Chapter 7 In the Midst of Everything

It was a warm tingly feeling that made Iris open her eyes. The dome-like sky rippled around her like it was made of water. There was no sun, yet it was bright as day.

'Where am I?' she wondered, but the words echoed around the dome in repeat. Startled, she looked down at her feet. She was standing on what looked like white luminous threads, spaced out nicely, fixated in the air without needing any support. The sky below was endless; with not a land in sight.

Iris turned around. The threads extended back and up, forming a concave wall. Inside that open cave, there lay a spherical object. The threads formed a web around it and seemed to have originated from that object. As she inched closer towards it, she noticed lashes aligned neatly in a slightly curved line.

'It's an eye…' she thought. Again, the words repeated around.

As she drew near, reaching for it, the eye began to glow along with a spot in the middle of her forehead.

'This is my light… but it's closed off.'

The second Iris's fingers made contact with the surface of the eye, an invisible force threw her back out of the cave. Immediately threads extended, creating a small patch of platform where she landed.

She sat up, unharmed.

'I remember now… I know what I have to do.'

Iris's eyes flipped open.

.

I stared intensely at the shard on the coffee table in the lounge. Cheryl secretly watched me from afar. The glowing never seemed to cease. I attempted to touch it again, despite my previous burns a few seconds ago. It sizzled at my touch. The mark on my hand wiggled around in circles, as if eager for something.

At that moment, a sigh escaped the hallway behind me. I paused for a second, contemplating in my head. With a handkerchief, I picked up the shard and stuffed it in my pocket, hoping it wouldn't burn up too much. I turned around. She had her eyes closed, head leaning against the wall as she stood there, deep in thought.

Very silently, I inched over to her. When she opened her eyes, she almost jumped. I was standing there in front of her, a few feet apart, with my back leaning against the opposite wall. I had my arms crossed.

She opened her mouth to say something in a hesitant manner but I beat her to it.

"I'm sorry," I admitted to her. "It was unfair of me for trying to act like I didn't care about what happened last night."

"Don't," she replied softly. "I've had my reasons too." She looked down at her feet, as if remembering something. "To be honest, I was so scared last night that I…."

I gently stroked away a tear from her cheek. She looked up in surprise, just realizing how close I was at that moment. I could see very faint freckles starting from the bridge of her nose and fading into her cheeks. My eyes then wandered off to her neck. Purple marks circled around where the shadow had grabbed last night. My nostrils flared up.

"Last night, what made me angry was that-"

"I have… unfinished business… with a lot of people," she interrupted. It was the first piece of information she'd given out. I let my fingers gently trace the marks on the side of her neck, in an attempt to somehow make them disappear.

A sudden sound of a door slam made me pause. Someone rushed into the house in a panic. My mind became very alert at that moment. I peered out from the hallway to see Ricky gasping for breath. Cheryl and I looked at each other in confusion and hurried over to him. The minute he saw me, he lunged at me. I stepped to one side, but he grabbed my phone.

"Hey!" I objected but he put up a hand to silence me, frantically tapping buttons on the phone.

"Look at this conversation," he spoke in a stern voice.

He held the phone in front of my eyes. At first I was confused by the words. I hadn't sent that message nor had I received it.

THE BOOKSTORE IN THE MAIN SQUARE. HE'S THERE WITH THAT GIRL. THE SHOPKEEPER IS GIVING THEM SHELTER. YOU SHOULD GO CHECK THAT PLACE OUT.

"Wait, I didn't send that message, I swear. I don't know where it came from." I was very confused at this point. Then I remembered Ricky's powers.

"It's your friend Jon," Ricky said with distaste. "He got a call from someone, after which, that someone sent this message to the night force."

Ricky spoke with a frown so intense, it made him look a couple of years older.

"So, you just know things by looking at a phone?" Cheryl sounded impressed. "I used to know someone who could do that. I can't remember though." She scratched her head.

Ricky glanced at her but she just looked back at him, dumbfounded. He pressed his lips into a tight line to keep from saying anything. It was almost like the trauma went both ways. He looked away too quickly, though.

"Let's focus on getting you two out of here. Those guys could be on their way right now."

He completely ignored the comment and went back into the shop.

"So you don't remember ever meeting Ricky in the past?" I just casually threw it out there, stuffing my phone back into my pocket.

"Mm.. I don't…" she began but then went completely quiet. She stared intensely at the hardwood floor. For a couple of seconds, I thought she wasn't breathing. She didn't blink either. Anxiously, I put a hand on her shoulder and shook it a bit.

"Hey, you there?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm sorry, you were saying something?"

It terrified me for that moment, seeing how she reacted. I just shook my head no.

'Some trauma, huh…' I thought to myself.

Ricky marched back in with his grandpa following closely behind. He had car keys in his hand.

"Let's go." He ordered. I could see his desperation to keep his family safe… all of it, even if they didn't remember him anymore.

