Scattered Fragments

Chapter 14- Anomalies Part 2

            The feeling of vertigo had always been hard for Albion to let go. When he was a child, his father would put him through hell and back in order for him to get over his fears. He remembered being drugged with Anabél, the pollen of a particular flower that caused one to hallucinate and feel vertigo for long periods of time. Albion's father would force him to walk the support beams that held up the roof of their barn while suffering from the drug's symptoms.

            What he felt now was no different from what he felt when he would be on that beam. The sense of falling when you're feet are on the ground. The feeling of a stationary world spinning out of control. Where up was down, and left was right. He could still hear the cries of father from down below, yelling at him to walk across the beam, and also the sound of his bones cracking when he would miss a step.

                  Albion opened his eyes before he plunged to the ground in his dream. His pupils dilated, as they witnessed a grand spectacle. The moon, in all of its brilliance, was stretched out before him on the night sky. He could never remember seeing a moon so huge in the night sky.

                  The feeling of vertigo had stopped and he was finally feeling grounded. He looked back, and noticed he was behind a column of bars, but he was in no cell. The walls had crumbled and the night sky was over him. It felt like he stood atop the ruins of a jail tower. The huge moon casted a blue aura around him. Albion turned to the ledge and gazed at the city spread out underneath him.

            Where am I?  He thought to himself. The city was one he had never seen before. So many lights and odd buildings of different widths and heights but none taller than the one he stood on. Albion turned back, noticing a person walking passed the cells.

            "Hey!" He yelled, running after the person. Albion squeezed past the openings in the walls and climbed over debris until he reached the spot he thought he saw someone walking. The wind carried a chill with it as it began to pick up. Where the hell-

The person appeared once again, walking away from him, a couple rows away.

            Albion was able to find a shortcut through the debris. He was directly behind him. The stranger was cloaked in a black hood, walking slowly. Albion reached out to the person's shoulder but he vanished in a cloud of feathers. "How the-"

The feathers shot past the cells and, almost immediately, converged at another spot; forming the cloaked figure once more. "Okay buddy, I'm through playing games," he said, reaching for Persephone and bringing her down upon the wall in front of him.

            The wall blew away, but the debris simply floated in space. Albion touched one of the pieces and it slowly shifted, but did not fall. What is this place? He asked himself, looking around. The hooded person was still walking away. Albion laid waste to the ruins as he burned a path towards the person. As he got closer, he jumped up in the air, and landed in front of the stranger, cutting off his path.

            "No where to go," he said, pointing Persephone forward.

The hood covered most of the person's face, save for his mouth. The skin looked pale through the moon's blue hue. Albion noticed dark blue hair peaking through the hood. He was smaller than Albion, maybe taller if he stood up straight. "You want to explain to me why is it you're running from me? Or where on Etra are we?" Albion asked.

            The boy stood in place, saying nothing. The better part of his body was covered in bandages, and the worn clothing he wore did little to hide it. Albion's patience had peeked. "Hey! I'm asking you a question," he said, but there was no-