The Rainlands: Grand Delusion

Chapter 18: Something In The Rain

Shua

Little raindrops started to pelt the ground in the distance. It was just a gentle tinkling noise. But for some reason, it terrified Jasmine. Levi was confused, he felt like something was wrong but he didn't know why. It's like something inside me just knows.

"What's happening?" He gasped as Jasmine dived back off the trail and into the woods. She headed for a nearby hill which Levi could barely see through the trees.

"Don't talk. I think it could be a Shatterstorm!" She started hopping the fallen logs and dodging between the foliage at a speed which Levi couldn't keep up with. He tucked the sword as close to his chest as he could, wishing he had a better way to carry it. Behind him, the sound of rain grew louder, like it was chasing them.

"Wait! Jasmine, I can't keep up!" He yelled but she didn't slow down. Soon she slipped out of sight and he had to follow her by sound, just trusting in the sound of breaking branches and crushed leaves. Oh Raingods, she's going to leave me behind!

"Hurry up, you're always so damn slow!" Jasmine appeared in front of him, beckoning towards her. Levi felt a rush of relief. She didn't leave me!

"Where are we running!" He asked while looking over his shoulder. He almost ran right into a tree and just barely dodged it when he looked back, skimming his palms as he pushed off the trunk. His hands burned but he had to keep following Jasmine.

"Don't know! Away?" She replied, "Hope there's some cover on that hill!" Before they could get much further, Levi felt the humidity plunge. The atmosphere became soggy, wet. The shushing rain was close. Clouds darkened overhead. It became dark. Ever so very dark. I don't get it. Why are we running? Why am I so afraid?

"There! Under there!" Levi shouted, pointing to the left. Jasmine looked over her shoulder and changed direction, racing towards a little rock overhang underneath an outcropping of the hill.

"Go go go! Come on Levi! We can make it!" She called back and Levi redoubled his efforts to catch up. She wasn't that far ahead, but a light mist had begun to fall from the gloomy sky, sprinkling down around them. She ducked her head, running into the dusty clay wall underneath the overhang as Levi was still probably a dozen paces away. It wasn't far, he watched as she turned, hands outstretched as if to pull him in faster. Why am I running? What is going ON!

Shua!

A fat raindrop rolled down from the sky. Hit him in the back. He stumbled, more from shock than anything. Staggered the last few steps. Tumbled past Jasmine at full speed. Rammed his hands into the wall only a few paces in. Dropped his sword on the ground. It wasn't a deep cave, more of an alcove, but it would keep them relatively dry during the storm. Levi doubled over to breath.

"Levi?" Jasmine asked and he put up a hand to ask for a moment. "Levi, you didn't get any on you, did you?" He tried to answer. Can't...get any air in. Finally, after a few seconds of panting he managed to choke out.

"I think I avoided most of it." He said, looking up. All around, the sound of rain echoed as the drops pelted the outside of the cave and the storm started in earnest. When he finally managed to raise his head, he saw Jasmine examining him closely. "Why? Why did we run?"

"I...take off your shirt first. Be careful. Some of it might have gotten on you." She said slowly and carefully, as if she didn't want to alarm him. He tried to get a look at his back, but he couldn't turn his neck far enough. "Levi just take it off already!"

"Ok! Ok! I don't know if I'm touching it!" Levi started to get scared, it was like he had some incredibly venomous creature on his back or something. Slowly, he removed his shirt, doing his absolute best to touch as little as possible. When he got it off, his breath caught. "What is that!?"

"I think it's a Shatterstorm." Jasmine replied. That's not very helpful.

"You said that already. What's a Shatterstorm?" Levi felt his back, running his hands all over himself. He wished he had a mirror so he could see if any part of him looked like his shirt did. Thankfully, his hands found nothing but overly flushed and hot skin. I'm ok. I'm ok.

"Well, you can see it can't you?" Jasmine pointed at the shirt on the floor of the cave. "Don't worry, it shouldn't last long, you'll be able to wear your shirt soon." She seemed to think that would calm Levi down but it only agitated him further.

"I don't care about my shirt! I care about...well, what the hell is it doing to my shirt?" He waved his hand around to emphasize the point because he didn't have any words for what was happening. Cautiously, he bent down, and looked closely at where the raindrops had touched his shirt. Imagined if it had touched his skin directly. "You're not explaining anything!"

"I...I don't really know to be honest." Jasmine answered, and the hesitation in her voice finally made Levi realize she might be being honest with him. "I've heard of this before. Do you see how the air above the fabric is twisting? Distorting right? It looks blurry. That's magic. The fabric of our reality. It's warping." She bent down with Levi and they watched the rain outside. The damp spots gleamed in what little light penetrated the clouds. A thick fog was starting to grow on the ground, covering everything in grey from their shins up, but Levi could still see the strange mirage happening. It was just a little bit around the damp spots, but the air shimmered like a diamond. And inside...inside it was like a broken mirror. Like the world was bending and twisting around in some sort of prism. After a few more moments it stopped. Levi met Jasmine's eyes, saw the fear in his face reflected in their brown depths.

"What happens if it touches us?"

"I...I can't remember. It's been a long time. Just don't touch it until the distortion is gone." She sounded worried. Is it because some of it got on me? "I don't know what it will do but it's probably not good. We'll just have to wait out the storm."

"I see. Who taught you about this? Your mentors?" Levi hunkered down on his feet, watching the outside world from underneath their little rock hideout. It had become hard to see, when the raindrops hit the ground, they shattered, and everything started to shimmer. The fog was thick, blocking anything more than a few feet out. It's crazy how fast everything's changed.

"Yes. Like I said, my father sent only the best to teach me. This has happened before, I think. During the Calamity, Shatterstorms were a fact of life. But its been a very, very long time since the last one. I don't understand why one would come now. It doesn't make any sense." She sat back on her heels, gazing out into the rain for answers. "We need to be careful. The Shatterstorms were the beginning of the Calamity. This is crazy. I...I don't know what's going to happen Levi."

Levi closed his eyes. He could feel his body aching but finally his pulse was starting to settle down. Suddenly, he was very aware that he had his shirt off in front of Jasmine.

"You think it's safe to put my shirt back on?" He asked. Looking closely, the shimmer was gone. But there were three spots he could see where the rain had touched. It was still wet. The fabric looks...different. "There's something off about it."

"What do you mean? I think it should be fine but maybe you should wait a minute if you're uncomfortable." Jasmine glanced over uncaringly. Levi continued to examine the shirt. Wait. What's that? Is that?