by Kim Fedyk
Samara opened her eyes and looked around. She was standing in a barren, gray, wasteland. A wasteland deep in the throws of a torrential storm. Samara put an arm up to brace herself against the pelting rain. As she did, there was a deafening boom of thunder and a crack of lightening. A huge gust of wind whipped her hair across her face, stinging her cheek from the impact.
Samara pulled her drenched hair away from her face and squinted through the rain.
Where was Arleth?
Another peal of thunder sounded, followed instantly by a brilliant flash of lightening. In the momentary flash of light, Samara thought she saw that the clouds were getting darker and darker ahead of her. She knew that the worst part of the storm was where she would find Arleth. Straight ahead seemed like a good bet.
Arms out in front of her, crossed over her body to protect herself from the rain and wind, Samara started to push her way forward. It was slow going; for every 5 steps she took forward, a huge gust of wind would push her 2 steps back.
She had only been walking for a few minutes and she was already exhausted. She shivered as another gust of wind pushed her backward. Her clothes were completely soaked through, her boots made splooshing sounds as she walked. Samara looked up to see how much headway she had made.
Not much.
She needed to go faster.
She crouched down into a sprinter's squat and with a deep intake of breath, burst forward with all her strength. Bent over, body as close to the ground as she could go and still remain upright, Samara sprinted. She gave up trying to shield her body from the rain, and pumped her arms to gain more speed. The rain pelted her cheeks turning them red and raw. She bit her lip, bracing from the pain and kept going.
Arleth needed her.
She sprinted as long and as hard as she could. Her breath started coming in ragged gasps, but she still tried. With one last final heave, she collapsed on the ground. She pushed herself flat on the ground so that the wind wouldn't push back her hard fought gains.
Struggling, she forced her head up to see where she was. She was really close to the darkest of the storm clouds now. And now, as close as she was, she could see that they weren't clouds at all. They were three giant, dark grey, pulsating bubbles in the air. Samara could make out forms swirling around in them. She saw a flash of red and then a man's head popped out, eyes opened in terror before a giant white paw grabbed the man's face and pulled him back in. A spray of red shot out and landed in a puddle on the ground.
Arleth's visions!
Gathering what little strength she had left, Samara forced herself up onto her hands and knees. Her arms wobbled and her legs felt like jelly. A sword slashed it's way out of the bubble and Samara followed the path with her eyes. When she did, she noticed a girl's body lying face down on the ground underneath the largest bubble.
Arleth!
With a burst of adrenaline, Samara half crawled, half slithered her way over to her. She put her arms under Arleth's body and flipped her over onto her back. Arleth's eyes were open but her eyeballs were rolled back in her head. There was a stream of blood coming from her nose. Samara put her head to Arleth's chest and let out a sigh of relief. She was still breathing - faintly. She was clearly struggling to take each breath, but the fact that Arleth still had energy to struggle gave Samara hope.
Samara forced herself to stand. She stepped over Arleth with one leg, straddling the girl's torso. The nearest bubble was so low to the ground that standing as she was, her head was almost touching the bottom. She could see a flurry of images; many of them involving blood and dismembered body parts.
If this was the enslaught Arleth was dealing with, no wonder the poor girl was in the state she was in.
Samara reached her arms up and put her palms flat on the surface of the bubble. It felt cold and squishy to the touch.
"Leave her alone!" She shouted. A spasm of light shot out of her hands into the bubble.
Instantly the images stopped spinning around inside. They swam their way towards Samara, as if curious to see what the disturbance was. A large yellow eye pressed itself against the bubble and looked out at her.
With a fierce blow, Samara punched through the bubble, directly connecting with the eye. There was a loud roar and the eye disappeared.
"Get out of her head!" Samara shouted again, sending another flash of light into the bubble. The bubble pulsated, wobbled and condensed slightly.
A giant taloned paw shot out of the bubble and grabbed Samara's arm. She was lifted into the air as the owner tried to drag her into the bubble. The yellow eye she had just punched stared at her from inside with undisguised bloodlust.
Samara reached up with her free arm and put her hand on the beast's paw. "Ignito," She yelled. The paw started smoking but the beast didn't let go. "IGNITO!" She yelled again. This time it burst into flames. There was a howl of pain and she was dropped to the ground. Samara fell heavily onto her knees beside Arleth. She barely noticed the pain as she leapt back up, arms outstretched once more.
No sooner had her skin touched the surface of the bubble then the creature grabbed her again. This time it grabbed both of her wrists, enclosing them in its talons. The arm that she had burned was still smoking and smelled like charred meat, but the creature didn't seem to care. Once again she was lifted off her feet.
