The Dark Side

~14~

Storm troopers immediately surrounded the blonde. The clickity clack of their guns filled the air as they took aim at Neri'el. 

She took a deep breath and slowly looked around at the men. Her head tilted this way and that as she scanned her surroundings.

Fire lit up the dusty ground and licked the air. The stars she had been watching so carefully earlier were shadowed by T.I.E. fighters and the burning ashes of the village. Flaming debris sparked the air like a lethal type of confetti. The fire glittered in the masks of the troopers. Their ebony eyepieces shone in the dying light.

Sweat clung to the young woman as she continued focusing her energy on containing the laser.

"STAND DOWN, FORCE USER!" a silver plated soldier commanded.

Neri'el glanced at the trooper through tired eyes. She sighed heavily as her arm began to shake.

"ONE LAST WARNING THEN WE SHOOT!"

Neri'el took a quivering breath as her hand trembled dangerously. The laser flickered forwards. Just a few more seconds would do it.

"MEN AIM!"

Neri'el managed to get a look at the silver plated woman before beads of sweat slid down her forehead and clouded her vision. She blinked furiously and the drops fell from her eyes and onto the sandy ground. The dark marks upon the sand faded quickly into the deeper layers of the gritty material beneath the woman's feet.

"FIRE!"

In that instant, several things happened at once.

First, the laser bolt Neri'el had been pumping her energy into, exploded into thousands of tiny bolts.

Second, a torrent of new lasers flew towards the blonde.

Third, she fell to her knees and raised both hands horizontal from her body.

The lead storm trooper screamed for her troops to stop firing. The dust that clouded the area slowly began to settle and what they saw shocked them.

All the lasers were stopped in midair, mere feet from the young woman. They floated, eerily frozen in their spots, fizzing angrily.

The silence was tantalizing and punctuated only with the occasional gasp for air from the struggling young woman. Her arms quavered severely in the air, buckling under the strain.

Neri'el could hear her heart thudding a mad taboo in her chest. Her breaths were haggard and wheezy when she attempted to draw them. Seconds were passing like hours, dragging on forever. She longed for it to all end but refused to give up. She forced another pulse of power through her body which stopped the lasers from fidgeting.

A lone black figure stepped forwards unbeknownst to her. She may not have seen him but she certainly felt his presence.

The dark sensation flowed through her, clawing at her chest. It attacked the Light within her, causing her to cry out in pain. She bent over and the bolts drew nearer. Immediately, she shot back up and held them at bay, however they were now even closer.

Another pulse of the darkness, flew through her but this time she gritted her teeth and did not cry out. Her eyes found her attacker and widened.

It was him.

The man who had murdered all those younglings, long ago. The man who had destroyed the temple. The man who had tried so hard to kill her.

It was him.

When that realization crashed down upon the girl, she lost her grip on the lasers. They flew towards her and she only just was able to fall to the ground and let them crash into each other above her. Her nose filled with sand as she held it into the cold ground. Her sweat soaked the sand which clung to her countenance. The gritty mess scratched her tender face and left it raw.