𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒

𝟎𝟑𝟒. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝

"Well lucky you then," Evangeline mumbled under her breath.

"I'm sure this whole thing could be amended," Seth said, "That is if you were to return with my witch in hand."

Evangeline scoffed, "I'd hardly call her anyone's property, she's a person."

"It seems I touched a nerve."

"I don't have time for this," Evangeline turned to walk away before remembering that there was nowhere to go, "Which way out?"

"It's your mind," Seth shrugged, nonchalantly.

"You're trapped here too," she pointed out, "You may as well help."

"Only until Skywalker or someone else wakes you up," he contradicted.

However, his comment froze her in her tracks, "How did you—"

"Did I forget to mention that the link also allows me to see some of your surroundings?" Seth's expression grew smug.

She sought for the next words to say, but she remained silent. It wasn't that she didn't have anything to say. She had an earful that she wanted to express, yet she remained mute all the same. When she finally found the strength to actually open her mouth, only an ear piercing shriek exited. The familiar sensation of a headache slowly grew as well. Seth seemed to wince in response as well, but she was unable to determine if he felt her pain or if she had just injured his eardrums.

"You weren't kidding about the pain."

Even though she knew what he said, she felt as if she had read his lips rather than actually heard him speak. However, she wasn't permitted to focus on that for long as the area around her changed drastically. A beam crashed down in front of her which placed Seth out of her vision. She rubbed her eyes as they stung from the smoke that now surrounded her. She yelped as heat licked her skin and the flame that had reached out to touch her left a lasting mark.

"No, no, no," her eyes widened and the rate of her breathing increased, "It's just a dream. It's just a dream!"

Her eyes darted everywhere for some sort of salvation from her personal hell. When she spotted an opening, she didn't hesitate. She ran. Her nerves were already on end, but she jumped when she heard the sound of cracking. She was unable to determine if it was just the flames or something much worse in the distance. When screams other than her own followed, her question was answered. She ran as fast as she could, but even that didn't last long as her panicked state led her into a dead-end. She spun in a circle, but the flames surrounded her. The heat was unbearable and she was forced to crouch beneath the blanket of smoke just to breath.

Debris crashed around her as the temple destabilized. That's when she saw it: her hiding place. She slowly pulled herself across the ground to the hole in the wall that had protected her before. However, she bit back her tears as she came to the realization that she might have felt like that small, scared little girl, but she had grown much older. She closed her eyes and seemed to embrace the end. The single tear that escaped her eyelids slid down her face, but immediately evaporated.

Yet, when she opened her eyes, she sputtered and coughed out—not smoke—but water. Her eyes remained wide and tears streamed down her face as she wildly looked around disoriented. She was soaked from both sweat and what she assumed was water based on the empty bucket that the medic held in his hands.

"Why did you do that?!"

"It woke her up didn't it?" the medic replied almost sarcastically.

"What sort of medic are you?"

"Look," the medic pinched the bridge of his nose, "I know what I'm doing. She was overheating and needed to cool down immediately."

Ben appeared to relax slightly with his explanation, but did not look satisfied, "How often is this going to happen?"