Souls

by Kahilah Harry

  Why he didn’t just walk out there like a normal person, I had no idea, but I guessed he wanted to be extra safe. When his arm left the cave and came in contact with the outside air, his skin started changing. Purple flecks flew off the skin on his arm and fingers. Small steam wisps rose from the purple.

  “What the…?” I gasped to myself, squinting to see what caused it. Was something falling from the sky? Was he in pain? He didn’t really seem to be in pain. He was just grunting as he reached. I stared at Dmitri and Axel with my mouth agape, trying to figure out what was happening.

  Axel grabbed the object and jerked his arm back sharply, standing up. He walked back into the cave to where we stood, shaking his arm.

  “Are you okay? What happened?” I rushed and grabbed his arm. I searched for burns, but it was perfectly smooth like nothing happened. “But, I just saw…” I pointed to the mouth of the cave, picturing exactly what happened in my head.

  Axel chuckled and shrugged. “I’m all good. Perks of having fast healing.” He winked at me, tossing his head back to get the blond pieces of hair out of his eyes.

  “Will that happen to me too?” I asked, eyes widening as I thought about my skin burning.

  They all laughed at my question. What was so funny?

  “Not at all, Meadow. You have nothing to worry about,” Dax said, chuckling.

  I chuckled dryly with him, my heart rate returning to normal. Hallelujah. I glanced at Axel, watching as he caressed his palm. “What is it that you lost?” I asked, curious about what was so important.

  A small smile appeared on his face, and he opened his hand, revealing a golden necklace with a sun attached to the chain. It was pretty, but nothing that didn’t look replaceable. Maybe it had a deeper significance to him that I didn’t understand.

  I nodded and let go of his arm, yanking the straps of my bag off my shoulders. None of this made sense, but I wasn’t even going to try to process it anymore. My pack dropped to the ground, and I rolled my shoulders, rubbing them the best I could to relieve the stress. More thumps filled the cave as the others put their packs on the ground as well. Dax was the first to get totally comfortable, sitting down on the cave floor and stretching his legs. It was dim in the cave, but the moon shone bright enough for us to see a little bit.

  “Everyone get some rest. In this particular part of the world, the sun rises and sets every five hours, so that’s how long we have to rest. Once the sun is up, we will be up as well to cover as much distance as we can,” Dmitri explained.

  We all nodded, and Dmitri nodded back, his attention turning to his pack. I guess that was it. I walked to one of the cave walls, dragging my pack with me and sat it against the wall, sinking to the ground myself. Exhaustion spread throughout my body, and a yawn forced itself out of my mouth.

  Through the blurry vision caused by my yawn, I saw the others taking sleeping bags out of their packs. I dug through mine as well, and indeed, there was a moss green package the size of a deck of cards. I inspected it to find the button. It was on the other side of the square, and a hissing sound came out when I pressed it.

  Placing it on the ground, I stepped back as it grew into a full-sized sleeping bag, large enough to fit three grown men. After taking off my boots, I climbed into the sleeping bag, embracing the warmth it gave me from the chilly night. I snuggled deeper and pressed the button next to my head for the pillows to pop up. That was much better than the stone-cold cave floor. I closed my eyes and tried to relax my mind and not stress about the journey like I had been doing, even though I told myself this morning that I wasn’t going to worry.

  I couldn’t help it. All the information dumped on me in such a short period of time was so much, I was surprised I didn’t just shut down. It was so much. Last week, I would’ve never in ten million years thought I would be traveling to a different world through a portal, with vampires, to get back memories that would prove I wasn’t human. Oh, and let’s not forget my best friend of so many years was also an evil vampire who wanted to kill me for who knows what reason, with a sidekick who was killing people, changing some into vampires, and taking them to an island.

  I didn’t even know if I got that story down correctly, but any normal person would’ve broken down by that point. I think I’d made it so far because deep down, I knew the life I was living couldn’t be all it had to offer. I was destined to be more than an agent on a sucky salary. Honestly, I probably would’ve hopped on board any train that showed me there was more to my life.

