I try to defy gravity and move my body up close enough to grab the ties, but the vines have other ideas and pull tighter around my ankles. More fly at me outta the trees and start slapping my face, my arms, and anywhere there's exposed skin. I feel 'em cut deep into my flesh, and I cry out in pain as each swipe slices me open.
“Ma, help me,” I cry, but I cain't see her from my position. I cain't tell if she's even still there. Blood pounds into my head and ears, and black spots swim in fronta my eyes. I need to do something and quick before I pass out. Calling for my Chi, it sparks to life, and I start to build my strike. Before I can release it, a vine snakes its way around my neck, and my eyes bulge with fear as its grip tightens, cutting off my air supply. Panicked, I tug at the vines, the fear of choking overwhelming every other thought at the moment. The vines tighten, preventing the scream stuck in my throat from leaving my lips.
Chi.. .I… need you.
Fire races through my blood as it answers my desperate command. I picture the vines snapping and falling away, and they do just that—dropping me in the process. I hit the ground hard, gasping for breath and sucking sweet air into my starving lungs. Still gasping, I push myself to my knees, my head swinging around wildly searching for any more vines, but nuthin' else appears to be moving. My gaze finally rests on Rease, still standing where I'd left her, not in the least bit fazed at what she just witnessed me go through. Instead, she still regards me with the same sad look from earlier.
“Wha—” I begin before an ominous buzzing reaches my ears. My eyes dart over the trees, trying to distinguish the source. What the shizen is it?
At first I think it’s just moving shadows emerging from the trees, but then the shadows get closer. Winged, striped creatures about half the size of my fist aim my way, the buzzing almost deafening now. I don't know what they are, but I know they ain't friendly.
I turn to run, my first thought to get away, but the moss that had failed to give me anything to grip earlier now sucks onto my feet and refuses to let go, like a sand lands sand-trap. No matter how I tug and pull, my legs don't move. The critters engulf me now, and I raise my arms above my head, trying to swat 'em off. Just like the vines, they latch onto any exposed skin.
Sharp jabs stick into my forearms, my cheeks, and my neck. Each barb is like a tiny knife digging at my skin and filling me with a skin melting venom. The pain is excruciating, and I woulda opened my mouth to scream, but the fear of swallowing one is all too real. One stabs me above my left eye, and I jerk in pain, trying to hold in the scream and focus my Chi.
Even as I feel my eye swelling, I picture the swarm exploding into an inferno of scorching fire and heat. The flame bellows from my belly and radiates out, the power awakening my nerve endings even more and intensifying the pain of the stingers. I cain't stop the scream that ruptures my throat, even as my Chi disposes of the critters in an impressive explosion of flame. The flame scorches my skin, and I smell my singed hair. Blackened carcasses fall from the air into a pile at my feet, and the buzzing abruptly stops, but the effect of their assault on me lingers.
My ragged breaths puncture the silence, a by-product of my continuing pain. I peer through my swollen eyes toward Rease, hoping she has a damn good explanation for what's happening.
“Why ain't you helpin' me?” I croak, and her pain-filled eyes rake over me.
“I can't,” she whispers back. “You need to do this on your own, Tara. Stop it before it hurts you even more.”
“Stop what?” I scream back, but the quaking ground obliterates my question.
For the love of gods, what next?
I don't got long to find out. They emerge from the trees at an alarming speed, their black-shelled bodies glittering in the sun and their serrated claws snapping my way. Scorpi-ants.
I need a weapon.
I scan the area around me in desperation, but unless I can beat 'em off with a twig, ain't nuthin' I can use. I'm screwed.
“You have a weapon.” The voice in my head is clear and concise. “Use it.”
The first scorpi-ant is close now, and it leaps at me with an angry hiss. I jump nimbly outta its way, and it crashes into the ground, barreling into a couple more and knocking 'em over. I call on my power, knowing I was damn lucky that time, and I won't be able to evade 'em that easily. The voice yells at me again, “Stop trying to control it. Let it become one with you!”
