Silysia Stranded: Chapter 1

Achlys

 A whimper escaped his cracked lips, bright green eyes blinking rapidly in sync with his shallow breathing. My lips trembled involuntarily at the sight of crimson pelting his tan skin, soaking into his torn shirt. A pair of pale fingers traced his face and he gritted his bleeding teeth, trying to hold the pain-a useless act, since he started screaming and cursing agonizedly as the fingers impaled itself in his wound. I started sobbing uncontrollably as scarlet flowed out, dripping onto the tiled floor.

 “Quite a deserving punishment, hmm?” She smiled through his screams, “you’ll do this, too, Achlys, someday. Now, kill him, or I’ll torture him even worse.” With each word, she plunges her fingers deeper, the man’s scream growing louder by the second. I gasped for air, holding the need to vomit as a wave of nausea stirred in my spine. The man’s weak fingers clutched the ends of the cold metal bed, stained with rust of the many years it had held the limp bodies of her victims. I dared not run-the witch would punish me, so there was nothing I could do but shed tears.

 “I can’t do it,” I gesture, eyes pleadingly looking into her cold black. Her cruel smirk was replaced by a scowl, and eyes flashing with anger, her long, pale fingers reach out for a blade from the termite-infested wooden table.

 “No?” She growled, “fine, watch closely then. Watch what you’ve given this filth. And I promise you, dear one, it’s going to be a very entertaining one.”



 “Achlys!” A voice rang in my ears. My eyes sprung open and I gasped for breath, reaching out for the mug on the wooden cupboard. The water was cold in my dry throat. But the images didn’t go away, flashing against the walls of blue. I glance-Kelsey was next to me. It was just a dream-just another nightmare.

 She looked at me worriedly, “Are you alright? You were screaming, and-“

 I shrugged, “It’s just a nightmare, don’t worry.”

 “The usual, huh?” She sighed, sitting on the couch, “you know, you can relax if you want to, the stress may be gettin’ to your head. The portal is almost finished, anyways.”

 “Nah, I wanna see it,” I smiled.

 I got up and we trotted through the hallway, chatting through sips of the lemonade she’d brought. The dimly lit corridor caused both of us to nearly bash our heads into walls a couple of times-but otherwise we were okay. Lucky called, apparently, anxious for the result, Kelsey told me. The portal was almost finished-purple sparks of electricity lighting accross its metal frame as the other members hammered section of it. They turned, realizing out presence, and smiles curved on their lips.

 “Cool, huh?” Allen grinned, wiping his forehead, “wait, Achlys, before you say something negative-“

 “Shut it,” I scowled. Annabelle giggled, followed by a hearty laugh from Mike.

 “I guess working night and day does have its advantages, hmm?” He smiled, “by the way, where’s breakfast, Kelse?”

 The girl’s mouth formed a tiny ‘o’. “Erm about that...” She bit her lip, “I kind of... You know, I kind of... Forgot.”

 They groaned in unison in an over dramatic fashion, bursting out laughing.

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt"> “I’ll just call for delivery,” Annabelle volunteered, “whatcha guys-“

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt"> She was cut off. The sounds of metal breaking, shrieking loudly as the ground shook erupted in our ears. The portal-it was erupting with electricity. A bright light broke through layers of purple-

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt"> Darkness.