The Keeper Exams

Chapter Twenty-Four - In the Way of Love

Realm One: Treetop Base Capture

Team Red

User: infinitywordlover

Name: Crysalis

Quiet patters sound softly around me as the chaos of the storm slows to a drizzle. While it had raged and whirled in anger as we had battled, now it seems to cry in quiet mourning of the girl I had killed. And suddenly it hits me. I had killed again, but this time I had barely even felt it. A stab of fear strikes through me. Who was I? or more specifically, What was I? I stare down at my hands, my despair growing. They were the hands of a killer, a heartless killer, a killer who didn't even care that she had killed even though she desperately wanted to. A feeling of disgust rises up in my throat, a feeling that tastes bitter, painful, and hot. It explodes from my lips, and my insides splatter into the sea of lava where they disappear with a hiss. An arm encircles my back in concern. "Hey it's ok. It's ok," Sabrina murmurs softly rubbing my back. "And stop that!" she says sharply. I follow her gaze to my hands, and I realize I've been clawing and scratching at them trying get rid of the death will stain them forever. They lie raw and bloodied in my lap, and I bend my head in surrender. "I hate myself." There's a soft intake of breath from her, but she slowly lets it out as she realizes what I mean. "It was either you or her, Crysalis. You had no choice!" "But I didn't care, I DON'T care that she's dead. I'm a monster. I don't even know myself anymore." "We're all monsters now, and I don't know how many of us still do know themselves. We've killed, and we've lost. We've been hurt and scarred. A week ago, I was an innocent little girl, and now, I'm..."she cuts off, but I know what she would have said. We are no longer innocent, we haven't been since we first killed, and we won't ever be innocent again. She pats my back encouragingly again, and helps me into a standing position. "Come on. Let's go! We're almost there!" "Almost there," I echo numbly, not quite daring to believe it. The steps we take lead us to the base of a huge cliff, and after we circle it a couple times, we realize that the only way is up. Our arms tremble and shake weakly, and each handhold upwards we move is another move closer to death. Spots of black threaten my vision, and my heart stops when my foot slips. I...must..keep...going...don't...look...down...don't....look...down....don't...look...down. The mantra beats through my head like a drum, and slowly, I inch my way upwards. Sabrina reaches the top of the cliff first, but the noise she makes when she looks over the edge is one of fear and frustration instead of joy and relief. The source of this sound quickly makes itself apparent. "HALT!" a boy's voice orders. "Could we not like, you know, fight right now? You see I'm kind've tired right now, I'm sure you can understand," Sabrina wheedles."It's either now, or later." "Wait James," another voice interrupts: a girl. The sound shifts slightly, and I can tell she's facing Sabrina now. "You look familiar. What's your name?" "Sabrina. Sabrina Whyte." I scramble hurriedly over the last outcrop, and stand next to Sabrina while the other two adjust to the presence of another human being. The girl's eyes glide over the bandanna on my wrist and a look of confidence steels her eyes. "James! They're on our team!" "Hmph." His voice is still stiff and suspicious, but he reluctantly sticks out a hand. "I'm James, and this is Millicent." He gives us a once over, and creases form on his forehead as he frowns. "I hope you're useful." With that optimistic pronouncement, he stalks quickly away towards another forest of trees. Millicent shrugs slightly and follows, her red bandanna- which had been stuck in her ponytail flapping in the breeze as she walks. "How many bases do you think are left?" I ask Sabrina. She shrugs. "Maybe one or two probably.""What are you guys talking about?" James asks glancing back at us his eyebrows furrowed in suspicion. "We're not planning your demise, if that's what you're wondering," I say glaring at him with equal suspicion. "Good. Anyways, Millicent and I were thinking that we could find the base faster if we split up. What do you think?" I shrug. "Fine by me." "Same," Sabrina says. "Fantastic! See you later." He pulls Millicent off into the undergrowth clearly relieved to get away from us. "What's his problem?" I ask staring after him. "He's probably scared we're going to kill him or something when he's not looking." "But we're on the same TEAM!" She shrugs. "At this point I guess it's every man for themselves."I grin at her mischieviously. "Are you going to turn on me?" "Of course. What about you? Can I trust you?" "Yes." I say without a single hesitation. At least that much I can be confident of. She smiles. "Come on Crysa. Let's go win this thing!...Holy-" This last part is due to the fact that we have stumbled upon another gigantic net, and this one is probably three times as big as the other one and that's saying something. You could probably fit three, maybe four football fields on the net if you tried. And that's not the only thing that strikes a vein of fear into my stomach. It hovers thousands of feet in midair, so high that every breath I take, my lungs ache for more air. Clusters of clouds drift lazily past, uncaring of the massacre that would take place. Sabrina's shoulders slump slightly as she regards it, and I know exactly what she's feeling. All the pain from the past, and all the weight of the future seems to coalesce on my body threatening to crush it like a soda can."Well we found it," she states dully. "Here goes nothing," I sigh. Three platforms are arranged