Hi all!
It’s been a few days, I know, but I can’t always be so aggressive, clogging up your inbox…
I think from now on I am going to keep my posts to a specific day of the week. It’ll be, either a Tuesday or a Friday. Sometimes both, but I will try to stick to at least once every 7 days.
I hope that that is okay with you, and in case the mood takes you, if there’s something you want to know or ask or say… Comments are public and always welcome.
By now (I hope) you are all itching for more.
Believe it or not, we are still in chapter one!
So you can see, Logan is a naughty boy. 😉 He is impulsive and hot-headed and cheeky.
And after the last installment that was so long, it does seem like it’s been a while since we last saw Misty, so without further ado - here you go. Get all caught up.
INDEX | Chapter One | Scene 1 | Scene 2 | Scene 3 | Scene 4 & 5 | Scene 6 | Scenes 7 & 8 | Next Scene →
I see it - the exact moment that the Manorian misses his chance to counter-attack, and all hope is lost!
My puffed-up energy bubble will burst as soon as I break contact, there is nothing more I can do. And the stupid boy just won’t move! The look on his face says it all even before I let go. Confusion, pity, inertia.
The heat fades from my hands with hardly a puff of steam, and I can hear the Manorian breathe in sharply, bracing for the impact. What kind of Manorian waits to take a hit instead of fighting back?
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the leader moving. I feel myself fall. It seems to go on forever, the sky getting bluer as the last of the sunslight fades and the shadows on the snow deepen as it rushes toward my face. I can’t take a breath. I can’t even stiffen to brace for the cold. I close my eyes and wait for it and then…
I feel warm arms around me, and I look, and I see blue eyes staring into mine.
* * *
The air is warm and still and all the pain is gone. Am I dead? Time passes in a haze. Someone is here. Someone who isn’t Teleran. I don’t think I am dead. The energy feels odd, and it takes me a long time to place it.
The Manorian’s leader.
Now that the Manorian energy is further away I can sense his more clearly. It has a subtle intensity to it, a purity that is very distinctive. James would know why. I feel sleepy. Why do I keep thinking of James?
Through my closed eyelids, I see bright yellow light. I can feel small movements all over my body. Sometimes there is wetness, warmth, tugging, and pinching. There is a cold, chemical smell, and the beeping and buzzing, is so loud, I can’t separate the sounds to make sense of them. The pure one's distinctive energy is always there. One of the Manorians comes and goes but I cannot tell which. My body feels... warm.
* * *
After the longest time, there is finally quiet. The bright light is gone, and I dream many dreams.
They have caught me. I am tied down and James is trying to get into my head to find out who helped us, but I will never tell.
Now, Chrys is lying in the snow, dying. I feel her heart shudder and stop as if it were my own and then our sense sync breaks and I am alone. Her eyes accuse me, as the light in them fades.
Teag's whip sings, lashing my arms and legs. "This is all your fault. You will pay dearly!" He screams between strokes, his dead eyes staring, blood spattered across his face.
Chrys is in the tank, alive. There are tubes and wires all over what is left of her body. Her trainer watches with hungry eyes as the machines stitch her back together with stolen parts.
I am caught in a stasis field. A harness is strapped around my chest, and I cannot move. I cry out and struggle, but it is useless.
Chrys is awake. They are questioning her, but she doesn't tell. "Never tell!" I hear her, screaming and I fight the restraints, but they are too strong.
James is working on me again, but he cannot penetrate my defenses. His tentacles are probing my mind, searching for any weak spots, but four cycles of nightly practice have taught me how to keep him out.
Manorians are all around me. They want to hurt me. I laugh, knowing that they cannot. Nothing they can do to me will compare with what I have already been through.
The warmth fades.
I think I have gotten used to it at last.
My senses seem clearer, I recognize the Manorian presence near me from before, I feel...
Something touches my face. Fingertips?
I open my eyes and just catch the movement of him drawing back.
And… It’s another double episode! 😁
I need to keep her in the room. I back away slowly without breaking eye contact. No sudden movements, Logan, that's it.
The wall comes up against my back. Feeling for the door control panel, I press my palm against it. The door hisses open and I carefully step backwards over the threshold.
