The City of Darkness

I: Sick!

This begins the Dark Hearts Arc (Chapters 1-20) of the Thera Saga.

"Oww!" Said Shard. He rubbed his head after getting hit for challenging his friend, Pierce, to a fight

"Next time, bring the fight." Said Pierce. She looked at him with dark eyes. Pierce was a girl who could be your best friend...if you get on her good side. Younger than Shard by only year, she was still stronger than him in strength but not in speed and agility.

She beat him by pounding him in the gut, following up with a crotch kick, and finishing with a knee to the face.

"Shard...you okay?" Said Sky. Sky was younger than Pierce by two years. She was the absolute best at agility and can sneak past anything.

"I'm fine....i'm gonna go lie down, though.." said Shard. He held his stomach and limped to his room.

"Heheh..." said Leah. She was the same age as Pierce, but was the smartest and coolest, calmest, most collected one. "Funny, but was it necessary to destroy the lower half of his body?"

"No....but I felt like it." Said Pierce. "Something is wrong with him, though..usually he brushes hits like those off...what could it be?"

"Ill go talk to him." Said Leah. She used her ice powers to slide across the living room and up the stairs. She knocked on the door and heard a "come in".

"Shard? Whats wrong?" Said Leah.

"I dont know...I feel sick..." he said.

"Oh.." Leah felt his head. It was pretty warm. Shard's face was pale and his breathing was a bit faster. He held onto the blankets of his bed as the last thing he saw was his sister before falling asleep. "Okay, ill go get you some medicine. Wait here, 'kay?"

Leah left the room and told Pierce and Sky that Shard was sick.

"Ill run to the store to get some soup." Said Sky.

"Good idea. Ill go with her." Said Pierce. The three of them left the now gray and dark home. It was empty and the shades, blinds, and curtains in the house were closed. No lights were on, but with the small light from the blinds, the house stayed gray.

There was a small rustling sound coming from inside the kitchen. "Huh? Who's there?" Shard said from his bed upstairs. The noise suddenly stopped and footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. Shard couldn't defend himself with his sickness, so instead decided to act like he wasn't here by staying completely still under the bed covers.

There was more silence. Shard was scared, knowing he wont be able to defend himself against whoever this was.

The covers suddenly flew off of him as a girl stood before him. She was shorter than Shard, but a lot more scarier.

"Found you!" She said.

"Who are you?" Shard said as he curled up.

"Your worst nightmare, of course!" The girl sat on the bed and caressed Shard's body. "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Shard said nervously.

"This!" The girl put her hand on Shard's head and warped into his mind, along with Shard, leaving behind only Shard's now unconscious body. The body slumped into the bed, as the blanket landed back on him, making it look like he was asleep. Really however, it was the girl and Shard, inside of his mind, with no escape.