Convulsion

♡ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜰᴏᴜʀᴛᴇᴇɴ ♡

Richard

"You coming?" Steve asks. I look up, sticking my hands in my pockets. Eric and Amaryllis have already left the Transport Pod behind Lily, so it's just me and Steven. I slowly push away from the hard rock wall, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah."

"Gwen's gonna be okay." I sigh, avoiding his gaze. Gwen could be dead right now, for all I know. Gwen is strong, I know she is, but why in the world would she take on the Gloaming on her own? What was running through her mind that made her think she could take on all those monsters? Not only that, but Celeste is dead. I didn't know her as well as the others did, but that doesn't change the fact that she's gone. I'll never see her kind smile again or hear her encouraging words. She was such a good person, and a great fighter too. She was powerful. Really, really powerful. But somehow the Gloaming managed to kill her. Will they manage to kill Gwen too?

"I hope so, Steve." I walk out of the transporter, hearing Steve's footsteps as he follows me. She could die. It feels like I'm admitting something that's all too real. It's all I can do to pull my hands out of my pockets, dragging them down my face and focusing on walking over to the others instead.

"She'll find us, Richard. She'll find you." Steve pats my shoulder, and I nod at him as he comes to walk right next to me. "You don't have to be alone. We're here for you." He motions towards the other Guardians ahead of us with a wave of his hand. I do my best to smile at him but I feel a slight breeze against the back of my head, and I turn around to watch the Transport Pod slip back under ground, leaving no trace of its existence in the shiny green grass. Grass that's as shiny as it can be even in the dim light of dawn.

"The same goes for you, you know. I know what happened between you and Celeste is as good as gone because of The Damsel, but it doesn't change that you two were friends." He looks away from me, staring at the Guardians ahead of us. "I'm sorry," I whisper. He shrugs, shaking his head.

"We all are." I turn away from him, staying silent. If Gwen were to die it would mean another life given for the sake of the Gem. A real Elemental Gem, in our presence, that we have to protect from the Gloaming. Along with a new Guardian. It's still hard to believe it. Lily is interesting. She seems strong-hearted, kind. Just like her mom. I still remember Lily's mom. She had the same soft, wavy brown hair as Lily does. Same fierce gray, ice blue eyes; it was frightening whenever she studied me. Interestingly enough, the thing about the people here is that time stretches out for us. We're faster, we remember more, and our looks barely change because we don't age as quickly.

That's the strange thing about time for us. We can recall things from when we were really young, and I can recall things from any age and in perfect detail. It's why I remember Lily's mom, since our parents were friends. I sigh, trying not to dwell on the mysteries of our Realm. Lily will make a good Guardian. If she survives. If any of us survive. We haven't been confronted by the Gloaming in a while. Not since, not since The Damsel... who we should probably tell Lily about. I don't think anyone has the courage to right now, not with Steve around. Especially because The Damsel tried to kill Lily. The Damsel is a murderer who cannot be forgiven, and yet, she was once our greatest friend. I've tried to forget the Damsel, but because of the way our minds work, I never can. Not deep down.

When Steve and I leave the grass and reach the cobblestone path the others are on I notice they've been standing in front of the glass doors leading to the Praesidium. The Praesidium is a humongous dome, built of triangles of glass and metal swirled together, allowing light to flow through naturally. It can hold hundreds of thousands of people, and its structure is much stronger than it looks. It's hard to believe I would've gone to this place for ten years if I hadn't been chosen as a Guardian at such an early age. This school scares me more than the ones on Earth do.