The Dark Awakening

Chapter 2

        I woke up to the sickly sweet smell of honey and flowers. It soothed my growing headache. I sat up and blinked away the blurriness from my vision. I was in a long room, beds on either side of it. Heavily scented plants hung from the ceiling. Beautiful white lilies hung from them, they glowed with a golden light. It spilled about the room eliminating shadows from every corner. My awe only lasted a moment before I realized I didn’t have the faintest idea where I was. Panic rose in my chest as I struggled to get out of the blankets on the bed that now felt like they were restraining me. I stumbled to my feet, the floor cold against my toes. I was still wearing my jeans and t-shirt from when I had been at the café with Nick. Although, despite what had happened, they were surprisingly clean. The windows that overlooked the beds were flooded with the light of the setting sun. The large wooden doors that adorned the far side of the room were engraved with intricate animals and symbols. I walked to the door my bare feet slapping the floor. What happened to my shoes? I thought, staring down at my feet for a moment.

        I looked back to the door and lightly brushed my fingers against the worn wood. The engravings were inlaid with bronze that caught the golden light of the sun. It appeared to shimmer and ripple like living fire. I pushed open the door, the light of the room behind be pooling onto the floor. The door lead to a hallway that seemed to stretch infinitely on either side. Lights hung from the ceiling creating a soft artificial light that danced through the air. I took a in a deep breath of clean air, my headache continuing to pound in the back of my skull. My thoughts swam through my head, not in any particularly in any order. I ordered my thoughts long enough to take in my surroundings and decide which way to go. My feet slid over the carpeted floor as I turned to my right. I walked for a while but panic began to fill my head, clouding my thoughts. I began to run, my feet hitting the floor with soft thuds.

        I was out of breath by the time I reached the next room. The whole ceiling was made of glass. Twelve separate hallways splintered off the main room. People leisurely strolled about the room chatting with each other and laughing. My panic only slowed for a moment before seizing my limbs again.

        Where am I? My thoughts screamed. You couldn’t see the skyline of the city from the glass domed ceiling and I couldn’t remember seeing it from the previous room. My thoughts were going haywire.

        Who are these people?

        Did these people kidnap me?!

        I was becoming hysterical. Someone brushed my shoulder and I sprung away, my back painfully slamming against the wall behind me.

        “Get away from me!!” I screamed. Everyone in the room froze, the girl that had bumped into me looked horrified. My breathing became more rapid as I dug my fingers into the wall, trying to find some kind of purchase in the stone wall. Some way to root myself to reality. I gave up and sprinted in the opposite direction. My headache throbbed with every step, like someone was driving a nail through my skull. I’m not sure how far I made it before collapsing. It might have been ten steps or one-hundred, I could have cared less. In that moment everything caught up with me. My growing headache, the gash in my side I didn’t even know I had, my exhaustion. Everything.

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        I woke to bile rising in my throat. I snapped up and wretched over the side of the bed. There were a few shouts of alarm, but I didn’t care as I emptied the contents of my stomach onto the floor. I was left dry heaving until someone helped me stand up on the other side of the bed. My knees where shaky and uncooperative but I managed to stand.

        “Its ok, just breathe. The feeling will pass.” A soothing female voice said as I let go of her arm. I looked at the woman that had spoken. She had a small frame and olive colored skin. Her eyes stood out, a stark contrast to her skin. They were magenta with slight flecks of a rosy pink around her iris.

        That’s it. I’ve lost it. I’ve lost it and I’m imagining people having unnaturally colored eyes. Great. Just great. I thought before falling to the floor in a fit of laughter. I couldn’t help it, all of this just seemed so ridiculous. The lady gasped and tried to catch me. To her credit she was stronger than she looked. She struggled for a bit before my weight overtook her and she was forced to let go.

        “My god, you’re heavier than you look.” She said placing her hands on her knees and looking down at me. At this I laughed harder.

         None of this is real. None of it. I wasn’t kidnapped. My thoughts sang, I smiled at the lady.

         “You’re not real.” I chuckled before tapping the woman’s nose, the woman paled and stood back up.

         “Oh, dear.” She said more to herself than anyone else. I knew my mind was pulling hysterics, and honestly that might have been the worst part. I knew my brain was making excuses for what I was seeing. Denying the facts that stood so obviously in front of me.

         “Cana?” Said a familiar voice from behind me. I spun around, relieved to see someone I knew. It was Nick. His messy blond hair stuck up at every angle. I struggled to my feet.

         “Nick,” I choked before stumbling over to him and catching him in a messy hug. “You’re ok?”

         “Yes, I’m fine.” He said hugging me back. I knotted my fingers into the back of his shirt. I felt tears stinging my eyes as every fear I had thought up, disappeared.

         “Cana, you need to listen to me. Can you do that for me?” He asked letting go of me so I could look at him. I nodded, not trusting my voice.

         “Something has…… Happened.” He said as if unsure of what to say. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach as he continued. “Before the explosion….. umm.” He paused again He was visually becoming more and more uneasy. “Your father… H-He’s gone.” I stared at him unblinking for a moment.

         “If this is a joke, it’s not funny.” I said. Nick sighed, his brow creasing.

         “Cana,” He paused and sighed again. “Cana, I’m so sorry. The people that caused the explosion took him.” For a second I thought I was going to throw up again, but in the clam before the storm, a single question raced through my mind.

         “Who told you all this?” I asked, Nick paled.

         “Cana-“

         “No, who told you.” I said staring him right in the eye. “And more importantly, why did you accept it. For all we know they could have been lying. What have they done to make you trust them?”

         “Cana.” He paused, looking at me. It seemed as if a great weight had been lifted from his soul. “It’s my sister.”