Undying #Wattys2015

Chapter 2: Deathly Encounter

As I waded through the dead leaves of the forest floor, I could not stop shaking. Was I afraid? Or excited? Even though the day was at its peak, there was no noise in this part of the forest. Then I began to notice the ground was tilting. I was going uphill. The farther I went, the thinner the woods got. The rocks were getting larger and the ground was getting harder. I was scaling the side of the mountain. Would he be at the top?

My chest was burning. Climbing the mountain was getting more and more difficult. At some point, I collapsed and began crawling on all fours in order to reach the top. My entire body was numb with exhaustion. My wobbly arms gave out and my face slammed into the rough mountain dirt. The sharp stones scraped my cheeks and forehead and I could feel blood dripping down my face. I felt pathetic. I could not even raise my head off from the ground. My new heart throbbed uncontrollably, wishing to escape my bony prison. Scratching at the ground, I opened my eyes in fiery defiance and with new energy, pushed my body off the ground. I am in power. Not you.

I felt incredible energy pulsing through my veins. With my strength back, I continued up the side of the mountain. The sun was shining down at the top. I could see my destination. I was almost there!

My eyes hurt as they adjusted to the light. There, in front of me, laid a carcass. A large white and bloody carcass. The ground was tiled with white stones, and there were statues aligned in a ring around the creature. Was I at a shrine? Once my eyes suddenly cleared, I saw a person sitting next to the body. This person, a young woman, was wearing a dark blue jacket, which was unzipped and flowing in the wind. Wielding a Pieced blade, she got up and turned to me. I could feel the anger in the atmosphere. As the wind picked up and pulled her hood off of her head, she shouted, "You! You monster!"

Slashing the air to extend her blade, she ran at me. She was so fast that I could see a trail of her tears falling slowly behind her. I tripped and fell backwards and she came right over me. Her blade touched the skin on my neck and I could feel her breath on the tip of my nose. She stopped, examining me. Like an animal who feared death, my widened eyes locked onto hers. Her tears fell on my face and she cried, "How could you kill her?"

I gulped, and I felt the blade piercing my skin. Shaking, I explained, "I-I d-didn't!"

She tilted my head with her foot to face the carcass. She howled, "You mean to tell me, you aren't the reason she is dead?"

I could see its face. It was reptilian and had a coat whiter than snow, except for the blotches of red ink splattered across its body, like paint on a canvas. It had two long horns coming out the sides of its head, and its gazing, dead eyes were a fiery gold. With large wings and a long tail, this creature's crooked, broken mouth had thick teeth. A Guardian. The moment I realized this, I felt my heart trembling in anger and hatred flooding my entire being.

I stuttered as I explained, "H-he did this... he k-killed her."

The woman's eyes went dark as she lifted the blade off my neck. She came off of me and tried to stay standing, but she collapsed on her knees. I pushed myself off the tiled ground and walked over to the Guardian. Because it was lying on its side, I could see its exposed stomach and the large, open gash that opened its chest. I could see its ribs, its lungs, but no heart. I clenched my breast and my eyes burned in fury. Suddenly, a ghostly light jumped from the dragon to my chest and attached to my heart. My entire body glowed with a scorching light. The Guardian was now with me. The woman asked, "It was Bane, wasn't it?"

I turned to her and explained with disgust, "Yes" and I gazed across the horizon, "He said he'd be at the Summit."

We were at the edge. At the sides of this mountain, there were others; all of them formed a ring around a valley down below. A ring of twelve mountains. In the center of the valley was the largest mountain I had ever seen. It was higher than the cloud line and loomed over us, like a menacing giant. She walked over to me, with her shoes clacking against the tile ground. "Then he'd be there," and her finger was pointed to top of the colossal mountain, "And I'm going to kill him."

"No..." I spoke, "Death is too quick and painless. He deserves a different sentence."

She asked, "Are you his enemy? But you now have the heart of a Guardian. You are a Wayward!"

"He betrayed me," I explained as I continued to clench my heart, "I didn't know this would be my burden."

"Well then," she began, "I guess the enemy of my enemy is my friend. And you aren't the only one he betrayed. He betrayed us all." She stopped for a moment and touched her necklace, "He ruined the innocence of my best friend." With an indistinct whisper, she said, "Aiden, I'm coming to save you."

Memories rushed to the forefront of my mind and I saw a young girl in front of me. She had dark brown hair and sharp blue eyes. She wanted to serve the Guardians and protect the power of the Myth.

Claira?