by Sophia Sharp
She looked around her, and realized it was as she had seen before – the exact same chamber as the one on the other side, except that everything was mirrored. What was this place? Behind her stood the same pool, and further back, the same exit to the corridor. This one was not blocked, though.
She looked up, at the ceiling, and saw the same crystals. Except these ones gave off a blood red shine, bathing the entire chamber in a sickly red glow. What is this place?
The creature was coming through. Laura scrambled up, moving away. The creature’s entire body appeared through the portal, and the red surface clung to its back for a second before rebounding back harshly. Waves rippled across the sickly red surface before simmering down.
Immediately, the creature launched itself at her. It was fast, but Laura was lighter – and that meant more agile. She parried left, getting out of the way, catching the creature off guard. It staggered, and Laura used the moment gained to circle around it.
From behind, Laura launched herself at its back, trying to knock it over. She slammed into it, and felt like she had hit a brick wall. She rebounded off, stumbling, and the creature spun around. Again, it launched itself at her, and again, Laura managed to jump out of the way of the attack just in time. It swiped at her, but Laura was now more wary of the arms, and avoided them. With a quick few steps, she jumped at the creature’s face – towards its eyes. They had no protection, and if she could just get to them…
The snout came up to greet her, and she slammed heavily against it. The creature jerked its head to one side, sending Laura flying. Through the air she went, far and high, but she managed to regain her balance to land on her feet just before hitting the floor. The creature roared again, shaking the room. Laura felt the reverberations of the noise through the air. Again, small crystal shards fell from the ceiling, shattering on contact with the floor. But a few of them landed on the creature’s back, and Laura noticed that small tendrils of smoke hissed from those spots. Wait. Could the crystals be the answer?
Laura didn’t have enough time to think as the creature charged her again. She ran back, pressing herself against the wall. If she could just time it right… the creature was lumbering over, extending one arm as if to grab her, and she stood absolutely still, waiting for the perfect moment. An ungraceful smile curved the demonic thing’s lips as it realized it had Laura trapped. Just as it was about to smash into the wall, and into Laura too, Laura sprang out of the way. The creature hit the marble surface hard. The entire chamber shook with the force of impact, and more crystals fell. Most shattered harmlessly on the floor, but the ones that touches the creature’s fur, again, created thin smoke tendrils. And Laura saw the spots where they touched were singed with a hint of black.
That confirmed it to her. The crystals… they must have some sort of power against the creature. But why would it bring her here, if it knew about them? Perhaps it didn’t But Laura didn’t have time to think. It was all or nothing, now.
Laura ran towards the creature, grabbing a shard off the ground. She moved towards its legs, narrowly avoiding its powerful paws, and used the shard to cut at its feet. Despite her aim, she hit a hard part – the hoof! – and the powerful leg reflexively kicked at her. It connected, and sent her flying away. Again Laura soared backwards through the air, landing with a hard thud on the marble floor. But she saw in the split second that the crystal had made an incision. She had managed to cut the hoof! She knew she had an advantage, now.
Getting up, she turned and ran away. If the crystals could hurt the creature… but there was no time to think. The creature had started racing after her, footsteps pounding the marble tiles. Laura cut to one side of the pool quickly, running along the long edge. Looking back, she saw that while the creature was following, it was careful not to come closer to the pool than need be. It was wary of the waters – no matter what it said before about being a caretaker.
“You cannot escape your destiny, Laura Cubus!” it roared behind her. “Your destiny is to die and be held here like the rest!”
Ignoring the words, Laura kept running. The creature sprang after her, increasing its speed. Looking over her shoulder, Laura saw that it still avoided coming too close to the pool. Suddenly, she remembered she could jump. Not just jump, but jump across the distance of the pool. It would gain her valuable room, especially if the creature couldn’t – or wouldn’t – follow.
