Vivi The Shadow | Bellamy Blake (ON HOLD)

Twilight's Last Gleaming

Fluttering about, it took a few moments before my eyes would open, the overwhelming events of the previous night flooded back in an instant, causing me to dart up. Twisting my neck around, I scanned the area around me, everything was unfamiliar. Who had grabbed me? Where was I? There was no sign of light or darkness.

"Wha-" I managed to mumble out, jolting up at the presence of a shadowy figure arising from a dark corner beside me. "Who are you? Wha- what happened?"

Circling me first with piercing eyes observing me, the lower half of his face seemed to be covered by a mossy mask, seemingly carved out of the wood of a tree. It was hard to make out any other details without my eyes playing tricks on me in the dark.

I dared not speak out anymore, in fear of angering the stranger. We were not alone and it had been evident but up until now, none of them had encountered these so-called 'grounders' until this very moment.

No matter what, I still couldn't make out anything much. There was no natural light. Judging by the rocks around, we seemed to be inside some kind of a cave but who knew how deep in we were for there to be no light.

"You were in trouble." He vaguely responded. At least we spoke the same language. "They won't allow you to get hurt. You're important."

"Wha- what do you mean? I'm important? Who are 'they'?" His answer was supposed to answer all my questions but instead they had ended up confusing me more than ever before.

"It's not important right now." He changed the conversation and seemed to be a stern person judging by his ability to respond to whatever he felt like he should. "I'm going to let you go. It'd be in your best interest not to mention me or what happened here."

"Why would it be in my best interest?" I didn't want to push my luck any further but who knew how much time I had left to get any information on the grounders. It was vital for my survival and the rest of the camp. I just needed that one little answer that would be useful to me... to us.

"You can either live freely with my protection or you can live without freedom. Every single day, Locked up and used for personal gain." Even though his lower face was covered, I could tell that his face had remained unchanged the whole time. Despite the blank face, his voice told a different story, it's tone almost threatening. "You're a wanted person."

In an instant, it felt like all the oxygen had been knocked out of my body. What did he mean, I was a wanted person? Ever since landing on this stupid planet, all I've done was mind my own business.

"You should run along now." He urged, beginning to walk away himself. "It may be daylight but it's still dangerous out there and I have... other things to do."

"Wait-" I called out, darting up, my legs still asleep from earlier. I couldn't keep up the pace. I don't know what was worse, the pins and needles or the thought of being abandoned and lost in this cave. I didn't want to die here.

Groaning my way through the maze-like cave, I could finally see the light. It was daytime now. How many hours had gone by since she passed out? How many days? There was nothing familiar for me to point out my way back to the camp. Perhaps I could climb something, the dropship would be big enough to spot from a mile away. Being surrounded by greenery at every turn sometimes tended to be a burden. This was one of those times.

Suddenly, a hiss sounded from my mouth as I felt a surge of static pinch at my skin. Raising my arm, I noticed the bracelet on my arm had begun to spark up. To make matters worse, it finally fell off. It was disconnected.

Looking around carefully, I made sure she was alone before reaching down and picking up the broken bracelet. It seemed like Bellamy had gotten what he wanted. If this happened to everyone's wristbands, that meant the ark no longer had any contact with them. Now we were truly alone.