Immortal Light: Wide Awake

Chapter 16

Kat's eyes widened in terror, and she ran into the gymnasium to find Benjamin. Lucy felt a dark restraining force from behind, a sensation she had felt before. It enveloped her in such darkness that she immediately felt all hope leave her, to be replaced with fear and despair. She knew what was coming, and she fought it with all her might. Mustering up what physical strength she could, she reached down at her hip and felt for what she knew wouldn't be there.

Of course; it's the only thing that isn't real.

Of all the things Lucy needed to be real in that moment, her sword was the one thing that wasn't. Her next instinct was to try and summon as much light as she could. She didn't know how, or if it was even possible outside the haven, but she focused on it; she focused on drawing light from whatever would give it when suddenly she felt it begin to seep into her from every direction. It felt as though it came from the ground and the air. She sensed she was drawing from nearby trees who shared it freely with her. She felt strong, she felt like she could somehow defeat the evil that held onto her, but it wasn't enough. She tried to push away with her light, but the darkness that was slowly consuming her was too strong.

Before accepting defeat, she did the only other thing that she could think to do. She needed more time to figure things out, so she concentrated as hard as she could. The thing that held her wasn't going to make it easy, but she thought jumping to her haven would be possible as long as she stayed conscious.

Closing her eyes, it took a great deal of concentration, but it didn't take much time for her to arrive on the beach. She stood at the edge of the surf. It was just as she had hoped, there was no evil presence, but she could feel the fatigue of summoning up light and she knew she didn't have a lot of time. One minute might have been one minute too long.

She paced in the sand, her dress blowing like a cape in the breeze of the bay. As she reached down to hold still the whipping satin she felt her sword at her side and, like a miracle, she had an idea.

Running back through the doors of the gym, no one seemed to notice the look of absolute fear and anxiety on Kat's face.

Find Benjamin, find Benjamin, find him, you have to find him.

The words were like a broken record in her head as she scanned the expanse of the gymnasium. She was heading for the dance floor when she saw him. He was walking toward her already, but when he saw the look in her eyes, he took off at a dead sprint for the door. Kat found courage in his reaction and followed him. It was difficult to keep up, so she kicked off her heals. Benjamin had crossed the entire length of the gym floor in a matter of seconds, and he was through the black curtains and out the door by the time Kat had gotten her shoes off.

As she emerged from the gym doors, Benjamin was standing facing the last place she had seen Lucy and the horrifying thing that had grabbed her. But as she looked around, she saw one of the most terrifying sights she had ever seen.

In the quad, standing in a giant half-circle just inside the lights of the parking area, she saw a dozen figures that looked inhuman in so many ways; the one that had Lucy was tall, his black hair long and stringy. His hollow black eyes stared at Benjamin while his mouth gaped, showing a black tongue and jagged yellow teeth that looked as though they had been sharpened on rocks.

The creature looked like it had once been human, but something had transformed it into a vile, evil shell of what it used to be. The others in the quad looked much the same with long, stringy black hair and black marble eyes that glared, unblinking, as their voices more hissed than spoke.

"Not another step, pretty boy," hissed the one holding Lucy.

Benjamin took off his jacket, tossed it toward the building, and held his hands in front of him.