Chapter 17 Reunion

Iris could hear chatter in the distance, or was it an argument, she wasn't sure. She let out a soft murmur, not quite sure what she spoke. The room quieted down.

"Let me take the shards, or I will have to hurt the little girl instead," the tall lady spoke to Cheryl in a cunning voice. She wore a long red dress that reached all the way to her ankles. Her dark hair rested on one shoulder, falling all the way to her hips.

"Yeah, whose side are you on, anyway?" Gale spoke from beside her, taking a step closer to Cheryl who stood her ground firmly, glancing back at both of them.

A drop of sweat trickled down her forehead. It was quite humid where she stood in the doorway of a prison cell. A large hallway extended in front of her. It was as wide as an entire room, with more prison doors along both sides. She gritted her teeth, looking back at the unconscious girl who lay resting on the bare floor, silver hair spread out in a mess. Cheryl breathed in heavily, then slowly stepped to one side. The lady smiled with content, and waved her arm at Gale as she walked towards the room.

"Make sure she learns what happens when she disobeys," she said, entering the prison cell, "She knows what I'll do to the girl if she resists."

A wicked smile spread across Gale's face. His features resembled those of an actual cloud, with curly gray hair and eyes, even his skin had tints of gray in them. He raised his arms up into the air and dark, storm clouds emerged out of his hand. He then stretched out his arms towards her. Cheryl balled her fists as a massive cloud blew into her, surrounding her. A rumbling echoed in her ears followed by a series of mini lightning bolts.

She closed her eyes, hands trembling helplessly as the current sliced at her skin from everywhere. Needles of pain turned to knives digging into her flesh. She held her breath to keep herself from screaming. Gale's laugh was all she could hear underneath the rumbling. She slightly opened her eyes to see how much he was enjoying this. Her body shivered from the current passing through her… her own current, edging to fry him to bits. She held it all in, while enduring the cuts for another minute or two.

It wasn't until a bright, orange light flashed from inside the prison that Gale stopped and retreated his clouds. It was followed by the lady's scream. He quickly rushed inside, leaving Cheryl to bleed all over the floor. She sank down with her back resting against the wall. A bit of her current escaped into the air, despite her will to keep it contained.

"I've done it!" the lady announced from inside the room. "I've taken possession of the strongest power in existence."

Cheryl exhaled upon hearing that, letting her shoulders drop in surrender. She closed her eyes.

"What about your other power? The one that manipulated the light?" Gale was asking.

"Oh that one's gone. I don't need that anymore. I've replaced it with a much better power, more suited to my taste." The lady laughed with triumph.

Cheryl's eyes sprung open.

"Well what do we do with Cheryl?"

"Throw her in here with this one. Let them both be locked up." Her tone was as selfish and emotionless as anything, like a cold fish on ice.

"Yes, Lady Scarlet."

In a few seconds, Gale marched back to where Cheryl lay unconscious on the floor, covered in blood all over. Her hair glued to her forehead with sweat. He winced as he signalled a nearby guard to throw her into the cell. Cheryl could feel herself lifted into the air, a couple of seconds before her body was thrown onto the cold hard floor of prison. She didn't open her eyes again till she heard the door close with a bang behind her.

Once alone, Cheryl's eyes flipped open and searched around for the little girl. Iris lay there, still unconscious, exactly as she had been a couple minutes ago. With an ache that accelerated at her every movement, Cheryl slowly crawled her way towards her, leaving a trail of blood behind. Her arms and legs stung consistently all over and she had grit her shivering teeth hard just to keep from crying out.

She reached out with a gentle hand to touch her forehead, wiping the sweat and hair out of Iris's face. She then lifted her head a little and placed it over her lap. She could feel the girl's head pound hard from the inside.

"Please wake up…" Cheryl whispered to her, softly brushing her hair with her fingers.

To her relief, Iris exhaled a long breath. She could feel the hard floor beneath her while her head rested on something soft. Iris opened her eyes to see the face of the familiar vibes. It was an older girl, with red fringes over her forehead. She looked down at her with dark, sorrowful eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Iris nodded, realizing she was resting on the girl's lap. Very carefully, she pushed herself to sit up. A streak of pain went up from her toes, all the way to her knees. She winced.

"Careful, it took me forever to get the ice off," the girl spoke to her.

"Cheryl?" Iris asked.

Cheryl responded to her name being called out. She flashed a friendly smile.

"Where…?" Iris trailed off, looking around at the confining walls. It was another prison cell. This one had no windows to escape from and the door was solid metal. There was no vision of what was outside the room. They were both trapped.

"Are you okay?" Iris asked, just noticing all the injuries on Cheryl's body. It was like someone beat her up.