Cheryl and I got into the back seat of the car while his grandpa sat in the front. Ricky took the wheel. He turned the keys and the car roared to life. I put my seat belts on, feeling uneasy in the stomach. Within seconds, we were off.

It was a smooth drive during the afternoon. Slanted rays of the sun entered through the side window, right onto Cheryl's face. She squinted but didn't complain. I put an arm around the back of her seat. With a motion of my finger, my shadow traveled through the walls of the car, onto the window till it had completely blocked out the sun.

"Thanks," she whispered.

As we drove out of the marketplace, I watched people bargain away with the shopkeepers at their stalls. They were too busy or oblivious to notice the two wanted criminals riding away in the car. Very soon the roads began to get a bit bumpy. We passed the slums where the small houses seemed to be built on top of each other, all tucked in together. It wasn't long until we were on a dirt road entering the forest. I shifted a bit in my seat, looking at the familiar trees. There was plenty of sunlight coming in through the leaves. The real danger lay deeper within.

'It should be safe to cross,' or so I thought.

I could detect dark clouds looming in the distance. As we drove further along, the wind grew stronger, blowing at us enough to make the car only slightly wobble. I closed my eyes for just a second as I lay my head back.

At that moment, someone whispered something in my ears. I frowned and opened my eyes very slightly to reveal a long, dark hallway spread out in front of me; shadows extending at intervals. I squinted around in shock, wondering if this was just a dream. The whispers seemed to travel from whatever was at the end of the path. Then I heard his voice… for the second time in my life; a deep husky echo.

"It sickens me… to ask her for help," it said.

"Aren't you afraid he might die this time?" another voice, a lot squeakier than normal.

There was a short husky laugh before it spoke,

"He won't die… so easily…"

The ground shook all of a sudden. I blinked open my eyes, inhaling a heavy breath. My heart raced as I looked around frantically. The car wobbled uncontrollably as we had fallen into an earthquake. Everything was a lot darker than I remembered. The dark clouds were nearly above us.The sunlight had completely depleted and was overtaken by gloomy skies.

Something tugged at my hand. I looked to my side to see Cheryl eying me with concern. She squeezed my hand tighter.

"You were asleep," she told me.

"The weather around this path can be a bit unpredictable, so just stay put," I heard Ricky say from the front seat.

Minutes after he said that, raindrops pelted the wind screen which was quickly followed by harsh winds.

"Hang on to your seat belts," Ricky added.

The car swayed right from left. Raindrops bombarded us from every direction. I could hear the wind screeching outside. It was way worse than I'd imagined. In the midst of it all, thunder roared across the sky. Ricky suddenly stopped the car with a jerk.

"What now?" I asked in a loud voice in order to be heard.

"There's a pool of water in front of me. If I keep going, the car might stop." Ricky yelled back. He turned around to look at us. "You guys okay?"

Just as he was saying that, black smoke blew towards the windscreen. Something appeared out of it, in front of the car behind him, swinging what looked like a giant axe through the smoke.

"Watch out!" I yelled, kicking open the door of the car. My feet landed in a puddle of muddy water. A scythe materialized in my hand, just in time to deflect the attack. I rushed towards it. Our blades met and I was pushed back a few steps. I could feel the dirt kick up under my shoes. I looked up at him. It was another shadow, only a lot stronger. This one had biceps twice the size of my arms. The shape was visible even though it was pitch black. He wore a war helmet with a smokey aura around it. For some reason, this one didn't have the familiar yellow eyes that shadows usually carried.

"Dixon! Watch out for the other one!" I could hear Ricky's voice behind me.

The wind tormented my clothes, throwing them sideways. I pushed back with enough force, kicking my feet on the ground. The creature stumbled back. It might have a lot more muscle than me but I was the best at the night force. My scythe slashed in one clean motion while it's guard was down. Raindrops splattered around. It was so fast, the shadow just stood there for a few seconds before disappearing to black smoke. Another swing, and the other one disappeared. I revolved my scythe around my hand in a circular motion before landing a critical strike that went through three of them at the same time.

I looked back just once to make sure everyone was okay. I noticed another one lunging towards the car. I started towards it but more blocked my path. Ricky jumped out of the driver's seat just in time before it smashed the windscreen to bits. My heart raced. I looked at the back seat, panic struck. Cheryl was gone.

A restless feeling suddenly overtook me. Streaks of power pulsed through my fingers, pounding. I swiped my hand back. Black waves emanated from me in a spherical motion, slashing at everything around me. All the muscle heads turned to smoke, clearing my vision of the car. I quickly hurried over. Water splashed around everywhere. As I reached the car, I spotted a red head on the other side, helping the grandpa out. Ricky had the back door open. All of them were soaking wet at this point. I looked back at the forest. Something was wrong. The shadows weren't supposed to lurk so far outside their territory… unless they were after something.