Easier said than done. I try to stop the next attacking devil with Chi, but the attack fizzles, and all I do is send the leaves in fronta the rushing critter flying high into an impressive gust of wind. It does nuthin' to slow the critter down, and it leaps from the ground with way too much enthusiasm. I swerve just in time as it rushes by me, but the claw catches my shoulder, and a spray of red blood follows the creature as it lands.
I grab my shoulder, trying to staunch the flow of blood. “Accept it,” her voice screams at me, competing with the pain screaming in my shoulder. It sidetracks me enough that I miss the next creature’s lunge. It lands on my back, the claws snapping terrifyingly on either side of my head. Reacting without thinking, I grab it with both hands and yank it over my head, throwing it with such force it smashes against the trees. Black, oily goop splatters the green blades of grass.
I need to get outta this nightmare now! Maya, bring me back.
The plea echoes in my head but no answer from Maya. I'm on my own. And I'm in knee-deep shite.
The scorpi-ants that had been waiting on the sidelines begin closing in and I start panicking, knowing I gotta do something. Then, suddenly, a strange feeling washes over me. The blood rushing through my veins feels like molten lava. Like there's a fire inside of me, boiling the blood and melting my bones. Only this fire has a life of its own. I ain't calling on it. Hell, I ain't even controlling it. It tears through my body and soul, collecting energy and building power like I ain't got no say in the matter. The heat it creates makes me jittery, as if I'm fulla energy just itching to be released. Just itching for a fight. And just as the horde of scorpi-ants leap as one, the pulse of energy detonates, sending them reeling through the air. Most explode mid-flight, the energy more than their shells can handle. The rest the scorpi-ants smash into trees and land belly up, dead before they hit the ground.
I stare around me in confusion. The strange sensation evaporates, leaving me feeling bereft and relieved all at the same time.
“Yes!” Rease's shout pierces the air, and my heart jumps into my throat.
“Shizen, don't do that. You nearly scared me to death,” I growl at her before noticing her pleased as punch grin. “Did you do that?”
She shakes her head and points a finger my way. “That was all you.”
“Me?” I look around at the carnage. “But how? I didn't even have time to build my Chi.”
She throws her head back and laughs. “You didn't need to. You were in danger, and your Chi reacted, protecting you. You're almost there. Let it take control.”
“But I don't understand—”
The bolt of energy she shoots my way strikes me dead center in the chest like an iron weight. I fly backwards through the air and plow into the tree behind me. There ain't even enough oxygen in my lungs to allow a grunt of pain as I slide down the trunk and land on my arse. Feels like I just got run over by an army truck. I grope my chest, expecting to feel a hole or at least blood—the pain is so intense.
Lifting my chin with effort, I glance her way just in time to see her raise her hand once again. Although I cain't see the bolt she shoots my way, I know its coming. And like with the scorpi-ants, something otherworldly kicks in. Instinct, Chi, survival mode, I ain't sure, but I deflect her attack without even trying. The energy whizzes past me and careens right into the thick tree on my left, splitting the trunk on impact. Before she realizes she missed, I lurch to my feet and dive behind a huge boulder, outta her line of vision.
“What the hell, Rease?” I scream at her from my safety zone. The tree branches above my head splinter into fine bits of woo
d. I duck and hold an arm over my head, trying to protect myself from the falling debris. “Stop it.”
“No sense in hiding, Tara. Your Chi needs to feel threatened to rise up. Allow it.”
“Yeah, that ain’t happenin’,” I fire back. “I ain’t aimin’ to get myself killed today.”
“You won't die. Not if your Chi has anything to say about it. With pain comes enlightenment. Come out and spar with me, Tara.”
“I ain't fightin' you. I ain't gonna kick my ma's ass,” I scream back, though she don't seem to have no qualms about kicking mine.
My comment is met by silence. I wait a few minutes. I reckon she's just trying to trick me into coming out. But still nuthin'. I poke my head out slowly from behind the rock. My ma is just standing there, head cocked to the side. She sees me peeking and shrugs. “Is that what you're worried about? Fighting me? I can fix that.”
