Twenty-Three

At first, there was nothing but a suffocating blackness.  Anaya reached for her face and pulled away some kind of a coarse cloth.  The blackness remained, but a dull light drew her attention towards a door where it filtered through its edges. She carefully stood up. Her body felt like lead. So heavy and lethargic.

She reached towards the door, thinking there should be a knob or something only to discover a wooden latch. She lifted it up, and the door opened on its own with a loud groan.

Pale light washed over Anaya as she blinked several times trying to adjust her vision to make out her surrounding.  She sucked in her breath.

Destruction and death as far as she could see.

Steel and cement structures that were once buildings now demolished and charred.  Broken and bloodied corpses strewn in every direction.

She covered her mouth with both hands as she tried to hold back the bile that burned in her stomach.

Was she back on the surface?

A movement caught her attention.  She turned towards it, and her mouth dropped.  Not more than ten yards away stood a robed figure.  She could feel its eyes on her. Then, it began to walk.  No, it glided as it moved effortlessly over shattered boulders and bones.

She had seen this figure before.

“Wait!” She called out.

It stopped and turned partially towards her but not enough to reveal its face as it was kept hidden within the gray hood.

“Who are you?”  Anaya stumbled over a broken wooden beam.  “Where am I?”

A hoarse voice came from the hood. “Beware of the one who bears the mark of the Raven!”

A mark???

“I don’t understand!” She cried out as she tripped over her own feet. “What raven?”

But, it was gone.

 

 

 

Anaya slowly grew aware of the soft mattress beneath her, and of the blanket that covered her body.  She felt warm and sleepy.

Home.

She was back home, back in her own bedroom.  Everything had been just a very vivid nightmare.  No one died.  Her friends were still alive.

She smiled to herself as she tuned onto her side and nearly doze off when a woman’s voice drifted to her ears.

“Ana?”  Of course it was Mom.

“What?” Anaya mumbled as she pulled the blanket tighter over her head.

“You really need to get up.” The woman replied. “You’ve been in bed for over two days now.”

Two days????

Anaya opened her eyes and sat up.  She glanced around.  She was in a bed that resembled a cot.  The room had no windows.  She didn’t have a dresser; but there were four drawers built into the grayish wall ahead of her.  To her far right was a table also built into the wall.  A desk?

No, this was not her bedroom from home.  Where was she???

Memories slowly trickled  through her mind.  An asteroid had slammed into her world ending countless of lives.  She and her family barely escaped through a series of tunnels and elevators.  She now lived deep underground in a city.

Redemption.

She placed her head down into her hands.  What was the last thing she remembered?

There was something very large that flew across the setting sun.  It almost looked like a –dragon???

Too bad no one else saw it or else she wouldn’t think she’d gone crazy.

“What happened?” She looked over to Mom who stood in the narrow doorway.

“You passed out. “Mom answered.  “You were so exhausted.”

“And then I slept for two whole days?” Anaya asked in disbelief.

“Yes.”

Anaya leaned against the cool wall behind her and pressed her shoulders against it.  The soreness was completely gone.

“Come down and eat something.” Was all Mom said and she walked away.

She sighed deeply as she glanced over to the table/desk where she recognized the watch-like object that rested there.

Her digilocator.

She shook her head.  Everything felt strange.  Surreal.  She must still be dreaming. She need to find a way to wake herself up.

Without another thought, she slid out of the small bed and moved directly for her backpack that sat on the floor next to the doorway.  She knelt down and unzipped the bag, reached inside and pulled out a framed picture. The frame was made out of heavy ceramic which was painted with glossy forms of blue dolphins.  It held a picture of all four members of her family which was taken on Eli’s first birthday.

Anaya stood straight up, and lifted the picture up and over her head.

If this doesn’t work, she must be dead.  She released her grip on the object.

And screamed.

Copyright © 2013 Carrie Ann Golden

All rights reserved.

 

To Chapter Twenty-Four