Far From Earth, Close To Home (Completed)

Chatper 24: The Beginning

I looked around. Nobody in sight. Did they really run off? I stared into the water. The waves running smoothly, the sound of it gently crashing against the sand was nice. It was peaceful. But not happy.

"Wait, where'd Israel go?" I heard Halo asked. I quickly turned to the camp fire. Everyone was there. "And... who're you?" He looked at me, and then froze. "Erin...?" He slowly walked up to me. "What're you talking about, Halo?" Gwen asked. Angel stood there, unable to take it in.

I took the time to actually look at myself. I was white, instead of black. My heard was half white, the other half orange. "Oh..." I spoke. I just now noticed multiple voices came from my mouth. Two, one an older female, the other my own. "Erin, can you hear me?" Halo asked, now shorter than my by a few inches. "Yes." I heard myself say, even though I didn't want to. "Oh my god..." he whispered.

Jay, I've been watching you. I heard the other voice tell me, in my head. Who's Jay? I asked. Oh, it seems you're just like I was. Listen, you have to go into the portal I'm going to form. I will lead you to where it was meant to end. She explained. Okay then? I agreed.

A portal appeared. We explained together, our voices mixed, "We need to go into this portal. Trust us. Trust me." I felt a chill go down my spine, as I knew something was wrong here. I'll save you, Jay. You have to get back to earth. She told me. What's Earth?

We all walked into the portal, and when we exited, it was what seemed like a palace, big pillars across both sides of the hall. I was now alone, only Dusk, but the other half of my heart was still orange. We looked at each other. "So... what now?" I asked, feeling alone with my only voice.

"What now? Well, now, we fight." A familiar, horrible voice told me. "The General." I spoke. It's all going to end in your benefit, Jay. Erin told me. "Okay then..." I whispered to her.

The general walked out, but now he was different. He was a darkened himself, but he didn't have a heart. He had a soul. It was an upside down heart, that was somehow darker than him. Like, imagine you can see the outline of it. It was like a hold white line was showing it to you, making the shape, but without it. You can see it, but you can't at the same time. The General began to laugh, now he sounded different. "The ONLY reason I ordered Israel to send your petty friends back, is so you can see them DIE." He laughed maniacally, and I was put in a black cage that appeared around me.

Helpless, I stared at my friends, who were also put in cages. "Dawn!" Halo shouted. Gwen was crying, kneeling. Angel was staring into space, and I can only imagine what she was thinking. And so, then it happens. The cages began to shrink, and shrink...

I forced myself to look away. I could hear it happen... Jay... you need to trust me. You will succeed. She told me. "But what's the point, if they're gone?" I said aloud. Trust me. They can't die... she explained, without reason. "I... I trust you." I managed.

Tears filled my eyes, and the cage went away. "And now, you will die by my hand." He threw a spear at me, and I just grabbed it, forcing myself to look down. I didn't care anymore. Hopefully it would kill my eventually. I threw the midnight spear back, and I assume he did the same. I pushed it away, the smooth side not hurting, as it flung into a pillar and stuck there. "This is the part... where you fight." I slowly walked up to them. Spears phased through me, making my destabilize slowly. I looked up at him, and he froze. He then snapped out it, and shot a laser from his hand at me. I stood there, taking it. It felt like a few minutes, before he stopped. I was nearly gone at this point. And so, he kicked me down. I turned into Dawn. But still, the heart was left on me. He walked up to me, and jabbed a lance he formed into it. It instantly split in two, I felt it. Then, I heard a voice. Now let go. Erin told me. "B-But... no..." I muttered. Trust me.

I forced myself up. The orange part of the heart faded away, and I was hardly able to stand. "Child, if you continue, it'll have pain. More than just the pain in your chest. You'll bleed. Give up."

I looked around, he was giving me a chance. I looked behind me, and there was this glowing, floating thing. (From "The True Point of View") It spoke in a deep voice in my head. "Go. You will come back." I looked down. He made me feel happy, whoever He was. I closed my eyes. "I'll let go" I forced out of my mouth.

And it went black. . .