A deep, husky growl rang in my ears. I turned, just in time to see it raise it's axe at Ricky from behind. He awkwardly dodge rolled before the axe came crashing down, splitting the ground in two. He just rolled further away from me.

"Damn it! Get out of there!" I yelled in frustration, sprinting towards him with as much speed as I could muster.

The wind blew more smoke in from the forest, right where Ricky had landed. The shadows reappeared behind him. They were surrounded. All of them had their axes raised, slashing down at the same time. It was at that moment that despair seeped into me. Thunder roared and the sky went white. I was blinded for a second until I noticed a flash of yellow on the ground.

It blazed across the road like a ball of lightning, tearing through the shadows, cutting each of them in half, midway at the torso. I got there in time to see them fall limply to the ground. Only a few remained.

"Stay… away… from my brother!" It was a low growl, spoken through gritted teeth. From where I stood, her eyes glowed an electrifying yellow. Sparks continuously emanated from her and discharged into the air. I noticed the ground had ripped up into cracks where she had passed. The very same cracks I'd seen on the buildings in Darkwood.

Ricky backed away a bit, startled. She stood in front of him like a shield, protectively, with her back towards him. This was another person entirely. With beastly eyes that could rip those creatures to shreds with just her gaze. Anger pulsed through her in electric waves and she lunged at the rest of the remaining creatures, literally ripping their limbs one by one, throwing them to the ground till they all disappeared.

She then stood there a few feet from us, water dripping down from the ends of her hair. She was still as ever. I couldn't tell if she was even breathing. The rain eventually slowed to a stop, at long last. I looked at Ricky who nodded slightly.

"Cheryl? You alright over there?" He called out, inching closer. Her body shifted slightly backwards. I raced towards her, just in time to catch her as she fell.

There was no more commotion the rest of the way. Cheryl's head rested on my lap in the back seat. Ricky drove up to a small restaurant on a dirt patch in a partly broken down car. There was only an hour until nightfall. I hadn't noticed how quickly the time had passed. There was a small car repair shop to the side.

"Let's eat first… and fix up the car while we're at it," he said, exiting the car.

I breathed out a heavy sigh. While he helped grandpa out of the car, I shook Cheryl gently by the shoulder. She frowned, eyes flipped open. To my relief, they were their regular color. She sat up straight, holding her head in her hands.

"How do you feel?" I asked in a low, cautious voice, as to not startle her.

"Tired… just… very tired." she mumbled, then suddenly glanced at me as if just remembering. "What happened? How did we escape? Did you beat those guys?"

I thought about it for a few seconds before answering.

"Yeah, I beat those guys. We're safe now. You passed out during the commotion," I lied.

"Ah… I'm so useless. I always leave you to do the hard work." She bumped her head with a light fist.

I remained quiet till we settled down inside the restaurant. It was brightly lit during sunset. A small fast food place that also served ice-cream. Many of the chairs were stacked in the corners as there were very few customers. Ricky walked over to us from the repair shop. His face looked puzzled as he held up a glowing object. My hand immediately went to my pocket. I pulled out an empty handkerchief with a burnt hole in the middle. There was also a hole in my jacket pocket.

Ricky placed the shard on the table.

"Is this what you're looking for?"

"You had it this whole time?" My voice couldn't have sounded more surprised than that. I raised my brows at him sceptically.

Ricky shrugged. "I saw this fall out of your pocket so I just held onto it for you for the time being."

I opened my mouth to say something.

"Don't ever do that again," Cheryl suddenly stood up, slamming a hand over the table that wobbled underneath. "You'll be dead before you know it." Her face was very serious at the moment. Having seen what she could do, it was a bit concerning.

"What do you mean? I don't understand," Ricky answered, looking puzzled.

"Those… things are after it." she told us, then looked at me. "That night, I lied about being on shift because I was following you around to see if they come after it or not. I wanted to confirm… but now I'm sure."

"I knew they didn't come so far out of their territory for no reason. So that was it…" I wondered aloud.

She then grabbed the shard, took my hand and placed it on my palm.

"I only trust Dixon with it. Most of the shadows seem to avoid him anyway."

I smirked, "So you would trust me with your life?" I joked but she looked at me with such a straight face.

"I do trust you… with my life."

I could engrave those words somewhere inside my head. That was the first time she ever showed any interest in me. I could feel that little flutter in my heart again. I breathed in deeply. So I wasn't just a side character in her story.

'She trusts me…' I repeated in my head.

"What about me? You trust me too, right?" Ricky barged in jokingly.

Cheryl gave him a stern look.

"No. In times of danger, you'd be the first to die if it wasn't for Dixon. You can't even fight off Catters. You're such a baby."

"Your words hurt more than you think…" Ricky whispered meekly as he looked away, while landing a wink at me as he flashed a smile.