Shattering Reality - COLLAB WITH @AtomicDaDragon

Chapter 16

Serafina' Perspective

  ''AUGGH!''

  ''Will you promise to give me information?''

  ''Never!''

  ''Apollo, the acid.''

  This was a daily routine of mine now. Elyssia lied. I am no slave. I am a prisoner, a test subject. She wants information from me, and I give her none. Her servant, Apollo, drips acid, water's opposite, onto my scales, melting them. My sea green hair has been hacked off into an uneven pixie.

  Pain blurs my vision. What I figured out is that the battle, city, etc. wasn't real. It was a simulation to gain information from us by seeing how we respond to joy, pain, anger, grief and shock. When we first ''saw'' the city, we were put in the simulation. But it had to have gone deeper.

  A few months ago, Alex said we had to meet Elyssia, the Riders' leader. But she was never a leader.

  How far back does the sim reach? I don't know.

  She leaves the room, but the torturer, Apollo, stays. He cleans up. I see straight now, and look at him.

  He has sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. His hair flops about just above his eyes, but curls a little bit. He wears a sad grimace as the acid touches him. And, I may be hallucinating, but, are those...dragon wings?

  He has dragon wings. I smile, despite my pain. I'm not alone! But dread creeps into my heart as I realize Elyssia must've enslaved him. I want to talk to someone. have done nothing but insult and cry in pain for three days.

  ''What are you doing?'' But I am shocked to find my voice is a low croak from disuse. He turns, eyes darting around.

  ''I'm not supposed to talk to you,'' he says quickly, in a British accent. His wings and tail droop; it looks like he is in pain. I sigh, for I was holding my breath, but it rattles on the way out. He walks out quickly.

  ''Apollo,'' I call weakly. He doesn't hear me. Why would he? He tortured me.

  Where is Atomic? Ella? Ted? Majirica? Alex? I don't know. I want to be free.

  The room is white, but not as sterile as the prison cell. The ceiling is cement. The floor is white quarts. There is no apparent door. I try to sit up, but my wrists are in chains, and so are my ankles. I bring my hand up as far as I can, to my scalp, and feel, with horror, the brittle hair on my neck. Looking down, I see welts from the acid all over me. The pain is blinding, but, like a loud noise, you get used to it after a while.

  Apollo. Strange name. It was the name of a Greek God, of sun, I think. My mind is fuzzy.  Is that a nickname? Could be real. I hear voices outside, but not of Elyssia. It is a rough, male voice.

  The voice moves away. I think about my past. No, I can't do that. If I want to keep information away from Elyssia, I need to reshape who I am. Easier said than done.

  I want to remember child Sera, though. I think about my life by the sea, so long ago.

  Flashback:

  I stand by the sea, hair blowing across my face. My smooth, olive skin shines in the dusk-light. Dragons roar overhead. I am not a half-dragon yet.

  A human boy tried to flirt with me. Giggling, I remember his face when I rejected him.

  ''Did it hurt when you fell from heaven,'' he had said.

  ''I'm no angel." I had muttered.

  He had scoffed, and walked away.

  I dive into the sea. The water blankets me softly. Peace is supreme.

  End of Flashback

  I miss those days. God, do I miss them.

  Now, my childhood is gone. I was forced to grow up in a few months. I am the queen of millions of dragons. I need to save the world. I need to escape the prison cell. I need to kill Elyssia.

  I wish I had Atomic or Ella here. I feel like a part of me has died. They were my friends. My only friends. Alex, Majirica, and Ted were always there, too. Well, except for a few times. But Atomic and Ella, always. Brave Ella, and Insane Atomic. What am I? Royal Serafina? Lame.

  I want to tell them about Apollo. I don't know anything about him. But he's half-dragon. I need to somehow save the world. Oh, God, why am I here? Because I am tough? Is this what I get for not letting Elyssia into my mind? Torture? Maybe death? I don't know.

  Elyssia wants to demolish all life. The battle with the humans feels so small now. They are weak, like ants on a sidewalk. I should've known in the sim. Humans would never attack us, and kill so many.

  Elyssia has a guard, Nicasio, that always stands by the door, so still and quiet I forgot he was there. He has black hair and green eyes. He looks crotchety. I doubt he'd talk to me, so I don't even try.

  Angrily, I fight my chains. I yell, twist, turn, shriek, and kick, but nothing loosens them. Elvish metal, dunmal, as the elves call it.

  The cuffs cut into my wrists and ankles. Rivulets of blood spill gown my arms and stain the stone slab I am on. I grit my teeth, and thrash more, like a fish out of water, which, ironically, I am. Nicasio takes no notice of me, just stared impartially into the distance. I am aggravated by that. I pull harder.

  My skin on my wrists is literally peeling off now, so, what little sense I have left says stop, and I do. I close my eyes and rest.

**********

  I don't know how long I was asleep, but I wake up, feeling groggy. Nicasio is gone. I look around as far as the head strap will allow. No one is in the room that I can see... or hear. 

  Elyssia appears in my field of vision, silent and lithe as a snake. I look at her, my eyes like daggers. She takes no notice of me, like Nicasio. Behind her, Apollo. A closer look at him shows his wings have faint galaxy print, with moving stars on them. Is he..no.

  The galaxy dragons all perished in the First War. No! They don't exist...but here he is.

  What I took for blue eyes are actually violet. He has no scales on his arms or legs, but his wings are silvery-blue. Gold dots, like stars, dot the membrane. His tail is the same dark silver-blue, and the tip is gold. He is the last of his kind...

  Like Atomic and Ted.