Misty Creek (RPDR AU)

XXII

"Irene!"

Irene groaned when she opened her eyes, her head pounding. If it was even possible, she felt even worse now. She sat up to find that her and the other two girls had made it back, but things weren't looking good in this world either.

The wind beat against them as if it wanted to hurt them. The rain had turned to hale, and it pounded so hard against them that it felt like it dug through their skin. The thunder shook the ground, making it hard for Irene to pull herself back up onto her feet. But when she did, she was met by water pooling up past her ankles and steadily heading to her knees.

"Irene!" Kerri's scared voice called out for her again. "My mom needs you!"

Before Irene could respond or even process anything, Kerri had grabbed onto her arm and started pulling her further into the water. In the middle of the largest area of the creek was her teacher, her hair dripping wet and sticking to her face as the glowing light in her eyes flickered in and out.

Irene looked around in a panic, the ice cold water lapping at her knees. "M-Miss Colby-" She stuttered as her eyes adjusted to the dark night. She could see Marcia had pulled Anetra and Amethyst far to the side and out of reach of the water, and the twins were hunched over on the ground and looking deathly ill. Her eyes landed on the barrier that had been made in the water. "You're flooding the creek-"

"Has to be done..." Sasha's voice could hardly be heard over the sound of the rain and thunder, her words sounding slurred together. She shivered heavily as she held her hands out towards the other girl. The light that once danced around her fingertips had lost most of its brightness. "Need to trap the dark spirits..."

Kerri rushed out of the water to get to the others, where she cowered between a shivering Jax and Marcia. Irene glanced at Sasha's hands as the dark water swirled around their legs. "W-What?-"

"I'm not strong enough anymore..." Sasha whispered, her voice quivering. "I need your help, please..."

Irene wasn't even sure how strong she was at this point. Yet she found herself nodding, taking Sasha's hands in hers.

Flickers of light immediately passed through them, making Irene hiss slightly when it felt as if she was burning. Sasha's eyes glowed brighter now, and she tilted her head up towards the lightning filled sky. She chanted muttered words in a language Irene didn't know, but it seemed to make energy start to quickly pass between them.

"Anetra..." Sasha's voice had raised just a bit. "I need a candle."

Anetra watched them in confusion, but nodded a little. In the pocket of her now ripped up cloak, she pulled out the candle that she had been burning earlier. Getting her small lighter to light the flame was difficult, and she did all that she could to shield it when it finally caught. With her hands cupped over the flame, she looked up at Sasha and Irene and gave them a nod.

Sasha let go of one of Irene's hands to pull the pendant she wore out from under the collar of her shirt. A triangular piece of black obsidian hung from it and reflected the lightning that flashed in the sky. Sasha took Irene's hand again, her glowing eyes focused on the dark clouds above them.

"I'll handle the spell..." She whispered, shivering more as the water seemed to crash at their legs in an effort to pull them under. "Focus on your energy."

Irene nodded, having no choice now but to trust her. She closed her eyes and dipped her head down. She struggled to push back the negative thoughts that flooded her mind. Her grief was heavy and her want to officially bring back her loved ones made it hard to concentrate on anything else, but she did her best to do as her teacher said. The burning in her hands grew when she started to speak.