"I couldn't just let them take away the shards without a fight," she said, still smiling weakly.

Realization struck, Iris looked down at her arm. The shards were gone! No wonder her head was pounding constantly, so hard it made her dizzy, while at the same time, a little bit nauseous.

.

It took a while before Meryl settled down with all the facts. It was almost nightfall by now. We'd all been talking for hours, catching up and planning the next move. Jon seemed to be surprisingly updated about most things. Edward sat in one corner of the lounge polishing and cleaning his guns. I had to assure Ricky's parents that he was absolutely harmless… twice.

"So is it true?" Meryl was saying something. I didn't listen. Something nudged me at the back of my head. In a blurred vision, I saw someone running up along the red hallway, Catters chasing after. I sat up straight in my seat, blinking in an attempt to get a clear view. Something silver flashed in front of my eyes. That was until Meryl said, "Is it true that you finally got a girlfriend?"

I lost the vision. I blinked at her. Ricky almost stumbled walking into the room. Jonathan half spit the water he was drinking and Edward paused his work. All stared at me. Worst of all, Meryl's eyes gleamed incredulously as she leaned forward in her seat with interest.

"Well?" she pressed.

"No. Damn it, Jon!" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I didn't say anything!" He protested. His bronze hair fell over to cover his eye as he looked up. I didn't believe him but I let it go knowing how insisting Meryl could be.

"He didn't have to say anything. You ran off with a girl. What else is there to say?" she sounded too excited for her own good.

"It's more one sided than that," Ricky chimed in. "I believe my sister is a little more stubborn than him."

"Unbelievable…" I muttered, crossing my arms at him. "We have more pressing matters than my love life."

Meryl laughed as if something hilarious was going on. I looked at Jon who just shrugged at me in an unsupportive manner.

"I've known you for pretty much all my life. Not once have you blushed like that."

Just after she said that, I felt the heat rise up in my cheeks.

"You know what, I can't be a part of this conversation." I held up my hands, getting up from the couch. "I need to go prepare."

As I walked out of the room, I could hear her mumble.

"You're no fun…" she pouted.

.

Iris stumbled around with as much speed as she could muster. The shadows creepily approached her from every corner, smiling at their prey. She gasped and halted, looking around for an opening. There were windows along one side of the wall, but it didn't look like they would lead to any place safe. Darkness loomed outside. Her eyes searched around desperately till they found a single opening at the end of the hallway, guarded by another shadow. He was tall and his eyes glinted yellow, scowling back at her with satisfaction.

"Intruder… finally I've got you," he smirked.

Iris backed away a few steps. His sharp claw-like fingers twitched as he took a step towards her. She could hear the shadows laughing at her from all around. She was surrounded, trapped. Had this really been a good idea in the first place?

"Dixon…" she whispered, her heart sinking with the drowning noises around her. She whirled around. The red hallway extended on forever. Something grabbed at her ankle, making her jump. She could feel her heart pounding in her ears.

"Dixon… where are you?" she murmured.

The shadow drew in closer, faster as he sped towards her. Without wasting another second, Iris turned to run, only to find her path blocked by yet another shadow. She breathed out in a gasp, trying to catch her breath.

This one, however, did not look at her with eerie eyes. It was Damon. Instead, he glared at the approaching shadow.

"Stay behind me," he told her, and then to the rest of them, "You touch her, and the prince will not spare you."

"Hmp! Who needs the prince, when the King himself has ordered us to capture her," the evil shadow spoke in a scornful manner.

Damon thought for a long second, and then whispered, loud enough so that only she could hear him.

"You must return. It is not safe for you here."

"But…" she protested but upon looking around, she knew in her heart he was right. She finally gave up and nodded. Within seconds, she was gone.

.

Jon followed me into the hallway. I could sense he had something he wanted to say.

"What?" I asked, placing a hand on the wall beside us where the shadows were strong. He looked around, as if making sure no one was listening.

"Dude, I know she hasn't said it yet but she's going to insist on coming with us," he said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Who, Meryl?" I asked, a bit louder than I should have.

Jon suddenly shushed me and immediately looked back. He peered from behind the wall to see that she was busy chatting with Ricky. I sighed at him.

"You, on the other hand, look like you haven't slept… or had food."

"I'm fine," he turned back towards me, with unblinking, large puffy eyes, deprived of rest. "You don't know what it's like with her in the back seat, constantly talking. She never stops… Imagine that while trying to rescue someone."

The shadow reacted under my hand. It was subtle enough to go unnoticed by Jon's eyes. I partially listened to what he was saying.

"So you last slept when?" I asked, ignoring everything he'd just said.

He just gave me one of those ridiculously serious looks, turned, and walked away.

