Padawan's Choice: The Cylis Chronicles

The Dark Shadow

         Kalumb groaned softly in his sleep, his mind more active than he. As he exhaled softlty, his head twitched in response to the dream playing before his eyes.

      The halls were dark, with dimly lit lights. Suddenly, at one of the hall, a red saber ignited, showing a faceless person, it being shrouded in shadows from their hood. They made no move, and didn't even look alive, really. 

      Watching, he was intrigued, until something shifted, and he suddenly heard loud screams and heart wrenching cries of pain. They echoed around him, in the now empty hall, everywhere and yet no where at the same time.

     Outside his dream, Kalumb gasped, his head soaked in sweat as he grit his teeth in pain.

      The echos continued, then he was suddenly falling. He hit the ground with an "oof!", then looked around. He was in another chamber, but this one looked vaguely familiar. Signs of the jedi temples of his home world were everywhere, and he felt urged to go forward. 

     So he did. His path took him through a mostly empty, abandoned temple, with weird scratches in the wall, like those of a large feline type creature. His mind began to ache, and he once more heard screams of pain, this time fainter, far away. Across the wall he saw blood appear, and the lights and sounds of clashing red and blue sabers, yet no people.

      A baby's cry reached his ears, but it too was faint. Then he was falling again, and when he hit the ground he was on the rising panel in the center of the judgment chamber of the jedi temple on Coruscant. 

      The voices of the masters on the council were saying things, each over the other. He heard gun blasters and the screams of what seemed a million voices echoing in terror, then suddenly silenced. He heard a loud machine like breath of air, and sabers igniting again. 

         He saw Grimn's face flash by, along with a thousand sith before him. It was all too much. Falling to his knees, he cried out for it to stop, tears running from his eyes. And it did. 

        Kalumb awoke with a gasp, his eyes tearing up. He sat up and looked around him, the dream fading even now. As he concentrated on his breathing, the details were suddenly gone, and he was left with an echo of something slightly haunting.

        Now wondering what had happened, he looked around the cell again, taking in everything with a glance. Not much had changed. Kintor was still alive, thank goodness. The torture session hadn't been long, but that didn't make it any better. It was terrible, watching as the electric rods those cursed guards, who were stationed outside the cell even now, had made hard contact with Kintor's skin, leaving bruises and welts.

        Now he lay next to his brother, sleeping, but still restless. Same as everyone else, except Kalumb, obviously. He sat in a corner, leaning against the cold stone, thinking as his mind changed to his failures, as they often did when he had time to think. 

      All he had hoped this mission would be had turned out to be a failure, starting with getting his ship blown up. He had been so excited.... He hadn't been prepared. And that upset him. Sitting up straighter, uncomfortable, his frustration piled up on him. Why couldn't he be like other padawans? You know, normal? A padawan who had a lightsaber and knew how to use it, one who could fly a ship without crashing it. 

         One who was good at that stuff. Instead, he was trapped in a prison with a group of tortured, half-dead force users who were scared of their own shadows. Not that he blamed them, in the least. Not at all. He was sorry for every one of them, wishing for them that they never entered such a situation.

      No, it wasn't them he blamed. It was Grimn. A the mere thought of his name, the flame of anger lit inside him. He knew anger wasn't good in a jedi learner, so he tried to snuff it out. But every time he thought of those two deadly eyes, he squirmed angrily, trying with all his might to cheer up. To be in control of his emotions.

       It seemed like ever since he landed on Kooriva, he had let his emotions rule his decisions. He had left R6 alone, and practically leapt into the arms of a sith. He was so stupid! He almost gave up, almost let his anger grow. 

        He felt the cold web hanging in the air thicken, causing a bit of fear to spring up as well. Trying desperately to erase such thoughts from his head, he turned over and closed his eyes. After he calmed down a little, he opened them, looking eye to eye with a dark figure which almost scared the skin right off him.

          He jumped nearly a foot off the ground, which is kinda impressive since he was sitting down. His hand flew to his chest and he breathed a deep sigh of relief when he realized it was just Cally. "Goodness! Cally, you scared me!" He sighed wearily. 

     She smiled apologetically, then scooted a little closer. "I thought you were asleep." Kalumb said, a little uncomfortable with how close she was. She stared at him, then sat down with her head on his shoulder. "I was. But..... well, you woke me." She said a little shyly.

         Kalumb licked his lips, confused. "But I didn't make a sound." He stated. He felt her shift. "Right?" "I could sense your discomfort." She said, "What's troubling you?" He sighed again. "The question is, what isn't?" He chuckled dryly. "Let's see.... I crashed my craft, lost my droid, have no way to contact my master, who probably thinks I'm dead, there's no way off this rock even if we managed to escape from the sith guy, and I... I had a weird dream." 

    He listed everything, glad to share it all with someone. It was a load off his chest. "A dream? What happened?" She asked him, her eyebrows wrinkling together. Kalumb thought for a minute. "I don't know...." He aid softly. "That's what concerns me." Cally moved her shoulder a little, basically giving him a side hug. 

       "Well, I wouldn't worry, much, then. You know, I think you're great, Kalumb, for even trying to rescue us." Now it was her turn to sigh. She looked around the small room, the whites of her eyes shining slightly. "Our masters haven't." 

      Kalumb turned his head to look at her, noticing for the first time how worn out she looked. Her shoulders sagged slightly, and her cheeks looked thin. But her smile was bright, even when it was small. He noticed how soft her black hair was, and, even in the dark, he saw for the first time that her eyes were a light gray. 

     He smiled slightly, thinking just how pretty she was, and what a shame it was that she was stuck here. Someone like her deserved more than this. Way more. Silently, Cally shifted again, her head now resting on his shoulder. "Kalumb?" She whispered, her voice cracking a little. He looked at her. 

     "Would you-er... I-I know we're jedi padawans and all, but.... W-What I'm trying to ask is-" She swallowed and sighed again. Kalumb gently rubbed her shoulder with one hand, trying to be nice and help her relax. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "Would you hold me? Please, just-just as friends?" She begged, her words full of sorrow and pain.

       Just watching her pulled at his heart strings and, as a friend only, he obliged, wrapping his arms around her gently and sending warm feelings toward her through the force. They sat together like this, talking about anything and everything.

    Kalumb told her about his life on Tython, their history, and the friends he had, and made since getting a master. She laughed at his small jokes about not being able to use a lightsaber, and told her own share of embarrassing moments... until both dropped off into the peace and restlessness of slumber, oblivious to what was going to happen next.