From The Ashes [#NaNoWriMo16]

Chapter Thirty Two - Ryia Ivetta

Ryia opened her eyes. It was dark, but she felt like she knew where she was. Groaning, she tried to lift her arms, but something was pinning them down. Panic began to set in as her eyes adjusted to the dark. She was being crushed by something. It looked like a bit of ceiling, but she couldn't be sure. What was the last thing she remembered?

Falling to your death.

Did that mean she was alive? Did that mean she survived?

She looked up, saw the metal catwalks. She squinted, trying to see if it was just her position or if they were hanging vertically. No, they were definitely hanging vertically. What the hell happened to this place? And why couldn't she move the bottom half of her body?

Grunting, she managed to pull her arms out from beneath the chunk of concrete that held her down. She wiped the dirt and small rocks from her eyes and lifted her head slightly, trying to get a good look around. There was something soft beneath her; that must've been what broke her fall.

Moving carefully, Ryia wriggled her body around to see how heavy the concrete was, and how much damage it had done. Since her body could move around a little bit and the only damage she could feel was aching muscles, she decided something had got in its way before hitting her; maybe she was in a small indent, and whatever was on either side of her had caught the concrete when it landed on her to stop from doing too much damage. She was very, very lucky.

She managed to pull herself out bit by bit, being slow and careful. When there was no strain on her body whatsoever, she hauled herself onto her knees and acknowledged the pain in her muscles before she tried to get to her feet. It didn't work, though, so she just stumbled around a bit and then fell over again. She groaned, pushing her body up with her hands. When she opened her eyes, she found another pair staring right back at her.

Screaming, Ryia launched herself up and was crouching on top of the slab of concrete that held her down mere moments ago before she even knew what was going on. Her heart thumping in her chest, Ryia peered over the edge, trying to find those haunting blue eyes that had been just sitting there, but she couldn't find the body amidst all the rest of them.

She froze. Standing carefully, Ryia looked all around her, and all she found were dead, bald bodies piled on top of each other. They didn't look immortal, because they had different coloured skin and different coloured eyes, all staring up at nothing. Did that mean Issey cured them? Then what? The ceiling caved on them?

Her memory was hazy. She remembered the whole castle shaking. There was a bomb, then. There must've been. Issey succeeded in making a cure, is what it looked like. Then the whole place came down on them, and they died. How long, exactly, had Ryia been down here for? She fell right after the whole explosion.

Ah. She fell. It was coming back to her, now. They had slipped, her and Kida. Kieron had listened to her, then. He'd saved his sister. Ryia'd be offended, if those two weren't siblings. Instead, she allowed herself to be relieved. Judging from all the dead Kronen's down here, Kida's immortality wouldn't have saved her after-all. At least she knew the little she-elf-devil was still alive. And now, so was Ryia. Everyone won in the end.

Ryia looked around, her dark eyes scanning the walls keeping her in. She could climb to the top, but she doubted there'd be an opening up there for her to climb out of, and if she fell then she'd be dead for good. So instead, she decided to trek across the dead bodies towards what looked like a corridor that'd been blocked off by fallen gravel and bits of ceiling. She grimaced as she moved, but finally made it to the archway, raking her dark hair out of her face before biting her lip. No matter how strong she was, she couldn't get through. Maybe she would be trapped here, for the rest of her life. She shivered at the thought, not fancying a death from starvation, thirst or being cold.