I watch, horror-stricken, as her face contorts, as if a whole army of those maskeetos squirm under her skin. Her face starts to lose shape and drip like her skin is actually melting offa her bones. Her whole body convulses as the shape of it changes and grows taller. The long hair retracts into her skull, leaving a sleek, dark cap. As much as my brain refuses to believe what it's seeing, the features start to realign themselves again, and the end result leaves another familiar face that starts a whole new wave of panic.
“Is this better?” the deep voice of the Prezedant growls, and I remind myself not for the first time since I've arrived, never to touch another single drop of Ayhaya ever again for as long as I live. I blink my eyes a couple of times, trying to un-think the image in fronta me and make it disappear. It don't work.
“Come out and face me.” The boulder I'd taken refuge behind rolls away as easy as a young'un's toy ball. Since there ain't nuthin' else to hide behind, I rise to my feet.
The Rease/Prezedent creature flicks a casual hand my way, and outta the corner of my eye, I catch those damn vines shooting my way. Oh, hell no. Not again. I focus my Chi, ripping the vines out by their roots and flinging them his way. The look of surprise on his face as they wrap around his neck is almost funny, but laughing is the furthest thing from my mind right now.
“Very good,” he snarls as he swipes the vines away. “Let’s see you handle this as easily.”
And as if his words act as a catalyst, the sun disappears, plunging us into a menacing darkness. A freezing wind caresses my neck, lifting my hair, and sending a chill over me that makes me shiver. The whole scenario is accompanied by silence, but my ears prick as stealthy footsteps whisper through the trees. Something is coming.
From the gloom of the forest, shadows erupt and materialize into creatures. All around me scorpi-ants hiss and click their knife-like claws. Wolflings bare their wicked teeth and growl. Faceless soldiers hold knives and shooters all aimed at me. An army of killing machines.
I'm gonna die here.
Fear makes my head swim. There ain't no way I can take on all of this. I cain't do it.
“Let's begin.” The Prezedant's voice is amused as the horde all move as one my way. I tense and reach deep for my Chi, only to come up empty. There ain’t no heat. Not even a flicker. What the hell? Terror threatens to overwhelm me as I realize my innards are as barren as the sandlands, like my Chi has been ripped outta me. Where is it? Swallowing the scream in the back of my throat, all I can do is lift my hands to protect myself as the soldiers’ attack.
Four of 'em surround me, but I don't give 'em a chance to close in. Leaping at the faceless one right in fronta me, I kick it hard, right in its trunk. I hear ribs crack, but the creature makes no sound as it topples backward into the tall grass, its weapon flying outta its grasp. Landing in a roll toward the dropped shooter, I grab it by the barrel, and I'm back into crouch mode just as the other three advance. Putting all my strength behind it, I swing wide with the shooter. The stock of it connects with the first soldier’s knee, and the reverberation crackles up my arms and into my shoulder, but I continue through, knocking them all offa their feet.
I ain't got time for any sense of victory. A snarl precedes the next attack as a set of fangs sink deep into my wrist, and I drop the shooter along with a scream. My first instinct is to tug, but the teeth are in deep and won't let go. Sweat beads my brow as I fight against the wave of pain and force myself to twist and straddle the wolfling's back. One wrist still in its mouth, I wrap the other around its neck and pull tight. Tears are falling from my eyes now as it feels like the thing is chewing my wrist offa my arm, but still I don't let go. Instead, I tighten my grip and finally I can feel its teeth loosen. Without thinking, I wrap both arms around its throat now and yank hard, snapping its neck. Its body falls and me along with it.
The pain in my wrist is excruciating, but now ain’t the time to wallow. I hear the snarls of its pack members heading my way, along with the snapping of the scorpi-ants deadly claws.
I'm gonna be ripped to shreds.
Struggling to my feet and cradling my shattered wrist, I prepare to face my enemies.
And then it happens again.
