by J. D. Hale
I looked down at it, and suddenly, it was like my heart was being crushed in fear. It pounded against my ribs and climbed up into my throat, where it stayed, preventing me from speaking for a few moments. It’s like the last month of my life was suddenly coming to life.
The biggest crime of my career, I thought happily, anxiety cascading through my body.
But, I quickly regained my composure.
“Alright, boys. Stay here.” I said, my voice shaking.
“What?” Rowan gaped, “We have to come with you. You’ll die.”
“No.” I told him firmly, “I…I can handle this. I can handle anything”
“Sounds a bit like you’re trying to reassure yourself.” Ross said.
“Don’t try to be helpful.” Rowan suggested.
I smiled, “Don’t worry about me, either of you.”
With that, I opened the hatch and jumped down.
I landed safely after a fall of ten or so feet, nothing out of the ordinary.
The room I fell into, however, was anything but ordinary. The first obvious oddity was that I was now in a forest. A real forest, as if I was actually outside. An open, deep purple sky above me with no zenith spread out millions of miles above me, despite the floor I had just come from. In front of me sat hundreds of hulking pine and oak trees. Thick mist prevented me from seeing into the forest.
I whipped around, suddenly wondering what was on the other side of me and was almost shocked to find huge farmland in front of me.
“Well,” I mumbled to myself, “nothing over there.”
Then, I felt extremely stupid and turned back around. My feet crunched against dried leaves and pine needles that were suddenly on the ground as I walked into the edges of the forest. There was a full moon above me, but it gave off no light and I couldn’t see more than five feet in front of me.
My hands scraped lightly on the rough trees next to me as I made my way forward, stumbling in the darkness. Sodden leaved squished around under my still bare feet, and I almost gagged at the texture.
But I pressed on, spiny leaves cutting my feet open and soggy plants making them burn.
After I few minutes, I saw a warm, glowing light filtering through the trees. It grew stronger as I went closer, soon illuminating everything around me.
Intrigued, I sped up. The trees grew thicker, but suddenly thinned out. It wasn’t long before I stood in a soggy, leafy clearing. At the center was the glowing orb of light.
The orb was mesmerizing. It was about the size of my fist, and pulsed with different colored lights that danced around the forest.
The Xeron.
I reached my hand out, tentatively to grab it, wary of any traps that could be around me. When my fingers touched the smooth, perfect light, it flickered and went out. I examined it carefully, wonder spread across my face.
I put a bit of pressure on it with my thumb. Immediately, a holographic screen popped up in front of me, showing hundreds of options.
Things that shocked me showed up. A button said ‘masking,’ and I pressed it simply to understand what it did. When my finger lightly pressed the button, the entire area around me transformed into my closet on Saize, perfect down to the tiniest detail. Of course, it was only a hologram and disappeared when I tried to open one of the drawers.
I fumbled with it for a minute, trying to collapse it. Once I figured it out (pressing a simple button on the corner that read ‘collapse’), I gripped it between my fingers.
“Kairee, you’re even more beautiful close up,” Said a purring, female voice behind me.
She came in front of me, and ran a long, filed nail down my cheek.
I had to suck in a breath because she was so beautiful. Long, flaming red hair flowed down her back, with perfectly straight bangs above her brows. Her sparkling, crystalline blue eyes were framed by long, full eyelashes. She had high, round cheekbones with a dash of rosy blush. Her perfect, round lips were naturally red, and they were in stark contrast with her flawless white skin.
The woman looked me straight in the eyes and smiled, “It’s great to see you again.”
“Again?” I asked worriedly. What if I had missed her in a crowd? Lately, I couldn’t help but feel that I’ve lost my touch.
“Yes. Remember when I was there with my son when you so rudely barged in on us?”
“Zenda?” I whispered.
“And to think – I believed you to be smart.” She said, her eyes narrowing, “Now, just hand over the Xeron, and nobody gets hurt, except maybe you.”
I clutched the bright, glowing orb still gripped in my hands. The light filtered through my fingers and glowed on her face, almost reflecting off her creamy white skin.
“I don’t think so.” I said, and whipped out my dagger. Swiftly, I slipped the Xeron into the pocket of my dress and, to my surprise, it shrunk down even more.
Zenda pulled out a dagger of her own, a mere six inches longer than mine – but those six inches could kill me. As I well know, whoever has the longer blade has an automatic advantage in any fight. Her black blade held a strange purplish glint. Poison. Of course.
