The Crystal Code

Chapter 6

The darkness consumed me. I couldn't feel my body, it was like I left it behind.

I could see, but not through my eyes, I was floating over a black lake. Whispers jumped out at me, though I couldn't make sense of what the voices were saying. Beyond the lake, dark fields were burning with fire, the sky was like night, but there was no moon or stars. Something in my gut told me there was no sun either.

I flew towards the fire, the flames bit my skin, but when I looked down, I wasn't there. I began to slow down and land on the dark, ash-covered grass. Rain started pouring, the whispers grew with the intensity of the rain, like the droplets were whispers themselves.

The fire didn't go out with the rain, and a dark tree to my left caught on fire even more. Black fire now surrounded me and I got sucked into the dark tree.

My vision turned into a dark, vine-covered, tunnel that I fell through. I felt my face burning, I tried to get away, to float in another direction, but there was some mysterious force that pulled me. When I got to the end, I hit the wall and pain rippled through me. I had probably cracked a few ribs on the impact.

Hello there...

Who is that, I thought. The voice cleared their throat.

I am you and me and everything. I am the past and present and future. You are the only one I have spoken to in a long time.

Where am I, I thought.

You are in the now and the future, but not the past. Yours is a little... Complicated, but you will know one day. But now, you must hear my message.

I am listening, I replied.

Mark these words:

"Chosen are you, five must go, four return.

Night fall comes with the sleep you churn.

Non must enter, take the call.

All will end and one will fall.

Friend or foe you decide.

Take the wrong turn and you will die.

Fire persuaded, are you true.

Or will the one you trust the most turn to rule?

The tree came back to sight and then I was pulled back, the dying fields fading from view. Fire singed my face and spread through my body again. A cry formed in my through as I felt a heavy weight on my chest. Consuming me. Pulling me.

...

I drew a quick breath then shot up in a bed again. I was sweating like crazy and my head throbbing. I reached for a cup of water and it came hurdling to my hand. I drank the whole glass in a gulp then standing, placed it on the floor.

I needed to get out of here, running from cops is better than what ever this was. I wasn't in the nurse anymore, though. I was in a larger room, it looked like a dorm, but the walls and ceilings had Crystals growing out of them. They brought in light and showed a queen bed I had woken from. A white desk with a golden lamp. A bedside table which I had gotten the water from and a dresser that had a mirror on top.

On the dresser was my hair brush, lotion, and my letter. I opened the top drawer to find my clothes. The three other drawers had more clothes, all in my size. A rack was next to the white door that had my leather jacket on and my combat boots and black converse on a shoe rack under the first rack.

Opening the door I found a small kitchen, living room and two other doors like the one I was in. There was a black double doors that I was guessing was the exit. This must be the dorms, I thought. I opened the black door and when I stepped out of the room. Bethany holding flowers came at me and wrapped her arms around me and started crying in my sholder.

"I thought you were going to die!" She sobbed.

"I'm... Ok. I'm hurt but good." I said a little awkward, we had only just met.

"The regeneration crystals can only do so much. Chris brought you to the dorm because it was closer than the nurse. He had training before as a nurse's assistant for a semester. While you were pasted out, your ribs broke, but they healed in 10 seconds, without any crystals to help. Also you started screaming and your temperature went berserk. What happened??" She went on.

"Calm down, I didn't see anything it was like sleeping, without dreams..." I said. I wasn't sure I should tell her right away since she already was so emotional.

"Your one of the only people who get me. Other than Emma of course." Bethany said.

"Who's Emma?" I asked.

"Me!" I turned towards the voice to a girl with curly, deep red hair, ocean blue eyes, and pale skin. She had cute freckles and a shy smile. She had a Harry Potter book in her hand and was wearing navy blue, paint splattered jeans and a white, sleevless shirt that had a navy blue collar.

She did a shy wave, pointed to her book and jumped over the back of the couch to read.

Bethany led me back into the dorm and locked the door behind her. She handed me blue tulips that had a card attached that read, "To someone special."

"Thanks!" I said taking the flowers.
"I'll put it on my dresser and blue is my favorite color." Bethany smiled and went to my room to put the flowers where I had said.

"There!" She said after adjusting it countless times till perfection.

She walked back into the kitchen where Emma was eating a cookie with her face still stuck in the book.

"You've read Harry Potter five times already!" Bethany screamed at Emma.

"And I'm still surprised you haven't at all!" Emma countered with a smile.

"Fine." Said Bethany who stuck out her tongue when Emma wasn't looking.

"So Persia-," Emma said putting the book down.

"Now you put the book down." Mumbled Bethany." Emma rolled her eyes and looked at me again.

"You seem different than the rest of us. Anything special?" She asked.

"Well if having water powers is cool, than yes." I said.

Emma's mouth dropped and Bethany smiled wide.

"That's so cool!" Said Emma.

...

That night, I went to sleep with Emma's Mac n Cheese and Bethany's smoothie to fill me up. I was scared to sleep with the thought of having those nightmares again. But eventually sleep crept in with the thought of all that happened today.

...

I woke up after a good night of sleep, no nightmares thankfully. I heard crackling over head and then the smell of smoke. I opened my eyes as a wall of fire decending down on me.