[completed - under editing]
[last chapter edited - 8 | setting a trap for yourself]
"You're told all your life that you're broken, insane, mentally ill. And then you're told that you are going to repair the world."
᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽
Thirteen...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Leilani
Faceplanting into the dirt is never fun. That goes without saying. Now imagine you have a zillion bruises on your face, exactly. If that sounds fun to you, I give up.
I think about groaning Owww, but decide against it as soon as I hear an unfamiliar girl's voice. "Why did we do this?"
"I told you!" a boy's voice snaps, "because when thirteen kids are inside a train car and they have no body heat, you've got some problems. Working with Viv is way easier than you."
"Yeah, I wonder why, Haunt," snickers the girl in a sarcasm-dripping tone that could rival Aquaria's.
Another girl says matter-of-factly, "Because he liiiikes her."
"Shut up, both of you," mutters Haunt. "Hey, I think this one's dead."
"Oh, okay, we'll just throw her in the grinder though," the first girl says casually, kissing her teeth.
The grinder?!
I practically jump to my feet, which makes each muscle in my body scream. Not to mention my ankle, which seems to be sprained. I'm sure I look like a nightmare.
As I blink, I see I'm in a clearing. Not a typical one, though. The trees are all tall and spindly and the leaves look like spikes. Oh, and they're black. The tree trunks are a contrasting paper-white.
The girl in front of me speaks again. She has brown eyes that seem to match her dark auburn hair and a sharp-angled tan face. She's tall, and slim, and every part of her radiates hostility.
"See, Haunt. She's not dead. Want me to call Viv?"
"She's busy, don't distract her," contradicts the other girl in the same deadpan tone as she used earlier. She has long, sleek straight black hair that's pulled up in a severe ponytail and sharp green eyes. She's the tallest of the three. I notice a pinkish streak in her hair.
"Oh, Miasma, what does she have to do there?" snorts the auburn-haired girl. She points an accusing finger at me. "Who — what are you?"
Gemi's voice speaks up from behind me. "And who are you?" He grips my shoulder and places his mouth to my ear, whispering, "Let me handle this."
I feel like releasing an exasperated huff, but think better of it.
The boy, who has white hair, a similar complexion, and red eyes, interjects, "Fair question. I'm Haunt, and we're the Shadowstalkers. We just decided on that name last week. The annoying one is Spectra, and the psychopath is Miasma Helix."
"You left out one bit," says Gemi coldly. I nearly shiver at his tone, when did shy Gem get this threatening. "Where are we, and where are our friends?"
"Oh, that," Haunt says. "Also a fair question. Well, you're in Leleith, you know, the Second World. The trashed world, that the Celestials won't put one dainty foot in. And your friends, the others ... we're keeping them in containment, they fought. Also, we should take you to the med bay. Viv can stitch you up," he nods at me, a small smile hovering around his lips.
