad, please let's call emergency we need them to see mom and to have you checked". I was begging. And tried to get close to him once again.

"That's your plan to kill me!?!? LEAVE AND DON'T COME BACK!!!".

I was scared, so I left the house in slippers, once outside a sat on the front of next house a few minutes.

'I never saw him like that.'

I didn't know what to do, it was the first time my father yelled at me, and he looked terrified.

'Mom…'

I couldn't hold back anymore and started crying again at the memory of my mother on the kitchen floor.

I'm not sure how much time I spend crying there, but I needed help for my father.

I tried to use the intercom again, but it wasn't working, so I went to a friend's house who was near.

When I arrived, I rang the bell, but since it wasn't working I had to knock the door.

"Hannah please open up!". I heard movements inside someone near the door, then a little scream and someone running away from the front door, nobody opened the door, I could hear whispers and movements inside the house, but nobody opened.

"It's Hayley!! Please, Hannah!! I need help open the door!!" The knocking became louder to no avail. They were obviously inside, but for some reason, they were ignoring me.

'What's happening?'

Next, I started to move and tried another friend's house after that, and then another, and some of my parent's friends.

I lost the count of the places I went to, in the end, I was confused and desperate, most of them just ignored me, but some threatened, in the police station they also fired warning shots.

I just ran away, I was scared and confused about all the thing that keeps happening to me.

No one was in the streets either, it was like a ghost town.

I saw a guy running with a shopping cart incredibly fast, but when I tried to get close to him, he picked up the pace and ran away too.

I don't know when or how I got here… but I was in front of my house again.

'Maybe he got better?'.

In my heart, I was hoping that my father came to his senses and welcomed me

He will hug me and tell me that everything it's going to be alright, and we will mourn my mom.

I knocked on the door and when they opened my last hopes were shattered.

When he saw me, without saying anything, he attacked me with the metal rod.

I just screamed and fell, my father yelled and called me a monster.

Because of the hit I was barely conscious, I could hear the door closing.

A light sob could be heard in the middle of the night, and tears fell down my cheeks one more time, I was fainting.

"Please… somebody… help…" I don't know if I was able to even say it or I just thought I said it.

I was praying for someone to come to my rescue.

I was on the sidewalk.

I didn't know how much time had passed.

Maybe I'm just dreaming… Are those footsteps?'.

Someone came next to me

"Thank god, I found you" A relieved male voice brought part of my conscience back.

The voice and his presence were familiar, and there was something nostalgic about it, but I couldn't remember maybe because of the shock.

His voice made me feel warm and safe, he checked on my condition, afterward, he picked me up in his arms and move me away.

After a minute and some rustling, I was lying on the grass.

I don't get why he left me there, but I could sense he was still near. Usually, I would be scared, but his presence comforted me.

His hand touched my forehead, it was a little painful, so a groan escaped from my lips.

"Sorry, I'll take you to somewhere better in a minute." He whispered in my ear.

More footsteps could be heard in the distance. And 2 people were talking. I couldn't understand anything about their conversation.

After a while I could not hear them anymore, the comforting presence was near me all the time and after a few minutes, we were moving again.

I'm not sure how much time passed this time, he took me in his back and felt like he could barely arrive at someplace. I heard a door open.

He gently put me in a soft place, I felt he was doing something on my forehead, I groaned again because he put something that burned on my wound.

After he cleaned the wound he put a blanket on me, I knew this smell.

"You are safe now."

Was the last thing I heard before falling asleep.