ONE (Book 1 in the Amnesia Archives)

Chapter 32

There weren't any cliffs or waterfalls, but this was probably worse than that. We ran along the path, dodging shadows which seemed to morph the longer we ran from them. They turned from bubbled of shadows, to actually looking like monstrous humanoids, with claws and teeth. I didn't know how they'd changed, but I supposed that Senka was right in the fact we had to spend more time with them, letting our brains get used to their existence. It also explained why exactly they weren't killed when they were cut in half, because that was just a small portion of their bodies.

We ran until Senka slipped, causing us all to fall after her. I didn't know if it could be described as a dune, but we were suddenly in a large bowl made of shadow.

"This isn't some giant's breakfast bowl, is it?" I asked Senka. "Because the last time we fell into a ditch like this, we were left by our pursuers because they didn't want to deal with what then attacked us." But at the time, our pursuers were human, which I hoped had more sense than sentient shadows. I really hoped that Senka wasn't reading my thoughts right then, or even Onyx for that matter.

"No, we're close." Senka stood up, grumbling about the fact that her dress was dirty.

I helped Aknon to his feet, and we all huddled together once again. Even though the creatures were still following us, they'd slowed down. I still couldn't stop myself from looking behind me, making sure that they were a fair distance away.

"To meeting your creator?" Prin asked quietly. She was in the middle of all of us, as though we were escorting her somewhere like a band of bodyguards. "In a giant's breakfast bowl?"

Senka laughed and nodded. "It's less of a breakfast bowl and more of a funnel." She put her sword away and gestured for us to do the same with our weapons. "This will lead us right into the middle of where you'll get your answers."

"I don't like this," Aknon commented with a sigh as he reluctantly put his dagger away.

"What? You don't want your dagger out when we reach the centre, trust me." Senka laughed a little, and I wasn't sure if I should be scared or not by the sound of her laugh. "It'll do more damage to you than it would any potential enemies."

"And you're not allowed to back out now," Sarphi added, in a voice which was a little loud and didn't sound too happy. "You're the one who's been pushing us all this way for the past four years. You've been the one more desperate than all of us to get these answers."

Aknon nodded and gulped. "I don't think we're going to get the answers we want." His words dripped with honesty. His steps slowed, and he turned to the side to address us. "What if we're disappointed?"

"Then, we would need to face reality," I said in a quieter tone. "Nothing's going to change when we find out the truth." I didn't believe a word I said. "At least not between us. We'll still be here to annoy you." That was where the truth kicked in.

Aknon laughed and shook his head, looking down once more. "You two do that a lot," he admitted. "But what if this is something we can't handle? What if it's a terrible secret which means we're in danger?"

"Then we would be in danger together," Sarphi said encouragingly. "Like all the other times we're in danger. Apart from when Acer's the only one."

I rolled my eyes and huffed. "Yes, it's nothing new to us. But also, what will change when we find out why we're like this? It's not like we'll change, or some magic force out there will know that we know and think that it's the perfect time to come after us."

Sarphi hit my shoulder harshly. "What do we say to ourselves when we think about saying stuff like that?" Her tone was condescending, looking at me pointedly.