Prism Core

Terra

RYAN

A jolt of energy ran through my body. I couldn't move, my eyes wouldn't open, yet I could feel the light enveloping around me. My conscience was floating in what felt like a field of pure brightness. Colors began to warp around me, flashing rapidly as they cycled. Warm to cold... My mind began to ache as the cycle of colors flashed faster and faster. My body began to freeze, it felt like needles stabbing in every inch of my skin. Even without sight, the colors were apparent. My mind was mesmerized, but the pain had begun to overtake. Make it stop! It's so cold. So cold. I can't move! SOMEBODY HELP ME! A strange pulse then shook the field of light, like a roar echoing through a cave. The colors around began to slow down, and suddenly there was warmth. My body began to lose its stiffness, and slowly I gained control. Memories flashed in my conscience. I saw my friends, I saw them laughing. I saw them walking home. I saw them collapse in bed, and I saw their painful tears they had held in for so long. I then saw him. He was running, and I could feel his fear. His thoughts were all scattered. He didn't know what to do. Something was chasing him. It was a creature in the dark, with menacing fangs. I tried to reach out to him, but the memory began to fade. It wasn't mine, it felt so foreign... Tainted... I opened my eyes, and I saw nothing but light. I embraced its warmth. Then there was orange. It felt nice, a balance of brilliant colors. Then, it was gone.

GABE

My head was throbbing. It felt like a bad night, one where no matter how much sleep you got, your body continued to ache. I reach out and felt the ground. Is this...grass? I immediately opened my eyes, and there was so much green. I jumped to feet and looked around. It was a forest. There were trees everywhere, so tall that their brilliant leaves covered any trace of blue. Moss and fluffy mushrooms covered their barks. Where the hell am I? I took a step, and then realized that my feet felt weird. Wait, what am I wearing!? Instead of shoes I had leather...things! They were like socks almost. I had what felt like robes, and a strange shirt. They all felt like natural materials, and the underwear felt really uncomfortably tight. I looked like a wizard of some sort, except without the pointy hat. "This is weird..." I looked around a bit more. Wait... "Guys! Where are you!?" I frantically looked around. None of them were here. I ran through the forest, and I kept calling out for them. "Kate? Cora? ANYONE? It's Gabe!" My voice echoed through the trees, but there was no response. In fact, the forest was suspiciously quiet. No birds chirping, no movement... The world felt like it was frozen in time. I dropped to my knees. "I have to be dreaming. This can't be happening!" Tears had begun to form in my eyes. Desperately, I looked around in hopes of finding someone, anyone. Then, there was a sound. It started small, but you could feel it in your spine. I turned back, and I saw something in the distance. It was partially covered by the greenery so I didn't know who it was. "Hello? Who's there? Can you tell me where I am?" I walked closer. The sound grew louder. It was clear now, it sounded like chewing. Really sloppy and messy chewing. "H-hello?" I stepped closer and pulled back the bushes. Then there was only screaming. I staggered back in disgust and fear as red flashed before my eyes. A hideous creature, something that looked like a humanoid bat, eating what was once a cultist. The corpse still had its red scarf, but the body was unidentifiable. The creature turned to me. It had shiny green eyes, reflective like pearls. Its snout was covered in red, as were its pointy teeth and claws. It looked at me curiously. My heart was beating, and my legs had begun to fail me. The bat stepped closer, and I fell back and landed on my bottom. I looked up to see the bat's wide-open jaws. 

KATE

"Okay, it's already bad enough that we don't know where we are or how we changed into mage wanna-be's, but why did I get stuck with you?" I mumbled. Brad looked around in awe, scurrying around like a squirrel. "Kate, don't you see? We must have been transported to an alternate universe! It's just like the-" "Yeah, yeah, like your stupid comic books, you told me like five times already. Can we just go?" I was in a really irritable mood. My clothes were uncomfortable, my head ached from a very trippy experience, and we were in the middle of a forest. Actually, I was also terrified, but I wasn't going to admit that. Brad examined his robes and giggled like a toddler. "You think Hogwarts is near by?" I groaned. "Can you be serious for a second? There could be wild animals around us!" I yelled. Every turn we took, I kept expecting a bear to jump us, pounce us like the prey we were. Brad's eyes widened, and then he took a step back. I froze in place. "Kate. Don't. Move." I stood perfectly still, well, almost. My arms were shaky. I felt a warmth on my neck. It was definitely a snout, with a wet nose. I looked at Brad with pleading eyes, but he stood in shock in front of me. The snout sniffed around my neck. I tried so hard to not sweat but was failing miserably. A claw-like hand then grabbed my shoulder, and I reacted, almost instinct-like. I raised my arm and elbowed the creature on the snout. A loud screech filled the air as the creature staggered back. I quickly ran over to Brad and looked at the creature. I let out a horrified gasp. It was a giant bat. "What the hell is that!?" I yelled, turning to Brad. Except he was already running away. "DON'T YOU RUN WITHOUT ME!" The bat let out another screech and began to pursue us. It glided at a fairly quick pace and was catching up. "You hear that!?" Brad asked. "Hear wh-" I then heard it.There was rustling in the trees. A realization came to me. "There's more of them..." Two more bat creatures emerged from the leaves and fell towards us with fangs bared. "Look out!" I tackled Brad out of the way. The creatures hit the ground hard but quickly regained their footing. They flapped their wings and glided after us. Stumbling a little, we kept running. "Kate! Look at their claws!" Brad yelled. I looked back, and I realized that bits of red fabric were stuck to them. "T-they ate some of the..." I didn't finish that sentence. Since we were looking backwards, we ran into something. Or someone. We all landed hard on the mossy ground. "Ryan! You're here too!" Brad then tightly hugged him. "Okay, now's not the time. We're, um, about to die," I said. Five bats surrounded us in a circle. They snarled, like rabid dogs. Their mouths were also similarly foamy. "Guys. Maybe if I run, I could get them away from you-" "Don't even think about it, Ryan!" Brad yelled. We all watched in acceptance as the five bats leaped.