The Twenty-Sided Dice

Chapter 2: Eve of the Blaze

At the sound of this name, Tanya, who had been deliberately not thinking about him, seemed to be really, truly happy for a split second before she started thinking very intensely about Evelyn, and then, surprisingly, about Erin. They all somehow recognized that they were sharing their thoughts with everyone else, and Ashley pressed her hands against her head and whimpered softly.

Meanwhile, it was Evelyn's turn in the initiative order, and she rolled to attack the goblin that they were fighting using her daggers, and rolled a natural 20. Her hands seemed to flicker for a split second, then she looked at Madison gleefully and rolled for damage.

Oh, I remember this. Before Evelyn's... breakdown. As Tanya's mind fell into a stream of memories, Maya realized what was happening at the same time that Xavier did.

That little girl has the powers! They both thought this simultaneously, and Ashley stared at Maya in shock. And as Evelyn mimed drawing a set of imaginary daggers and plunging them into the back of the goblin, a pair of real, shiny, steel daggers materialized in her hand. She swung the knives down towards the floor, and everyone in both groups watched in horror as the blades cut cleanly through Jamie's shoe. The group was a silent for a moment, varying expressions on their faces, but there was no question about what was going through Charlotte's mind.

"How could you do that? You almost cut Jamie!" Charlotte was on the verge of screaming at Evelyn, her voice raised and her face contorted in an expression of fury. Evelyn, surprisingly, refused to back down. Under that soft, gentle exterior, there is a monster waiting to break free. This is where it all goes wrong. And with this ominous statement, Tanya retreated to her own thoughts.

Taylor was comforting Jamie, Madison was simply watching the argument, wanting to stay passive, and Charlotte and Evelyn were yelling loudly in the center of the clearing.

Tanya emerged from her mental bubble to watch Jamie wistfully, her mind murmuring about how they were supposed to end up together. Oh. She really loved him. Maybe she still loves him, even now after this distant past. I still don't know how she fits in with this chaotic story, though. Maybe I could ask her... someday. Xavier's thoughts were a distant background noise, penetrating everyone's brains but not really being processed.

Suddenly, Charlotte seemed to back down, and they all noticed a thin line of dripping red on her arm. Only Maya noticed the gleam of silver steel in Evelyn's hand, however, and she was met with a barrage of alarmed thoughts when she shared that with the group.

Abruptly, Charlotte tore away, sprinting through the forest with the exceptional speed of a rogue. Now Madison looked at Evelyn with new alarm in her gaze, and nobody said a word until Evelyn clapped her hands quickly. "Alright, you guys, let's go try to find her. We can't just leave my sister in the woods, after all."

That could've been a really kind statement, except it was really scary. Xavier thought about this for a while, then turned to look back at the rest of the members of the group, who were currently scouring the forest for any sign of their friend.

As Taylor searched through the forest, scanning the ground for footprints or other suspicious clues, Charlotte emerged from the undergrowth and pulled her into the bushes.

"Charlotte, what is going on? Why are we hiding? Shouldn't I go back to Evie now that I found you?" As Taylor whispered this to Charlotte, she replied with an incredulous expression.

"Didn't you see how she cut me? And how she almost hurt Jamie? She's going insane, Taylor. We should get out of here, while we still can. Before she loses her mind completely. These powers... they're controlling her. That... creature is not my sister anymore." But Taylor was already shaking her head vigorously, fervently denying this statement.