Gaining speed, Laura angled herself towards the edge of the pool, and leapt across it. She flew over the chilly waters, and started coming down. Abruptly she realized she may have miscalculated the distance. She flinched as she started coming down, just before the edge. Straining, she used all the momentum she had to shift just the tiniest bit forward… and she landed on the floor, just at the very edge of the pool. Woah. She wavered momentarily, but caught her balance just in time to avoid falling. And she looked back.
To her dismay, the creature only snarled and leapt right after her, all fear about the pool completely extinguished, replaced by pure determination in its beady eyes. It flew across, and landed just behind her. Laura had already dashed forward, and changed direction quickly. The creature stumbled – its legs weren’t as agile as hers – and flew into the side wall, crashing hard against it. More crystals showered down, and Laura avoided them as she ran. Again, some more fell on the creature’s back, but it didn’t seem to notice. Although Laura saw, for the third time, those tiny tendrils of smoke rising from where its fur had burnt.
Laura’s eyes scanned the floor around her. She needed a bigger piece, one she could use to fight off the beast. But all the shards on the floor were broken and useless. Desperate, she glanced up, looking to where the biggest crystals might be. They were all there, glowing red on that high ceiling. If she could just reach them… they were high, but if she could somehow use something as a springboard…
An idea formed in her mind. It was brilliant, and at the same time ridiculously risky. But it was all she had. She continued racing forward while the creature behind her was recovering from its crash into the wall. Then, when she thought the distance was far enough, she skidded to a halt, and turned her body around towards the creature. And she ran right for it.
Those beady eyes saw her movement, and the thing snarled, and smiled wickedly. Its tongue lashed out, a serpent’s tongue, split in two, and the creature’s legs propelled it towards Laura. It was fast, but so was she. They ran towards each other, the gap between them closing with alarming speed. Suddenly, Laura angled herself towards the wall, and jumped up. Using the wall as a boost, she pushed off it to propel herself right at the creature. The creature swung a hairy arm at her, at the spot she had been on the wall, but Laura avoided the punch. Its fist hit the wall, sending more crystal shards raining down. Laura saw some land on its arm, and where they did the fur melted a little, like a burn, but again the creature didn’t notice. Using her momentum from the push, Laura jumped up to its shoulder, and took one step before leaping onto its head. And with all the strength she had left in her legs, she leapt up, off the beast’s head and towards the ceiling. Towards the crystals that might save her life. She flew through the air, getting closer to the top. She reached out with one hand to grab a single crystal that was sticking out. Her fingers brushed against its sides…
And just then she was stopped. For a second she seemed to hover, frozen in mid-air. Then she felt something around her foot. She looked down, and saw in horror that the vile beast’s tongue had wrapped itself around the bottom of her leg, like some sort of lasso, and was pulling her back. For an eternal moment time seemed to stop as despair gripped her. She had been so close!
Laura thrashed against it, but she was being pulled back. Right into the mouth of the beast. Panic held her, but she realized that in one hand she still held that small piece of crystal from before. She slashed down at the tongue, connecting just before reaching the creature. The creature cried out in pain, a horrible sound, and flailed to the side, sending Laura flying into the wall.
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nbsp; She had no time to balance herself, and crashed into the marble heavily. Pain radiated across her back, horrible pain, and her lungs expelled all the air that had been in them. Then she slid down. She looked up, and saw with horror that the creature was flying through the air right at her. She didn’t have enough time to move.
“You will pay for this, Cubus!” The creature crashed right on top of her, crushing her with one giant paw. Its claws extended out, curling around Laura’s body. She felt the marble beneath her cracking again. She felt the heat of the creature’s breath on her. And she felt the massive weight pressing against her body, crushing her slowly.
Suddenly Laura was in the air – she had been thrown. She flew fast, and didn’t have the strength or the time to regain balance before she slammed heavily into another column.
