Lightning and Starlight

The Cabin

The world spun. Neera felt hot. Hot all over. She remembered—

Neera sat up, fast. Dizziness blurred her vision and muffled her hearing. She shook her head, trying to clear her vision and the shrill ringing in her head.

The villains. The White Waters. The destruction. Vincent had tried to bring her lunch. It was so sweet of him...

She had gotten out the door, running to safety, to the planes, but she had turned back. She could not—would not—leave without making sure Vincent and Davina were out and safe.

And then something happened...

Neera didn't remember. 

But her body felt like it was on fire.

She looked down. Fire. She didn't panic. Her flesh wasn't burning. She couldn't burn. 

It did give her energy, though. 

Neera pulled a hot piece of metal off one of her legs and stood, wincing. She looked around. She had to find Vincent and Davina and the others. She looked around, but she saw no one. Not even bodies. The bodies had all burned. 

She looked to the hanger. It was empty. Her stomach dropped. 

Neera heard a clatter from the wreckage. She immediately ran, sure that it was a White Water. She ran on for minutes until she looked back to see nothing and no one following her. She still had to get far away for her own safety. The heroes were gone. She continued on, walking straight on for miles and miles until she saw woods. She was alone.

Neera stopped somewhere in the woods when she couldn't go on any more. She looked around, feeling hopeless. She was embarrassed that she had panicked at the noise—what if it had been an ally? What if it had been another hero?

She plopped down on the ground, feeling the mud and grass beneath her. She was too tired to do anything but lay down. She gripped her side, grunting in pain.

And she fell asleep.

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Neera woke up with a start. She pulled herself up, wincing. Embarrassment flooded her when she realized she had cried before falling asleep. 

Neera took a deep breath, pulling her hands over her eyes. She had to come up with a plan to survive. She was alone with no one to help. She'd have to get creative.

Wincing, Neera pulled a hand to her side and started walking, looking for signs of food or clean water. Neera wasn't sure the closest city would be an option. Koen's people could be all over the place. She continued to venture into the woods. 

Neera somehow stumbled across a cabin. She paused when she saw it. Suspicious, Neera glanced around. She cautiously approached the cabin. She kicked the door open, ready to fight. Nothing.

The cabin was oddly peaceful, albeit dirty. 

Settling down was the best option, at least for a time. She needed to heal. Then she could venture to another base. She wasn't sure where one would be, but it was her best shot at being reunited with the rest of her base. 

Neera felt an odd sense of boredom. She left the cabin slowly, mindful of the situation. It was a potential trap. She wandered around the forest, careful not to lose her way, looking for a stream or creek. Finding nothing, she went back to the cabin. She didn't want to abandon a dry place to sleep. So she decided to try something potentially stupid.

She took a deep breath and let herself fall into the energy of teleportation. 

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