The Elementals

Chapter 17: Familiar Eyes

Alexis kept her gaze fixed on the ground with eyes barely open. Candice had been quiet for the time she was with her in the cell, and an orc had taken her away a few minutes ago. It didn't surprise her that the blonde didn't fight; they were giving up. The pain in her shoulder had reached a point where it became numb, throbbing occasionally to bring her back to reality. Her leg burned, blood still running from the wound and down her boot, drying in clumps in some spots and forming a small puddle below her.

She was dozing off, exhaustion trying to take over, but she was fighting it without knowing. She wanted to give up but her body wouldn't let her despite the state it was in. The deafening silence that enveloped her left her with her thoughts, which were slowly making her lose hope.

What if no one saved her?
What if they were all killed?
What would happen if they failed?
What would happen to Aria? The rest of the towns and their people?

Alexis swallowed hard as tears formed in her eyes, threatening to fall. She was scared of what would happen, whether the events played in their favor or not. Tilting her head back, she sniffled and winced as her movements caused her shoulder to ache. She whimpered and flexed her sore arms, a small sob escaping her as she let her head fall forward again. She watched her tears fall from her cheeks and drip onto the dirty floor, mixing with her blood.

She wanted Noah to tell her everything would be okay, for Kyle to say something stupid just to get a smile from her. She wanted Elizabeth to give her that playful glare and for Brandon to pat the top of her head as Candice went on about anything and everything.
She wanted her friends back.

She suddenly hissed in pain as a headache split through her skull, her vision going black for just a second. Quickly shaking her head, she blinked hard and glanced at the cell door in front of her. There's two? I'm fucking losing it...

She watched the doors dance around each other, spinning in circles and shaking before her. She could feel the air shifting around her, wrapping her body in a light embrace; she had never taken notice in how it felt when she was alone. It was like it was drawn to her, like she was to it.

A separate movement in the air farther away from her made her focus past the bars of the door, staring into the dark at the stairwell she knew was there. Slowly, a single pair of footsteps became audible, seemingly rushed. She cocked her head to the side and rubbed her cheek on her shoulder to get rid of any evidence that she was crying. They already thought she was weak, she couldn't let them see it.

At the sound of keys clanking together, she focused hard on the figure standing at the door, quickly unlocking it and stepping inside. It was a clean-looking minotaur, a lot smaller compared to the others she's seen. It's light eyes landed on her quickly and it stiffened for a moment, then started to walk towards her. Alexis' lip curled into a scowl and she glared at the approaching creature.

"Touch me and I'll cut your filthy fingers off," she threatened with a weak voice. It ignored her warning and came face to face with her, it's eyes locked with hers. It looked over it's shoulder briefly before turning back to her.

"I'm not here to hurt you," it said, it's voice somewhat gentle. Alexis tried to relax and held her glare, examining the minotaur.

Hazel eyes.

"Do you know where they've taken the others??" she quickly asked.