Metamorphosis

10. Outcast

She saw an old man leaning over her.

She could clearly distinguish his dust-covered face, the web of wrinkles around his eyes, on his forehead and cheeks, his grey, completely white hair, his pale, weary gaze. He was wearing a suit with a jacket, which looked utterly unnatural against the gloomy mountain landscape.

'I am proud of you, Lucy,' he whispered in a hoarse voice and disappeared from view.

Lucy closed her eyes, unable to move, but then her entire body shuddered from the thought that filled her consciousness with icy horror.

Where is L?

She opened her eyes and sat up.

Her clothes were covered in dust. All around were piles of stones, sand and snow amidst the bare, silent rocks.

Coughing, Lucy took a deep breath and shouted as loud as she could:

'L!'

Her voice sounded muffled, as if she was shouting inside a closed box.

Lucy jumped up, and a whirlpool of sparks flashed before her eyes. She swayed and, almost falling, covered her eyes with her hands.

'L!' she shouted again when her vision cleared.

Not a single sound was heard around.

'Damn it...' Lucy whispered.

She looked around.

Grey clouds drifted high above the ground, and the distant mountain peaks were fully exposed. The pass was still visible, but the surroundings had changed drastically. Everything was covered with layers of stones and snow, including the trail and the path to the pass.

L was nowhere to be seen.

Picking up her backpack from the ground and putting it on her shoulders, she moved on shaky legs, stepping over the rubble in search of the metanian.

She circled hills, peered behind the fragments of rock, lifted stones and snow into the air.

But L seemed to have vanished.

At some point, she almost slid down with a stream of rocks, barely holding on. The ground was split by a huge crevice, stretching far in both directions; stones rolled from under feet, falling into the black abyss.

Trying not to stumble, Lucy moved away from the abyss, reached a safe place, and sank to the ground, exhausted.

'No!'

She got up again.

'L!..'

It was getting dark.

Lucy mechanically trudged among the rocks, constantly shouting her companion's name and listening tensely to the silence.

Rain started dripping again.

Lucy began to freeze. She felt unbearable hunger and thirst, but did not allow herself to stop searching.

The sky turned completely black.

Lucy started stumbling over stones and eventually sat down on the ground. She was shaking from the cold and exhaustion. Her strength abandoned her, and she couldn't move anymore.

The realisation of the cruel reality choked her throat, and her chest felt constricted.

Her shoulders trembled with sobs.

What has she done?!

Why, for what reason, did she embark on this journey? For what reason did she involve L?