One Bright Spot -- The Revisions

15

15

∞Kota∞

"Are you okay?" I ask Christal, draping my arm over her shoulder in a protective gesture.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She takes a small breath, "Let's just get the code and get out of here."

"Okay."

I have to admit, watching her run across the bridge after Carmila, in the midst of all that gunfire, I didn't know if I should call her brave or stupid; loyal or insane. Or maybe all of them. But it hadn't surprised me when she took off. That's what she does; those qualities were tucked into the folds of her DNA when she was created.

She is perfect.

Not in the sense of she never does anything wrong; but all of her flaws, her loyalty, her naivety, and her way of making a person feel special makes her the perfectly balanced human in my eyes.

∞Christal∞

The heavy wooden palace doors swing open effortlessly. We enter into a small hallway that branches off to several separate, brightly laminated rooms, something I could not see from the outside.

The Rebel soldiers shoulder past we newcomers and disappear in their separate directions. The Lieutenant and the soldier acting as a sort of crutch are the only ones who remain with us.

My heart rate speeds up. Entering into Crelis, we were met with unfamiliar territory, but it was mostly open, barren territory, where you could see things coming. By stepping into this palace, we could very well have just signed our own death warrants. Though brightly illuminated, it is sure to have dark corners and secret hiding spots that everyone but us knows about. There could be someone hiding just waiting to kill us and we would see it only when it was too late. There would be no escaping it once the doors closed.

I turn to see them already shutting behind us, the outside growing smaller the closer they get to each other. Panic surges through me at the thought of being cut off from the outside world. Again.

"Wait!" I rush for the door, but am too late. I press myself against the cool wood, as if I could push them open, eventually pulling their large hinges from the frame.

I suddenly feel like I can't breathe, like if I don't get back outside, I might actually suffocate in here.

'Don't be ridiculous', I tell myself, gathering my emotions before I turn around and allow myself to who knows where. 'Your God has got this. You have to keep believing that.'

"Chris, you good?" I hear Josh ask from behind me.

"Mhm", I reply in an unnaturally high voice. I swallow the lump in my throat back down, take a deep breath, and force myself to walk down the dimly-litted hall, after the Lieutenant who is not waiting for us anymore. I ball up my fists and do not give myself the chance to think twice or to turn around.

I focus my eyes on where I step. The floor is black as night, to match the hall's painted walls. They match my clothing, too. I possibly look like just a head, two hands, and part of an abdomen floating along the wall, which puts a funny image in my head.

My hands have begun shaking. I wrap them around the straps of my backpack to mask my fright.

We pass several rooms, and from just a glance, they look to have been parlors and libraries. Now they are sleeping quarters for soldiers. These soldiers must be the first line of defense should anyone get through the line of guards and wooden doors.