Her vision blurred. She felt dizzy and weak. And again, the creature bounded up to her. Laura reached weakly for something, anything to fend the beast off. But there was nothing. Again, she felt the crushing weight of the heavy paw pressing down against her ribs, robbing her of breath and movement. Suddenly her fingers brushed against something slick, something like glass – a crystal shard! The creature was on top of her, looking at her through those evil dark eyes, taking its time to crush Laura slowly. Weakly, Laura’s fingers wrapped around the hilt, of the crystal piece. If she could just get it in her hand…
“What are you looking at?” The creature snapped its head back to where Laura’s arm lay. It let out a guttural chuckle and kicked the crystal away disgustedly. And Laura’s hand fell to the floor, empty. She was going to die.
Slowly, the creature moved its massive snout close to her. She could feel its breath, hot and heavy and putrid, across her entire body. She was trembling with fear. There was nothing left – she could do no more. This was the end.
The creature’s jaws opened menacingly, and Laura turned her head away just as they begun to close onto her. This was it. She shut her eyes tight, and waited for the end.
But it didn’t come.
Instead, Laura felt the vibrations through the air as the creature snapped its jaws at her just inches from her face. And it picked her up again, and threw her across the room.
Laura flew, over the pool, and hit the far wall. Again. She slid down slowly. From the other side, she could see the creature peel its lips back in a vicious smile. It was toying with her! It knew it had her beat, and was taking its sweet time. Weakly, Laura tried pushing herself up – and fell back down. She was weak, too weak to fight anymore. She looked up, and saw the creature walking slowly around. Taking its time. Enjoying the moment.
Determination gripped Laura again. She did not want to lie there helplessly and wait for her demise. She pushed herself up, forcing her body to respond. Her legs didn’t want to listen, and her arms didn’t want to listen, but she made them. She got up, and started to run. It was a weak run, a pathetic run, as she stumbled over her feet and nearly fell on every second step. She was exhausted – her body was weakened – but she knew she had to get away. She ran, lurching forward unevenly, limping even, but it was no use. She didn’t have the same speed as before, and creature was just behind her. Something slammed against her side – the creature’s paw, most likely – and black sparks flickered across her vision as she flew to the other side of the chamber.
Again, she hit the wall. And this time her head recoiled back, slamming the unforgiving marble with enormous force. She slid down, and collapsed at the bottom. She didn’t even try to move. She knew she could not. Her legs and arms felt like jelly, and horrible pain radiated from the back of her head. She watched as the creature looked at her, and began walking around the pool again. Coming towards her slowly, taking its sweet time.
She knew she should be scared, but she was beyond fear, now. Her body felt useless and broken. She was coming face-to-face with death, and was too exhausted to feel fear.
Instinctually, she willed her feet to move, willed her body to respond, but it didn’t. Nothing happened. Was this the end? She felt herself start to drift away. The pain from the back of her head had spread across her entire body, so that every breath brought a horrible mixture of anguish and vertigo.
The creature was on her side of the chamber, now. It was getting closer, still taking its sweet time. It licked its lips with that broken tongue greedily.
Laura tried to watch, but her eyes drifted shut. She was in total darkness for what seemed like eternity.
Then her eyes opened again. Laura thought minutes must have passed, but it had been less than seconds. The creature was getting closer. Laura watched, too exhausted to do anything, as the foul beast moved around to her side of the pool, and labored towards her. It was smiling cruelly.
It stepped in front of her. Laura’s head rolled back against the marble. She felt warmth trickle down her neck, and brought a hand weakly to the back of her head. When she pulled it away, she found it sticky and wet with blood.
“You see?” the creature said harshly, “You cannot win. And you will find your place in the pool with the others of your kind, Succubus.” Laura’s vision was blurring, and coherent thought strayed out of reach. Wait. What did the creature call her? She couldn’t remember anymore.
Suddenly, a bright flash appeared across her vision. The creature staggered away, looking absolutely stunned. Laura’s vision was blurred, but she saw – she thought she saw – a shape approaching from the side. A human shape. No. Two human shapes.