  This was why it was kind of easy to convince me of supernatural elements being real, despite all my questioning. And my life was about to get even more enjoyable. I just had to wait five more hours.

  20

  I woke after a few hours and felt all right. The sleeping bag was better than I expected, though. I sat up and stretched, eyeing the entrance of the cave. The sun was rising, some of the rays spilling into the cave. Dmitri was in the same spot he was in last night, sitting at the cave’s mouth with his legs pulled up to his chest. He had a black pouch in his hand and was tossing it up in the air, crushing it in his hand every time it landed.

  I planned on joining him to ask why he wasn’t getting any rest himself, but I decided not to, seeing as I was still a little tired, and he looked deep in thought. Kicking my sleeping bag off, I pressed the button on the side, and the entire thing shrank back into a small square. I put it in my pack, grabbing some jerky I spotted before I zipped it all the way up.

  By the time I was done eating and washing it down with some water, the rest of the team were getting out of their sleeping bags. Seeing that made me think about vampires and their need for sleep or lack thereof. So they did need it? I put it in the back of my mind to remember to ask them about it another time.

  I stood and stretched, getting my body ready for a long day. I grabbed my pack by the top strap and semi dragged it with me as I walked over to Dmitri. I stood next to him, and he didn’t even look up, still staring straight ahead at the field. Lifting my pack up a little bit, trying not to think about the strain it put on my arm, I dropped it with a loud crash on the cave floor. Dmitri’s shoulders raised and dropped dramatically, slowly lifting his head to stare at me.

  “So, what’s the plan for the day?” I ignored the glare on his face. He shook his head and stood, towering over me. I crossed my arms and tilted my head, waiting for an answer. He grabbed his pack after our little stare down, positioned it on his back, and glanced at the others, who were starting to walk our way.

  “Today is the day the real journey starts. I will reveal the path for us to travel on.” He looked around at all of us and nodded to himself when he saw that we were all ready. “Follow me.” He walked out of the cave, and I heaved my pack on my back, following closely behind him. I squinted as the bright sun hit my eyes and slowed when I saw the field. It looked even more beautiful from this height, showing much more than green grass with flowers. I could actually see how the flowers accentuated the field. Every time the wind blew across the field, the flowers formed into a random shape.

  It was constantly moving, making the field even more breathtaking. I walked carefully to the edge, in awe of the beauty, and whistled. The ground was so far from where I stood. I didn’t even want to think about how we got on the mountain, glad that I kept my eyes shut.

  Dmitri continued walking once I stepped away from the edge, and I followed him onto a plain gray path, the only part of the mountain that didn’t have flowers on it. It was a comfortably wide path, enough for all of us to fit side by side. As I continued to walk up the mountain, it got a little steep. I had to jog so that I didn’t fall backward.

  “Where are we going, Dmitri? What happened to showing us the path?” I asked, panting from my jog. I had thought I was in great shape until I met my current acquaintances.

  “We’re here.” He stopped walking, and I stopped as well, looking around. I didn’t see anything different from where we started. The mountain was still littered with flowers in
this area. The only difference was that we were a little higher than before.

  “What’s here?” Rita asked, walking up beside me. Dax and Axel also stepped up, both with confused expressions on their faces.

  “This is the spot that will help reveal the path for us,” Dmitri responded, digging around in his pocket. He pulled out the black pouch he’d been messing with earlier and stared at the ground. He bent down and grabbed a rock, turning his back to us. Still crouched, he drew a line on the hard ground, and a dented line appeared. How, since the ground was solid rock, I had no idea. Once he was done, he tossed the rock to the side and stood back up, dusting off his pants. He tilted the black pouch, blue powder spilling into his hand.

  “The powder that led us here is sitting in my hand. It will also be the powder that reveals the path to help us make it to the top of the mountain. Once I dump the powder on the ground and it reveals a path, there is no turning back. We can’t leave until either we make it to the top… or we die.” The last part came out dark enough to send chills up my spine. “If even one of you guys aren’t okay with this, we will turn back now.” He eyed all of us, mainly Rita, for a reaction.

