Chapter Text
Emi
I fasten my leather satchel across my shoulder. It is a basic brown colour, just like my boots. Sure they are pretty boring but they are practical, just like my whole outfit. The white shirt is baggy but easy to move in and the waistcoat, no matter how small, conceals two daggers. My jeans' pockets hold plenty of room for bigger weapons such as a few guns and a grenade.
I know what you're thinking, 'is she stupid? Why would she carry a grenade around! ' but the grenade isn't actually active. It's merely for show incase anyone should ever need putting in their place. Plus it looks really cool. My necklace is the only purely decorative item on my person. I guess if it came to it I could scrape someone's eyes out with the pointed corner but that isn't my intention for wearing it.
My dad gave me the necklace before he went to war against the warlocks. Warlocks were a mutation of the fae's. Expcept evil. The whole story of how they came to be is pretty cliche but long story short the faes that once lived, their magic started dissapearing and most didn't cope well. They tried making magic and it didn't go great. Warlocks were created and they were terrifying creatures that sucked the life force from everyone and everything except Itself.
Humans won in the end but at a big cost. 98% of the population dead. Whilst most grieved, bad people rose to power quick. After 20 years of putting up with the hell that was the new 'government' most became desperate to escape and tried rebuilding the types of portals the faeries had used. It was rare to find a portal or someone who could operate one, which made the few who could in high demand.
I had been very fortunate to find both. And today is the day that me and my friend escape for good. My friend, Lavina, is the complete opposite of me. She is trusting, carefree and optimistic. Once they were very sought after qualities, but now people pity those who cling on to hope.
She is very easy to spot as I walk through the trees. Light blue and white tends to stand out against dark green. When she spots me her grin grows even wider and she jumps down from the low branch. She runs to hug me and I let her. "Emi! What took you so long? " she asks. I simply shrug. She raises her eyebrows. "We're not doing this" she gestures at me "today okay? "
I frown. "What's wrong with me being tired? " I groan. She has this idea that I'm tired because I'm always tense and restless. But those keep you alive in an apocalypse. Which is technically over but you never know. Plus food is still scarce and I don't exactly trust humans. If they're hungry then they will eat and possibly look over the fact that the thing they're eating is a human. I know it's dark but that's all that life seems to be right now.
"You're always tired though, that's the problem. If you loosened up a little you'd actually start to enjoy being one of the few people left in the wild." She reasons. I rub the bridge of my nose. "I'm not having this conversation with you again. Being one of the few people the government hasn't brainwashed yet isn't a great thing, it just means we're on our own" I exclaim
I start walking through the forest and she follows, jogging to catch up with my quick pace. She seems grumpy for about two seconds before a bird fly's past and she becomes Intruiged about that. I sigh and start looking out for abandoned buildings nearby that might give me a sense of where I am heading.
We walk on in silence for a few minutes until Lavina points out what looks to be an old science laboratory. "That must be it! " Lavina tells me excitedly "that guy, the one who's going to get us out of here, said something about an old lab, didn't he! " she looks at me, biting her lip to stop herself from screaming. I nod uneasily, I still need to make sure the guy is legit first.
I make my way through the opening in which Lavina spotted the lab. I am careful to avoid the cleverly disguised bowe mushrooms. I warn Lavina of them too just incase she isn't as careful. I usually wouldn't bother and would let Lavina walk through them in hope she would learn from her mistakes but I can't afford to have to carry her paralyzed body through the portal. Or drag her away if things get sour
As we get closer it becomes apparent that there isn't a front door. I peer up at the ivy that mounts the wall, wondering if I could climb it. I probably could but how would Lavina get up. Things tended to be quite simple until you added Lavina into the mix.
As I stand there contemplating alternative ways to break-in Lavina gets a little carried away with the breaking part. I flinch as a loud crashing sound comes from my right. I call her name as I jog to where I heard the sound. She's found a window, ground level and smashed it. I blink. She turns around, smiling sweetly as she holds a brick in her right hand.
"I found an entrance for us! " she giggles. I can't seem to find words so I just stare at her blankly instead. She drops the brick and climbs through the now shattered window. I follow, carefully. I immediately notice the dark red stains the run along the floor. I swallow and pretend not to notice them, instead I watch Lavina skip along the corridor.
The darkness is creeping in the further away from our make-do entrance. I rummage through my satchel for a torch. Victorious, I turn it on and immediately regret it. Bloody handprints line the walls, massive scratch marks crawl across the ceiling. The light bulbs all burst and shattered glass lies around
Something crunches underneath my foot. I know what it is before I look down, a bone. But not a human one like I expected. "This was an old warlock hide out " I realise. "A battle must have happened here " I whisper. I shiver as a breeze passes through. I look up and find that Lavina has gone. I roll my eyes, of course as soon as something gets even a bit interesting she wanders off.
