Silver: The Lost Royal

12 | A New Environment

THE only light came from a little lamp suspended from the low ceiling and illuminated the corridor for a few feet forward and backward. Furthermore, it only got darker. Despite that, she took more steps forward, with her hands out ahead of her, searching where her eyes couldn't see. Soon, the smooth wall with a wooden texture grazed her palm. She gave it a light push, and it gave way like a door, but without a creak.

This new room had most parts obscured by darkness, with a pale blue light that could only be from the moon streaking in from the barred square window to her left, closer to the ceiling.

She questioned whether this was some sort of basement beneath the road when she saw the tires of a car whiz by the window. Her eyes peeled away from the steel bars to land on someone, up ahead, lying on the floor with their head down and cuddled in the crook of their arm. Were they asleep?

But when she looked to her right, the sight knocked the wind out of her lungs.

"Kara," she breathed out. Her sister's ghost light illuminated the space around her.

A wall of mist-or so it seemed-surrounded Kara, who sat on the floor with her head in her hands.

Was this where she had been all this time?

There was no other person except the person on the floor. She rushed towards her sister, but as she touched the mist wall, her hand flattened against it.

Though she could see through it, it stood firm, like a normal wall.

She slammed her fist against it. Once, twice, but it only created a ripple-like movement in the mist and this caught Kara's attention.

"Kara, it's me, Karyn," she whispered. Kara's eyes flitted up before darting around like she was searching for who or what had caused the disturbance.

"Kara! I'm here! I'm right here!" she said a little louder, and Kara jumped up.

"Karyn?" Kara's whisper was soft and feeble, like a prayer on a dying woman's lips.

"Yes! It's me. Can you not see me?"

"No, I can't. It must be this damned mist. How did you get here?"

"I... I have no idea. How did you get here?"

"I was following Jamie but something happened to Elowen and I wanted to help but I don't know how they captured us."

"Us?"

"Elowen is here too. She's over there," Kara said.

Her eyes rounded in horror as they flashed to the person on the other side of the room.

That was Elowen!

"That's... Is she alright?"

"I don't think so. Every time they take her and bring her back, she looks weaker."

"Have they done anything to you?" she asked, her hands clenching into tight fists on the wall of mist.

"No. Not yet, and I don't want to wait to find out," Kara said, with her eyes wide.

"How can I get you out? What is this place?" she asked, but Kara didn't get to answer as they heard a faraway door open, and then click close.

Both heads turned sharply toward the sound as voices soon followed.

"The girl is tight-lipped, but that's fine. We'll get the other one talking soon. That's where the secrets are and secrets are all we need," a voice said.

"How? She's a ghost," another voice said.

"I have just the way," the first voice replied, their voices now louder.