In Search of You

Chapter 4

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Story co-authored by @strangegrounds

 

CHAPTER 4

Thank the Celestials she doesn’t snore, Quil thought as he sat, back against the tree trunk. The clicking and clawing from below had stopped an hour ago, the Kaditha leaving on the grounds that they still haven’t evolved to climb trees yet. As the predators left the vicinity, their incessant clicking was replaced by the chirping of crickets, hooting of owls, and the wind rustling the leaves. A peaceful blanket settled over the outer edges of the Thornhearts where they had to inadvertently stop for the night. The cacophony was music to Quil’s ear, and he thanked the Guiding Stars that they sent him to this world.

What he didn’t understand, however, was the girl sleeping in front of him. Despite the relative peace of the surroundings, for one was never really safe in Cerilia, sleep eluded Quil. His mind churned with questions - questions for Astrid, the Elders, the Celestials, for himself. A thousand why’s, how’s, and what’s swam through his head as he stared intently at her. He knew for a fact that only their kind, the Travellers of Ayre, had the ability to not only cross, but survive the mental and spiritual stress that comes with jumping through dimensions. Travelling required preparation and training, and even then there was no guarantee of safety. Ill prepared Travelers were known to have had their minds ripped to shreds, losing their sanity upon landing, a lesson he had to find out the hard way. He pushed the bitter taste of that memory away and sighed.

One thing was for certain. Astrid was an anomaly. She had a lot to answer for, but Quil had decided to let her get some sleep before questioning her more. He had accepted the fact, however, that she probably wouldn’t have many answers for him, considering she was about as clueless as he was, but it didn’t matter. Her mere presence here was both a question and an answer in itself, and only time can unravel the mystery of the girl that followed him. He stared up at the cloudy sky as the night went on, the red slowly disappearing to make way for the white moonlight that found its way through the tree leaves that overlapped above them. As the moonlight bathed them both in its glow, Quil thought of the days ahead. He decided that the only way he can get answers was if he kept Astrid safe. The stars had sent her here for a purpose, and he doubted that he would find out what that purpose was if Astrid was dead.

Quil smiled to himself. Despite all the confusion that this day had given him, he was excited to see how events were going to unfold. Cerilia was a land ripe with danger and adventure, and throughout the years he had experienced both best and the worst sides of it. Throughout the years, he had fallen in love with the world. He kissed his index and middle finger and raised them up to the clouds, offering a silent prayer of gratitude and asking guidance from the Celestials, wondering if they could see him through the clouds. He settled in for the night, feeling more alive than he had in years.

She held his face delicately in her hands, wiping away the tears that flowed down his cheeks, each one hitting her with the force of a waterfall. She felt them weighing on her entire being, pressing her down, making it hard to breathe as her own tears came unbidden. He kissed her, sweet like sin, and pried her hands away from his beautiful face. He held them firmly and started dragging her towards the light.

No. Not the light. She screamed and resisted, clawing his hands, trying in vain to break his grip, drawing blood, breaking nail, crying, screaming, pleading for him to let her go. But he did not hear, and if he did, he did not listen. Closer and closer they got to the light. Hysteria took over her, she ran out of tears, and her voice broke as she thrashed and kicked and screamed. But he was having none of it. There was the light. And then nothing else.