Troy's Last Chance

Chapter 2

It is late afternoon now, approaching evening. The air is cool, but my skin is hot and blistered, burnt by the sun that was bearing its cruel heat only hours earlier. The little clothing that managed to stay on my body offered little to no protection from the unforgiving rays. I stand up so fast that I grow dizzy. I close my eyes until becoming slowly somewhat alright again.

I notice something peculiar- shoes. On my feet. A pair of beige, leather sandals with fibers that wrap between my toes. Shocked, I grasp them, just to see if they are actually real. I was barefooted before I fainted earlier... Right? I cannot tell whether this is me hallucinating, or false memories.

Thinking that somebody may have put these shoes on me while I was unconscious unsettles me. And the fact that they simply left me here, helpless and vulnerable... The audacity.

Regardless, I seriously have to get a grip on things.

In every direction, I only see either the short strip of beach and river, and desert. I notice a light in the distance. It's dull, but still glows. Like fire.

I stagger toward it. Sure, this could be risky, but I've got nothing to lose.

I drag my left foot, the injured one, wincing with each step. I grit my teeth and urge myself to keep moving, refusing to pass out again. It is remarkably difficult to keep my thoughts straight. All I can think about is what, who, and anything I cannot remember...

The light gradually grows broader and brighter. About an hour after the sun has set and the sky is a deep, inky blue, I approach it. What was once a distant glow, I now realize is a city. Relatively quiet, despite the penned animals that squeal when I draw near them. Little two-story buildings made from clay, their interiors lit by candle light. They stand at odd angles, looking quite ancient and as if they could collapse any moment. I avoid standing beside them, fearing this possibility.

Most of these structures I assume are homes. From one, a young girl peers out, startling me in such a way that I jump. She watches me as I try to hide my limp, raising a suspicious eyebrow. I ignore her until I can't anymore. I quickly grow uncomfortable and move out of her sight. Her gaze started to concern and creep me the hell out.

I deny that I need help... But know for certain that I do. I have no clue how to treat all these gashes in my skin, they need medical help. I can imagine they're already on the verge of infecting.

But, I see no one other than that girl. Only street rats and foul-smelling rodents scurry across my feet. I gag as a filthy body brushes my foot.

I turn right onto a cobblestone street, trying to avoid the blood-curdling creatures. Shadows grow ghostly, threatening to swallow me whole. To become a prisoner of the gloom and weary.

Then, there he is- or she? The obscure figure that I saw before I passed out, walking on the beach. Now, they hang from a dark bedroom window by their fingers, then intentionally release. They plummet to the earth, impressively landing on both feet. They steal a quick glance in my direction, my muscles seize apprehensively. Their hair is covered by the ashen hood, but I can manage to make out his face, bearing a devious grin. His eyes- vivid sea green, glinting in the moonlight.

Something small and shiny slips from his fingertips, striking the pavement with a sharp clamor. The mysterious figure ignores the object that now lays a couple feet from them, as if it means nothing to them at all. He reaches into one of the robe's baggy pockets. Clenched in his fingers is a pellucid, rosy crystal that glows in the darkness. Not polished, but still sublime- a natural sort of beauty. He taps his foot against the ground, the echoes resound softly, like he's waiting for something extraordinary to happen. A split-second later, there's a blinding shower of sparks. He vanishes. Into thin air. As if he never existed at all.