A Paradox Reality

Chapter 6: Learning the New Life

Previously with Elyssa:

The boy began to sink down into the earth he was walking on, still with Elyssa in his arms. With a cry, Atara leaped after them, but she was too late. They were gone. Elyssa and the stranger, the boy, were gone. Atara would never see them again.
***

THE SNOW LEOPARD WAS THERE, AGAIN. She nimbly leaped around Elyssa, playfully daring her to a game.

All of a sudden, she stood still, alert. Her ears stood straight, her back arched, and her fur bristled. Something was wrong.

Out of nowhere, a roaring fire soared towards the winters cat and Elyssa. Behind the acrid smoke, she could make out silhouettes.

She could make out the silhouettes of dead, burned bodies.

Stifling a scream, Elyssa sprinted away from the fire; for her life. She went so fast that, one by one, her loose blue sneakers flew off her feet. However, her feline friend was not to be seen. Where was that snow leopard?

Suddenly, she saw her. The snow leopard was bathing in a golden aura, preparing to strike. When she did, Elyssa felt and saw something astonishing. Her leg, which she could barely tell was in pain before, snapped back into its rightful position, sending a blissful feeling through her body. She felt stronger and healthier than ever.

Simultaneously, a great explosion sounded from the already-huge fire. There was no way anyone in a fifteen mike radius could have survived THAT.

Except for her. By now, she was beginning to realize that it was all a dream.

But it felt so real.

If it WAS real, she had a feeling that, somehow, she was the one of blame for killing all those people. It was almost like she surged from all those people's energy.

Frightfully, when her leg shot up that sprout of bliss, she nearly didn't notice the explosion. She nearly forgot about the burnt people. She almost enjoyed it.

What type of monster WAS she?

***

Elyssa woke up to two blurry faces peering at her. The one on her left was Theodore, who she described as a boy with honey blond hair and brown eyes, and she assumed he was about fifteen. The one on her right, Edmund, peered at her with his bright blue eyes.

"Hello?" she called.

"Hello," the boy, Edmund, repeated.

"Do I know you?" Why did he sound so familiar? She swore she heard his voice SOMEWHERE before.

"Um..." The boy hesitated.

"Telepathy!" Elyssa exclaimed, realizing she was right as soon as she said it. "You're the boy from Gloom!"

He chuckled. "And you're the idiot who lives in a ditch." She narrowed her eyes, and he stubbornly snorted, refusing to apologize. "It's Edmund," he introduced, holding out his hand for a shake.

"Well then, Edmund," Elyssa replied with coyness, taking the shake. "I suppose you'd like to hear my name, too?"

"Very much," Edmund pleaded, flashing his dimples.