Nearsighted And Gifted

Flames Rekindled

"Shoot!" I shout, faceplanting onto the floor, feeling something cutting through my head. I feel blood trickling down my face, and get up. I see the blurry figure of a girl and walk towards her. She screams in fear, and I try to tell her I'm not going to hurt her, but all that comes out is a garbled mess. She stares in shock and confusion and I try to show her I'm no threat. I set the pipe I clutched so tightly down, and try to gain her trust, but to no avail. I feel lightheaded and slowly lose my ability to see and slump down against the wall, passing out. I awake to her, she seems calm but uneasy. I can see why. I am, after all, disfigured and unable to speak or even see well without trouble. "Why bother helping me? I'm just gonna die because of that Alice..." I state, staring off to the side.

"Trust me, you're not gonna die. Not now, and not until it is your time."

"Y-you can understand me?"

"Well, yeah. Can't everyone?"

"Nope... Everyone usually hears only random sounds."

"Well, I'll be your translator then."

"Thanks, by the way, I never heard your name. I'm usually called Piper because of my weapon's appearance, but that's not my real name. My name's Charley."

"Amaya Stein. Most people call me Maya or Starlight. I earned the nickname Starlight from when I was little and knew about many stars and remembered my name from a past life."

"Neat! I wish I remembered anything of my past... I wish I knew where my friends were though. Their nicknames are Fisher and Striker. Their real names are Barley and Edgar."

"Let's try to find them!" Amaya replies, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"Alright, but first I'm gonna go get my weapon." I respond, walking to my wrench, picking it up. I hear the sound of metal scraping against leather and turn to see Amaya attacking a searcher that just hit her. Her parrying is actually amazing as is her cutting. "Maya look out!" I shout, gesturing to the ink behind her. She uses it to her advantage though and slides behind the searcher, driving her blade through its back.

"That was too easy." Amaya sighs walking towards the corner of the hallway. "Well, let's get going."

"Yeah." I reply, following her.

(Timeskip)

"Shouldn't we at least try to see if they're Barley and Edgar?" Amaya inquires, looking at the clones who are staring at the fire, smiling at its warmth.

"Yeah, I'll go first though." I reply, walking down the stairs trying not to fall or get stuck. I see them look over, and they seem confused. "Hey, by any chance are any of you Barley and Edgar?" Both Fisher and Striker's eyes shimmer with hope as they nod and walk over.

"I'll be better off without you." their version of Piper retorts, staring right into Edgar and Fisher's eyes.

"We were forced into it otherwise we would've been killed..." Edgar whispers hoarsely, voice quiet from lack of use as he was pulling the stitches off of his mouth.

"Well, now you two have got three new companions" I reply, smiling as Amaya dashes down the stairs and Sammy walks down them.

"It's nice to meet you guys, I hope that we can all escape this place." Amaya states, smiling.

"Same, but we're gonna have to figure out a way to end the time-loop. Trust me, I've experienced the loop all too often resulting in many deaths and also many injuries of the innocent." Barley replies, still seeming a bit uneasy.