I look in each room as I pass, searching for my lost friend. "Lavina? " I call out. No response. I continue looking more wary now. Usually she returns within a few minutes or when she's called unless she's found something really distracting or something is wrong.
A scream echoes down the hallway. My heart drops, that's Lavina's scream. My first instinct is to run towards the scream and try and help but first instincts are often wrong just like first impressions. I take a few breaths, trying to calm down and not let panic control my thoughts. What's made her scream like that? If it's an animal or a human they are most likely dangerous or armed. I can't just run in there and hope not to die. I need a plan
Lavina's time might be limited so I walk as quietly as I can whilst maintaining a quick pace. The plan is formed and edited on my way there. I have the element of surprise, whatever is there hopefully thinks Lavina is alone. I am to first get a glance of what is in the room with Lavina, if it is an animal I shall act accordingly. Wether that be scare it, fight it or grab Lavina and get out of there. If it is human I shall simply shoot them.
I grip my gun in my hands so tight that my knuckles are turning white. I peer round the corner, ready to go through with my plan when Lavina screams again. I flinch and yank my head back, out of sight from the door. I hear footsteps walking towards the door, too heavy to be Lavina and too light to be an animal. It's a human.
I wait until they're right outside the door before I leap at them, tackling them to the ground. Whilst they're dazed I pin their arms to the ground. Surprisingly they have no weapons in their hands. "Emi! " Lavina sounds horrified. I'm taken a back, I thought I might get a hug or a thank you for saving her.
She tries to drag me off him and I let her. The guy sits up, his dark brown hair a mess. "He's our ticket out of here" she hisses in my ear. Oh. I guess I misunderstand the situation. "You dissapeared and then you scream, I thought you had been had attacked!" I argue.
I look towards the man and swallow my pride. "I'm sorry if I hurt you" I tell him. I expect him to scold me or take back his offer to help us but instead he laughs. For the second time today I'm speechless, I don't want to get used to the feeling. His eyes meet mine. They are a lovely mix of green and brown. They were the type that seems to change colour, the type that you could get lost in, the type that I didn't trust.
"Don't worry about it, it's good that your senses are sharp" he tells me " you'll need them where you're going. " Somehow it doesn't sound threatening when it comes from his mouth. I stand up at the same time he does. I give him a brief smile. Before finally taking a look at the room.
Messy desks lined the sides of the room with the odd chair. The front of the room was more technical with tons of computers and built in tablets. Blue prints hung on the wall. But the most eye catching thing was the huge, circular frame on the wall. That must be the portal! Lots of wires hung from it, all had a place in the lab.
"So when do we go through? " I ask barely containing my excitement. He shrugs "now? " he suggests. Lavina squeaks. I nod, eagerly "now's good for me" I grin. We might actually escape. I let the idea of living freely wash over me. There would be no chance of the government catching and controlling us, it would just be me and Lavina plus a few Faeries.
He walks over to one of the computers and starts typing things. Lavina grabs my shoulders and shakes me. "We're gonna be free Emi! " she has tears in her eyes. I brush her hair out of her face, "well then let's look our best hm?" I grab a clip out of my satchel and use it to stick her wild hair down. A few minutes of fiddling later she looks less crazy. Her hair is in a messy bun with a few strands at the front. Her hair has always amazed me. She's only 16, like me, yet her hair is so blonde it looks gray in some lights.
The man calls us over and we walk over together. The circular frame on the wall is humming with energy. "It should be ready in a minute and once it is you have to be quick it won't stay open for long. " he fills us in on the details. When the time comes he warns us to step back. I watch as a ball of light travels through one of the wires and feeds into the circular frame.
There is a flash of light for a second before it goes back to normal. Another ball of light goes through the same wire, and another one goes through a different wire. The flash is longer this time but the result is still the same, nothing happens. This time three balls of light travel through the wires and the flash is much longer and brighter this time.
When the flash subdues instead of the circular frame being empty, a light blue glow hovers in the middle. It's beautiful to look at but it quickly morphs into a forest. Luminous mushrooms lie on the mossy forest floor. It looks similar, apart from the mushrooms, to the forest outside but it feels different. More magical.
"Thank you so much. . . Erm" I trail off realising I don't know his name. "Alex, and don't thank me yet first you need to get through " he gestures for us to go. I take lavina's hand and we stroll through. I notice almost immediately how clean the air is compared to before. I wave at Alex as he reaches for something and right before I turn away, ready to begin our new life, I see the glint of a dagger, heading right for my heart.