Cosmo Prison - Book 1: The Edge of Earth

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

*Courtney Tern*

I stare at the shadows in horror as they solidify, taking on the form of a girl.

Seconds later, she steps out of the shadows, and we all back up. Except for Nidhi, who’s still frozen in fear.

Shadow Girl faces us, her face cruel and unsmiling. She raises one hand, and the shadows near me begin to distort, twisting and bending towards me, creeping up my legs. I’m too stunned to react. A huge mistake.

The shadows petrify, forming coils of dark ropes around me, as Shadow Girl clenches her hand into a fist. I finally come to my senses and try to shake them off, but they only constrict even further.

I look wildly around and notice that the same thing is happening to Nidhi. She’s completely covered in shadows, shadows so thick and dark that I can barely see her. As I watch, her form flickers and starts to etiolate, like a plant dying in the night, until she’s nothing more than just an adumbration.

“Courtney!” Jack yelps and grabs at my arms, but he can’t seem to touch me. Too late, I realize that I’m fading into the shadows, into a realm where he will never be able to reach me. Beside me, I find that Nidhi is almost gone already. In the distance, I hear Jack and Alex shouting, scrabbling at the evanescent wisps of our remaining presence, to no avail.

Shadow Girl opens her palm, and the shadows draw me towards her. Blackness overcomes my vision, and I succumb to the penumbra within.

The first thing I hear are the voices.

“Who are they?”

“Who are you?”

“Are they even alive?”

I moan as I try to move my limbs. Are they talking about me? I’m very much alive, thank you very much.

“Hey, did you see that?”

“Yeah, she moved.”

They sound distorted, as if I’m underwater, or listening to the echoes in a long tunnel.

I try my own voice. “Well, of course I moved,” I mutter. My voice comes out scratchy and weak, but definitely audible.

I hear a female shriek. “She talked!”

“Yeah, I talked -- does that surprise you?” I say as I push myself into a sitting position and open my eyes.

Three blurry faces are staring down into mine. I squint against the lights, fighting the urge to throw up.

I register a blond-haired girl, an Asian boy, and another boy who looks to be Hispanic. Nidhi is lying near me, still unconscious, and Shadow Girl is standing several feet away with her arms folded and a mask of disapproval staining her features. I get my first good look at her: she’s Asian, tall and buff, and her hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail.

“Who are you all? Where am I?” I demand as soon as I find the strength to form words again.

The two boys exchange looks.

“It’s a long story,” one of them says.

“Do tell,” I respond, leaning back to make myself more comfortable. “Seems like we’re going to be here for a while.”

*Leo Qi*

Just when I think things can’t get any weirder, three girls just pop out of nowhere. One moment they aren’t there, and the next moment they are. They just... appear.