Reign Storm

A Light in the Dark

The darkness rumbled around her. Erin sat up grasping the sides of the bed. Muffled silence dominated again. Her eyes were slow to adjust to the dim lighting. Nausea churned in her stomach and she fell back onto the pillow. Looking up she saw the canopy hanging over the bed. The center dipped low under the weight of misshapen tiles that had fallen from the ceiling.

            Pushing herself up to a slouching position she could now make a few of the other beds. A candle flickered from a low slab of stone in the center of the two rows of beds. Beyond the scope of the light the room dropped off into drafty darkness, literally dropped off. The edge was marked with piles of tile and rubble that had been neatly piled up to create a sort of boundary line. The wall opposite her bed was a wall where a puzzle of white marble still clung to the wall. A sign was still attached and it read, “Boarding Zone.”

            Only one other person occupied the space with her, all else remained motionless and black. She could hear the dry shallow breathing of them, but she had not been awake at the same time and in the slim light she could not tell if it was a boy or a girl but the features she could see from afar seemed very young to her.

            The last thing she clearly remembered was hugging the brown haired boy, Daniel and praying all else would be disintegrated into light. Between that moment of brightest light and this never ending darkness were periods of pain with sounds of Reign clicking around her or over her but she had not been able to pull herself to full consciousness until recently, here in the dark with only one other person.

            Sitting up she looked over to the other bed where the other patient was. She assumed that this is what she was. She did not feel well and there were no other people around, it felt like a sick ward. There were no monitors to assure her of vital signs. In the shadowy darkness she could barely make out the shape of a body under the blankets.

            Flinging back her covers, Erin stepped out of the bed. The pock marked cement had been packed with dirt to soften the sharp edges. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bad and toward the floor she looked down at the thin, holey socks that covered her feet. The tops of which blended nicely with the skin of her legs. How long has she been out? She had never seen her skin so pale before. She suddenly felt her skin was dry and itchy all over.

            Standing slowly she stepped forward. Her legs shook with the effort. Shuffling across the floor in small steps she made her way to the other bed. Every step felt like she was stepping on glass. She wanted to check to see if there in fact cuts on the bottom of her feet but she did not want to chance falling over. Balancing was challenge enough without going at it on one foot.

            Sitting carefully on the edge of the bed she leaned over the small figure. She used the word bed for what were piles of all sorts material elevated on wood boards. The pillows were bundles of the same stuff, a combination of material and newspaper from what she could tell. It was a small child after all, but even up close she could not tell if it was a boy or a girl. She wished it was Daniel.

            The gaunt child had patches of intermittent white hair that was long enough to cover the ears. His or hers chest gave way to the lungs shallow but steady intake of air. Erin grasped on tiny hand in hers while testing the forehead with her other hand. She gasped, the skin so cold to the touch. The next bed over had a sheet on it. Her muscles quaked with the effort as she reached for it and dragged it across the floor and piled it onto the child.

            A sudden heat warmed her neck. Erin jumped with a startled scream and threw herself against the bed.

            “What are you doing, child?” A soft voice asked her.

            Erin turned her head to see a Valurri bending over her. The bed was so low to the ground and their kind were all so tall and lanky he seemed like a giant in this moment.

            “Please don’t hurt us,” she pulled her legs onto the bed, covered the child with her own body, and buried her head in the sheet.

            “I’m here to heal you,” he stated in the same soothing tone. With one long arm he reached down and hooked the girl by the waist, easily lifting her from the bed.

            “No! Don’t,” Erin reached back for the bed, it faded from her sight into the dark.

            He tried to capture her spindly legs and she struggled to free herself from his grasp. “Please calm down.” The chestnut brown alien requested.

            Erin opened her mouth to protest but her tongue felt swollen and it stuck to her teeth. Her stomach convulsed and her whole body spasmed. Her lungs and esophagus heaved as a hard, dry cough ripped through her ribs.

            The Valurri delivered her to her own bed where she continued her fit. Between bouts she watched as he limped to the edge of the dark, dragging one leg slightly behind him. She lay on her side, her whole body shuddering with involuntary wrenching. Appearing again at her side the Valurri knelt next to the bed. With one hand on her back he held her in a sitting position. With the other he pressed a ceramic cup to her lips.

            The warm liquid filled her mouth. It trickled between her tongue and teeth and down into her throat. It was water. Clean, pure water. Where it had come from she had no idea but it was the most wonderful thing she had tasted in weeks.

            “You’re dehydrated.” Steadily he poured the contents of the cup into her until it was empty. Leaning Erin back on the pillow his wide mouth curled into a smile. “Better?”

            Erin nodded arms wrapped around her stomach. Every muscle in ached and she felt exhausted now. Pulling the blankets over her, he struggled to his feet. “I will get you another glass of water and see we can’t get some food to stay down this time.”

            Erin nodded again and rolled onto her side staring into the black abyss. She listened to his heavy, dragging steps as he left the room. Her mind reeled. Was this some sort of trick?