The Crystal Chronicles and The Lost Temple

Chapter 4 part 1

The room was pitch-black, and the only sound was my own shallow breathing. I moved to sit up and suddenly, a hand wrapped around my throat, forcing me back down. I opened my mouth to scream, but the same hand forced my mouth shut.

"Stay still, little Orchin," said a sickening voice I knew all too well. "It will all be over soon."

Suddenly, a bright light flooded the room. As my eyes adjusted, the room came into focus. It was made of white marble, from the ceilings to the floor. The room was empty of furniture, except for the steel table I was chained to. Kurt Bell loomed over me, and my blood seemed to freeze as I tried to fight my rising hysteria. He looked exactly how I remembered him, all prim and proper with a wild and hungry look in his eyes. I tried to speak, and, terrified, I realized I couldn't remember how I'd gotten here or where my friends were.

"W-what do you want?" I croaked. He didn't answer but smiled down at me with all of his white teeth.

"You'll see."

"Where am I?"

"Precisely where you need to be." I could feel my heart racing, and the cold metal chains around my wrist and ankles seemed to get tighter.

"Where are my friends?"

He smiled again and reached out, drawing his fingers through my hair. I tried to move away as a sick feeling rose in my stomach.

"They're gone, my dear." He sounded happy, as if he'd just delivered the greatest news in the world.

"Gone?" I could barely speak the word. They couldn't be gone. I just saw them today – or did I?

"Yes," Kurt said cheerily, reaching out to touch my hair again. Instinctively, I jerked away and held in a gasp of pain as he grabbed a fistful of my hair, forcing me still. I felt like a specimen in some sort of sick science experiment.

"They had to be dealt with," Kurt continued. "They were getting in the way."

"Getting in the way of what?"

"Getting in the way of the puzzle." He grinned again. "And you are the last piece."

"I'm not an object you can use and throw away when you're done." My voice was shaking so hard I could barely get the words out. I tried to look past him to calm my nerves, look anywhere but at him, but he was so close – I could smell his putrid cologne.

"Yes," he sighed, "yes, you are. Your silly expedition is over, Alyssa. You will retrieve the crystals for the Society. You will lead the new generation of change."

"I won't," I breathed. "I won't do it for you."

Kurt's face darkened from his usual proper and cheery façade to the madness he hid so well. His eyes narrowed, and his shoulders shuddered.

"Oh yes, you will," he whispered.

"Never!" I shouted, my voice echoing in the bare white room. "And you can't make me! I'd rather die!"

Kurt looked at me and turned around, completely silent. I heard him sigh as he murmured something under his breath. My heart sped up, and I could practically hear it beating in my chest. He stood there for what felt like forever, all silent and still. I was scared. I felt like an animal waiting for its turn in a slaughterhouse.

"As you wish, my dear," he said, his back still turned.

"As you wish –" He snapped back around like a predator pouncing on its prey. I didn't even have time to scream before he lunged for my throat. His hands wrapped around my neck, and I could feel my vocal cords being crushed under the force. Instinctively, I tried to move my hands, but I was chained to the table. I could feel myself losing consciousness, and I saw stars.