Just an Echo in the Darkness

~Chapter Twenty~

Pain. That's all Ambria can think of. She had been determined not to show any weaknesses, but that was what Ambria did, show several weaknesses.

"Get back to work!" the same guard that shot her yelled. He wasn't smiling but he didn't seem upset.

There were some shouts of her name, yelling of other names. Yelling of who knows what, but there was yelling. Lots of it.

Lots of people gathered around Ambria as she groaned. Ambria never knew how much it hurt to be shot until then.

Brielle was the only recognizable face, as Ambria gripped her bare foot. There were streams of warm red blood down her foot.

Ambria looked away from the sight. Her mind isn't working at the moment. She couldn't see, it was all blurry. She couldn't feel anything besides her foot. She couldn't smell, think.

Ambria's mind was racing thinking of so many things, but could picture or stay on any thought.

"Ambria? Bria?" a very smudy face asked- who was already crying over the top of her, as Ambria gritted her teeth. Ambria recognized the nickname but couldn't remember the name, she knew it was someone she trusted.

Ambria let go of her bleeding foot. She needed to show no weaknesses, that's what she decided, that's what she would do. Ambria let out a slow shaky breath.

"Yep, I'm good," Ambria said as she let out a hysterical laugh that sounded like a dying pig.

The blonde took that as an answer, "Yeah, you are not good."

Brielle- Ambria remembered- gave her a hand helping her up. Her mind grew dimmer, and before Ambria fell to the ground strong arms caught her. Ambria blinked a couple times to regain her surroundings.

All her friends were gathered around her besides Bryce and well, of course Julia. Thinking about Julia made Ambria's heart stop for a second. This is how Julia died. Ambria lived, Julia didn't.

Ambria fought back tears. She would make sure she would show no weaknesses, but Julia died that way. Ambria almost died. That was how it was decided, how they would fight back the same way Julia did before she died.

.- -- -... .-. .. .-

"No!" Ambria shouted. Her brain hurt but she was getting carried somewhere. Probably to the health center, or maybe where they put the rest of the bodies. EIther way she wouldn't be going. Ambria;s eyes were closed shut, and she wasn't able to open them. They felt like the tips were glued together.

Her foot hurt more like it was on fire. Her foot felt like it was slowly melting by the flames that had consumed it. Ambria pried her eyes open. She was getting carried by someone.

She felt like he was similar, but she couldn't place it. Even for the long shoulder length brown hair, Ambria could tell he was male from the strong arms.

"It's going to be okay, Ambria," the man whispered. How did he know her name? His voice was familiar, soothing almost. Then Ambria remembered she could be in the hands of her enemy. She wiggled and squirmed to get out of the man's strong grasp. "I'm sorry. Just hold on, you are going to make it out."

The man let out a deep breath. It was shaky. The brown haired man laid her down on something solid. "I'm sorry again. Find the necklace and it will guide you."

After that, there was a sudden darkness. It felt as though she was swimming at first. Then it felt as though she was getting grabbed by vines. The vines wrapped around her legs. Tugging her deeper deeper into the water. She wanted to get another deep breath, before making another dive but she couldn't. She was trapped underwater, and couldn't breathe. She held her breath until finally she let the water suffocate her.

.- -- -... .-. .. .-

Ambria felt exhausted. That's all she felt, besides the pain still in her foot. She woke up on her bunk bed and when she asked Brielle about the man, she said that Ambria must've been going crazy. She kept asking, and Ambria always knew when Brielle was lying. She wasn't lying.

Either Ambria dreamed or visioned the man, or Brielle didn't see him. Ambria knew she saw something. She wasn't making it up, but Brielle stared at her crazily every time she mentioned the man.

The familiarity of the man was crazy. Ambria knew his voice, his face, his eyes but she couldn't place it. There was something on her mind but she couldn't actually figure it out.

Ambria stood up again. Her foot was throbbing, it felt like there was a heartbeat in her foot. Ambria gritted her teeth, balancing on her hurt foot. If it didn't feel better she would make it feel better and get used to the pain.

Just as Ambria was about to get outside her cell and go to work the next morning, she heard shouting. She almost ran outside the cell, but her foot hurt so much she did a slight jog. She met up with her friends who were jumping up and down to see what was happening. Greylan, who was the tallest out of the group, still couldn't see what was happening.

All they heard were the screams, and lot's of yelling. There were a couple of shot's fired. All Ambria's friends' eyes glazed over.

After about what felt like three hours of stunned silence, there was a large grunt voice that said, "GET BACK TO WORK!"

The crowd cleared. All that was left was a pile of bodies. Ambria could see at least twelve still people on the floor. Five of them had the same suits the guards wear, and the rest were people who worked there.

Ambria didn't know what ones she felt worse for. The people who locked her up but also were only trying to survive and do their boss's work or the people who were locked up with her that fought back.

Ambria walked with her group to a station and started to work. She tried to focus but her ears kept hearing the rumors. Ambria heard there were seven people who stole the guards guns and shot them. They tried to fight them but there were too many. Eventually, they all were shot.

Ambria's ears perked up again. Someone next to her that she didn't know mentioned that there was a long browned haired dude that ran into the crowd. There still could be more long brown haired men in the world, but the appearance matched what Ambria had seen.

Was she not imagining it? Was the man real?