[OLD] Cursed

Chapter 10

     Being alone was hard. Not knowing how to survive was harder. If you connected the dots, it would be something like this. Since he was alone, and was so used to working with other people, he had a hard time trying to survive alone. Therefore, his frustration grew. It was adding wood to a fire. His anger seemed eager to be in control.

     From Captain's old stories, he knew not to trust Fire. Fire whispered in humans' ears, deceiving them, fueling their anger, encouraging them to take their own path. Fire could be important, but Fire could control you.

     Thomas thrust his hands in the water until they were soaked before pulling them out and quickly grabbing a few branches, dragging them back to the shore. His hands started to sting, indicating that the water had almost completely dried off. He dropped them right before the pain started, then grabbed his fire starter stones. It's almost night... He looked up at the first stars. Which means it'll be cold...

     Sparks flew as the stones banged together. One landed on the firewood and a red light blazed to life, the flames licking at the ground. The smoke rose up into the sky, a wispy trail of gray. A gust of wind stirred the little frozen leaves on the trees, and they all sighed in harmony. A few white specks appeared in the sky, as if to comfort him. But he couldn't be comforted.

     The moon was only half full, to his disappointment. His anger was still stored up inside of him, like a cannon ready to explode if someone lit the tip and caused it to fire. He almost wished there was someone around to do that. At least it would mean that he wasn't alone. The fire crackled and sizzled as he applied some more firewood, feeding the ravenous flames. They reached towards the sky as if to pull the heavens down, which he probably wouldn't care about as long as the sky didn't fall on him.

     Since when did you become so heartless? A small voice snarled at him deep inside his head.

     Oh, I'm sorry. I just got rejected by my captain and forever banned from the seas! And I have no one to be with or take out my anger on! Nothing! I can't even break the branches off of the trees since I can't touch them!

     He let out a low growl, climbing onto his raft so he wouldn't have to keep going back and forth between the ocean and the shore. The stars shone brightly overhead, but he knew that the stars had abandoned him. He wasn't a sailor anymore, from even before the day Captain banned him from the seas. He was a traitor. And the stars had stopped watching over him.

The ship rocked back and forth in a rhythmic way, the calming waves gently lapping against the hull. The sound of water was calming and familiar. There was no wind, and he couldn't tell if the ship was moving or not. The sun beat down, warming everything beneath it with it's rich golden rays. Thomas perched on top of the mizzenmast, scanning the horizon. This was how life was for him. His crewmates were nowhere in sight, to his relief. It was much quieter and peaceful without them. A seagull landed on the shroud and wobbled a bit before regaining it's balance. It laughed once, twice, before pumping it's wings and taking off into the skies above. The skies were a deep shade of blue, reminding him of a precious stone called lapis lazuli, which Captain kept in his sleeping quarters. Lapis lazuli... his crewmates called it sky stone. His hand felt heavy and he looked down, seeing the precious stone sitting in his palm. In his shock of it's sudden appearance, he dropped it. It clattered the the ground and rolled over on the deck, before slowing fading and reappearing in his hand. He dropped it again, this time, on purpose. There was a faint flash of light and it came back, nestled in his palm."This... this isn't possible. Unless it's a dream..."

The woodlands seemed to press in around him as he stood there, the mud from the marsh tugging at his boots. He lifted up a foot and it made a loud, popping sound as it was extracted from the mud. The lapis lazuli rested heavily in his hand, refusing to let go. Thomas blinked rapidly as the sky stone started to glow, a single speck of light in the small forest. Everything around him started to light up, as if they were reflecting the light. The leaves under his feet lit the way, like a glowing arrow, pointing to where he should go. He took a step forward, then another. In a matter of seconds he was running, avoiding roots and stones scattered on the forest floor. He stopped in front of a stone building, panting hard, despite the fact that he knew he had only run for a few minutes. There was a huge rectangular hole in the stone building, an entranceway. He stepped through, the sky stone lightning the way. He lifted it high, getting a better look at what was around him. There were hundreds and thousands of symbols carved on the walls, so many that they were overlapping each other. The roof was covered in thick vines, as if they were meant to hold it up. The floor was surprisingly smooth and flat, made of the same stone as the roof and the walls. In the center of the room was a silver chest, almost blending in with the dark. The sky stone glowed brighter, excited. He stepped forward, leaning towards the chest to inspect it. There was a slot, just where the keyhole should be. He turned the lapis lazuli once in the palm of his hand before pushing it into the slot. There was a click and the chest started to open.