Here we go again. In Betweenwill be the last part of my trilogy. It's been a long road, and I hope you enjoyed it. I give you, the prologue.
In Between
Prologue
Nigel Davenport
The last thing I remembered was the burn of the change. I had just gotten home with Lilly and the twins when the burning had started. My change had been more gradual than most.
On the way home, I listened to the quiet chatter of my blonde haired sisters and the enraged and embarrassed rumblings coming from Lilly.
The skin of my neck had started to itch. It itched, so I scratched, only to be surprised by the scales that had erupted over my human skin. I was a snake, true, but I'd never had scales unintentionally, not by accident. As a Rowan, I had exceptional control over my animal form. After a certain age, outbreaks of animal hide on the human body were unheard of.
"Lilly, shut up." I had grumbled.
My brown haired sister's mouth had snapped shut, and she'd glared at me, "What?"
"Come here." I said, continuing to scratch at the skin.
Her anger melted away, "What's wrong?" She asked as she rushed back to me. I bent down a little, so she could see my problem in the moonlight. She gasped a little, touching it with her soft fingers, "Nigel, what's going on? That's not supposed to happen."
"I don't know."
"Come on, we need to get you home." She said, turning to the twins, "You two run back, find Gerry." The little girls nodded, but Lilly wasn't through, "And for heavens sake, don't harass her anymore." They'd rolled their eyes simultaneously, but obeyed our sister.
"Are you feeling alright?" She had asked, looking at me suspiciously.
I nodded, "Just a little itchy and…warm."
"I'd noticed." She said wryly, placing a hand on my cheek. We both stilled at the contact, her fingers felt…cold. "Nigel." She'd whispered in horror, "You're burning up."
I knew why she was now just as terrified as I was. We were Rowan, her body temperature on average at one o' one, mine, due to my snake other half, was normally twenty degrees above my surroundings. The news had estimated the temperature to be seventy five at this time of night. For me to feel warm to my hot-blooded sister, my own temperature would have to be at least ten degrees higher than it should have been.
The fever had taken over soon after, my sight had blurred and I had had to lean on Lilly to make my way back home. I had blacked out for a while, after hearing my mother scream from the front porch.
When I had regained consciousness, my entire body had been on fire, my entire being burning. It had been then that I had realized I was Changing. It was also the same moment that I realized that I had a thin wrist in my mouth.
I had opened my eyes, afraid I had killed someone. No…it was Gerry. Looking bored as I unconsciously and uncontrollably sucked blood from her arm. "Good morning, Sunshine." She had said offhandedly. "Drink your fill, you can't kill me. Also, you're in luck. With my blood in your body, I can make this easier on you." She had smiled unkindly, "Well, on the rest of us. You won't be screaming or any of that nonsense."
What the little creature had meant is that she paralyzed me. I had burned alone, the only thing in existence was the pain.
That's the end, that's all I remember.
I don't know how I came to be in this prison.
Or why my betrothed, Cora, was leaning over me with an evil look on her face. "I hope you rot here, you bastard. Cheating on me." She shook her head, her red hair stroking my cheek, "I'm through with you and all your lies." She stood.
"What lies?" I yelled, but she just walked away, closing an iron door behind her. "Wait! Take this thing off!" I had just noticed the Cloi around my neck. They were used to neutralize the strength and shifting power in Rowan prisoners.
They brought me food at what seemed to be regular intervals, but I could see no faces, they stayed to the shadows. That was smart of them. Someone knew my power…Cora, probably, the whore had been more trouble than she was worth.
Without the ability to shift into my reptilian form, I couldn't escape the iron bars, and with no extra strength, I couldn't break out. With my captors staying in the shadows, I couldn't use my power on them. I couldn't take theirs either. I could leech off it, hence the name, Leech, but I couldn't take it unless I had ten seconds of uninterrupted eye contact.
As long as the fed me, I thought I could bare it. That was until I realized just how much my reptilian half affected me. After about the eighth meal rotation, I started to feel cold. I was shaking within a few hours. There was another reason they were keeping me out of the sunlight. I was cold blooded, and without the sun, the human part of my body couldn't keep my temperature regulated.
My heart was beating wildly in my chest, I couldn't speak, I couldn't move to get the food they brought me, and just when I was slipping back into unconsciousness, a light flicked on. It was a heat lamp. I gasped as my body temperature returned to normal quicker than I'd been prepared for.
I was exhausted, and I just laid there on the floor. A noise made me open my eyes slightly. A shadowed male figure walked towards the bars of my cage. The partly shadowed face of my only brother looked down at me, his face contorted in a twisted smile, "Hello, brother. Enjoying your stay?"
I scuttled to the far edge of my prison, keeping as much room in between me and the monster my brother had become.
"Let me apologize to begin with
Let me apologize for what I'm about to say
But trying to be genuine was harder than it seemed
But somehow I got caught up in between
Let me apologize to begin with
Let me apologize for what I'm about to say
But trying to be someone else was harder than it seemed
And somehow I got caught up in between
Between my pride and my promise
Between my lies and how the truth gets in the way
And things I want to say to you get lost before they come
The only thing that's worse than one is none
Let me apologize to begin with
Let me apologize for what I'm about to say
But trying to regain your trust was harder than it seemed
But somehow I got caught up in between
Between my pride and my promise
Between my lies and how the truth gets in the way
The things I want to say to you get lost before they come
The only thing that's worse than one is none
The only thing that's worse than one is none
And I cannot explain to you
And anything I say or do or plan
Fear is not afraid of you
But guilt's a language you can understand
I cannot explain to you
And anything I say or do
I hope the actions speak the words they can
For my pride and my promise
For my lies and how the truth gets in the way
The things I want to say to you get lost before they come
The only thing that's worse is
Pride and my promise
Between my lies and how the truth gets in the way
The things I want to say to you get lost before they come
The only thing that's worse than one is none
The only thing that's worse than one is none
The only thing that's worse than one is none"
The song is "In Between" by Linkin Park, it's a driving song for this story, and periodically, I'll be adding in songs to my chapters, just like I did for the first chapter of Taking Chances. I've completed the first chapter, and it has the song "Ours" by The Bravery. It was on the Eclipse sound track, and it just fit with chapter one. For those of you who haven't heard it yet, the soundtrack is great.
Please, if you liked my prologue, review. Reviews mean a lot, and they make me really happy. Like I said, chapter one is finished how quickly comes out can be swayed by how many reviews I get. ;) Or, I'll put it up once I've finished chapter two...which is currently in two pieces that are missing a middle connector...slight problem. Oh well, I'll work it out.
Also, sorry for the long delay, I actually forgot to let you guys know that I was going to go to the beach for a week with my two best friends and a set of parents. We had fun, but I had like no time to write. We got back Sunday night, and I was right back at work on Monday morning...sort of...actually, I'm pretty sure I dozed off for a few hours...just don't let my boss know! (Who happens to be my father... Oh the joys of teen jobs!) I took off yesterday to "unpack", and I finished the first chapter that morning. Unfortunately, two things still needed to happen, I needed a short prologue, and to weave in the song to chapter one. (Sorry it wasn't weaved into this one...takes too much time.) I weaved the song into chapter one last night, and wrote the prologue all today, so I apologize if there are more errors than there usually are.
Going to work and than to the movies with my four best friends tomorrow, so I'm heading to bed.
Review!
-Jenn