entwined

Part 2

 "Run, Alina ", said Darya as they fled from the Erebus.Creatures of the dark, Erebus have no mercy and kill anything that stops their way.Unable to walk any further,Darya pushed the Bible into Alina's hands and told her to make a run for it to the other side. Refusing to leave her behind they hide themselves behind a tree ,waiting for the others to come. Alina stands guard with her whip in hand, ready to fight the Erebus that chased them. She is distracted by the sounds of people screaming on the other side and tells Darya to hold on till she comes back for her. Alina puts the Bible in Darya's hands and runs to save the people.

Waking up with a heavy breath, Alina finds herself in her bedroom perfectly fine except for a headache. "Alina are you awake? It's late!" she hears Aunt Zia shouting.She gets up and hurriedly opens up the door, still in her pajamas from last night, runs outside barefooted. The morning was typically the same as everyday , people taking strolls with their dogs, having morning coffee and children on their way to school. Alina couldn't seem to put a finger on whether it was a dream or was it real.The small town where rarely anything out of the ordinary happens didn't seem to be out of it's place. Alina cycled around in her bike to see if anything was out of the place and to believe that what she saw was only a dream.She took a trip to the coffee shop too, just to make sure that she was not going mad. All the while, there was someone watching her from afar.

That afternoon, Aunt Zia left the shop in the care of Alina to visit a friend."I will back by four,make sure you dust the shelves today." "Yes, Aunt Zia."replied Alina with a sigh.Her headache worsened and she kept getting some odd memories of her in the past.  Drinking a cup of tea she went about her work,when she noticed the same Bible on the shelf.She opened it and observed that it had the same kind of writing it had on the first book.Intrigued to know whether it was a dream or not,she read the faded words "vincas cum tenebris lux"(where there is darkness let light prevail)and before she could be pulled inside, a hand grabbed her and closed the Bible. Alina was taken by surprise and when she saw who it was.It was the boy with the tattoos."Do you have any idea what you could have just done?" Alina nodded negatively. He pulled her aside and inquired her name."How were you able to read the words? Are you one of us?"Alina did not answer him for she herself knew not  how she read it.Observing her silence, he made a decision which is not his say.He told her to meet him outside on the street exactly at ten in the night."And in the meanwhile do not open any books for God's sake"he said and as he left, he took the Bible with him, leaving in a haste with a feeling of regret. Alina stood there for a couple of minutes, knowing not what kind of danger she could have caused.

Soon after dinner,Aunt Zia wished Alina good night and went to bed.Ten minutes to ten, Alina waited on the empty street in proper attire. Waiting in fear of the consequences she would face for her actions from her aunt, there appeared three figures walking towards her, two of whom she recognised."My name is Colt." said the boy with tattoos and introduced the other two,Darya and Orinda."My name is...."before Alina introduce herself she was rudely interrupted by Orinda"Is this the person whom you told us about? Well, she doesn't look like the one to cause any trouble." Darya nudged Orinda as not to frighten the pale faced Alina. Colt then opened a nursery rhyme book and all four of them went hurling inside it. At this moment Alina realised that she made the worst mistake she could have ever imagined.

Alina now knew what she thought to be a dream had actually happened,so she pulled herself together and drew a knife out she brought along with her, just in case, if something went wrong which eventually did." I told you she would be a trouble"as Orinda drew a sword blazed with fire."But a few minutes ago, you treated her like she was nothing. Just put your sword down before you scare her into doing something that we don't want."exclaimed Darya as she slowly tried to reach out to Alina."Now, ...uhmmm...I am sorry I didn't catch your name.

"My name is Alina."stuttered Alina. "Now Alina calm down and hand me the knife before any of us gets hurt."Quitely, Colt moved behind her and caught her by surprise from the back before Darya could pacify her. In the struggle ,Alina dropped the knife and what happened next was unexpected not only to her but also the others.Her hands began to glow,blazing like the sun,giving out enormous heat.Colt almost burned himself before he let her go and Darya took no chances and and conjured a blue staff ready to put up a fight.

 "What is happening? Help me please.Am I dying? Do something, I can't stop it from burning." as Alina screamed out for her life,all of them stood there helpless ,perceiving that she was one among them.