Page 49 of The Blackened Blade

But now was not my time.

I had to get stronger.

This wasn’t nearly enough.

I sit there, watching until all the mist has faded from the distance and I hear nothing moving around the area.

Slowly I pull myself up, pain searing up my side and my head throbbing with each move I make. I slowly drag myself through the forest and watch for movement around me as I make my way toward the academy.

Placing my hand on my side where my wound sits, the cut is still bleeding and the pain there is still sharp, but I could feel it slowly heal and mend itself.

There were definitely some broken or fractured bones there as well from the hit, and it would probably take all night before those fully healed.

After what feels like an hour, I finally see the dormitory in the distance, but just as I’m about to make my way out of the treeline, I hear voices.

I duck back behind the trees, my body screaming from the sudden movement.

I wait until the voices pass and fade further into the distance, adding another couple of minutes before I pull myself up again.

It wasn’t unusual for some students to sneak out or break curfew, as long as you didn’t get caught, it went overlooked by the faculty.

I slink from shadow to shadow, at an annoyingly slow pace, until I’m back in the dorms and in my room.

I fall on top of the bed, the room around me slowly darkening to the pull of sleep, the aches and wounds on my body slowly healing as my body relaxes.

Aching and exhausted from the night, I drift off to sleep, my last thoughts of needing to become stronger. And find a way to win round two with the beast.

CHAPTER13

Running through an endless darkness, I’m unsure of whether I’m awake, asleep or dead, and whether what I had seen before atthe academy was all an illusion.

Or isthisan illusion?

I hear noises around me; muffled voices getting closer, sounds of voices shouting and yelling, but I can’t make out the words.

I don’t know where I’m going or what I’m running for, just that I shouldn't stop. I needed to keep moving forward.

Something grabs onto my left arm and tries to pull me back, it feels tight and heavy against my skin. I pull at it, trying to release my hand but then it latches onto my right arm, stopping me from feeling what it is or from pulling it off of me.

Then, as if the ground itself wants to hold me in place, my legs become encased in whatever is below me, stopping me from moving even a step further.

Something begins to slither up my legs and back, coating me in something thick and heavy, as it makes its way toward my neck.

The voices around me become louder, still muffled and hard to make out, but as if calling to me.

Images begin to flash in around me, blurred and faded, but I can make out people fighting.

I hear the sounds of metal clashing together, of people running and shouting to one another as they move.

The area is still dark, the people faded and blurry as if I were watching an old movie but up close.

They move around me and past me, and through me.

So this wasn’t real.

It was an illusion or dream, or memory of sorts.

Memory?

---