The Wastelands

Chapter 25 - 21

The Archives.

Shadow was a hair's breadth away from Byson before allowing himself to be swallowed back into the shadows. Bryson watched with a feeling of wariness. He knew that he was being watched and that Shadow could strike at any time.

Moving his hands to the sword hilt by his side, Bryson raced towards the door, not wanting to use his abilities in the archives. Water and ice didn't mix well with books, and these books were priceless. He couldn't, in good conscience, damage any of them accidentally. He knew it was a fool's task, but he needed to lead Shadow away. With that in mind, he dashed towards the door. Before he even got to the entrance, he was hit by the shadows.

Bryson smashed into a nearby table. Shadow grabbed him with his shadows and started to drag him even further into the archives.

Bryson had no choice. He grabbed the sword, hilt and activated it, and an ice sword appeared and sliced the shadows away. Bryson just needed to keep the damage to a minimum; he would apologize to the books later. The shadows blocked his way to the door, and he needed another means of escape.

'I need to find a way out.' Bryson's ice-blue eyes shimmered with thought, thinking of any possible outcome. Maybe it was the only option that was left for him, he thought, hating the fact that he didn't have a plan. Planning was what he did, planning for any possible outcome was what he was best at. Why didn't he prepare for this?

If everyone, even Shadow, even thought about attacking someone within the group was inconceivable. Especially knowing full well that the result was death for them all. Bryson almost made that mistake before. It was suicide.

Bryson thought that anyone rational enough would feel the same. What was Shadow's game?

If only there were a target, but Shadow was keeping himself well-hidden. The tall shelves and darkened corners were vast, and Shadow was good at hiding.

'I need to find an exit,' Bryson thought, and then his eyes latched onto something. It was slim…but it was his only choice.

Sprinting towards the door again, he g.r.o.a.n.e.d as the shadows slamming into him. Guarding with an ice shield didn't stop him from being thrown away.

Landing, Bryson coated himself with his invisibility ability, well it worked more like reflecting light to hide in plain sight. In any case, the skill wouldn't protect him for long, especially in his unstable emotional state. Taking off towards the nearby window, he smashed through the glass. He stayed invisible, using his ice sword to cut through the concrete to guide him to the room below.

Bryson was in an empty room. Sniffing in disgust with the amount of dust and garbage, he realized that the room hadn't been used in quite a while, so he'd have to inform the cleaning staff after this was done. At least he wasn't in the archives anymore.

He needed to calm down. His abilities worked better when he was calm enough to think. But Shadow wasn't giving him a chance to do so. Every move Shadow made was designed to rattle him, and it was working, not giving him a chance to even think.

Breathing in, and then out, he pulled his water and ice abilities close.

He was still wary: it wasn't like Shadow to play these cat and mouse games. Shadow was more the 'subdue or kill your opponent in a quick succession of moves' kind of guy. Not someone who'd given his opponent a chance to fight back. Shadow must have a reason to act like this.

The shadows were seeping through the door; it was too late to do anything but fight. Bryson generated water and struck down an approaching shadow, fending off another with his sword, trying to find a glimmer of where Shadow may be hiding, that was his only chance now. Bryson knew that he couldn't last forever. It was hard to admit, but when it came to power alone, Shadow had him beat.

'There!' Then Bryson struck, and a moment too late, he realized it was a trap. His sword was sinking into the shadows, and Bryson couldn't get it out.

He was trying desperately to hold on. It made sense now, knowing Shadow's plan. Bryson couldn't let Shadow destroy his medium. He released his power, and the ice sword receded, freeing itself from the shadowed void. But knowing…

"That last move of yours escaping me like that was quite impressive, very instinctive." Shadow praised. "But it's too late," whispered Shadow, and then Bryson felt a sharp pain as Shadow punched him.

He g.r.o.a.n.e.d, and his eyes watered.

Looking up, he saw Shadow standing over him, sword hilt in hand. Shadow's face was like stone, his eyes filled with something that Bryson couldn't read.

Bryson knew there was no reasoning with Shadow, and realized that he needed to get to him before he broke the hilt. Gathering the last of his element, he threw ice spikes at Shadow. But before it could reach him, Shadow destroyed the hilt.

After that, all he could do was close his eyes while his powers rebounded.

He heard Shadow's last words carrying with him the rest of the way: "Nice try."

Underground Training Facility, A Couple of Hours Later.

"ATTENTION, STUDENTS, AND STAFF MEMBERS. PLEASE PROCEED TO THE QUARANTINE AREAS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. ATTENTION…" The intercom repeated over and over.

Lilia stood, looking at the screens, watching the humans lining up to be led to the Quarantine Zone. She wasn't looking at the people, she was looking for Shadow, futile though it may seem. If Shadow wanted to hide, he stayed hidden.

She sighed with dread. Shadow was coming after them, one after the other, and there was no stopping him. Even if the rest of the group organized and attacked together, Shadow would still overpower them. Lilia liked to think that she didn't see this coming, but it would be a lie. That didn't mean, however, that anything could be done to stop it.

Lilia glanced behind her to see Bryson still unconscious, his power overflowing from his body. He was now a containment tube, cutting his element off from the outside world. It was all they could do until he regenerated his medium.

Lilia walked over to the tube and placed her hand on Druid's clothed shoulder, attempt to comfort her. Druid hadn't left Bryson's side since they'd managed to drag his unconscious body into the tube.

Lilia watched while the white jackets prepped more tubes. Soon she and the others would be filling them, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like