Atlantis Academy: The First Element

CHAPTER NINE

I'm not staying up here another second.

I awkwardly turn around on my hands and knees and reach out. Where's the damn ledge?

"Lyric." It's a whisper in my ears, competing with the sound of waves. "Lyric."

My stomach lurches, and I glance behind me.

The fog swirling around me seems to solidify.

It's pure white.

Opaque.

Nope! I'm shivering violently as I command my arm to move forward, to find the damn ledge so I can climb back down.

Nothing happens.

Move!

I can't lift my arm.

I try to move my other arm, my leg, my head, anything.

I'm frozen. Paralyzed, surrounded by the solid white fog.

"Lyric!"

Someone is yelling my name.

Help!

I try to scream in response, but my vocal cords are just as paralyzed as the rest of me.

Fear takes over, leaving me weak and dizzy. The next gust of wind could be stronger, could send me plummeting to my death.

I try to suck in a breath to call out again, but no air flows into my lungs. White threads of mist curl toward me in slow motion, entering my mouth and nose, as if they're living creatures emerging from the fog to crawl inside me.

I'm in a nightmare.

None of this is real.

It can't be.

Panic clouds my vision as my body finally moves.

But I'm not the one moving it.

I'm turning around on all fours. I'm going the wrong way!

All I can do is watch in horror, bile creeping up my throat, as my body rises.

I'm standing, facing the ocean.

My right leg jerks. Lifts. My knee bends.

I take a step forward.

My left leg jerks. Lifts. My knee bends.

I take another step.

No! Stop. Please stop.

My body isn't listening. I'm not in control.

It's moving forward, slowly, without my permission. Walking along the Rock. Heading straight for the edge.

I'm numb, a prisoner in my own shaking body as my limbs jerk, as my body walks me toward the sea.

I want to cry and scream for help, but all I can move are my eyes.

A gust of wind sweeps across the Rock, pulling me sideways.

I slip, slide, fall to my knees in terrible slow motion. Pain radiates up my leg, through my hip. My muscles go rigid, holding me upright and kneeling, as the wind whips past me for what feels like forever.

Please.

If there's a God out there. Or a Goddess.

Please help me.

I know I never pray. I never know what to say.

I'll do better.

I will.