With her wrists clasped tight in its talons, Samara was only able to move her hand slightly. She tried to stretch out her fingers as much as possible in what she hoped was the direction of the beast's head. A spear of light shot from her fingers into the bubble. There was a roar of pain and the creature dropped her again.
This time Samara was ready and she landed on her feet in a crouch. Quick as a flash she formed another spear of light and waited. A massive furry head erupted from the bubble, inches from Samara. She had absolutely no idea what it was. It was vaguely reminiscent of a snow bear but it had massive yellow eyes that took up close to half of its face. The other half was all mouth, a mouth wide open and reaching for Samara with razor sharp teeth. She ducked down to get underneath the head and with every ounce of energy she had left, she rammed the spear of light upwards into the creature's throat. She pushed it up as hard as she could, penetrating fur and bone. The beast made a gurgling sound in its throat and blood started to pour out of its still open mouth. With a loud grunt, Samara shoved one last time. The creature's noises stopped and it slouched over, dead. Samara leapt out of its path, as it dropped out of the bubble to fall heavily on the ground in a heap.
Samara took a few deep breaths. When her breathing had returned somewhat to normal, she drew in for one final burst.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" she shouted. She shot every last bit of energy she had into the bubble and collapsed on the ground beside Arleth. From her back, she looked up at the bubble on top of her. Please let that be enough, she thought.
At first nothing happened, the bubble still pulsated a few feet above Samara's head. And then, miraculously it started to shrink. A burst of lightening shot out, striking both of the other, smaller bubbles. They glowed a bright white and then too, started to shrink.
Samara let out her breath. She had done it. Arleth's mind was clearing.
But had she been in time?
She rolled onto her side to look at the girl beside her.
Arleth's chest was falling in regular deep breaths, and her eyes were firmly closed. There was a faint smile on her lips.
With a sigh, Samara rolled back over onto her back.
Arleth was going to be fine.
The bubbles had all but disappeared by now, floating up into the sky harmlessly. The dark storm clouds faded away and the sun shone through. There was a rainbow starting to form in the distance.
Samara lay on her back, letting the rays of the sun warm her face. She took a deep breath and reached for Arleth's hand. She closed her fingers around the girl's and held on tight. As much as she wanted to lie here and feel the sun, they had to get back. She squeezed Arleth's hand and the two of them started to
glow.
All of a sudden Samara's body jerked backwards off of Arleth's stomach. Selene, who had been watching nervously from the end of the bed almost fell off in surprise. As it was, she had to put a second hand around the cup she was holding to steady it.
Samara let out a low groan and slouched against the wall.
Selene rushed over and crouched down in front of the other woman. She could tell Samara was in no shape to take the drink herself. Selene put her hand under the woman's chin and lifted her head. Samara stared at her weakly. There were dark circles around her eyes as though she hadn't slept in weeks. Selene gently pushed the woman's mouth open and poured some of the liquid in. Samara swallowed slowly and Selene poured a bit more.
They continued like this for a few minutes, until Samara held up her hand. "Thank you Selene." She said tiredly. "I can continue from here." She took the cup from Selene and cradled it in her lap. She rested her head back against the wall.
"Arleth will be ok."
"Oh thank God," Selene said.
"She is no longer in a coma, but she will be asleep for a few days. Her mind and body have gone through an ordeal. She will need to regain her strength before she wakes."
Selene looked over at Arleth sleeping in the bed. Now that she was looking at her again, she could see that the girl's colour had returned and her breathing was deep and even.
"I am also going to sleep. Can you please help me to my room." "Of course," Selene helped pull the woman up off the floor, and with an arm around her waist she helped the woman walk down the hall to her bedroom. When they got there, Samara put the drink down on the nightstand and crawled under the covers. "Do you remember where the other rooms are?" She asked Selene, half asleep already.
"Yes." Selene said, "I'm sure I can find one." The woman was already fast asleep. Selene tiptoed out of the room. She didn't go searching for a bed immediately. Instead she returned to Arleth's room and sat down on the end of the bed for a few moments. She watched the girl's even breathing. With each breath Arleth took, Selene felt a bit of her stress melt away. She was overjoyed that Samara had been able to save Arleth, but she knew there was still a long road ahead for her. She had been saved this time, but she still had no idea how to use her powers, or how to stop such an onslaught from happening again. Selene saw a faint smile appear on Arleth's lips. Selene hoped the girl was strong enough to face what was to come.