A Familiar Taste of Poison

Part 5

Nex approved of the second trip to the mountain, but it took convincing. They weren't able to leave the day of but instead left at the next sun rise. the group was Zelda, shado, and Nike. Nike was a younger grounder, still training, and he would carry potential if he wasn't so shy. Zelda worried for him as a warrior, but the grounders were not to give up on their people, people choose that themselves.
The group went out with rations for five days, the plan was to return in three. As they approached the river shado began to lay down her things. Zelda looked to her questionably,
"What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm setting up camp, " shado responded without looking away from her hands.
"We arnt settling yet. We have an hour left of light."
"But the river is here, we camp here."
Zelda's expression grew rough, she looked to the mountain and shook her head, "no, we are already a day behind them. We continue into dark."
"Zelda, I know you care about her but-" shado began.
"No! You know nothing." Zelda continued to shake her head, her eyes avoiding shados gaze as she dug her fingers in her scalp. She opened her mouth to speak when instead words from another rang out.
"We go into dark."
Zelda and shados head each snapped back, catching the glaring sight of young Nike. He had his hands on the straps of his bag and he pulled down his mask, nodding to each of the girls before walking up to the bridge, leaving them behind.
-
It had been two hours into dark and they had a days trek worth till they reached the moutain. Zelda sighed as she allowed shado to set up camp.
Zelda stepped out into the clearing in which they settled at, slowly lowering herself to sit as she gazeed upwards, her breath hithed and her voice cracked as she spoke softly, "my sun and stars."
-
It was black.
Zelda had never experienced a darkness such as this. The night would hold illumination by stars or the tunnels by fire but this was true darkness. There was no telling to where you were standing, where it would end.
Suddenly, There was the crunch of dead leaves echoed behind her. Zelda span around, her hand going to her sleeve to take her knife when she felt a hand already placed over it. She screamed, stumbling back and falling against the ground as she recognized the cracked skin on the hand, she recognized the smell of dirt and salt.
Zelda looked up at her father, staring up into his eyes. His eyes sunk back into his skull, his irises the color of his blood.
She quickly moved to bring herself to her feet when another hand grabbed her shoulders, keeping her sitting.
These hands were fraile. There was barely any skin stretched over the bones of them . They could snap at any time. They were her mothers.
"Get out!" Zelda screamed, pulling herself away from the grasp.
"Zelda," her mother started, her voice smooth as if it were silk.
"No, get out. Get out of my head!"
Zelda shot up from her spot, striking her hand across her fathers face and watching as he vanished into the eternal darkness.
She gasped for air as she looked back to her mother. Mothers eyes were now wide, staring at Zelda in shock and fear. Her mother stepped away, shaking her head in disgust.
Zelda took a deep breath before looking back up to face the dissapointment, yelling out with a tone of broken glass, "Don't look at me like it was my fault!"
"He died protecting you!" Her mother screamed, her voice cracked from it's soft exterior and showed itself as rotten. A low growling hidden behind it, nothing her mother had ever made before.
Zelda stopped, taking a moment to collect herself as she looked her mother in the eyes, her expression as cold as her voice,
"That was his choice."
Her mother responded with words like knives,
"And it will be your choice when you die protecting her."
then it was black.
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