The Lores of Lyra - Shattered Star [Book II]

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Joshua was dreaming. That’s what he thought at least. He ran over a meadow with some bread in his hand. Vega was sitting at a quilt further ahead. He felt happy, and the image he saw he couldn’t quite understand. But he didn’t care. He was filled with joy.

As he ran a dark cloud was forming behind Vega, he tried yelling to her to run away, but the wind wouldn’t carry his words. The familiar grey mist was triple the size and just above her. Fear erupted through him, and he sped up, throwing the bread in his hands away to run faster.

Her piercing scream reached his ears, and he pressed himself further but to no avail. No matter how fast he ran he didn’t get nearer to her. The meadow was a never ending circle, and she was placed just outside it. All he could  do was stand by and watch with tears in his eyes as she was consumed. Her red hair flaring in the wind as the only color.

The mist disappeared, and he screamed as he saw Vega fall to the ground.

That was when he waked up bathed in sweat. He opened his eyes and stared up at a ceiling made of wood. Looking to his right side he saw a pool of blood and looking down he realized it had come from his arm, which was now bandaged.

His eyes found Vega’s body who had sunk down on the floor in front of the door. Worry cascaded through him, and his heartbeat started to increase. Frantically he tried to sit up, and his eyes fell over to the guy sitting with his arms around his knees. A growl sounded from deep in Joshua’s throat and even he was surprised.

“What happened to her? What have you done?” he demanded.

The guy held up both his hands in a surrendering motion.

“I’m not going to hurt you!” he whispered.

Joshua struggled to sit up, and when he finally managed, he had to use his arms to hold his own weight. His right arm stung painfully, and a spot began to form on the bandage as he moved around. He glared over to the guy.

“My name is Eric,” the guy continued, in a low whisper. Joshua saw as Eric’s eyes kept glancing over to Vega.

“I won’t let you hurt her,” he growled. The guys facial expression changed to shock at that.

“I have no desire to!”

“What are you doing here?” Joshua asked suspiciously.

He listened carefully as Eric told the story he had already told Vega. The guy seemed sincere enough, but the striking resemblance to Blake was like a punch to Joshua’s stomach.

“So my guess is that the Black Hole stole out looks and maybe even our identities, to pass as humans outside this place,” Eric finished.

Joshua nodded at that. It was all surreal, in fact, he couldn’t even imagine how anyone would put that much thought into a lie ever.

“Do you believe me?” the guy asked.

Joshua met his eyes.

“It’s hard to believe, I admit to that,” he started. He had trouble finding he right words. “I believe you in the sense that I don’t think you’re lying. But I don’t trust you,”

Eric nodded at that. “I respect that,”

This whole journey had been so different from what Joshua had imagined in the first place. Vega and her hadn’t been prepared for that. His throat was dry, and he looked around for the bags which had been carelessly thrown into the corner. He sent a longing gaze at it, but knew that he didn’t have the strength to walk over to get it.