Across Worlds - Chapter 22 Part 2

“This is great and all,” George said. “But someone needs to tell me how Akia is. And if she’s going to die, I need someone to blame.”

Falyn’s heart plummeted at his words. “I’m to blame,” she said in a small voice, pulling away from Zeke. “It’s my fault that Akia is lying there on that bed.”

Sam shook his head. “What happened to Akia has nothing to do with you.”

“Right,” Falyn scoffed. “Because she would’ve gone across the river if I hadn’t pushed her.”

“You had no choice!” Sam argued. “None of the rest of us would’ve helped her.”

“Because you all knew that it was stupid to put her through that! I put her life in danger. She could be dying in there and it’s all my fault!"

“So wait,” George interrupted. “What exactly happened?”

“Falyn saved our existence as we know it. That’s what happened.” It was Phillip’s voice. Falyn looked up to see him standing with two girls, one of them Falyn immediately recognized as Mina. “Without her bringing Akia through, our leader would’ve been lost. You should be thanking her, George.”

“Yes, Sir,” George muttered, lowering his gaze to the floor.

“Mina,” Falyn choked out before running forward and wrapping her arms around her sister. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“Me? What about you?” Mina asked. “The second you made it over that river you collapsed. I should be the one relieved that you’re okay.”

Falyn pulled back and looked her sister in the eyes. There was no one else in the world that she wanted to be with at that moment. Except maybe Zeke, but their relationship was much different than her and Mina’s.

The news that Mina was her sister had shocked her at first; she wasn’t willing to believe it. But as they continued on on their journey, she had thought about her and Mina’s friendship. They had known each other for years and were always by each other’s side. They did look the same, which was a plus when it came to believing that they were related. Falyn had decided to keep the information in the back of her mind. It might’ve been true, but at the same time could’ve been a lie.

As time went on, Falyn started to pay more attention to the little quirks that Mina had. Mina’s voice had the same high pitch that Falyn’s had. Their voices weren't exactly same, but Falyn noticed some of her voice in Mina’s; like the way they both ended their sentences on a high note instead of trailing off to a lower octave. And they seemed to walk the same as well. They just had to be related. It would be too much of a coincidence if they weren't.

“It’s nice to know that I have my sister along for the ride,” Falyn said softly, making sure only Mina could hear her. “I don’t know if I’d survive not knowing that I had another family member out there.”

Mina smiled and Falyn could see tears welling up in her eyes. The girls hugged again, helping Falyn to relax and forget the terror of waking up with no memories and making her way around the building looking for answers desperately.

Phillip cleared his throat. “Now that we’ve all been reunited and Falyn’s memory seems to have returned, a nasty side effect from those stupid azure pellets may I add, we can all get back to planning. To the battle rooms? George, you better come too.”

Falyn didn’t like the sound of ‘battle rooms’. She wasn’t much in the mood for fighting, but she knew that she’d have to go along with it. From what she remembered, Akia had said that Phillip was the one in charge of Lightport and planning how to stop Rhys. At least, that’s what she thought Akia had said. She really couldn’t remember for sure; the loss of memory had given her a bit of a cloudy image of her memories.

“This is Layna by the way,” Phillip says, almost as an after thought, motioning to the girl standing next to him. “She’s going to be helping us.”

Falyn looked at the girl, expecting to see someone exactly like Akia. She couldn’t explain it, but after being with Akia for so long, she had imagined that every kid in Lightport was like her; tough, intense, not taking crap from anyone.

Layna seemed to be the complete opposite. Not only did she seem unfazed by everyone, but she looked like a model. Her long, straight blond hair stood out against her perfect tan skin. And her green eyes were dark enough to stand out, but not more than they needed to. She smiled and waved at Falyn as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Did she know about Rhys and his constant threat against all of their powers? Of course she did; how could she not?

So how was she able to be so happy?

“Layna is one of our best trainees,” Phillip continued. “She’s been training almost as long as Akia has. Another fighter will help us greatly.” Phillip’s eyes met Falyn’s before moving to the person beside her. “You might as well come too, Zeke. We have a lot to discuss.”

Phillip turned and started walking back down the hallway. “Wait,” Sam called after him. “How do you know Zeke?”

Phillip turned back to face them. “Zeke has spent many years here. I’m surprised you don’t remember him, Samuel. Lucky that you brought him back with you, really. We were trying to find a way to get him out of Agathi.

“Now let’s go. We’ve got a lot to do. Akia will be fine, George. Give her the night. She’ll be up and walking around by the morning. I’m sure of it.”

George looked like he wasn’t all that keen about leaving Akia, but he obliged and followed Phillip back down the hall. Sam narrowed his eyes as he looked at Zeke, as if he wasn't ready to believe Phillip that Zeke was on their side. But he seemed to give up on the notion that Zeke was the enemy soon and headed off down the hallway with, leaving Falyn alone with Zeke.

She turned to look at Akia through the glass. Akia was lying there just as she had been, no change in her appearance. Falyn did realize though, that Akia’s chest was moving at a more consistent rate. At least there were signs that she was still alive.

“How you feelin’?” Zeke asked, making Falyn jump.

“Alright,” she said after gathering herself. “I’m just worried for her. She doesn’t seem to be improving.”

No matter what anyone said, Falyn would still feel guilty about what happened to Akia. If she hadn’t had pushed Akia through the barrier, Akia would’ve been in perfect health. Sure she would’ve been stuck back in Agathi, but she would’ve been safe. And no doubt Phillip would’ve found a way to get her back to them.

They stood in silence for a while longer. Falyn had thought that Zeke had left until she heard him shift behind her.

“You know,” he said softly. “What you did was brave. I’m not even sure I’d have enough guts to make my way through those pellets.”

She was about to respond, but stopped short when she felt Zeke’s hands rest on her shoulders. Heart pounding, she turned to face him. She hadn’t noticed just how much taller he was than her. She had to look up for their eyes to meet.

“Thanks,” she whispered. To her surprise, a smile found its way onto Zeke’s face. His hands ran down the length of her arms and reached her hands. She sighed happily as their fingers intertwined.

Zeke lowered his gaze as he spoke. “Phillip is going to ask you to do things you’d never imagine. You’ll have to learn new spells, new fighting techniques. He’ll probably even make you learn more about Rhys and where he came from. It’ll be a lot. But it’ll all be for a good cause.”

Falyn shuddered at the thought. “I don’t know if I can do that. This is a lot of pressure.”

“You’ll do fine,” Zeke said. “I believe in you. It won’t be as tough as it sounds.”

Falyn looked at him curiously. “How do you know all of this? Have you and Phillip worked together before? Was he sending you some kind of messages when you were in Agathi? How’d you even get to Agathi in the first place? What was—"

“Whoa, slow down!” Zeke laughed. It was the first time that she had heard him laugh; truly laugh. It was a deep sound, but lighthearted and free at the same time. Her heart swelled with joy as she relished in the moment.

But it ended all too quickly as Zeke’s face took on a much more serious look. “Just know that I’m behind you in this. I know that Sam and Mina will be too. Even Akia when she finally gets better. Together we’re going to find a way to kick Rhys’s ass and get those powers back.”

With that, he smiled down at her and led her down the hallway, his hand never leaving hers.

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For the LMS contest. Word count: 1,546