in a triangle around one final, precariously perched base. Rickety sticks, and logs rise from the ground just barely holding it up. As we watch, it wobbles slightly as a breath of wind slips past us. Two figures appear on the platform to our right and I breathe in relief when I see who it is. "James, Millicent!" I yell, waving my arms. They lift their hands in acknowledgement and barely a second later, misty silhouettes appear on the platform opposite us. One is Edwin, One is Maris, and the third... the third seems familiar but I'm not quite certain if I know him. He stares across at us with an agonized and tortured look as if he wants us to forgive him. But for what? A mixture of suspicion and fear bubbles in my gut. What had he done? He uncurls a palm to reveal a crumpled bandanna, but not a green one, no. The bandana is red, as crimson as the blood that stains my fingers. Slowly it falls from his fingers and drifts into the abyss below. We stare at in shock as it spells a message clear as day.Traitor. It screams the word to the world and calls all the eyes to it. Team Red had lost a team member, but he was still alive. My blood sears with heat, and it rises to my brain filling each and every thought with a blinding emotion. Anger. "HOW DARE YOU!!" I scream at him, and I'm pleased to see him cower. "HOW COULD YOU?!" "Quiet loser," Maris spits back at me. I flinch at the memory of the beating, but glare powerfully back at her."He has an obligation to the Red team!" "He was smart enough to choose the winning side." "Winning side?" "I beat you once. I'll beat you again." She lunges onto the net and struggles her way towards me and with that everyone launches into action. The clouds swirl to my fingers and I twist them into a funnel of destruction. It hurtles into her but a moment later it seems to rebound and swirls back towards me. Large leathery wings had grown from her back and she beats them powerfully sweeping the storm away from her. A long, high pitched scream of another betrayal reaches my ears and we turn to see Millicent clutching her arm. Edwin stands over her a large rock clutched in his hands. His face is a confused mix of emotions: disgust, regret, but also a faint spark of triumph. "You...you..." she gasps, her voice shaky. "You promised.... You were my ally!" He shrugs in indifference although his expression is pained. "I'm sorry." There's a whistling noise next to my ear and I duck just in time as a cluster of sharp spikes fly past my head. Maris's back bristles with porcupine bristles and I dive out of the from another volley.When I recover onto my feet, my fingers flare to life and I launch a fireball towards her. She sidesteps it easily. Instead it lands on the net behind her and soon they flicker with flames. I stare into them willing them to rise. They surge up around her in an impenetrable wall, the flickering fingers reaching for the darkening cobalt sky. I stalk forwards facing her squarely. "What were you saying? That we wouldn't win?" I glare at her and I imagine my eyes reflecting the flames burning with anger and defiance. "You still won't win," she mutters, and I scream in frustration. All the fear and anger I had felt in the last few days comes pouring out, and I leap towards her lashing out with flesh and bone. My hand collides satisfyingly with her jaw, and I smile horribly when I hear a crack. And then we're rolling around on the net both of our powers forgotten. There's something that only flesh on flesh can accomplish: the ability to quench the thirst of hurt. "No!" someone yells behind me and all of a sudden I'm frozen. Strong hands seize my elbows and I'm wrenched away from Maris, and thrown carelessly back onto the net. A shadow shifts over my face, and my attacker moves around so I can see who it is. Roman. My anger that had been directed purely towards Maris, seems to triple in intensity.I want to hurt him, so, so badly. My fingers ache to slam his brain into his skull so hard that he's knocked into next week. I want to watch him burn, to drown, to suffocate. How dare he leave our team. He stares at me with a faint spark of regret but I hate him all the more for it. That spark is proof that he knew what he was doing, he knew how much he would hurt us by betraying us. It wasn't an accident, it was not a careless act. I glare at him with as much fury and hate that I can muster, and as he returns my gaze there's a slight tingling at the base of my skull. He is trying to get into my head, I realize. Fury beyond anything I had ever felt before fills me to the brim, and I fight him. Fire surges within me and I command it to flow into him, to burn his mind. Suddenly my limbs crack into motion and I know it has worked. My fingers slam into his chest forcing him down. "You...evil...vile...snake!" I scream at him punctuating each word with a punch to his head. "I'm sorry ok?!" "No. No you're not sorry at all. What were you thinking?! That we were going to lose and you wanted to save your own filthy little butt?! Huh?!" Above me, I can feel the boiling of the sky as it responds to my fury. The ions of the universe are aligning in the sky. Black storm clouds roll over us sending us into shadow and darkness, but there will be light- one blinding, deadly flash of it.Roman stares stoically up at me and suddenly his eyes seem to shine with tears.. "You want to know why I did it?! You want to know why?" I don't answer, but he plunges onwards. "I love her, and I can't stand the thought of fighting against her, the thought of teammates killing her. I can't stand the thought that maybe, I would have to kill her." My eyes widen. "Maris?" I whisper. He nods. I stare up at her where