~~~Ashton's POV~~~
I fought back tears as I sat next to Avora, who was currently fast asleep. She has been my friend since childhood, and it was for her that I had pretended to be Amy's best friend, wiithout any of them's notice.
And here she was lying next to me, probably watching another of those awful dreams.
I was lost understanding the whole situation, which wasn't my task in the first place. I had observed Amyra's views. And she was right. But Avora wasn't wrong as well. Heck, she was never wrong.
Thank god none of them know this, but Merope and I had been the REAL best friends since ages, and we had actually studied their case. No wonder we both are psychology students. But there's something wrong in both sides. Even if Avora's dad was responsible for the accident, Amyra's dad had a car with all that safety stuff. Also, the impact had been more on the side her sister was sitting on. Yet, her dad's body was discovered completely burnt, and her sister wasn't even critical, and died only because of the doctor's fault.
What's more, we have not yet discovered the names of the witnesses, and what happened to them.
Thinking of Merope, a realisation hit me hard. My phone had buzzed while we were in the boat, and I had ignored it. I took my phone out within milliseconds, and pushed the power button on. Once it was on and unlocked, a multimedia message flashed on the screen. As expected, name of sender: Merope. I opened the message.
View the attachment asap. Very important clue for the case. I need you to talk to Amyra through whatever means. DO IT. Don't call me. Just text, okay?
¬|^^|€₹°P€
I flipped open the attachment, and it took it's time to load. After waiting for ages, it finally started opening. it was opening too slowly. Damn you, phone.
I could see just a man with dark brown hair and green eyes that I had seen before-don't remember where- in front of a fire, from whatever had loaded of the image. Before the further part could load, the battery went dead.
Letting my tiredness get the better of me, I dozed off beside Av.
~~~Avora's POV~~~
A black circle. A white circle. A red circle. Choose one. You have just one choice. And you don't know whom you are really saving.
Standing inside circles of lava are Tanyra, Ashton, and Irwin. Shyera is missing. And I, here, am playing a stupid game of choices. Do what they say, a voice at the back of my mind tells me.
Tanyra lets out a cry, followed by Irwins. Hell! They are all sinking into the lava, and I can't cross that freaking line before I choose a stupid circle. In a hurry, I follow my mind, and choose the white circle. I turn around, to find Ashton rooted to his spot. Tanyra and Irwin are nowhere to be seen, but......Ashton's face tells me what has happened.
Ashton looks weakly at me, and I help him over the distance between the lava and the land. Pure rage boils inside me, followed by the dawn of a realisation, pain, sorrow, and the deepest-guilt. I look at Ashton's pale, terrified face, and I know I'm mirroring his expressions. A traitor tear slips out of my eye without warning, and I look away. I don't want anyone to see me this weak. Another realisation hits me hard on the head. The stupid circle game is gone. Nothing is in sight, except for a desert to our left, forest to our right, and lava next to us.
A thought comes to mind. I could have handled this much better had Shyera not crept into all of this. But it isn't her fault as well. It's my fault, actually.
I heard something behind me. For a second, I was horrified, but I decided to play brave. I turned around as quick as the stones allowed me, but just found the forest. Currently, we were sitting on the rocks, facing the desert. Ashton needed to calm down before we move on. It will require time for us to get over this incident. We don't know what fate has in store for us.
I heard soft voices talking about something beside me. I tried to figure them out, but I failed. My ears had to strain beyond limits to make sense of what they were saying. I was unable to move, and tiredness dozed me off into another sleep, just a dreamless one this time. When I woke up again, I heard someone call my name. I moved my hand, which thankfully did move, since my eyelids still felt too heavy to lift.
Immediately, someone rushed beside me and held my hand. I began to fell a little lighter. I automatically smiled, since I recognised the person. But before I could react anymore, sleep carried me away again, leaving the person beside me waiting.
I fell down the stairs, my head getting hit on the floor. The floors being made of rock didn't help, either. Blood poured from the cut on my forehead, and within seconds I felt dizzy. I tried to keep my balance till I face my enemy, but instead I stumbled on the sofa. Getting up again, I grabbed the flower pot nearby, and hit that person on the head that was covered by a mask. It revealed a deep, male voice, which I had never heard before. He fell down, unconscious. I needed to help this man before he dies, because he could be the answer to all my questions. I went to the kitchen, grabbed my first aid kit. But before I could dress even my wound, I fell on the floor beside the kitchen door. Just before my senses stopped working, I heard a noise. Opening a door probably......
"AVORA! EVERYTHING IS ALRIGHT! Now please let that silly dream end and wake up for god's sake, Avora!", Ashton was nearly crying beside me, my head covered in sweat, resting in his lap. Tanyra was running a hand on my back, looking at me with concern and bloodshot eyes.
Everything else apart, I noticed we were back to our place in the village, and Amyra was standing at the entrance, a huge smirk plastered on her face, which I literally wanted to kick off. I tried to sit up, but my head was throbbing, and my right hand was wrapped in a bandage. In a flash, all the memories of the dreams ran through my head, followed by all the memories of the time when we were in an unknown place, the graves, the river, that weird chat with my childhood friends, and lastly, the image when someone had pricked something on my hand, that had pained too much. I didn't recognise the person who did it since I was half asleep, and when that had awaken me, I could just see the returning figure of that cloaked person.
That was all before my body became lifeless. I guess that was the end of me.
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Short chapter, eh? I'm gonna write much much more in the vacations. Promise!!!
Its difficult to write when you have exam, submissions, vivas, orals, practicals, classes lingering in front of you all at once. :'( I hope you can understand.
About this chapter? Well yeah, I surprised even myself by writing it. But it's not the end, guys! Keep reading it! I will update maybe next week. One question: Have you ever heard of "Twins day"? :P
>:D
Anyone of you who knows how we turn a book in for watty awards? °_° Please tell me ^_^.
