Skulls and Bones

Chapter seven

My body felt completely numb. It was like my throat had closed up and I couldn't breathe. I started to panic but when I tried to move, I couldn't. I wanted to call out for help but my vocal cords just wouldn't work. I couldn't see and it took me a few moments to realize that my eyes were closed. It was like I was trapped inside my own body with no way to escape. The darkness turned into a grey haze. I wondered if this is what my mother was feeling right now, this solitude was terrifying.

There was a burning in my stomach that was similar to the burning in my leg from when I jumped off the balcony but this one was much more painful. I still couldn't cry out in pain but I felt every single stab. I could hear a voice calling out to me but I couldn't make out who it was. I wanted whoever it was to get me out of this hell hole. The gray haze started to get lighter until it turned white.

The burning in my stomach started to become excruciating and my vocal cords finally decided to work. I screamed out in pain just as my eyes opened. A hand pushed me back on the bed when I tried to sit up.

I was on a bed.

My eyes adjusted to the dimness of the room and I realized this was my room in the Underworld. I wasn't with my mother anymore, I didn't know what happened to her. But the burning in my stomach was real and when I looked down, I saw my top torn at the bottom and a wrap around my stomach. There was a patch of blood in the center being soaked up by the gauge.

I finally realized that a hand was the thing that pushed me down on the bed and wondered if the person who shot me was still here. I turned to look at the source and was surprised to see Rick. If it wasn't the attacker I would at least expect to see Marc. When he noticed me looking at him, his clouded expression cleared up and back was the coldness.

"What happened?" I groaned when the pain became a dull ache. It didn't heal as quickly as my leg which confused me.

"You don't remember?" he asked incredulously. I could still see his familiar smirk forming. "Usually people remember when an arrow goes right through their stomach."

"So this happens often?"

"No," he answered and ran a hand through his hair. "You would be the first." I saw him reach toward the dresser on the side of the bed and produce two arrows. My eyes widened when he put it closer to me. The arrows had unfamiliar symbols on the stick and the tip was a bright red. "One was used on you and the other on my brother but we could tell that you were the target. This arrow is unlike anything I've ever seen."

I frowned. "What do you mean?" Rick looked uneasy which couldn't mean a good thing. Through his light tone, I could now tell that he was really worried. Something was wrong and I could feel an unsettling in my stomach along with the pain.

"You should have healed already." He was talking to himself now. "When I found you.... marks were on your stomach. The same as the arrows. You were bleeding..... a lot. It just wasn't healing. I thought I lost both-" He stopped and leaned back in the chair.

"Where's Marc?" I whispered. Even though I didn't really like them, I didn't want them to die. That realization hit me and I knew I couldn't deny it. I didn't want Rick and Marc dead.

"He's alive," he said. "He woke before you and is trying to find who did it. He believed it was a Bone."

"How does he know?"

Rick sighed. The vulnerable side was gone again. "I don't know. I'm not him." He got up from his chair and walked toward the balcony. "Marc was in his state when it happened, or he told me he was. If this is true, then whatever is in these arrows can harm and potentially kill us. Oh and your mother's fine by the way."