My body reacts before my brain even comprehends the situation. The energy comes alive and strums through my body, ripping through my veins and gathering at my fingertips. It swells into a crescendo of power so intense, any other pain I feel pales in comparison. Lifting my hands into the air in acceptance, I ignore the warm blood trickling down my arm. The power is overwhelming. Relentless. Consuming. Like some other being is trying to control my body. But I ain't scared by it. I welcome it with open arms as it flows into every part of me and my fear falls away. The advancing horde senses something is different, and they pause in their attack. Silence descends. The only sound is the humming of this new power as it resonates through my body.
“Attack!” the Prezedant's voice demands, shattering the silence. The command energizes my enemies back into motion, and they move again. But I ain't worried by them no more. It's what controls 'em I need to focus on. My ma's voice whispers in my head, “He's not of the light. His power is stolen. Remember that,” and I suddenly know what I have to do.
A primal scream drops from my lips as I allow the strength to totally consume me. My whole body vibrates as the energy tears from my hands. I can see the rippling waves shimmer in the air, parting the darkness as it heads the Prezedant's way. To my eyes, it all seems to move in slow motion, but the attack catches him unaware before he can react and hits him dead center in his gut. He looks down in shock as the energy takes root and radiates out into a ball of light. Slivers from the energy bolt spread through his body like fissures in a dried-out riverbed. His eyes catch mine, and his mouth forms this tiny O of surprise just before his body splinters into a thousand pieces. The pieces rain down and float gently in the air like leaves on the wind before disintegrating into wisps of black smoke that get lost in the dark sky.
And just like that, it's over. The attacking enemies disappear; one by one they fade into the darkness around me. I twirl in complete confusion, expecting an attack to come at me from some other point. I mean, it ain't over that easy, is it?
My ma's pleased voice floats through the darkness, startling me. I try to locate the source, but I cain't pinpoint it.
“You did it, Tara. Well, done. You've accepted your Chi and allowed it to become one with you. Now run.”
Run? From what? The question still resonates in my head as my eyes see the unthinkable. Everything starts to disappear. The trees, the grass, the very ground, it all starts to swirl and fall away into a black chasm of nuthin' as an unearthly roar assaults my ears.
“Give me a break,” I yell at the fast approaching abyss. Where do I run to?
My unspoken question is met by a welcoming sight. The glowing maskeetos from earlier shoot outta the remaining trees, and with an urgent buzzing, point in a direction. They ain't gotta tell me twice. I move my ass in the direction they're going.
The roar of the world behind me falling into an infinite void makes me move faster than I've ev
er run before. I ain't quite sure if I really can die on this plane, but I ain't eager to find out. The voice of my ma competes with the deafening roar and the terrified keening in the back of my throat.
“Find your entry point to go back.”
My entry point? I don't remember where it is. Nobody told me that was important. Maybe somebody shoulda mentioned that before?
Frantic, I run through the trees, hoping the fire maskeetos don't steer me wrong. I don't look back. The echoing, cracking, and screaming of the trees being ripped out by the roots tells me there ain't nuthin' to look back at. The flying lights finally stop and huddle around one tree, and I reckon it's what I'm looking for. I swerve toward it, slipping on the moss, and stumble to my knees.
“Get up!” my ma yells.
Bouncing back up like my knees have springs in 'em, I take a leap at the thick trunk, hoping desperately it’s where I gotta go. Just as my hand comes in contact with the rough bark, the ground gives way underneath my feet, and my keening turns to screams of terror as I start falling.
11
Awakening
“What have you done to her?”
Mack sounds pissed, and my half-fried brain tries to think of what I've done this time to upset him.
“Tara. Tara, wake up.”
I try, but my eyes feel glued shut and opening 'em is as painful as ripping a bandage offa a scabby wound. I ignore the pain pulsating in my brain at the bright light, and force a lopsided grin at the collection of worried faces staring down at me, more than happy to be back. Their worry quickly turns to disgust as I roll over, grab the basin Maya sticks under my nose, and puke my guts out.
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