P.R.I.S.M of Memories -on Hold

Chapter Eight

~Conrad~

The silence is deafening. It was self-inflicted though. Astra's lips are moving. She's speaking to me but I can't hear her over the roaring arguments being hurled within myself at myself.

She's dangerous! You've seen the pictures!

...she could've killed me by now if she had really wanted to. She's had plenty of chances....

She's a TERRORIST! They showed you her profile, you saw it, clear as day! She's a master manipulator! The fact that you're not dead doesn't prove that she can be trusted!

I KNOW THAT!

Who knows what her real intentions are? Once you're alone? In a place where no one can hear you scream. Like the dark room they took you to....

I close my eyes tightly and shake my head violently. Astra moves closer to shield me from the gunmen that were slowly closing in. I couldn't imagine these bastards being more than hired thugs.

"Have you made your choice?", Astra asks while removing one of her dangling earrings. A gold star.

I could hear an internal voice screeching at me. Clawing at my back. Demanding to be heard. And against its advise...

"Let's go."

A spark fill her eyes. Gratitude? What for? I didn't have time to dwell on it as she tosses her earring into the clear space between us and the gunmen. I glimpse it briefly before Astra's body slam mine to the floor.
"Shield your eyes", she commands while burying my face into her chest.

I obey. Even with Astra covering my eyes, I could still faintly see the bright light that engulfs the room. My eyes are searing with pain. I distract myself by analyzing what little I had seen. Her little star earring had swelled up to the size of a tennis ball and then erupted with that blinding light. I've never seen anything like it. It reminds me of a flash bomb except this was ten times worse.

My eyes still closed, I feel her weight disappear.

"Keep your eyes closed!"

Astra pulls me up to my feet and tows me with her as she sprinted. How can she see with that blinding light? My eyes were still in pain but it's beginning to fade. I don't even know where we are going.

We?

Well yeah. We're together right now, aren't we?

You've just sided with a known terrorist. Which makes you one by association.

I inwardly groan. ...shut up!

"Open your eyes", Astra whisper.

I had to blink a few times to get rid of the white fuzzies that were drifting through my vision. Once my eyes adjust I could see that we were in an empty ballroom with high ceilings. And despite all the windows, the room was nearly pitch black. I look out the window and see that the weather has shifted. It's ugly outside. Is it possible that I had just been looking at the clouds floating in the sky with Laura a few minutes ago?

The news had mentioned that a tropical storm was going to skirt by us but I haven't kept a diligent eye on it. Maybe it's course had changed and it was hitting us right now. I hope Laura is safe. Hopefully the family bodyguard had heard the commotion and whisked her away.

The wind bangs on the windows urging it to open. Lightening flashes as I turn to face Astra.

Terrorist or not, she saved my life back there. I'm unsure of what to say. Even knowing that she's my rescuer, I still feel wary of her. She holds her dagger in her left hand and a gun in her right. Astra walks over to me and flips the gun so that the handle was facing me.