Shedding Strength pt. 7

Darren shook his head. “Forget the smell.” He pointed to the skull. “We gotta get outta here before we end up like that. I dunno why I agreed to come here in the first place.” As soon as the words left his lips, the marks on his arms began to glow dimly. A hint of dizziness slipped into his head as a confusing memory rushed back vividly. He could see an enraged Zaeri with pitch black eyes lashing out at him and his shouting friends in front of the cabin. With glowing green marks on her forehead and chest, she wildly swung a wide, metal pole at all of them. The pole caught Rondrio across the head first and then slammed into Darren’s stomach as he and Jayson tried to get it from her. Wind fled Darren’s lungs as he collapsed to the ground clutching his abdomen. Zaeri’s feral growls mixed with the others’ screams jumbled his thoughts for several moments. When he finally understood that she needed to be stopped, he reached down to his right ankle and slightly lifted the leg of his jeans. His fingers gripped the hilt of a wavy-bladed dagger tucked into his sock. The memory abruptly ended when he yanked the blade free. The orange glow along his arms faded.

Isobel cautiously approached him, catching herself before she touched his shoulder. “You zoned for a minute there. You alright?”

Darren gazed at her blankly for a second, then dropped to his knees and lifted his pant leg. The dagger was absent, but there was a small, fresh cut just above his ankle. Had he accidentally caused it when he drew the blade? Where was the blade? His stare returned to Isobel. “We gotta go back to the beach.”

* * * * * * * * * *

She had tried to hold on to Rondrio as the sudden force of wind lifted them both into the air, but the disorienting draft stripped his ragdoll body from Lucille’s arms. They were thrown deep into the forest, and the small of her back crashed into several tree limbs before she lost sight of him. The forest continued spiraling out of control while the ground rushed up to greet her. She reached out, praying her fingers would grip a branch or anything that could help break her fall. Her left side caught the closest branch instead and broke a couple ribs along with her fall… and the branch. It gave under her weight and sent her to the unforgiving ground with a hard thump.

Never before had Lucille felt so much pain in her body at one time, and if she hadn’t been used to smaller doses over the years, the scream fest would’ve started after the first batting limb. Even though she had less control over her eyes, she blinked away tears and tried not thinking about the pain by worrying about Rondrio. He had protected her from Zaeri’s rampage, and she still hadn’t been able to thank him yet. “You die on me,” she muttered while her heavy eyelids slowly shut, “and I’ll kill you.”

Lucille couldn’t hear the wind, the birds chirping, nor the waves kissing the shore. The only sounds she could make out were faint steps that snapped twigs and rustled leaves. Each step sounded louder than the last until they stopped near her head and a female voice spoke, “Don’t worry. No one’s gonna die today. ” There was an unnerving silence. A severe chill ran down Lucille’s spine. “Rondrio already has a guardian angel.”

* * * * * * * * * *

His body speeding towards the ground head first, Rondrio still remained unconscious to his surroundings. Mysteriously, he could hear weeping. He groaned, the sadness deeply disturbing his state and causing his body to tremble.

Ron… a voice whispered deep within his mind. …I’m pregnant.

Rondrio’s eyes snapped open. A maelstrom of flames exploded from his blazing, red eyes and encircled his body in a rage. The sphere of crackling fire incinerated the grass and trees within its range while carving out a crater in the ground beneath. He inhaled sharply, drawing the flames into his mouth and eyes. After he swallowed the last flicker, Rondrio gasped and his body fell into the smooth crater. A moment passed before he responded with a loud, “Ow!” He blinked and his eyes returned to their normal brown shade. Holding his aching head, he sat up and looked around. “Who just said they were pregnant?!”

Shedding Strength pt. 8  (13+) Soon-to-be high school graduates wake up in a strange place... #2059639 by Kadiro