HalfWorlder #Wattys2017

Chapter 3-The Knot of Isis

Complete darkness surrounded me but for the colors that floated around me too – colors I'd never seen before and didn't think humans could see. An absurd memory tried to surface – I wasn't one, a human, I mean. It was a strange thought, but in my dream state, it made my head hurt and this place was doing enough to give me a migraine, so I let it go.

But then the vision shifted and I found myself in a long room carved from bedrock. A wet dirt and moss smell filled my nose, and it was so warm, sweat soaked through my shirt. Near me, a blanket twisted sloppily on a sleeping cot, a loaf of bread sat half-eaten on a table, and metal boxes stamped with the word "rations" littered the room. The only light came from a lone monitor that idled in the corner, and it was deathly quiet but for the ragged breathing of the girl crouched beside me. The girl from my nightmares – of course.

Who else should I expect?

We knelt together on the hard ground, backs pressed against one of the boxes. There was a scratching noise and her head perked up. She swallowed hard when she found the source, and her breathing started coming in such ragged bursts I thought she might hyperventilate. My heart joined her panic, beating in my chest like it knew what to expect. I didn't have much time to consider this before there was louder scratching and sparks lit the dim room not 20 feet away. Someone was cutting a ventilation grate from the wall, trying to get in from the other side.

The scream of a handsaw pierced my eardrums until it stopped abruptly and the intruder kicked out what was left of the wall. The grate thudded the floor staccato, the sound whipping off each wall in the room. The girl threw her hands to her ears cowering even lower. My hand pressed hard against the box, steadying myself as the man worked his way out, his light flashing erratically as he brought his bulky frame through the opening. But then he steadied himself and his light flashed back and forth in a studied grid, no doubt looking for us.

I leaned down to whisper to the girl, but she ignored me and took a fleeting glance around the corner at him instead. Going still like some paralyzing numbness struck her, she fell against the box again. Her chest rose and fell with quick hard breaths – the kind that hurt with every suck of air. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes darted back and forth searching for any means of escape. I wondered if she'd start shaking with fear and scream out and reveal us, but she stayed quiet and kept her body still.

The man was getting closer though with every second and I knew we needed to run. The girl bounced on her legs in anticipation, and I saw the moment her face stilled; resolve finding its way into her panicked eyes. Even then, she made a little sound like a whimper and looked rapid fire around before sprinting to the nearest box the moment his light fell away.

"Wait," I hoarsely whispered and ran, clumsily diving down behind her silent figure to avoid the light. Instead of stopping, my body went straight through her and she flickered like an old TV on the fritz.

"Whoa," I said.

The girl ignored me still.

My brain attempted to wrap itself around this, but time wouldn't pause for my reflection. My eyes snapped back to her. She had collapsed onto her knees and sat staring at a simple gold locket resting on a braided chain. Her eyes were sad, and when she pressed her lips hard against the metal, they closed on heavy and unspoken memories. Then she relaxed her rigid posture, slumping to the ground. It looked like the girl from my nightmares was finally done running.

A tear formed in her eye and fell upon the locket, but the moment the tear hit the metal, light flashed with such brilliance, my eyes went blind for a second. The locket flew open and out burst a pinprick of crushing light, the pressure of its containment evident in its awesome release, its tiny light growing and swelling and catapulting into the air above the girl.