The awakening of the Tevas

Chapter 1: Return

I am dead. I seemed to be lost in a colorless space, without feeling, swimming in an immense bottomless sea.

I firmly believed that I wasn't breathing, a panic enveloped me when I realized that I didn't remember anything about the reason why I was dragged into this darkness. No, I'm lying, a faint memory appears, the image of Geomar desperately running towards me when a loud explosion rumbled in the place.

The memory of my bodyguard, of his desperate face as he dragged me out of the collapsed building clung to my mind, hitting me like a punch in the stomach. He had been the one who had pulled me out from under the rubble, who had saved me. But now, where was he? Why wasn't he by my side? I vaguely remember trying to get up, ignoring the pain in my injured leg, when a second explosion covered everything in black. I had to find Geomar . My mind spun in circles, trying to piece together the broken fragments of my memory.

I heavily opened my eyes, the sun filtering through the cracks in the crumbling walls. The air was thick with dust and the sound of my own breathing echoed in my ears. The place was in ruins, but Geomar was nowhere to be found. There was only silence and desolation. Had I died? Had I been captured by the Tevas ? What were the Tevas ? My head throbbed with pain, and as I tried to move, I felt every muscle protest. I couldn't conceive of an explanation for why I was kidnapped by them. I groped around.

Then, a shadow moved in the corner of my vision. I turned my head and saw him: a hooded man with dark eyes and a sinister smile. The Tevas , the group that had brought me to this situation. Geomar appeared beside me, his face haggard and bloody.

"Ana," he whispered, "you must escape. I cannot protect you any longer." I nodded weakly. The Tevas man's body fell forward after being stabbed by Geomar with a beam.

I stood up with difficulty, everything wobbled and I felt an arm around my body preventing me from falling. A slight smile appeared on his tired face and I felt the need to wipe the dust stuck to his sweaty skin. A soft moan came out of his lips bending him, feeling his weight pulling me back to the ground. I wanted to protest when my hands touched the sticky, warm blood on the rubble. When I adjusted my vision, Geomar 's abdomen was being pierced by a rebar, while the blood had almost completely soaked the white shirt that was now dusty.

I laid him down flat to get a better look at the wound, tore my dress to make a tourniquet around it, but before I could react, the Tevas surrounded us. Geomar fought back, but it was too late. No matter how hard I resisted, I was dragged away from him as I watched him get stabbed again and again.

And then again, everything went dark.

When I regained consciousness, I was not in the same place. There was no debris or trace of those people. Instead, I was in a large room, with furniture and details that denoted elegance and wealth; a window that looked out onto a lush garden; the injury on my leg had also disappeared. Confused, I got out of bed and looked around, papers everywhere with meaningless words, piano chords scattered on the carpet; the sight seemed familiar but it didn't make sense. Was it a dream? The sensations were real, the fear and confusion could be felt.

My thoughts were interrupted when Geomar, without even knocking on the door, entered the room.

— Hey! If you were already awake, you should have gone down to have breakfast— he approached, exasperated. — The princess still hasn't gotten dressed. What's wrong with you? Was last night's party too much for you?

— Party? — I try to put his words in order with the memories but nothing works. — What are you talking about all of a sudden?

Geomar 's face wrinkled completely and then he turned around sighing, he turned to me while pinching the bridge of his nose. I looked at him closely. He was wearing a black shirt tight to his body with those leather straps where his weapon rests, unconsciously I brought my hand to the place where the wound I had seen was, I felt his body tense but I needed to confirm it, there was not that ugly terribly painful stab, well it was to be expected we are not in that hellish place of what seemed to be my nightmare.