As it slides closed, she moves. In a fraction of a second, she goes from sleeping beauty to banshee, bed covers flying, and I am just able to catch a glimpse of a green glow enveloping her body from head to toe. Then the door is shut and I back away slowly.
"Luke! The fever's broken, she's awake!" I announce breathlessly on the intercom, fighting to stay calm as the ship lurches gently, touching down at home.
"Wait there, we are on our way!" Luke answers with grim determination. In any other circumstances I might have laughed, but a second later his influence floods the air, wiping the smirk from my face and returning my focus. I suppress my instinctive resentment at him exerting control over my body, yet again, reminding myself that it’s probably for the best. After a few more breaths my heart-rate steadies, and I become aware that I can sense her presence. She is strong!
The lift pings when it arrives. Luke and Tom, round the bend when I am about halfway down the hallway, followed closely by the four doctors that constitute the Team. Luke's Team, of trusted fellows from his city hospital. For him to have called them...
There is no time to consider his reasoning. A rending sound of screeching metal is followed by a change in the air pressure, and before the thought of it even registers, I duck.
As my knee hits the ground, the cabin door careens down the hallway, flipping end over end in slow motion, missing my head by mere millimeters. Luke and Tom who are a few paces further, just barely manage to slide underneath but the Team is not nearly so quick and a second later, a pile of limbs lies under the mangled door, right at the bend in the passage.
I turn back around, to see a green fire-sprite standing in the doorway, in the exact stance she greeted us with on Telera, only considerably more menacing now in the reinstatement of her power.
There is a moment of silence, where everyone seems frozen in place then Luke’s voice echoes all around me. "We need to get her back under control quickly or our friends at the PG will hear of this.”
The pile of limbs stirs and groans. The girl looks around the doorframe she just destroyed, frowning. I look back at Luke, and he thinks, “Don’t hurt her."
I glance back towards Tom and the prostrate Team and then I look back at the girl as she lifts her small right foot to step over the threshold.
"If we can catch her off guard, pin her from behind..." I think, careful not to take my eyes off her.
"Do you have a sedative that might work?" Tom asks Luke, understanding my meaning perfectly and the plan takes form.
"Under the Team. They'd have brought my case." Luke nods and turns back to prepare the shot.
I have my eyes on her, and I clearly sense her power. She takes a step forward. Her presence is strengthening by the second. She’s amazing! The glow, that has intensified to flames, is now a small inferno but it is not so bright that it obscures the sight of her. The plasters start to curl, and the bandages fall off as her gown starts to smoke. The fabric blackens. A flash of Luke inserting the needle into the vial floats at the edge of my vision, he mutters, "Five milligrams, no more," and my eyes flick backward involuntarily.
Seizing her moment, she rushes forward, and I am forged to engage! Two quick missiles fly at my head. The first passes hotly past my temple. I blink, deflecting the second with my right hand and a bare foot connects with my left cheek, spinning me around.
I recover quickly, stop a second kick and block two quick punches but miss the third which catches my chin.
The next hit is charged with energy. It connects with my gut and permeates, staggering me and she stops, watching as I am forced to fall back, bumping into Luke.
The syringe goes flying, vial and all.
A second’s reprieve as Luke stumbles to the pile of limbs and she comes again, a wall of lightning-fast kicks and charged punches. I push back. A stray kick nearly knocks me over, but I manage to stay on my feet. The next punch nearly connects but I just manage to dodge it. A few more, I give ground step by step until I spot the sedative. It has landed neatly against the wall, unbroken. I plant my feet and dodge what I can, blocking the rest until the opportunity arises, finally, I see it.
"Now's your chance brother." I mentally communicate as I drop and push both palms out, fast, hitting her full in the chest with a blast of energy, Tom would consider gentle. It reverberates through her miniature frame and sends her sprawling, right back into the cabin, and Tom gets into position.
That’s it for this one. See you guys again on Tuesday.
I am always open to feedback. If you have any thoughts drop them in the comments. Please like, subscribe, and share. 💜
Good stuff!
Sorry, something wrong with the links. Having trouble fixing it. Here's one for the next post. https://open.substack.com/pub/jennyhoman01/p/7-closing-chapter-1?r=25941x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web