Shadows Peak |✔

Chapter 12: Sydney

That was nice.

Sydney looked over at him, but he was already fast asleep, his back facing her. He was very tan, in comparison to her fair complexion, and the bathroom light reflected off his toned physique.

Man, he looks like he'd be competition for Baron back in Galdon.

Baron was, by far, the strongest guy in her class; none of the other guys came close to beating him in the Strength test. But, looking at Casey, he seemed like he would have been a close second. He wasn't nearly as buff as Baron, but she could tell he was very strong.

Thankful he was asleep and she would not have to make awkward conversation with him, Sydney walked over to her spot on the floor, careful not to wake him with her off balance steps. As soon as she sat down, she wrapped herself up in the blanket and laid her head on the pillow, making sure she was facing away from Casey.

Sydney felt her body relax, despite the fact that she was laying on the cold hard floor. A few minutes later, she had fallen asleep.

I was laying on the ground, explosions going off all around me. People, screaming and crying, ran past me. I tried to get up, but I couldn't. My legs wouldn't move. I tried to sit up and get a look at them, but the sudden sharp pain in my back held me to the ground, as if I was in chains.

I tried to call out for help, but no one was listening. I tried grabbing onto the legs of people running by, but they just shook me off of them. Why wasn't anyone helping me?

"Syd! Syd! There you are!"

I heard her calling my name, and my heartbeat calmed itself at the recognition of who it was. I waited for her to get to me, as the only thing in my vision was the blue sky, stained with smoke.

Then she popped her head into my view, her ginger bangs blown out of her face as she looked down at me in concern.

"Liz, what's wrong?" I asked. "Is Jasper with you?!"

Panic started to set in as I assumed the worst had happened to our friend, but she kept her bright green eyes on me.

"Calm down, Syd. Jasper is fine. He's just helping get others to safety."

Her voice broke at the end of her sentence, and she turned to look away from me.

"Oh, Sydney! If only I hadn't gotten you to come to this stupid park, then you'd be okay!" she cried.

"Liz, it's okay. I probably just have a broken hip or something. I know I can't walk now, but I'm confident I will again," I smiled at her, trying to calm her down.

Liz looked at me, her tears falling on my face as she took in deep breaths.

"No, Syd. It's not okay. You're not okay."

She helped me sit up a bit, and pointed to my legs...or at least where my legs should've been. My cargo pants were ripped, bloody, and the last thing I saw connected to my body.

It took a moment for me to process the gory scene in front of me, that was me.

Suddenly, I was falling, or fainting? I couldn't tell, but my world turned black, and the last thing I saw was Liz's face before that too was encompassed in the darkness.

Sydney sat straight up, suddenly awake from her dream.

Liz. Liz was alive, but I was...

Trying to wipe the nightmare from her memory, Sydney grabbed her face, wetness meeting her fingertips. The realization that she was crying in her sleep hit her, as Liz's face re-entered her mind.

Suddenly, she wished her dream was real. That somehow, Liz was alive. She didn't care if it cost her her legs; Sydney just wanted to be able to see the care-free ginger that made her life worth living skip down the halls again.

Not wanting to wake Casey up, she covered her face with her pillow, letting her cries out. She realized how foolish she was to think she could grieve silently. Liz was family, and she lost her. She lost the person that held the most of her heart.

Sydney just cried and cried until she fell back asleep, exhaustion taking over.