The Book of Gemma -Apocalyptic Fantasy Romance-

CHAPTER 16: THE CHILL

I wanted to stay in the room with Deecon all night in my true form but I heard the slat open on the door.
"Gemma, I have to show you something." Albi says sliding his arm into the opening. His wristband lights up to show me a GPS tracking something on the other side of the planet.

No one was allowed to be there, it was a small plot of forest with a river too dangerous to be near. The rapids could rip you apart limb by limb. My father set up a shield around the perimeter of the forest and the rough part of the river.
"The invitation to your party was sent from a wristband at this location. I'm going to-" I cut him off not wanting him to risk being alone.
"I will come with you, I have known that area from when I was a child. I was there when my father sealed it. My passcode should still work." I explained.

Deecon grabs my pendant from the ground, placing it in my palm.
"It's just for a little bit. If you wish to remove it when we get back, it is up to you... but you will have to be locked in here." He meets me with a stern look trying to say without saying that if hate consumed me again, I needed to be locked away. I was dangerous and I didn't know how to snap out of it until Deecon took his last breath.

"I understand." I whisper, lowering my head in shame.

I hold the pendant above my head and quake at the thought of my emotions tearing me apart. Deecon had remembered us and Franco always had.
But I lost Franco.
He will be getting bound today to Annie.

I try to move the pendant closer to my chest but my arms stop me, my body fighting the motion to put it back on.
"Gemma, what's the matter?" Deecon says, placing his hands over mine.

It was like trying to move the sun from the resistance of my own arms.
"My arms won't let me put it on.. My body is fighting me.. I-"
Deecon grabs the necklace from my hands, "Shh... shhh... shhh. It's okay. Look at my feet." He commands. I do as told, seeing his toes through his socks wiggling to keep me distracted.
"You are strong with or without this." He says placing the chain over my head. It hangs off my neck and sticks to my chest like a magnet.

It wasn't the usual draining feeling that I had grown accustomed to, it was like it was taking my very being from my bones.

I fall to my knees and gasp for air, my lungs now needing oxygen. I start to cough, almost choking on my saliva. My heart begins to ache, my stomach in knots and my eyes start to sting. Not from crying but from an icy chill that felt like I was staring into a blizzard.

I'm freezing.

My bones feel like they are made from sheets of ice. My skin starts to dry up from lack of moisture. I can hear the crunch of my brittle hair.
My throat was now so raw trying to breathe that I couldn't even speak. I felt consumed by the icy depths of the hateful form but also the feeling like my life has been sucked from my body.

I was dying, my pendant state left me too weak for human form. I can hear my heart rate slow and so can Deecon now. I begin to claw at my neck in panic.

"Woah, woah, woah Gemma?.. Gem, what's happening?" He frantically sounds, looking at my body shrivel up.

I could barely move and my vision started to blur. I become dizzy even trying to open them. My hand trembles trying to take my pendant off my chest.
Deecon grabs it for me and rips it off my neck.

I still cannot pry my eyes open as I lay on the ground. Usually when my pendant is removed I am overcome with warm flowing energy but I still feel cold. The tiniest speck of light I have is buried deep within my chest, trying to recharge me.

I really was dying. Just like my ancestors whose star was drained from their very bones from the savages in the galaxy.
The star in my chest was too small for my pendant's restraint. The pendant is used to drain my star's power just enough to keep a small bit of energy flowing to keep me alive. When I gave some of it to Deecon to save his life, the pendant pulled too much of it out, not having enough star left to flow energy. My body yearned for that piece back.
Leaving my body too weak to fight.

I needed to recharge.
I feel my body swooped from the ground and carried into my bathroom. I can barely make out what Albi and Deecon are yelling at each other. All I can hear is rushing water through my ears. I start to feel warm water on my flesh.