The Dome

chained forever

chapter 14

She ran through the leafy forest. The forest was an orchestra of her mind, playing one enchanting symphony after another. The leaves dance to an unheard beat, whispering their songs to the wind. Here, sheltered by the mighty trees, is every kind of life, from the humble beetle to enchanting birds of every colour. She holds her hands up to feel the cascading light, a brilliant white shaft illuminating the path that takes her onward. Her only problem was that she had no idea which way to go.

The woods were dark and mysterious. No light could be seen. Just pitch-black darkness. Tired from running she sat beside a trunk, catching her breath. She put her hands on the ground digging her fingers into the soil. She closed her eyes trying to relax. She managed to turn her powers back on. Now she had a flame dancing on her hand, so she used it to find the way. Excited she started moving, but after a few minutes she ended up in the same spot. That's when she realised she had been going in a circle. In frustration, she sat back down at the same trunk. She was starting to rage again. Her head was heated, but she tried to calm down to avoid burning the whole forest down.

On the other side of the forest, Nina walked through the forest slamming every branch out the way. The higher branches were scratching her cheeks, to the point where it was bleeding.

"We should camp here for the night. There is no way we can find her in this darkness," Nikolas said. Nina twirled around glaring at him. With every step she took, the earth underneath her shook. Her power was slowly breaking the ground apart. With every anger built up in her she races up to him, but before she could do anything Xavier said, "yeah that's a good idea,"

Those words calmed Nina down. Caspian collected some wood starting a campfire. They all sat around the fire warming themselves up. Nina, who would always sit next to Nikolas, sat next to Caspian this time. She stood up to go get some food from the bags for their dinner. Nikolas stood up walking right behind her. They both stood there trying to get food out of the bags.

"What do you want Nik?" she asked him in a serious demanding tone.

"Why are you ignoring me?" he muttered hoping she would have a valid reason.

"Why am I ignoring you?" she said laughing annoyed, "Why do you think Nikolas? My best friend is who knows where and that is your fault," he looked at his feet in embarrassment. She was right, it was his fault. Again.

"I mess up everything I know. But don't put all the blame on me. Don't forget you were there too tonight," he blurted. She realised that she was there too. It wasn't just Nikolas' fault. He grabbed her wrist gently. She pulled his hand off her wrist.

"Stop Nik! I can't do this. Not now, not ever," she was so mad at him. She was furious. She walked away with the food towards Caspian. They talked for a while Nikolas stared at Caspian with his blood boiling. Caspian then stood up dragging Nina who was laughing towards the tent. They both stood up holding hands and laughing. Nikolas was hurt. Only a few hours ago she was like that with him but now she was flirting with Caspian. Xavier took a look at Nikolas' face showing a disappointed smile.

"Trust me I understand your pain," Xavier commented.

"I'm so tired Xavier. So tired..." Nikolas sighed.

"If she doesn't want you, you have to let her go. She's not worth it," he said. Nikolas realised that Xavier was right. "all you can do is just apologise to her," Nikolas stood up in agreement. He was right, Nikolas couldn't force Nina but he could at least apologise to her. He walked towards the tent opening his mouth to apologise, but he never expected what he saw. There Nina was, kissing Caspian. Nikolas' jaw dropped to the floor. He was so much hurt that it felt like someone stabbed him six times in the chest. He picked himself up stills standing there. Nina's eyes suddenly saw Nikolas standing there. She pulled away snapping out of the mistake she made. She screwed up. Her anger got the best of her.

"Nik...." she whispered. Nikolas was still looking at her shaking his head. He was disappointed.

"Don't even bother explaining. You don't want me. I'm such a fool..." he blurted. Nina had tears building up in her eyes. "You can kiss whoever you want for all I care," He said in a serious tone. His expression changed. He looked so indifferent. Like he didn't care. Nina opened her mouth to say something. Anything. But no sound was coming out. She realised she had just lost the best thing that had ever happened to her.

"Nik, please.... don't do this," she said hoping he would yell at her. Hoping he would show any expression because his yelling made much more of a difference than his cold indifferent face. He turned around to walk away.

"Loving you was a losing game," he whispered. Then he just walked away, picking up a gun and sword. While walking away Xavier saw him.

"Where are you going?" he asked curiously.

He turned around to look at Xavier while packing his things. "I'm going to find the most important person in my life. The only one I care about. I'm going to find my sister and I don't want any of you following me. Especially her," he said pointing at Nina. She felt her heart drop. He wasn't even calling her by her name anymore. She messed up bad, and now he didn't even want to be in the same space as her. Her anger destroyed everything. Everything she had ever wanted. He grabbed his bag strolling away.

Lana was still trying to find her way back home. She laughed at the thought of having a real home. It was truly a dream. She wasn't chained forever. As she quietly strolled through the forest she heard a branch break. She looked around her trying to figure out who it was, but her surroundings were just pitch black. Then she heard a yell from behind the bushes, "she went this way! We need to catch both of them. The black-haired boy and the queen," After hearing that, her heart immediately dropped. She turned around to run away when she tripped on a branch. They all immediately turned to follow the sound of the person who fell. Then one man saw her. He was a middle-aged man with moles all over his face. He was scary. She crawled back in fear when the man threw an arrow at her. The tip of the arrow slit her thigh causing minor bleeding. She stood up to run again when the man threw another arrow. It was about to hit her until someone jumped on her, pushing her out of the arrows way. They both fell on the ground, while the person was on top of her. She could not believe her eyes when she saw who it was.