  I shifted, eyes darting at all of them. My chest tightened as I thought about the price. Should I tell them about the price to be paid for me to successfully get my memories back? Would it even affect them? Would they be upset with me? I opened my mouth to speak, but Dax beat me to it.

  “No one is backing out. We are in this together,” Dax spoke for everyone, confidently looking at the others to see if they agreed. They both nodded in agreement with Dax, and when he looked at me, I tried to smile confidently, but I could feel it wavering. Dmitri nodded and turned his back to us again. I sighed in relief.

  Blue powder fell from his hand and crawled on the ground to the line he created. Once his hand was empty, the rest of the powder made its way to the line, until there was just a blue line in place of the original.

  “Back up, it’s going to get a little dusty,” Dmitri warned, and we all backed up a few steps. Blue dust shot up about ten feet into the air, creating a wall of smoke in front of us. It floated in the air for a few seconds and then started falling down quickly, like a soft drizzle.

  “Dmitri, wha—” I gasped, taking a small step forward, keeping my eyes on the scene in front of me. Where we were currently standing was sunny and the colorful field visible, but in front of me, it was very different. Rain poured down, the drops pattering against the ground. In the middle of the earth, a thick, yellow line glowed.

  “All right, guys. The yellow line is the path we follow. Whenever the line disappears, that means some type of trap is near, and we need to be cautious. The path will appear again after five seconds, so if we miss it for any reason, that’s tough luck for us. We need to always be paying attention to the path.” He gave us all a hard stare, probably to make sure that we were paying attention. “Meadow, be sure to protect yourself from the natural elements, like rain or snow. The weather can change at any moment, so you have to be prepared for that. We will help the best we can, but sometimes we won’t be able to,” he finished, stuffing the black pouch into his pocket.

  I inhaled deeply and nodded, eyeing the scene in front of me. The rain looked a little intimidating, and my heart rate sped up. This was the official realest step I was about to take for this journey. “I understand. Let’s get to it,” I responded.

  Dmitri nodded, leading the way into the pouring rain. I followed him and hesitated for a moment at the line, glancing at my current surroundings and everyone else one last time.

  Lightning crackled in the sky on the other side, lighting it up, and thunder roared immediately after, making me jump. My eyes met Dmitri’s, catching him staring at me. The rain flattened his hair so curls spilled over his eyes, and he nodded at me, prompting me to step into the rainy, dark world. As soon as my foot landed on the ground, the wind pushed me, causing me to fly to the side, landing on my back. My pack luckily took most of the force. I coughed hard and swiped my hair out of my face, squinting to see through the pouring rain. A hand pulled me up and helped me get my hair out of my face.

  “Are you okay?” Dax asked, eyes darting across my face, inspecting it for any damage.

  “I’m good, I’m good.” I wiped my eyes and adjusted the pack on my back. “I think my pack might be a little wounded, though.” I laughed airily, still trying to catch my breath. The worry in his eyes dimmed a little at my statement, and I threw in a smile as the cherry on top.

  Before he could say anything else, lightning lit up the sky again, actually giving us enough light to see our surroundings a little better. The first thing I noticed was that the mountain no longer had beautiful flowers. It was bare and dark, almost as black as obsidian. Dmitri was standing, looking in the direction of where the field used to be. I walked over. The field was completely gone and replaced by piles of rock molded together, forming spike-like structures.

  “Where is the field? What happened to everything?” I asked, wiping my face.

  “This is where the journey actually begins. It’s meant to scare you away and be complicated, but don’t worry, it gets sunny here sometimes,” Dmitri answered, pulling his hair back into a ponytail. That was a good idea since the rain didn’t know how to leave my hair alone, but I didn’t have anything to pull my hair back with.

  Rubbing my hands together to warm them up from the chills the wind was bringing with the rain, I happened to notice that the yellow path expanded, no longer just a thick line. It was wide enough for multiple people to stand on it, side by side, and fit. I tried to see where it ended, but it went on for miles, disappearing over the mountain where my eyes couldn’t reach.