She swiftly slashed her dagger, trying to land a hit across my stomach. But I bent over at the last minute, preventing her from slicing me open. My left hand came down with deathly force in an attempt to shatter her collar bone, but she sliced upwards. Her blade slashed half way through my hand between my thumb and index finger, ripping through muscles, tendons, and bones.
It took a moment to hit me, and I watched the wound with intrigue for a moment.
And then, agony exploded through me, shooting up my arm and paralyzing the right half of my body. A crippling scream pierced through my lips and I plummeted to my knees. Her poison was terrifyingly strong, obviously made from some sort of deathly plants, and I could feel it burning through my body with frightening speed.
She smiled and reached into my pocket. The Xeron glittered in her hand, and she looked at it lovingly.
The moment my hand was sliced open, the scene around me evaporated. The forest and fields dissolved into a small stone chamber.
“Az!” She shrieked, as if suddenly aware of my presence.
The new Police Chief showed up and looked at Zenda like a servant watching his master. His odd green eyes sparkled as he looked at her expectantly.
“Take her away.” Zenda whispered, mesmerized by the power of the Xeron.
I felt electric handcuffs clipped on my hands, and I knew they would tighten and shock me if I struggled.
“You have the right to remain silent,” Salus began my rights. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…”
His words flitted in and out of my ears, floating around in my brain as I began to lose consciousness.
“Such a shame that we have to bring you all the way back up through tunnels, hundreds of members of the public ready to see your first arrest.” Zenda sneered in my ear, clearly trying to snap me back into sentience.
My thoughts jumped immediately to Ross, Rowan, and Iesleen on the higher levels of the tunnels. Fear crept into my eyes, and I tried, unsuccessfully, to mask it.
Zenda, clever as she undoubtedly was, noticed the smallest flicker in my eyes.
“So you’re worried, like any good little sister would be, about your big brother. Az, I’ll take care of her…accomplices.” She purred.
“I’m older.” I mumbled stupidly. My thoughts were blurred as blood left my body at an alarming speed.
Salus grunted and sprayed my hand with a bluish mist.
The would still hurt like nothing else I had ever felt, my chest now burning as well, but no blood was falling onto the now stony ground.
I leaned heavily on Az Salus, though I didn’t want to, as he dragged me through the tunnels, taking a set of steps that seemed to appear as he went up. Every time my wrists bumped against the electric handcuffs, they tightened and shocked me until my arms were raw and bleeding.
We reached the top level, and I s
aw three more police men in the middle of a crowd, each holding one of my friends.
A dry sob racked my chest, adding to the unstoppable pain.
“Let them go!” I shrieked pitifully. Rowan was struggling with all his might against a massive officer who held him back with massive force. Iesleen applied her own escape tactic, biting and clawing at the officer who held her. Ross went without a fight, clearly knowing the powers of his handcuffs and officer.
“You know I couldn’t do that, little girl. Guilty by association, don’t you know?” Az said mockingly.
July 10th 9:45 pm
Police Holding Center, Dangerous Criminals Wing
Az Salus threw me into the back of a police cruiser harshly, locked the doors from the outside, and jumped in the front. He flicked on the sirens and sped toward the Police Holding Center millions of miles away.
He drove for three minutes, until we were out of civilian area, and then switched to warping. The car went through one wormhole and came out in the car park of the Dangerous Criminals Wing.
The door to my side was pulled open and I was yanked out brutally by strong arms.
I screeched with all my might as Salus dragged me into the tall building. I got a glimpse of my new prison – no windows, barbed wire, and black as pitch.
Az ran through the building, flashing id at a secretary, until we were on the topmost floor, in a secluded, four foot thick metal cell. Cameras lined three of the four walls of four foot thick metal. The left wall was made of some king of glass, making my every move painfully visible.
Salus tossed me in a crumpled heap at the center of the cell, and I watched helplessly as my brother, Ross, and Iesleen were all dragged to their own cells. I struggled into the far corner, pressing my back up against the glass.
I looked down. My clothes were practically ripped to shreds, and cuts, scrapes, and bruises lined my limbs. Before Salus air-locked the door, I caught a glimpse of Rowan being shoved into a cell. He fought back and was punched across the face by an officer.
I began to sob as the door closed, locking out the sound of my cries from the world.
And for the first time in my life, I was truly alone in the universe.
