What Lies Between ✔

Morphing

4.

Lesson completely forgotten, I dazedly walked out of The Arx entrance, not even caring who might see me.

I wasn't looking ahead; I was staring down at my warmly toned hands that I had held out in front of me, afraid that if I blinked I'd find them gray once more. Tears still fell from my eyes and I was absolutely taken aback that I could really feel them, the slightest of warmth and moister sliding down my cheeks.

I laughed to myself as well, overcome by my own amazement. In the back of my mind I knew the laughter sounded insane and hysterical, but I didn't care. For the first time I could really feel.

Because I was holding my hands in front of me, laughing slash crying like a lunatic, I smashed into a meditating soul.

Souls do not meditate the way I bet most people picture whenever the word is said.

Instead, they stand upright, faces held staring into the white, limitless sky, as if searching for Paradise. They are in a trance-like state, as they are channeling whatever energy they have left into helping the human they are assigned. It takes a lot of concentration to commune with the Living Realm and it takes even more to do it all over again since they do not have as much energy as they did the first time around.

This is why they were so irate whenever stupid, old me tripped into them or accidentally broke their concentration in some way. I knew well enough to back away as fast as I could.

The man I bumped into blinked rapidly a couple of times before his head swung to face me. A look of pure frustration and animosity rested in his beady, dull eyes.

"I-I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention!" I said hurriedly.

His fat lips sputtered for a second, as if he were trying to reason out clearly where he was, before he finally seemed to recognize me as the source of his disconnection. "You little bitch!" he yelled. The animosity and frustration gave way to complete madness then.

"Do you have any idea what I was in the middle of? Do you have any idea how hard it is going to be for me to get back there with what little energy I have left? You've just made me waste more time that I could be closer to Paradise!"

"S-sorry. I can give you some of m-mine," I offered, trying to control my panicked stammering.

He snarled hatefully. "Where'd you get that color, huh? You taking my energy?!"

"No! Of course no - !"

He launched himself at me then, and before I could do anything he had his rough hands around my throat, thumbs pressing mercilessly at my wind pipe.

I struggled but he easily lifted me off the ground, which made me choke even harder. "Bitch, you bitch!" he screamed. The energy within me caused the feeling of pain to be even more vivid than I had ever felt pain to be.

Just as my vision blurred there was a swooshing noise and then all I could make out was a huge, blinding light. The hold the man had on me disappeared and I fell face first to the ground, gasping raggedly for breath. I felt a strong hand lift me gently so I was sitting on my knees coughing in air. It was Thorne, and he looked angry.

"What is the meaning of this, Between?" Thorne demanded as the man staggered to his feet. Thorne must have hit him with some of his energy, causing him to lose his footing.

"This clumsy fool broke my concentration! I was doing so well, I was moving so well towards Paradise - towards my freedom!" His voice grated with insanity and his head was shaking back and forth as if in some sort of denial that he would have to try to commune all over again. Guilt filled me.