  “This is going to be a long day,” Dmitri muttered under his breath.

  I gladly followed him down the path, hoping the rain would stop soon. I loved the rain, but not when I was in it. It was pretty dark, despite the sun being in the sky. It was blocked by a dark storm cloud from what I could make out. I hoped it moved out of the way soon.

  As I walked, I had to continually swipe my hair out of my face, which was becoming annoying. I also had to pay close attention to where I was walking because the path had narrowed. I stayed close to Dmitri, not wanting the wind to blow me off the mountain or something. I almost laughed at that image out loud. As we trudged through the never-ending rain, I did slip a few times, much to my chagrin.

  Lightning crackled in the sky, lighting it up so brightly, I thought the clouds had stopped blocking the sun for a second. There was a loud snap to my right, and sparks flew our way, making me hop and skip to avoid getting hit by one.

  “Whoa…” I breathed when the sparks stopped flying and it was dark again. Sometimes I glanced behind me to make sure that the rest of the group was still following. They were.

  After a couple of hours, it was still pouring rain. I was thoroughly soaked and starting to shiver in the cold air, and I didn’t like that.

  My mouth opened to ask Dmitri if we could take a little break, when the yellow path started blinking. My eyebrows bunched together, and I slowly walked as I inspected the ground. I looked up at Dmitri, and his back was tensed up, his walking slowed down as well. The yellow line completely disappeared. Collective gasps filled the air, and my eyes darted around quickly, expecting something to jump out from around the corner and scare us. The yellow path reappeared.

  “We need to speed up now. Prepare yourselves,” Dmitri told us, glancing over his shoulder to make sure we were all still there.

  “What’s going to happen?” I whispered as I walked faster.

  “I’m not sure exactly. It was different for me. I don’t think the same thing happens in the same order for travelers, but I could be wrong.” Dmitri whispered, slowing his pace to match mine, even though I was walking as fast as I could to keep up. So many emotions passed over his face, but the main one was stress. He looked so stressed, and I was the cause of it. Not because the journey was to retrieve my memories, but becaus
e I was a liability. I slowed everyone down.

  Another half hour passed, and we’d made it up another steep part of the mountain when the rain let up to a light drizzle. As soon as I started wondering if Dmitri’s little theory of the path disappearing was actually accurate, a loud groan filled the air, echoing off the rocks.

  The rain slowed and then completely stopped. The silence that fell was deafening. A soft groan came from in front of Dmitri, and my eyes widened in fear as he abruptly stopped walking, tilting his head to listen for the sound again.

  “This isn’t good,” he whispered to himself, silver eyes filled with confusion. His eyes were glued to the rocks in front of us. “I remember this one.”

  Another groan echoed off the mountain, making my eyes dart quickly to the piles of rock on the other side.

  “Meadow, take this.” Dmitri grabbed something from his pack’s side pocket and placed it in the palm of my hand. It was a lighter.

  I looked at him quizzically. “What is it?” I asked, inspecting it. It was red with a black dragon on it.

  “A weapon you used to use during battle. One of your favorites. Flip the cap open only when danger comes your way,” he explained.

  I nodded, grazing the black dragon etched on the side of it with my thumb. I was in a battle?

  “Dmitri, what exactly is coming?” Rita tied her hair into a ponytail, ready to fight.

  “Prodigium Ignis, the fire creatures,” he answered in a hushed tone, eyes casing the area.

  Dax let out a whistle, and his smile grew, eyes twinkling in excitement.

  “Here we go,” Axel said in almost a whisper as a gust of wind blew over us.

  I took this as my cue to prepare myself, so I shrugged my pack off to give me better mobility, placing it by the boulder that sat behind us. Creatures started running on the rocks in our direction—black, scaly creatures with orange grooves tattooed into their bodies, glowing like lava. They had no eyes, and when their mouths opened to snarl, I could see the inside clearly, pure lava simmering like they were gargling it. Their mouths seemed glued until they actually opened it, black gooey substance stretching, making me want to gag. Where did these creatures even come from? I tried to spot where they’d appeared, but I didn’t see a starting point.