Shedding Strength pt. 4

Wha…? Her thoughts a jumbled mess, Zaeri willfully rolled onto her stomach and accepted the pain racking every inch. I thought… Who was that? She lifted her head and opened her eyes to a blur of colors that shifted with each pound in her skull. I’m gonna… black out…

“Then stop screwin’ around and heal yourself, stupid!”

Who was speaking to her? What were they talking about? Between the pain and the drums, she couldn’t focus… couldn’t understand. She just wanted to sleep. If she could just sleep for a few days, she could wake up in time for graduation and forget all this stupidity.

“Man, you’re useless! GET UP!”

Energy surged through her limbs. Her heartbeat thumped thrice in one breath. She inhaled sharply and involuntarily while leaping to her feet. In one instance, she could clearly hear the waves wash against the shore but also every subtle movement of the creatures beneath the surface. The heartbeats of a dozen birds in the area, each distinctive as a fingerprint, echoed in her ears so precisely that she could pinpoint their exact location. The pain’s gone. What did you do?!

“The adrenaline won’t last long! Hurry up and write the healing glyph on your chest!”

The hell is a healin’ glyph?

“It’s like two capital F’s! One’s mirrored! Use your hands and draw them back to back at the same time!”

Not wanting the waves of pain to return, Zaeri took both index fingers and traced the path of the glyph on her chest. Each stroke left a sparkling green glow on her chocolate skin. The moment she finished the glyph, it flashed brightly and sent jagged, glowing lines to every part of her body. As she calmed and the physical soreness sought to slip back in, she could feel the glyph warding the pain off. In a manner of seconds, it had nearly restored every muscle to peak condition. “I feel great!” she attempted to shout, but the burning in her throat remained and cut through her esophagus just as sharply as before. She coughed violently. The glyph and all the glowing lines quickly vanished. I still can’t talk! Why?

“Because you let that boy cut your throat with the Mugon. You’ll have to get that dagger back if you want your voice returned.”

So I need to find Darren. Zaeri looked out at the beach and finally realized the gust of wind and thrown her several yards inland, past the first few trees of a wooded area. However, Lucille, Rondrio, and the rest of her friends were nowhere to be seen. How far had that wind thrown them? A moment later, a very disturbing thought sprang to mind. Zaeri blinked rapidly and frantically searched in every direction. The voice she had been listening to… She hadn't been hearing it with her ears. The voice had been speaking directly to her mind. Wait… Where are you? Who’s speaking to me?

“Stupid… Worry about leaving this place! You have to hunt them down all over again. This time, kill them without hesitation and I’ll lead you to the gateway out of this world!”

The thought of another voice in her head was disturbing beyond belief but fitting considering everything that had happened in the past few minutes. Fighting off more waves of panic, Zaeri turned toward the dim forest. Why would she ever harm her friends? If she could find the door herself, she could leave this place with all of her friends. However, she did want her voice back first. Locating Darren might’ve been the smartest thing to do. I’ll get the dagger first.

“Fine. Just hurry. The gateway will only remain open until sunset. If you don’t step through before then, this will be your new home.”

Shedding Strength pt. 5  (13+) Soon-to-be high school graduates wake up in a strange place... #2058842 by Kadiro