she's battling Sabrina, and I can see the terrified glances she sends him, the desperate longing stares. My hands lessen their pressure on his chest, and he takes a deep shuddering breath. "Will you...will you...forgive me?" he asks and I stare pityingly at him, but finally shake my head. "You betrayed us. I can't forgive that." I pause. "But I understand why you did what you did." There's a buzzing of electricity in my body and I realize in horror what's about to happen. A streak of pure energy hurtles towards him, hot, deadly, and angry. "No!"I yell. I call the electricity away. I desperately scream at it to dissipate but it's already too far gone. It slams into Roman with a resounding crack drawing a bloodcurdling scream from Maris. "ROMAN!!!" He writhes underneath me twitching and flailing as it passes through him his fingers grasping at the air looking for an escape. In a split second decision my fingers press against his skin and I call it back to me. It comes harsh, and burning. I scream as it stabs my heart and my lungs, but I continue. Agony, only agony is what I feel. Tears flood down my cheeks as I finally let go of control. At last, it's done. He lies still and unconscious but alive. I may hate him, but I cannot stand in the way of love.But the lightning hasn't finished its arc of destruction. It flashes through the air too fast for the eye to follow and slams, some hundred feet below us, into the spokes that keep the base aloft. At first nothing happens, but all eyes seem to follow the motion of the base as it sways first to the left and then to the right, and then it slips. I yell in panic. "NO!" We hurtle towards the base our battles are all forgotten. What was the point of fighting if our goal disappeared all together? And more importantly, what would happen to us if the Keeper found out? Sabrina and Maris flap above us trying to outpace each other, shifting and transforming first into eagles, and falcons and then into dragons. They screech and claw at each other both trying to bat the other out of the sky. A faint trail of wind drifts from my fingers and Sabrina surges forward. To my right James, Millicent and Edwin are dashing to the base. As I watch, Edwin falters in his step as James casts a spell over him but the next second James is on the ground screaming in horror. "James!" Millicent cries in fear. Her eyes trail back to Edwin, and with a flick of her hand he's on the ground writhing in pain. A second later Maris dives at Millicent, and in the split second her attention is averted from Edwin, he recovers himself.Ahead of me, the base is barely ten yards away from me, and as I watch it tilts even further toward the sea of lava below us. "Almost there, almost there!" A shadow flashes on the ground and Sabrina lands on the base.It creaks and groans underher weight followed by te ominous sound of splintering wood. "Sabrina!" I yell. "Be careful!" She nods, and swallows nervously. Every tiny step, every shaky tiptoe is awaited with abated breath. We wait for it to crash down from underneath her, but it doesn't happen. Not yet. As she stretches her fingers out of the green flag someone crashes onto the base beside her. Edwin. His jump is enough to send the base crashing downwards, and I scream horrified. "ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US BOTH KILLED?!!!" Sabrina bellows desperately trying to keep her balance. He hurtles into her trying to pry the flags from fingers, and suddenly I can't stand just watching. I leap onto the base, my heart leaping to my throat when I feel it tip even further. I press my fingers into the wood begging it to stay strong, to keep it still. Another body leaps on and I feel a sharp pain in my fingers as the wood fights to fall, but I keep it still. I can't see the chaos behind me but I can hear thumps and groans and my heart leaps at every scream wondering if it's Sabrina's. A small groan slips from me as some of the wood is jerked from my control. There's the sound of cracking wood and I realize that there's no saving it now. "Get back!" I scream. "It's going to fall!"Maris and James are the first ones off, and I tug at Sabrina's arm urging her to come with me. "But the flag..." "Sabrina, either you die or you lose." "Then I die," she says dully. "Sabrina!" I scream my voice rising in terror of losing her. "I will not be a coward." "Sabrina. You are no coward, but this isn't a game! YOU COULD DIE!" At last she rises to my urgings and not a minute too soon. The base is now hanging on with one tiny twig. I glance into it and to my horror, Millicent, James, and Edwin are still kicking and scratching on the floor of the base. "Millicent, let's go!" James yells. Her green eyes wild with fear, and they meet his for just a moment "I have to win, James. He betrayed me. I can't LET him get the flag!" "Please, Millicent," he cries, his tears pooling with tears. "We don't have to win. We just need to survive." "Come on, Millicent," Sabrina and I add quietly. "Don't do this."She shakes her head sadly. "I have too." In that last moment, the last piece of wood snaps and the fragile balance is shattered. The base crashes through the center of the net carrying three of our own with it. But there's a triumphant scream, and a slender hand flings upward a red flag. We watch as the base, Millicent, James, Edwin, and the green flag are plunged into the fatal depths of the lava. I sink down onto my knees tears spilling out of my eyes. They're tears of relief, tears of sorrow, tears of regret. They carry with them everything that had happened in the last few days, the apologies to the dead, the pain of fighting. And I cry for Millicent and her ultimate sacrifice.