Under the Shadow of the Moon

Chapter 21

 "Did you guys see where Sylvia went?" Eve asked the group.

"I didn't see her leave, though to be fair, I wasn't watching her. I thought it was your job to babysit?" Lloyd said coldly, his fists clenched.

Eve sighed. "Thanks." She walked away from them, drying off her hands and picking up her phone.

Lily looked up at Lloyd, studying his eyes. "Why were you so rude to her?"

"You know what her sister did."

"I know... but they're still the closest thing I have to family, besides you guys. I still care about them."

"You still care about Sylvia? Even after everything?"

Lily sighed. "I know she did some bad things, but she's not all bad. And Eve isn't the one at fault."

Lloyd sighed reluctantly. "Fine, alright." He stood up, following Eve to the cave. "Eve!" He caught up to her, leaning up against the cave wall. "Eve, I'm sorry. It wasn't right of me to treat you that way. I'm sorry."

"It's alright Lloyd," Eve replied. "I'm sure she just went home."

☆★☆

When Sylvia's eyes opened again, she couldn't quite pinpoint where she was. The room was dark, with red lights tucked off far from her reach. Her vision was blurry and the floor beneath her was a cold metal, burning her exposed skin. Her head was pounding, scattering any thoughts she could possibly piece together. She was shaking she realized, unsure if it was simply from the cold of the floor or from fear. A mixture of both, she was sure. Another painful throb pulled the thoughts from her, and she was unable to recall them. "Where am I?" She called out, her voice cracking, sounding alien to her own ears.

"Welcome to my world," said a girl's voice, familiar to Sylvia in a way she couldn't quite place. It was a voice she knew well, but it was different. Older. Deeper. Darker. She tried to look around for the source of the sound, but her vision was still blurred and she had to fight to keep her eyes from closing.

"What do you want with me?" She let out a cry as she attempted to push herself onto her arms. Her chin hit the floor as her arms gave out beneath her. "What am I doing here?"

"Aw, the poor thing," said another voice, deep and mocking. "Was she really worth all this trouble?" The voice laughed, a humorless, scornful laugh.

Sylvia cried out again, tried to push herself off the floor again. The pain was becoming too much to bear. "What do you want with me?" She shouted, feeling tears slipping down her face.

"The Eye wants to meet you," the girl's voice said. "He was quite impressed by you, but he's worried you're slipping away from him." The way she spoke was almost melodic, all her words carefully placed in the sentence to send shivers down Sylvia's spine.

"The Eye?" Sylvia echoed, blinking rapidly and trying to push herself up again.

A door slammed open, and Sylvia's vision cleared as light poured in from a hallway. Two people stood to her right, a girl with long diamond blonde hair and sharp green eyes, and a tall boy with black hair. They both wore dark uniforms, the way the collar sat on the boy's shoulders made his pale face all the more noticeable. His eyes made Sylvia jump. One was dark blue, and the other was bright amber. They each seemed to reflect a different emotion, the blue one rage and the yellow one utter hunger for destruction. Both were shallow and empty, as if there were nothing sitting behind them. His expression was permanently pulled into a sharp glare, the misaligned bride of his nose seeming to blur the rest of his face and make his eyes stand out even more. His mere presence made Sylvia's blood run cold and every instinct in her body scream to get away from him. He filled Sylvia with dread and a fear for her life she had never felt before.