Stronghearted

Chapter 13

Pain flooded Rosemary’s senses.  Where am I?  A pounding headache flooded her head.  She looked around in the darkness and couldn’t see a thing.  Evan!!! She thought fearfully. What will he think; will he think I ditched him? Will he think I was kidnapped?  Rosemary thought of a thousand more scenarios.  Then the pounding headache pounded her into oblivion.

          Waking up, Rosemary struggled to her feet.  She stumbled towards the wall, with the book in her arms.  She walked along the corridor, one hand on the wall, the other reached in front of her to stop her from running into a wall. Light trickled into the passageway ahead. The further she got, the more light there was.  It opened into a small room that she didn’t recognize. 

“If you survive these next challenges, you will be freed. Be warned if you fail you will not get another chance.” The voice echoed through the small room and surrounding passages.  “The first challenge is to choose the right passageway. One will lead to relative safety, the others to certain death.”

          She walked down a passageway and heard a roar. A giant spider came running down the passageway. Rosemary let loose a shrill scream and the spider loomed right above her. Poison dripped from its fangs and dripped like acid to the ground below. It then dispersed into dust. She sprinted further into the dark passageway under the spider into the unknown.

          After she had run further down the passageway, Rosemary’s foot met air. She was going too fast to stop herself and her other foot had left the ground.  Panicking, she screamed and flailed about. After falling through the hole quickly, she hoped to have luck and fall on something soft.  Time seemed meaningless and the darkness felt tangible, almost like it was slowing her down. There was no end in sight, and the rocks to the side seemed to burn, almost like she wasn’t in the crust anymore and closer to the molten lava that was in the center of the Earth.  The fall felt dreamlike and almost boring although she was falling to her certain death. Puking, she fell faster and faster, continuing to pick up speed, and it felt like she would fall forever.

          After several hours of falling, Rosemary fell into a troubled sleep. For the first time in months, Willow contacted her.

“Rosemary, you are near death. You must use magic.”

“I don’t know how to use magic even if it existed, which it doesn’t.” She replied.

“Without magic, you will fall to your certain death.  Your form allows access to magic, although it doesn’t mean you will be good at it.”

“Well how do I use magic?”

“You must use your inner energy. Find the words within you.” She said faintly.

“How?”

“They will come when they must. I may teach you more should you survive these trying times ahead.”

“Teach me more now.” Rosemary commanded.

          Willow didn’t reply. Rosemary woke with a start. There was a light further on, and Rosemary realized that it was lava. Although she didn’t believe that magic was real, she decided to try.

“Abracadabra!” She called out to no avail.

          See she thought there is no such thing as magic. Although I wouldn’t mind being lava-proof.  Seconds before she hit the lava, the words Leaibnora Hareings    (Pronounced Le-a-ib-no-ra Ha-sting-s) popped into her head. She said it without hesitation and fell harmlessly into the lava. It was no hotter than a hot tub, although it was steadily growing hotter. I need to get to the surface. She thought to herself. Jalelen Onos (Ja-li-len O-nos) immediately popped into her head. I hope this won’t fly me to the top. She thought. Because that will take forever and I don’t have the time.

“Jalilen Onos!”  She cried out. The surrounding changed, and shivering, she knew it wasn’t for the best. The snow-filled landscape was pure white and there was no break in the snow. She took a step and her foot fell several feet in the cold white powder. The cold froze her to the core, since she had not been dressed for the snow.  I’ve got to get to the cave. She thought, but no strange words popped into her head. 

          Tentatively, she took a few more steps, knee high in the snow, and it kept on getting deeper until she was up to her waist.  She could not lift her legs high enough to go any further. Exhaustedly, she gave up and collapsed.

“Rosemary, I’m here.” Said a voice that couldn’t be more wanted.

“Willow! I need your help.”

“For now you must survive. Your body is about to freeze to death. You must return.”

“Wait!”

          It was too late and Rosemary saw herself in a room of snow, stuck.  She saw a female face, which she recognized as Willow’s, in the snow, which was fading quickly.  What can I do? Rosemary thought.  I can’t get out of here, and I don’t have anything I can use. Right then she remembered her necklace. She could escape into that world and put herself at the mercy of the monster, or she could freeze to death. Making a split second decision, she put on the necklace.

“Not again. She won’t escape again.” The voices said.

“We’ll kill her.”

“Our wills combined can overcome hers.”

“But we are still weak from challenging the Challegian.

“She is not strong enough to fight us combined even though we are weak.”

          Rosemary felt a strong overwhelming presence enter her mind. She fought it, but it was quickly overwhelming her defenses.  She felt her progress between the two worlds halt. Her mind came under attack from all sides.  A pounding headache soon came, and it felt like someone was pounding her head with a sledgehammer.  Her defenses were overcome and she knew she had lost. An inner energy seemed to become trapped within Rosemary, and she realized it was her soul. It seemed to beg for her to free it, yet Rosemary felt trapped within herself and knew not how to free herself nor her soul.

“Let me go.” Rosemary commanded painfully and desperately

“She commanded us.”

“What do we do?”

“WE MUST OBEY” A lead voice commanded.

          Rosemary felt herself be released and felt her mind continued its journey with the murmuring of the many voices, of which the lead voice was not a part of. She plunged defenselessly into the other world, unknowing what awaited her.