THE LAST OF US : SHADOW AND DARKNESS

Chapter 1

I woke up suddenly. I felt the caress of the air on my skin, and when I opened my eyes, I saw above me clouds of a kind of black and white smoke. I was lying on my back on the cold ground. It took me only a moment to realize that the clouds were becoming thinner and thinner, turning into white tufts, through which the bright sun of an autumn day could be seen. I closed my eyes again, overwhelmed by a feeling of relief. '' I'm still alive, I'm fine,,  I said to myself.  I don't understand how, nbut I survived.n Or not? Am I in heaven or hell, did I do something wrong? Suddenly, I was overwhelmed by a wave of memories during the horrifying attack by some strange creatures from the shadows that seemed so human.  Where was i ? I tried to stand up in the head of the bones and I felt a strong stab shooting through my shoulders and left ankle. But I didn't pay attention and managed to get up. In the next moment, my gaze fell on the people who were only three meters away from me.

— Who are you, I snorted, while trying to sit up straight.

One of them, a soldier, pointed his rifle at me, waving it menacingly.

—Stay still! he commanded me.

I looked at him with a strange:

—Do you want to shoot me? You don't have enough to shoot!

— He woke up! shouted another soldier.

Only when I undressed did I see that one of them was wearing a red kefta with long sleeves embroidered with black. A Heartrenders? Could it be worse than that?

I looked around trying to find an escape hatch, I turned my back wanting to run but the sound of a shot made me stop.

—Okay, I understand, there's no need to waste  munition on me. I will not run away, I raised my hands slightly in the air as a sign of defense. More and more scared, I realized that actually the soldiers and the Corporals were guarding me. Like a prisoner.

—Where am I ? Who are you ? I asked . But nobody said anything.

"Please," I begged. Someone to answer my questions, I said visibly irritated and agitated.

—Come with me, a soldier signaled to me with his rifle.

It occurred to me to absolutely refuse to stay there until they told me what had happened, but a glance at Heartrender  made me change my mind. I resigned myself and tried to take a few steps towards him, but I quickly lost my balance because the stab in my ankle went up my leg, feeling as like  a knife had been inserted. Instinctively, I reached out to lean on something, I managed to lean on the trunk of a tree. I struggled a bit to regain my balance, but my mind was still clouded.

The vessel stopped out of nowhere. My heart was pounding because of the pain.

— Move!  the soldier ordered me again.

The soldiers led me to a tent still holding their rifles pointed at me. I passed a lot of people very aware of their curious and scared looks.

The entrance to the tent was guarded by Heartrenders  of the Corporalki order and oprichniki in gray uniforms - elite soldiers of the Darkling  personal guard. Only then  I understand what had really happened, apart from me there was only one shadow summoner , General Kirigan.

The soldier talked with the guards in front of the tent, then disappeared inside with heartrenders after him . I stayed outside, my heart pounding in my chest, aware of what was going to happen. He will kill me...or I will become a slave. The first option sounds better to me than the second, better dead than being someone's toy.

After a while, the soldier returned, motioning for me to follow him. I was frozen in place, not knowing what to do  ,  to go in or not, to fight him? Should I punch him in the face and run away? It doesn't sound bad. I felt how I was grabbed by the arm and pulled inside. For a moment, fear completely gripped me. The inner walls of the tent were lined with waves of black silk that reflected the bright light. The soldier led me down a long corridor, at the end of which was a black canopy mounted on a raised platform. As we advanced into the pavilion, a wave of curiosity spread around us. Several Grisha men and women stopped their conversations and stared at me.