Illusion: Destiny Awaits (In Editing)

6 - Sabrina

We have been ambushed. Kase has betrayed us, again. I feel like crying. I feel like kneeling down and letting the whole world pause, just so I can collect myself. But instead, I stand taller, and ready myself. Thankfully, we are still in the prison, so we don't need to worry about breathing, but the main thing to worry about is getting out of this. Alive.

I have never been in anything this dangerous, let alone a fight before. I'm terrified. I turn my gaze to Christi's and our eyes lock for just a moment. A dark shape is leaping over Christi, and directly at me. Thinking fast, I drop to the ground (wincing, because the stone hurts!) and roll right into the guard. The guard crumples to the stone but quickly rises again.

"Christi!" I cry out a warning. Another guard is shooting over to her, with some sort of weapon out. She glances up right in time, dodging the fatal blow, but only just. I don't have time to look out for Christi. The guard is advancing now, slowly, with a grotesque smile on his face.

"Come on little girlie, Zaroho won't hurt you too much," he growls. WHAT?! WHAT!? Who is this dude? And why does he want to hurt us?

"Sabrina!" Christi calls, warning me of another guard. Where are they all coming from? I whirl around to face him, but quickly feel a prick in my shoulder.

"Ow!" I shriek. I turn around again, to find the first guard standing behind me, with a knife. My gaze locks onto the knife, and I shudder. There is a small drop of scarlet liquid on it. Blood. Or more specifically, my blood.

I feel as if my shoulder is bleeding out, but I know it is just a little scratch. I wish I had a weapon, I could actually defend myself. I wish I had a bow and arrow set. Ever since I have first used one, I have learned to love it.

It all started when we went on a field trip in second grade. We went to an adventure center called Astonishing Adventure. I know, weird name, right? We did rock climbing, trampoline activities, and archery. I had always wanted to learn about archery, so that was the first station I went to. I talked to the instructor for a while and soon learned that apparently, I was a natural. So was Christi.

I truly hope a bow and arrow will magically appear right now. I have never been the one for fights, but when it's a fight for my life, I'm all in.

I imagine a bow made of curved silver, engraved with flowers. The string is made of a strong, stretchy, thin rope, and the arrows are made of the same silver as the bow. The feathers on them are all black and silky. I think about it hard, until I think my eyes might fall out.

"Sabrina!" Christi shouts, bringing me back to the present. I open my eyes, to find myself face to face, with a particularly gross looking man. I have to resist the urge to gag. His breath smells like a rotting egg! Ugh.

"What do ya think you're doing missy?" he hisses. I wish one last time for a bow and arrows, and lunge at him, not caring what he could do to me. I need to get him out of the prison, in the water, I think. I'm a strong swimmer, I can take him.

"I think I'm doing, this!" I exclaim, sprinting over to the heavy iron hatch, leading outside. I grunt, as I attempt to open the hatch, it won't budge.

"Aggh!" I shout, and give one last pull on the cold handle. Groan. It opens! Water comes pouring in, and rushing towards the fight. Oops, never thought of that. Shoot! Now we're trapped! Unless, of course, somehow we both manage to swim up from (what I'm guessing) the bottom of the ocean, and faster than literally everyone else down here, which is like, fifty people.

"Christi!" I yell and make an upward motion. She nods and runs over here as fast as her legs will take her, her chestnut hair flying out the slightest bit behind her while she splashes in the water. As soon as Christi is by my side, I push off from the cold, stone ground and into the clear, blue water.

I glance back, and see Christi caught. Her ankle is in the hands of the smelly guard! But it looks like he doesn't want to swim, or doesn't even know how. He is very hesitant to do it. My mind thinks back to the bow. Suddenly, I feel something cold, and thin in my hand. I open my eyes, to find the exact bow I was thinking of, in my very hands!

I don't waste a second. I hoist the magnificent bow into the correct shooting position. As much as I hate what I'm about to do, I must do it. I reach for an arrow, to find that I actually have some arrows. I pull one out of them, and line it up. I squint, trying to perfect my aim. I can't afford to lose Christi, not only because I won't be able to do this alone, but also because she is my best friend, practically my sister.

"Watch out Christi!" I yell, and release the bowstring. Twang! The man shrieks in pain. Christi wriggles out of his now loosened grip, and swims as fast as she can towards me.

"Where'd you get that?" she questions, referring to the bow. I shrug.

"I'll tell you later, but right now, we need to focus on getting out of this mess." I point out, kicking my feet to stay afloat. She nods, looking a little desperate for air. I open my mouth to say something more, but I end up swallowing a mouthful of water. I choke, cough, and sputter. I give Christi a thumbs up to signify that I'm okay.

We can no longer talk, otherwise we will get a mouthful of seawater. We can still breathe, but only just.

I gesture towards the open hatch, and start to swim to it. My legs and arms pump through the water. I reach the open space and place my hands on the outside of the frame. I squeeze myself through the small gap in the stone, and tumble out into the open sea. I look back briefly, to see that Christi is following me close behind. I glance at the open waters, and up to where the top should be.

I can't waste any time. If I wait for Christi to come, I will lose air. But I might lose my best friend.

I count to five, and push off. I feel the salt water rush past me, rustling my hair. I thank my lucky stars that I am still wearing my swimsuit, and then, I remember Christi isn't. Uh oh, that might be a small problem.

I look behind my shoulder and see that Christi is doing just fine, just going a bit more slowly than I am.

My head turns back to the quickly coming surface, only to find a man's face stopping me. Kase.

"You," I growl, trying not to waste too much air. I can feel my oxygen quickly deteriorating. I need to get air, and fast.

Yes, me. His voice rings in my mind, bouncing around. I shake my head, trying to get rid of it. I can't answer, I desperately try to push past him, to the surface but he swiftly blocks me.

You cannot evade me, Sabrina, he jeers. Then, I do probably the worst thing to do right now. I slowly reach for an arrow and I notch it. My eyes stare down Kase, and it's now until my vision blurs, that I realize, I'm crying. I want to sob, scream, or attack, but instead, I hold back my arrow. It seems as if he is working for the Zaroho person.

I can feel a warm, comforting hand on my shoulder, as Christi approaches. As she turns, I can practically feel the daggers she's shooting at Kase right now. All of a sudden, my throat constricts. Air. I need air. I desperately try to claw my way up to the surface, but to no avail.

It is better if you are unconscious, Kase explains, an evil glint in his eye. Then, everything goes black.