The Necklace: The Trial Realm

Chapter Thirty Two: This Is War

"Who are you?" Serge's voice rises above the chaos as my eyes struggle to adjust to the blackout.

"Where are they?" Someone else shouts.

I saw them. "Six hostiles!" I shout for those who don't know what the hell is going on, and then I drop to the ground, knowing I'm a smaller target from down low and harder to spot in the dark.

"Malikah?" Raven's voice resonates close by and I grab out to catch his ankle. "What's going on?" He asks, hitting the floor beside me. I can feel his shoulder pressed against mine as a comfort but I also hear the sound of heavy boots scraping across the floors.

"Where the hell are the backup generators?"

I swallow hard, my heartbeat racing through my whole body.

The first loud pop and flash makes others in the gym yelp, but all I hear is the sound of someone whimpering before another loud pop and then nothing.

They're killing people.

With guns.

I'm a good fighter, but even a good fighter knows when they're outmatched.

"We've got to hide." I whisper to Raven.

Another pop and short flash and I can tell someone is moving our way, but whether or not they're one of us or one of them is impossible to tell.

"On your right." Raven's voice is right in my ear.

I turn my head slowly as the heavy boot stops walking right beside me. I know what guns can do, I saw the one the werewolf used to try to kill Serge, which now I'm starting to think was part of all of this too. I don't have time to think about it though. Right now it's fight or flight and I'm at least a bit more at ease knowing that I keep hearing the back gym door opening and the sound of others running and screaming. People are getting out, that's good, what's not good is there is someone right beside us.

Raven and I stop breathing, trying our best to be unseen, but the person beside us laughs and I know they know we are here. I don't have any other options now, so in a move that Reda was always a fan of doing to me, I roll to my side, kick out my feet and sweep the person right off their feet. The guy lands hard on his side, his gun going off, flashing in the space around us long enough for Raven to propel himself over me to land on top of the guy, grabbing him by the head. It only takes one quick twist and Raven's strength snaps the guy's neck.

I can't be impressed for long before I'm being tackled from behind and landing on my stomach, getting the breath knocked clean out of me. "Don't move." The person over me snaps, I'm pretty sure it's a girl by the voice, but it's so low it's hard to tell. "I'll shoot."

I feel a hand gripping for my neck and I know the gun is likely trained over me at Raven. "I'm not moving." He says, confirming my fears.

We're stuck, there's nothing to do here.

I jump at the sound of another loud pop and then a scream and thud. My stomach aches just knowing there are bodies in this room right now. People I know.

"Why are you doing this?" I choke out.

"I'm glad you asked." She says. "I need someone to carry on the message." Her grip on my neck loosens and I take a few deep breaths, trying to look back at Raven but only being able to make out his shadow. "They're liars."

"Who is?" I ask, mind working desperately to find a way out of this.

"The Custodes." She seethes, saying the word with such hatred. "They promise us that we'll all become Gods, just like the Demi when our mission here on this realm is through, but that's been a lie since the beginning." She tells me. "They have no power. They are nothing but slaves in this realm, working and dying for this realm and it's worthless inhabitants, only to die just like them, turning back to dirt and ash as if we were humans. It's not right. How many Custodes would have never left their own realms and their families behind for this if they'd known the truth?"