When the Stars Fall

Chapter 12

  

     Darkness, it's like an overwhelming black and cold hug. It swallows you and makes you fall, fall down and down and down, it's a never ending fall. For Sophie her fall was through all her dark and twisty memories. The darkness clawed at her as she fell through her memories, essentially falling in her own brain. She saw glimpses of when she was kidnapped or when Umber shot the Shadow Flux up her arm and shattered her knuckles. The edges of the tunnels that she was falling through reached it's dark, black and cold claws out, leaving a trail of searing pain on Sophie. Then out of nowhere a terrible feeling came over Sophie's chest, it felt like she was being bent in half. That's when her eye's burst open to find Sandor giving her CPR. She tried to move her arms to stop him, but she was too weak.

She could hear him whispering. "Come on Sophie, breath for me. Sophie we need you, breath." She used all the strength that she could muster and groaned just loud enough for him to hear. "Sophie!" He looked to her eyes and his face turned from sorrow into a huge smile. "You're alive!" Sophie breathed in, and tried to breathe out, but instead proceeded to cough up blood in her hand. She looked into her hand horrified, that's when she looked around to find that her dorm was no longer a dorm, but a literal landslide. She looked up to see that the ceiling was gone replaced by a hole that led to the blue sky.  

"What the heck." She sort of whispered but also coughed at the same time. She looked around again and found another bed in her room which was upside down on top of her it's canopy creating a small space of sort of safety, she realized how lucky she was the bed was there, she would have totally been crushed if it hadn't fallen upside down. "What happened?" She looked to Sandor who was moving bit's of rubble to make a path to her door, as Sophie just laid there looking around. 

"I don't exactly know Miss. Foster. It seems as if part of the building has collapsed, and unfortunately we were in that part of the building." He looked to her with sympathetic eyes. "You took the brunt of it. I found you covered in rocks and rubble, with your head bleeding. You weren't breathing either." Sophie brought her hand to her head, and it was immediately met with a warm gooey substance. She pulled her hand away and when she looked, she was once again horrified to see blood. That was probably the cause to her throbbing headache. She wiped her hand on her dress and tried to sit up, when Sophie started to groan with pain as she sat up, Sandor whipped over and helped her. "Please be careful, Miss Foster. You lost a battle with some rocks. A lot hit you in the back, hard. I found you curled up protecting your stomach." 

"My stomach! Is the baby okay?" She asked worriedly. 

"I don't know, that's why we have to get you to the healing centre right away." He crouched down. "Do you think you can stand, with my help?" Sophie nodded, not wanting to risk coughing up blood again. She put her arm around Sandor's shoulder's, and he put his around her waist to support her. "Ready? 1, 2, 3 and up." Sophie used all her strength to stand up and once she did a wave of dizziness washed over her. She doubled over, and hurled right there and then. "Woah, are you okay?" Sandor asked as she stood back up, she had the feeling that the red that she saw was blood. 

"I don't think there should be blood in there." She pointed weakly to the spot where she just hurled. Sandor paled.

"All the more reason we should get moving." He started walking slowly and Sophie followed, slowly and painfully, she looked down and found the source of pain, a rock was embedded into her calf. At that point she realized her tunic and pants were shredded and in pieces. Her back felt like Verdi had stepped on it and her head was throbbing. They got into the hall and looked around, it was filled with rocks and debris from all the paintings and statues lining the walls. 

"Sandor." Sophie said quietly.

"Yes, Miss Foster?" He said concentrating on Sophie's walking and where she was stopping.

"Aren't the Elite towers supposed to be almost impenetrable?"

"Yes, that's what the Elves said-" he stopped talking as he realized what Sophie was implying. 

"Sandor, I don't think this part of the Towers collapsed from natural causes." She focused on her breathing, realizing how bad her chest hurt from the chest compressions. "I think someone caused the earthquake, or whatever made that rumbling noise before it collapsed, to happen." Sandor looked down at her with a knowing gaze.

"Think you're right Miss. Foster." He looked to the elevator which was blocked by debris. "I think we're going to have to take the stairs." Sophie nodded painfully knowing how bad this was going to hurt. Sandor opened the door, and Sophie limped through. They started down the steps, and before they could get 6 steps down, Sophie's legs gave out. "Miss Foster!" Sandor yelped grabbing on to her before she could fall down the stairs. "I'm going to have to carry you." Sophie just nodded her head lolling to the side as she felt the warm pull of unconsciousness wanting her to close her eyes. "No, Sophie you need to keep your eyes open. Stay with me Sophie." Sandor picked her up and started to run down the stairs. Sophie was too delirious to ask how he was going so fast without falling, she was in so much pain. 

"It hurts, Sandor. It hurts so much." She said quietly as Sandor opened a door that led to the outside, they were now running across the campus to get to Foxfire's healing centre, where Elwin was. 

"I know Miss. Foster, but you must keep your eyes open until we get to Elwin." 

"Okay, I'll try." She said quietly which was followed by a cough fit which sprayed Sandor's chest with blood. "Oh sorry." She lazily tried to wipe his chest off, but it just smeared it instead. Sophie barely registered the line of kids lining the hall, all injured from the collapse.

"MOVE!" She heard Sandor yell. He burst through the healing centre doors. And Sophie lifted her head to look, and there was Elwin standing in front of them in shock from seeing them. 

"Oh... hey Elwin." Sophie got out deliriously before, once again, the darkness pulled her from consciousness and the world went black.