Discontinued Version of Running from Eden

Why Are You Stopping?

Naomi stared at the ominously dark hallway that loomed in front of her. The crooked walls only made her more nervous. She paused, tugging the hand that held onto hers so they stood still. Another figure turned, tilting her head. Naomi slowly ripped her hand away, causing the other child's confused expression to turn annoyed.

Her friend was the average size, and she had the basic look. Short hair with the bit of it tied, draped over her shoulder. Her brown cape stayed dull in the dark cave. The only thing bright about her was her stars on the back of her cape, but she barely had any, only five. It was remarkable how she was able to even go through Eden.

Naomi looked remarkably different, with her orange cape and her tiny pigtails that sprouted out of the top of her head. She wore a mask that made her tiny, but it also made her more speedy and agile.

"Why are you stopping?"

That question bounced around in her head as she stared blankly ahead at the cavern. The question came up again.

"Naomi, why are you stopping?"

Naomi's mouth opens to answer, yet the words she was thinking didn't want to come out. Of course they didn't, they'd go against everything the children stood for. But...

"Naomi!"

Naomi's eyes jerked wider as she finally glanced towards her friend, Yuri. She stared, repeating herself once again.

"Why are you stopping? Is there something wrong?"

Wrong was just apart of what she was feeling.

"Yuri, I don't think it's such a good idea."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naomi internally melted as she heard Yuri scoff. "We're going to the Eye of Eden!"

"That's just the thing," Naomi pushed herself to say. "The Eye of Eden. What would happen to us if we go?"

"We'd get stronger, duh!" Yuri knowingly answered.

"Yeah, but how? Nobody knows what happens once we go in there!" Naomi's voice rises, which heightens Yuri's own annoyance.

"So what? We have to do it to keep the cycle going! That's what the Spirits told us!" Yuri indicates towards where they came from.

"But if nobody knows what happens after Eden, it clearly means that it'll cause us to lose our memory or something!" Naomi's arms, which are crossed, tighten.

"So what? We'll probably only forget some insignificant stuff. All the powerful Teachers still remember tons of stuff, and they know they've been through Eden!"

Naomi shakes her head as one of her feet slowly slid backwards, causing her to scoot away. Yuri notices this, her annoyance sprouting to anger.

"So what?! You're just not going to go through?!" Yuri hollers as stranger children walk by, eyeing them. Yuri watches them go down the dark tunnel before glaring at her friend, who had stepped back even more.

"You need to go through, Naomi. For the cycle! You have to complete your journey at least once!" Yuri pressured.

"Or what?! How will one little child like me affect anything?" Naomi spread her arms before roughly tucking them under her arms again.

"Haven't you heard about the butterfly causing The Great Storm tale?!" Yuri remarks. She sighs before reaching her hand out. "Come one. We're going."

She stared at her friend's hand before she stepped back some more, shaking her head defiantly. She suddenly pivoted on her foot and booked back from where they came from.