Written in Life

(Chapter 21)

I swiped the cobwebs away and choked on dust. It had been quite a while since I last came down here. I walked into the wide room and took a deep breath. It smelled like dirt and aging paper and memories. I turned around and looked to the two Inked standing in the doorway, awestruck. I couldn't help smiling.

"This way," I whisper-shouted, waving them over. They followed me to a large pedestal and I stepped to the side. A large book sat on the pedestal, a molding grey-green color. Cody rushed up to it and looked to me. I smiled." Go ahead." He ran his hand over the cover and dust flaked off. Bernie looked over his shoulder.

"How did you get this?" Cody asked.

"It's always been here. Another thing our goddess left us," I answered. He opened it carefully and the words on the page seemed to lean toward his touch." She always said that there would be warriors of darkness that aproached our home and we thought it would be the end of the world. Little did we know that you were coming." I lifted the book carefully and held it out in front of me." It's said to be renewed by the strongest warrior."

Bernie and Cody met eyes.

"Go ahead," Bernie said." You're the more experienced one." I felt the color drain out of me in shock. She looked at me and shrugged." It can't be me." Cody stepped up to me and I handed him the book it began to glow with an eerie green light and then suddenly, it vanished. We all looked at each other in disbelief and our eyes moved directly to Bernie. She shook her head." It's a crazy idea to think I can operate that thing. Maybe you just did something wrong?" she said. She walked up to Cody and looked at the book." See. There's patterns and gears. Maybe those do something?" Cody looked at the cover.

"I don't see any gears," he said, looking at Bernie suspiciously.

"What do you mean you don't see them? They're everywhere," she said, pointing." You see it, don't you Renae?" I shook my head. We both stared at her and she cowered away behind a bookcase, pretending to be interested in what was there.

"Bernie, is there something you're not telling us?" Cody asked. I looked at him in shock. He didn't say "me". He said "us". I didn't even know he knew I was there the whole time.

"It must be the lighting messing with my vision," she whispered the excuse. I crossed my arms and looked at her knowingly.

"If lighting messes with your vision, do you think the general would send you on countless night missions?" I asked.

"Because he hopes I'll get killed in the process." That caught me off guard. And the worst part was I knew it wasn't just an excuse. I sighed.

"Bernie, what do you know?" I whispered. Bernie sighed, annoyed.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I looked to Cody frustratedly. He was looking through the pages, completely blank." It doesn't look like it'll have any use anyways. Cody walked over to her and shrugged.

"What do we do with it then?" he asked. Bernie hesitated.

"I... Don't know..." she whispered, her voice trailing off. They both looked at it and all of the sudden, Cody lunged for Bernie's hand and she gasped in surprise. He moved it over the book and tried to make her touch it, but she resisted." Cody, I can't touch it!" she panicked. Cody brought the book up to her touch and it flared to life, making the room disappear in a burst of hot, blinding light. It dimmed to a dark crimson and the eyes on the walls flickered uncontrollably. I cursed and the walls shook.

"WHO DARES TRESPASS ON MY SACRED GROUND?!?!?!?!?!?!" the oracle's voice echoed through the walls.

"Run!!!!!" I yelled. We all rushed to the door and the stone statues pried themselves from the walls, wielding large, jagged iron weapons. The ceiling crumbled and we sped through the doorway. I slammed it shut hard and the walls trembled on the other side. We exchanged worried looks quickly and the sound of stone against stone rang out clearly. The entrance was closing. We sprinted to the door and Cody leapt up to the ground and pulled me up after him. We turned and grabbed Bernie's hands, setting the book down. Suddenly, a pair of gray, spidery hands grabbed hold of her wrists, long, jagged nails digging in to her skin, black blood swelling and dripping from her arms. Bernie winced and screamed, being jerked back into the darkness.

"Bernie!!" I yelled. The book fell in with her just as the entrance closed completely. Her scream faded in the distance as I stared at the stone tomb she was held in disbelief...