Again, Laura felt her grasp on reality slipping away. She felt herself fading. She was losing her grip on herself, and knew darkness was forthcoming.
Another flash. The creature stumbled back.
Laura opened her eyes and squinted, straining to see. She could not. There were… shapes… in front of her. But what…?
Wait. She recognized the shape. It was… Madison? In front of her, with her back turned. That hair, that figure, it could only belong to her. And there was someone else beside her. Someone with her. Someone… she should recognize.
Her mind tried to work, but it was too hard. Her eyes drifted shut, and all she could hear was a dull ringing in her ears. Groggily, she opened her eyes…
She saw a blur at the creature’s feet. Just like that, it was gone, and the creature stumbled down. It swiped angrily at the spot, but another blur came, faster than before. And Laura saw blood pour out of two gnashes on the creature’s legs. It fell forward. The earth shook, but Laura did not feel it.
She was drifting weightlessly in midair. Hovering above a dark cloud of nothingness. She felt heavy, like she was being weighed down, but she did not care. She could not care.
She opened her eyes again. And she saw the creature trying to get up, thrashing wildly at… something. Still, the dull ringing was the only sound she heard. The creature stumbled, and fell to its chest. Laura’s eyes were closing again. She was losing herself… and darkness came.
No. Her eyes popped open. Something in the back of her mind kept her there. A small pocket of determination she did not know existed. She tried to see, but everything in her vision had become one indistinctive blur.
All of a sudden, a face appeared past the blurring. Near her. A face that she recognized… Logan? He seemed to shine, to push away the darkness that threatened to creep up at the edges of Laura’s vision. His lips moved. He was saying something. To her. She couldn’t hear him. His face was full of worry, and she saw his hands moving towards her, brushing her hair away. His lips moved again, slowly, as if underwater, and no sound came.
Darkness covered her.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
~Afterlife~
Laura opened her eyes slowly. She was lying on a hard surface, staring at the ceiling in a dimly lit room. She didn’t recognize where she was.
“She’s up!”
A voice sounded, Laura couldn’t place it. She knew she had heard it before, but where…?
She felt a gust of wind against her face, and suddenly felt hands around her shoulders. And then sa
w a face appear in front of her. Logan.
“You’re up,” he whispered in disbelief. His eyes scanned her face quickly. He looked terribly worried, and tired, too. But he grabbed her and held her tight. “I never want to let go again. I never want to lose you again.”
Laura closed her eyes and melted into his arms. It felt… right. But suddenly she realized, really realized, what was going on. And immediately, she recoiled against his grip. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she demanded. “What are you doing? Let go of me!”
Startled, Logan backed off. But he still held her shoulders. “What are you doing?” she asked again. “Where did you come from?” She tried to move her arms, but they felt as heavy as lead pipes. “I said let go!”
Shock touched Logan’s face, shock and… disappointment. Carefully, Laura felt herself being lowered as he released her shoulders. But he didn’t say anything.
Wait a minute. Logan was here. And Laura was… alive. Abruptly, she remembered the fight. The one she was going to lose. The one she was going to be killed in. But… somebody had stopped the creature. And… she had lived.
“What happened?” she asked again. “What did—”
“You’re alive, and that’s all that matters,” he told her.
“Did you… did you save me?”
“I had some help,” he smiled.
“What?” None of this was making any sense. He had left, abandoning her in the woods, and now here he was, a knight in shining armor, looking over her with worry creasing his beautiful features, admitting to… saving her? If that was true, it changed everything. “But…why?” she stammered. “If you saved me, why did you… why did you leave in the first place?”
“There were other Vassiz coming after us. Madison picked up on them before either I or Alexander had. They had my trail from before, but not yours. They did not know your scent. If we split, you would be safe. Madison volunteered to go with me, to throw them off. To make them believe she was you.”
