Lost and Found

Chapter 10 - The Umbra's Prison

It was just getting worse and worse. She gets out of one situation, only to be thrown straight into another. And a deadly one at that. No time to say bye to the world this time, Nya had to get out of there.

Pat's arm looked like it was dying, and it obviously felt like that too, according to the expression on his face. But that didn't stop him swinging his dagger around with his good arm. 

Nya stood back to back with him, doing the same on her side. The shadows wouldn't get within reach though, keeping just out of the daggers' range and forming a circle around them. The leader Umbra scowled.

Your puny little metals won't keep you safe for long, it hissed. Our master awaits you, and there is no escaping.

Nya's arm was getting sore, she couldn't keep it up for much longer. She couldn't see his face, but could hear Pat's heavy breathing behind her. It was amazing he was still conscious really. A smile crept onto the face of the Umbra leader.

You tire. Soon, you will be the Umbra's. When this sparked no reaction except more swinging, the Umbra's leader's smile grew even wider.

Don't worry, out master has been waiting hundreds of years. She can wait a little longer.

She? Nya hadn't thought about the Umbra as anything but 'its' before. To call them he, or she, or they, sounded too real and alive. Too human.

Pat's arm faltered. Nya glanced behind her. Red seeped through his makeshift bandage. An Umbra immediately slipped through and Pat was enveloped in it's shadow. Nya cried out. She couldn't see him.

Not yet, whispered the Umbra's leader. Our only instructions were bring them to her, not Take them. Not yet.

The shadow which had surrounded Pat disappeared. Pat came into view, coughing on what seemed to be shadow. A black swirl flew out of his mouth. Nya's eyes widened in horror. What did the Umbra mean, take them? To take them somewhere or to...to...to take them as a shadow. As the Umbra's own.

It was too late. Without Pat guarding her other side, a shadow swooped in on her. She braced herself, but it didn't envelop her like it had done to Pat. But suddenly it felt like she was paralysed. She couldn't control any of her movements.

She tried to wiggle her fingers and toes. Nothing. Open her mouth. Nothing. Walk. Nothing. She even tried to scratch her nose, but got no response from her body. And now her nose felt itchy too. 

Her eyes caught Pat's, and she knew the shadows had control of his body too. She tried to talk with her eyes, say that they'll get out of this, it'll be fine. Pat's eyes looked amused at the thought.

Oh for pity's sake, let them have control of their faces. It's not like their words can do anything, says the leader, exasperated. I can't abide them staring like that. Move along, our master awaits.

Nya's legs moved forward with the Umbra, across the cavern, but her face went slack. 

"What were you trying to tell me before? Something about jellyfish or fried rice or something?" whispered Pat.

"What? Are you insane?"

"Sorry, I'm not good at reading eyes."

Nya felt a bubble of laughter lift up through her chest, but pushed it down quickly, afraid the Umbra would take control of her face again if she made too much noise. 

The steps the Umbra took for them were heavy, and Nya saw Pat grimace out of the corner of her eye. The Umbra didn't seem to care that one of their captive's blood was dripping onto the floor with each step.

They came to a wall in the cavern and the Umbra at the front slipped right through the hard rock. Nya's body kept walking towards the wall. She remember how they had fell straight through the other one, to get away from the monster, but that didn't stop her face bracing as she slipped through.

The darkness was suffocating. It felt like walking through plasticine, the walls squishing up against around her. The wall must have been at least a few metres thick, because by the time Nya squeezed out she was almost gasping for breath.

She glanced around her, trying to see if Pat had come out fine, but it seemed he hadn't come through yet. The place was packed full of Umbra, shadows swirling in every direction. They were all whispering to each other, like they were waiting for something.

None of them payed any attention to her, or even the Umbra that were still filing out of the wall. She spotted the leader of the group that had bought her and Pat glide through the crowd out of view. Nya tried to look over the shadows, through them even, but to no avail. She couldn't spot the master, Pat, or even her mother.

With a squelch Pat fell out of the wall. Well, if he had been in control of his body it looked as if he might've collapsed right where he was. His face was pale and sweaty, the blood loss than lack of oxygen obviously hadn't helped.

Nya tried to go over to him, but remembered she couldn't do anything. She was about to say something to Pat, something reassuring, when the muttering Umbra around them fell silent. The shadows silently parted like the Red sea, creating a path right in front of Pat and Nya. 

Nya guessed the Umbra's master wasn't going to walk up to them herself, and that this passage was for them. And Nya's legs began to walk, Pat following at her side, leaving a red trail behind him.

Nya tried to make out the faces or even creatures the Umbra resembled as she passed. Most seemed to be animals you would usually find in a forest, others foreign. Some even seemed to be monsters, smaller versions of the one in the maze. There were no bears. The human shadows seemed to be leaders, standing in front with their noses in the air.

It was like they had taken on the features of animals and nature, myths and legends, like they were made to oppose them. Which they most likely were. Nya's shoes slapped against the rocky cave floor, like a death march.

Nya remembered the drums of the maze, and strained to hear them. They were still there, faintly, but they were quieter, muffled. Nya glanced over at Pat. Even without the control of his body, his feet dragged, as if the Umbra were finding it difficult to control him, as he wasn't helping at all and seemed to be fighting to stay conscious.

At least Nya knew that the Umbra could be weakened now. She could fight, but with this many of the shadows in the room, she knew it would be a lost case. They would simply call in reinforcements to help control her.

Finally, they came to the end of the cave. At the very back wall, a shadow was wrapped in metal chains so thick it would take you a year to saw through them. They were as black as midnight, as black as the shadow itself. The Master.

As Nya came closer, she recognised the shadow's form as human, as a female, with long black hair with tendrils that seemed to have a life of their own. Then Nya and Pat stopped, right in front of her, and the Umbra's master, the leader and centre of dark magic that would kill the world, lifted its chin and stared right at Nya.

And Nya stared back into the familiar eyes of her mother.

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HEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am back from my long silence! I'm really, really, really sorry it took soooooooooo long to update, I've had exams and assignments and auditions and all sorts of crazy stuff. 

Hope you like the chapter and the story (I don't know if I do), but hey, you win some you lose some.

205 READS WAT IS THIS MAGIC THANK YOU PEOPLE OF THE WORLD.

I'll hopefully update more with longer chapters because IT'S THE HOLIDAYS IN 3 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (woo)

Remember to please vote and comment and whatever else people like to say even though I'm still not sure what voting does but that's okay.

Pew pew pew jelly.

- FranVader