"You're sure it was her?" I spoke after making sure nobody was around. Damon appeared from out of the shadows.

"Apparently, this isn't the first time. She followed you there once before."

"How? I thought no human could stand the atmosphere."

"Somehow she doesn't appear to be there physically," he answered thoughtfully. "It seems the king has ordered the shadows to scout for her in your absence."

I glanced at him with bewilderment. "He what?" The words escaped my mouth, heat rising up from my heaving chest. My hand balled to a fist as I punched the nearest wall. "Damn it… he's looking for the light. He doesn't care if it kills her."

Debris from the wall stuck to my hand as I withdrew it.

"You will die… if he doesn't," Damon hesitated.

I eyed him sharply. He flinched under my gaze.

"I will protect her with my life," he suddenly responded, before disappearing into the shadows.

.

"What happened? You look shaken," Cheryl was saying, wiping more sweat from Iris's face. She shook her head, gasping hard for breath.

"I couldn't find him… it was terrifying…" she said in between breaths.

"It's okay." Cheryl pulled her into a hug. "He must've gotten the message I sent Ricky. They'll be here soon."

"Yeah…" Iris said in a dull manner, letting her thoughts run elsewhere.

"Your powers will lead you to your own demise."

She remembered the King's words addressed to Dixon. It made her shudder. Despite knowing that, Dixon had still chosen to let her live… even though she'd killed him once before in the past.

She knew it was him the moment she'd met Dixon for the first time at the square. Memories of her predecessor ran deep. She didn't understand them at first, but as time went on, she began to connect. Knowledge resided within the third eye, and knowledge was her power.

All of a sudden, the sound of a lock opening snapped her out of her thoughts. Both Iris and Cheryl's heads turned towards the door as it flew open. Someone entered with a wicked smile on his face. A cloak of clouds followed him closely behind.

"Gale…" Cheryl whispered anxiously, her body stiffening as he closed the door behind him. "They sent you to interrogate?"

His smile turned into a nasty frown. "Your boyfriend isn't going to come save you this time. So tell me all you know before I turn you both to ashes."

Cheryl looked at Iris, signaling her to stay down, as she rose to her feet.

Gale laughed with excitement. "You're planning on actually fighting me? I'm the one who almost killed you if it hadn't been for Lady Scar."

The cloud began to expand behind him slowly. Cheryl's eyes did not waver, though.

"I tried my best… did everything you guys asked for years, simply because I didn't have anywhere else to go," she spoke in a hard voice. "Till I realized… I do have a family… so I refused once. And you tried to kill the one person I felt closest to," she simply told him as she looked down. "So… this is for him… and for me." Her words faded softly, right before a massive surge of electricity riled up around her.

"You do that and Lady Scar might manipulate you into killing all your new friends." This time Gale's smile grew weak as he watched her charge. Cheryl let out a short, piercing laugh.

"She can't do that anymore. She trashed her powers trying to get new ones, remember?"

A look of utter fear returned to his face when the realization hit him that he had no leverage anymore. Cheryl looked up, her eyes turned a luminous, electrifying yellow.

"Wai-"

Gale didn't even get to finish his sentence when a ball of lightning hit him in the stomach. He flew back, hitting the wall hard, leaving cracks behind him. As he fell to the ground, she slowly inched her way towards him. He sat up painfully and began to wiggle till he faded into his clouds.

"I haven't even started," she told him, before launching into the air for a series of tackles. Her body moved at lightning speed, leaving the ground in shreds. She tore through the clouds, crushing him against the ceiling.

He gasped for breath, feeling his ribs break under the pressure. As he fell limply in the air, her body lunged at him once more. Tackling him over and over, not letting him hit the ground. Sparks discharged into the air. Iris slowly crawled back to a corner, watching rage take the form of a human, relentlessly attacking its prey.

The walls cracked and punctured under the pressure. Very soon all the clouds dissipated from the room. A single body lay limply on the floor. Cheryl's feet hit the ground, dragging her back as she slowed to a stop. A subtle smoke along with faint sparks emerged from him. She exhaled, feeling a little out of breath. It was like a huge weight had been lifted from her chest.

She took another step forward, when all of a sudden, the wind blew hard against her face. She stepped back to see Eron standing in front of Gale protectively. He gave her a worried look.

"That's enough. He's already out cold," he said.

"Take him away," she snapped.

Eron nodded, crouching down to pull Gale's arm over his shoulder before disappearing into the wind.

Cheryl breathed out with relief after he left.

"Why didn't you escape just now?" Iris wondered aloud.

"Because," Cheryl dropped to the ground in a sitting position. "I run out and who's gonna look after you?"