Seven Un-Dead

Chapter 25

The seven exchanged worried looks. Nicole and Nat were both standing there, frozen in place. Neither of them could swim and they were expected to cross a dangerous, wild river. They all had to come up with a tactic on how they could cross the river, which came to be a not so difficult task. The plan was easy to follow; the most skilled swimmers, Suzzette, Eugenio and Jan, would all cross the water first with all the bags. Then the least skilled swimmers, Nat and Nicole, would cross. If either of them fell into the water, they would have support from both sides: the skilled swimmers and the middle class swimmers. Holly and Maya were the middle class swimmers, they would be the last to cross the water. The collapsed bridge was the route which they had to follow, because the metal railing was just below the water and could easily be walked upon. 

After deciding what tactic they would use, the seven all climbed down the hill and walked onto the river bank. From there, the roar of the wild river was even more intense and they had to shout to hear each other's voices over the loud noise.

"Right, you three go first." Maya pointed out to Suzzette, Jan, and Eugenio.  The three teenagers picked up everyone's bags and all slowly dipped into the water. Upon the first few seconds of impact, Suzzette could already feel the freezing temperature of the water. It wasn't clean either and it's dark colour was making it even worse. She took a step forward, holding the bags way up high, and plunged into the water.  The bags were still safe and dry, but she slipped for a moment and almost dropped them. She quickly regained jer balance, though, and carried on walking. Jan and Eugenio were already following behind. The water rushed around their legs and hands. They quickly reached the end, having to swim the last two meters of the river. The bags were all mainly dry, with only a few straps and an occasional corner turning out wet.

Then came Nat and Nicole. Everything was going well, until they reached the middle. The railing snapped and everyone gasped. Nat suddenly disappeared underwater, her whole body being swallowed by the waves. She felt as if something was grabbing her foot, pulling her towards the bottom. She sunk, trashing around and doing her best at trying to swim up. The shouting of her friends was heard in the background, and then everything turned black.

* * *

Nat found herself in an empty room, with no door or windows. Nothing. Just a plain room, with white walls. The room was lit up, but there was no light source in sight. Just magical lighting out of nowhere. She walked around and touched the wall to see if it was real. It felt solid, like an actual wall, and it felt very real. The floor was the same colour, and it seemed as if it was the same material too, as the wall. The room was very bland, and Nat was getting worried very quickly. 

Suddenly, a figure of a man appeared in the middle of the room. It was entirely grey, made up of what seemed like dust. 

"Hello, Nat," The man spoke. His voice sounded like all of her friends speaking together as one. "How are you doing?"

"I'm-" She tried to answer, but quickly held back. She realised that this was probably the Master, but what shocked her more was her ability to speak. None of her friends were able to speak when they saw the Master and now she was seeing him but could actually speak.

"Yes," The man said. "I am the Master. How are you?"

"I'm fine." Nat replied coldly. 

"How are your friends?"

"Why do you want to know?" Nat replied with a question. She could speak, but right now she couldn't move. She wanted to walk closer but the fear she felt was holding her in place.

"I don't need your answer anyways," The Master mumbled, stepping closer. "I know everything anyways."

The figure shifted into a person smaller than her. The misty clothing outline shifted, and the whole head and hair shape changed. She recognised who the figure was resembling but she couldn't figure out the reason why.