"Christi." A whisper comes from the dark.
"Hello?" I answer nervously. I'm now fully in consternation. What is going on? I don't understand it. Nothing seems to be going all right. Not today, that is. Even if, is this a dream?
"Christi," the voice says again. Harsher, briskly. I shudder in fear. I tell myself inside: I will not be afraid, I will not be afraid. There will be no harm to me, not when I'm with Sabrina. Wait, is Sabrina even here? I bite my lip, a bit too hard, tasting a droplet of blood on my tongue.
"Christi, I am here." I want to run and hide, but the voice draws me near.
"Who are you? Where did you come from?" I inquire cautiously. I don't know who is speaking to me, and I feel like I don't want to know.
"I am Skifter." I feel a rush of air, and look above me. A majestic hawk appears, swimming across the sky. His stature classifies him as a black kite, though I've never seen one in my life.
"Where do you come from?" I'm already in awe, but I'd love to learn more.
"That is for me to know, and you to find out..." Skifter trails off.
"Why have you come?" I can't stop asking questions and I need to learn more about this animal. The bird screeches out before perching on a branch that seems to have shot out from the wall.
"Really? My ears, Skifter! Stupid bird" I yell.
Skifter narrows his eyes and screeches again.
"Christi, so ignorant. You must know that I have come to help you. You do not have the right to call me stupid. If stupid at all, it's you who is. Listen carefully, young girl. I am your guardian, if you ever think to the darkness of evil again, betraying your only guardian, you will be filled with consequences even I can't endure." I shiver as he takes off, the cold whoosh rushing at my face.
"Skifter! Wait, I didn't mean to—"
I blink open my eyes. Was that all a dream? Was it real? Was it—Lupo... Skifter is Lupo's friend.
"Sabrina! I—" I stop, noticing I'm barefoot, standing in what seems to be a bubble.
"Yeah," she answers wearily. She also looks down and screams. I mean, that's Sabrina for you!
"What. Is. THIS?" I don't know what the bubbly thing is, and I don't know what to do with it either. It's translucent and has colors—blue, green and pinkish purple—swirling around it. Like an actual bubble.
"You know, Sabrina, I'm not sure." She rolls her eyes and I tell her about Skifter.
"He appeared in my dream, just as Lupo did for you. Do you think it's something important?" Sabrina's eyes brighten, then she shakes me by the shoulders.
"Sweet goodies! That's amazing! Amazeballs!" Literally, who says amazeballs? And sweet goodies?
"Amazeballs?" I snicker.
"You know what I mean!" she exclaims, waving her hand. "So, about Skifter? What did you ask her?"
"Skifter is a he, Sabrina! I already told you that!" I roll my eyes, while Sabrina laughs.
"Just tell me what you asked him." She emphasizes him, to make her point.
"I asked him where he came from, and who he was."
"That's ALL!? You have got to be kidding me!"
"Sabrina! What did you ask Lupo?"
"Forget that, let's just talk about something worthwhile," she answers. I think talking about animals is worthwhile, but apparently not to Sabrina.
"Fine," I respond. Not one of us talks for a little while until I figure out a very fascinating thing.
"Yo! Sabrina! Guess what I discovered?!"
"What?" she answers eagerly.
"Watch this!" I plant my feet on the "floor" of the bubble thing and start running.
"Do ya feel it?" I inquire. She nods, staring outside the bubble's walls.
"We're moving! Keep going! I'll help you! Maybe we can get out of this place!" She hops next to me and we run like the wind.
"If only Jago were here," I say. Sabrina's face turns sour and I stop running. The bubble slows down but keeps moving.
"I'm sorry." I pat her shoulder. If Katy was here, I wouldn't really care that much. But Easton is a different story. Thinking of Jago reminds me of him, his sandy blonde hair blowing just the slightest bit in the wind as he and Jago take their morning weekend runs. This way, I can feel Sabrina's sadness in my heart.
"You know, Sabrina, if we get out..." Sabrina's expression lightens, as she realizes the plan.
"I'll get to see Jago again!" She smiles after speaking.
"Let's run," I add, hoping the plan will take us home. Running only makes me think of Easton, my beloved brother.
"Yeah." Sabrina plants her feet onto the bubble and we run like we never have before.
"Look, Sabrina! I can see something above!" I point up, spotting the bottom of an island. Sabrina cheers, clearly excited for the sliver of hope. We force the bubble upwards, so we can get a good look at the island.
"It's majestic. Magical. Dazzling!" Sabrina compliments the island. We can see only a minor part of the island, but it does look nice. A pleasant place to get in a little nap and leisure. That's a total possibility once school gets out in a few weeks. School. We're missing school.
"Sabrina, how long have we even been down here?" She shrugs, then taps her chin.
"Over a day!" I roll my eyes at her response.
"You know what I mean, Sabrina! Geez!"
"Chill out, Christi. Just a little joke to revive the place." I don't protest, instead I turn the bubble around and run towards the open ocean. Sabrina joins me, so we bustle on our way. I feel my toes run over the liquidy smoothness of the bubble. I wonder how we got here in the first place.
We keep running for what seems like infinity hours, until I have a sudden feeling.
"Sabrina, I'm feeling a little anxious about this. Let's turn around." She glares at me, arrows digging into my heart.
"Turn around? Turn around when we've come so far? No! I want to see Jago!" She spins on her bare heel, and continues running. The feeling becomes stronger, and I think desperately to stop Sabrina.
"Sabrina—" My sentence is broken. Zap! Gzz! Gzz! Sabrina falls back, I catch her.
Purple lights of voltage appear and I look at my surroundings. All around me, there's purple. The bubble is electrified! From the inside of the bubble, I can recognize that the violet flashes of possibly fatal light are forming four vast walls around us. An arena, large. Extremely large. Blocking our way out. We're trapped.
✦
"I'm never going to see Jago again!" wails Sabrina. I want to tell her something, but I'm not sure if I'm going to make it worse.
"Maybe we can talk about something else?" I suggest. Sabrina looks away.
"I don't want to—Lupo!"
"Heh?" I respond, whirling around. A grey wolf stands near. He growls softly, then circles around us.
"Lupo! Why have you come?" Sabrina says, clearly proud of him.
"Don't you mean 'why have we come'?" Lupo states and Skifter appears next to him. He's still in flight, but then lands suddenly.
"We came to tell you. About Zaroho." Sabrina gasps. Who is Zaroho?
"Who is Zaroho, you ask?" Skifter speaks abruptly.
"Wha? How did you know what I—" I stutter out.
"What you were thinking? It's a Soul Animal thing."
"What about Zaroho? Are you going to tell us? Huh? And what are Soul Animals?" Sabrina asks, narrowing her eyes in thought.
"Of course..." Lupo lowers his head in a bow after speaking. "Of course. Master."