The Untouchables: Blight

Chapter Two

Lori

My head was throbbing like someone was hitting it with a hammer. I tried to raise my hand to hold it but it hurt too much to move. What happened?  It was dark before but now I could feel the warmth on my back and legs. I wanted to open my eyes but they felt stuck and too heavy to move. My previous encounter was coming back to me. I remember the pain, the loss of air. Like I could try and try but no air was going to enter my lungs. I remember a frail sweet voice, a girl, but I couldn't understand her. Those panicked feelings, I remember those. They were from Him. Are we stuck somewhere with him? Has He taken another? All I know is that I have to get up.

It took a minute of trying, but I finally pried my eyes open. My hair had fallen in front of my face but I could see the floor, a warm neutral wood. The cold was radiating off the floor around me but underneath me was warm. I felt my left arm tucked into my body but my right sticking out. I slowly dragged my arms to the side. My arms are weak but I managed to wobble into a sitting position. 

It's a bedroom. There is a twin-size bed in two corners, across from each other. The one farthest from me is all messy but the one I am next to looks untouched. The walls are a light grey; it's not a nice grey, it makes the room feel almost like a prison. The side of the room that the used bed is on has a filled bookshelf and a corkboard above the long side of the bed with little pieces of paper all over it. At the foot of the bed is a pile of junk piled almost to the top of it.

The untouched-bed side had a window above the long side. The walls were empty, making the grey stand out. I turned my body a little to the right and found the wall at the end of the bed turned into a closet with the doors closed. Between the two beds, there were two small dressers. I continued to turn my body and see the front wall, it was mostly empty with the exception of one dresser. 

I turned fully to the doorway to see a boy. I gasped, propping myself on my hands and feet, and began to crab walk back until I hit the bed.

"Hey" is all he says, then he waits. I squint my eyes. His hair is black and curly and almost reaches his ears. He is sitting with his legs bent up toward his chest, but the way his feet are still pushed up against the doorframe told me he was tall. His face is long and thin, almost as if he was just skin and bones, lanky. 

I turned my head to the side; "who are you?" I ask.

He began to stand up and walk toward me, "I'm Josh, and you are?" he stuck his hand out. With nowhere else to go, I pulled my knees up and tucked my head into my chest, "please don't hurt me," I plead.

"Wha.." he says. I hear the floors creak and peak my head up, he stepped back to the dresser. I watched him slowly slide down and sit on the floor. We just stayed there for a few minutes: Josh staring at me, me avoiding his eye contact and looking around. Eventually, I stopped and rested my head on my knees, still looking away. Josh took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he put on a small smile, "can you tell me your name?" How does he..... Josh.... not know my name?  I thought that He would have told him. I stay in my position and pursed my lips. "Well as I said before, I am Josh..." he paused, still waiting for me to answer, "I won't hurt you, you are safe." But I hear him mutter under his breath "well as safe as you can be here."

"Where am I?" I turn my head back to face him.

"I can't really tell you, I know vaguely where we are but even then, I am sworn to secrecy," he responds. Of course, he won't tell me. Why would he tell? "None of us do."

My head perked up and I turned my head to stare at him? "Us?" I ask. Some part of his face changed. His eyes got some life in them. He gets up and starts walking to the door. I don't make a move. It takes him getting to the door before he realizes that I haven't changed positions. He turned his head to look at me and I looked away, tucking my head back into my legs. I hear his feet as they moved back closer to me. I could feel my heartbeat getting faster and faster with each step.

"Is it ok if I sit here?" he asks. I don't make a move but after a moment I feel a thunk next to me. I hug myself closer together, waiting for whatever he has in store for me. My chest kept rising and falling drastically. 

"Ok," he inhaled deeply, "ask me any question and I will answer what I can". It takes time before I lift my head up and notice how close he is to me, which leads to me immediately trying to move farther away. He doesn't seem phased by it. I move my legs down into a more comfortable position, with them both bent to the right and my left foot touching my right knee. We were facing each other. 

It took me a while to collect my thoughts; so many passed through my head. "Why am I here?"  My voice was small and quiet; I have to seem defenseless if I want answers.

"Same reason we are all here I guess," I looked at him quizically, "The Heads think that you are dangerous. They think your Lure is evil."

"Lure? Heads?" I wince, " What are you talking about?" I'm now sufficiently confused.

His face changed, "You don't know?" I shake my head, "So either you have a dormant gene, or you are not your father's daughter." He laughs a little and rubs his neck, that part was said more to himself than me. Josh turned his head to the side a bit, his voice getting quieter, "What I can't figure out is why the couriers—those guards—brought you here. Anyways," he turns back to me, "umm... I don't really know how to say this. Most of us found out before coming here. Have you noticed anything weird happening around you?" I shake my head and he takes a deep breath, "We have powers. Like, magic powers."

I just stared at him.  He must be ridiculous. To think that I would believe in magic; I've seen enough of the world, I know what is and isn't.  Whatever lie this is, it is not working. My face barely changed, just a slight tilt and a sterner expression on my mouth.

"You don't believe me?" he asks. Of course not! This is not some child's fairy tale book. "Here I'll show you." Josh moved back a bit then brought his arms down to his legs. He twisted them so his palms faced up, straightening up his posture, then taking a long, deep breath. 

I watched as something black comes out of his hands. As it falls out and moves closer to the ground, I notice that it is smoke. This beautifully smooth smoke moves with such grace as it begins to spread across the room. I feel this need to touch it; its beauty pulling me into a trance. A tendril reaches out at me as others begin to surround me. My hand is inches away and as soon as I touch it I feel the world around me spin. I am sucked in. 

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I blink and the world stops spinning, everything is the same, but Josh is gone. I hear the loud THUD and I recognize those footsteps. His laughter gets closer and closer. I try to back up more but there is nowhere to go. I look up and there is a window. But He is smart enough to lock it, and even if I could break through it, I have no idea where I am. I curl up and being to rock back and forth. My breathing gets short and I begin to hyperventilate. I look and see the door begin to open. 

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The world spins again and when I open my eyes, Josh is back and I watch the smoke retract back into his hands. He scoots closer to me and places his hand on my back. "Hey are you ok?" he asks. I immediately shudder and move away when I register that he is touching me. "That wasn't real," he states. I looked up at him, my eyes telling him to go explain. "Like I said, 'magic powers', we call them 'Lures'. That illusion, that's mine. They're nightmares or your worst fears, whichever you prefer" I stayed silent. "I know, it's blunt, but I've been here a while and I find it easiest to just rip off the metaphorical band-aid. It's gonna take some time to get used to."

I remained quiet for a long time until "Did... did you see that?"

"Yes," he sighs when he sees my disappointment, "Listen you don't have to explain anything. I don't know what happened there. All I know is that you are afraid of someone; is that right?" I nodded. "Well like I said, you don't have to tell me anything. That wasn't real. What you saw and experienced was just a trick of the mind. You're safe here. No one can get in or out without express permission, and no one wants to get in here."

Josh then stood up and reached out his hand at me. "I know you are probably frightened and disorientated but, unfortunately, I need you to come with me: there are people who need to meet you and the longer you wait the worse it will be. I want to help you."

Slowly, I stood up, without his help. Josh began to lead the way as I kept a safe distance from him.