02 - Three Moons (1.2k words)

I walked Nivi home, passing through the dimly lit streets and chatting the night away when a sudden, sharp pain erupted in the back of my neck.Instinctively, my hand reached back and pulled out a dart. The realization hit me hard as I looked up at the building from where the dart was undoubtedly launched."Damn it," I hissed, the weight of the situation dawning on me all at once. "Run, Nivi!" I urged her, "Get out of here! I'll catch up to you!" The words spilled out of me, a desperate plea for her to escape, but deep down, a sinking feeling consumed me.Damn that old man and his fucked-up games!Figures clothed in black jumped out from the shadowy alleyways and vans with tinted windows screeched into view, blocking off every escape route.My sight started to blur, and I felt my knees buckle beneath me, "Nivi!" I yelled, a final attempt to urge her away.But Nivi, with fire in her eyes, wasn't having any of it. "Like hell I'm leaving you!" she spat out defiantly, "I've always been an open book with you, shared every stupid, little detail of my life, and here you are, living some kind of double-agent life! You think you can keep me in the dark? Think again! I will uncover every mystery, every hidden truth about this life you've kept from me. Watch me!"Her rant echoed through the night and I wanted to laugh. God, I wanted to laugh, but I couldn't because the world was tilting and everything was fading. "Hah, you can forget about me sharing anything with you after this," I slurred and reached for her, trying to grasp her arm, to protect her from whatever was to come, but it was no use.Darkness closed in.'You've really done it now, you maniac! Pulling Nivi into your sick world too?! I swear, I'm going to kill you this time!'A stream of curses flooded my mind. · · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·Waking up, my senses immediately snapped into high alert. The throbbing pain in my head was a familiar greeting. Nothing new, just an earlier greeting than what I was used to.The interior of the van was dark, but I could see Nivi's unconscious figure lying by my side, tied up. The driver was focused on the road, momentarily glancing at my backpack beside him on the passenger seat.With a quick, silent movement, I stealthily shifted from the cargo area of the van to the front.Surprised, he tried to turn his head to see me, but it was too late. My tied hands swung at his head. I grabbed the knife in his belt and quickly cut the ropes around my wrists and legs while dodging his attacks.He should be busy controlling the van, but I noticed the steering wheel had a mind of its own, sending the van spiraling toward the guardrail.We both crashed against the windshield, making it crack. The driver was strong and trained, throwing a punch in my direction, my cheek throbbing from the impact. He pulled out his gun from the holster, the knife in my hand piercing his wrist at the same time. He didn't scream or wince from the pain, but the gun dropped from his hand and slid under the passenger seat. I pulled the knife from his wrist and slashed at him, but he blocked me with a swift kick. I grabbed him and pulled him down, using the wheel as leverage to kick the seat, sending him flying out the broken windshield. He already alerted others, so there's no point in trying to be discreet.My eyes widened when I saw what was coming our way. I lunged back towards Nivi, who was still slumped over, unconscious but alive. I shielded her with every fiber of my being, ready to deflect any damage.The world around us erupted in chaos as the van collided with another vehicle, the sound of crunching metal filling the air. My heart pounded in my chest as the van teetered on the cliff's edge, the vast, dark ocean stretching below us, threatening to swallow us whole.The door flung open, and hands reached in, intending to drag me out and back into the world I was currently so desperately trying to escape from ─ my father's world.Never again. That's the mantra I've always repeated to myself right before spectacularly failing to uphold it.Gripping Nivi firmly, I made a split-second decision. Turning towards the front of the wrecked van, I spotted our only escape route through the shattered glass of the windshield. "Hang on, Nivi," I whispered, my voice barely audible over the chaos. "This is going to be a wild ride."With a determined grunt, I launched us both from the van. The wind roared in my ears as I sailed through the air, the ocean rushing up to meet me. The impact was brutal, the water feeling as hard as concrete when I hit it. The saltwater burned like fire on my skin and I could feel the cuts and bruises from the crash stinging. Just a little further, I told myself, gritting my teeth against the fatigue as I swam upwards.When I finally gasped for breath, my relief was short-lived. The moment I opened my eyes to gauge our surroundings, expecting to see the cliff's edge from which we had just plunged, I was met with…· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·There was no cliff, but a flat beach, and... the night sky was dominated by not one, but three moons?I quickly shifted my focus to Nivi. Laying her on the shore to perform CPR.After a moment that felt like an eternity, Nivi finally coughed, expelling water from her lungs. Relief washed over me as I collapsed beside her, my own body giving in to the exhaustion that had been building up. While catching my breath, a sudden movement caught my eye. My heart skipped, afraid it might be one of my father's men again.Across the unfamiliar terrain, a dark silhouette appeared. At first, it seemed distinctly human, a male figure standing tall against the backdrop of the night.And before my eyes, the figure began to change, morphing in a way that defied all logic and reason. The outline of the man twisted and elongated, his limbs contracting as his body took on a new form.In mere seconds, the human shape was gone, replaced by that of a...snake? Large and imposing, its red scales reflected the moonlight in a mesmerizing dance of light.My breath caught in my throat, words failing me completely as I questioned the very nature of this place.The creature slithered gracefully across the ground where a man had stood moments before ─ toward us.'Maybe if I play dead, it'll ignore us,' I considered, the idea sounding more like a desperate hope than a viable strategy.'If that was an animal, I'd just yell like a banshee to scare it off. But nope, that was totally a person just a second ago.'My fingers brushed against the blade at my side. The thought of launching a surprise attack if things took a turn for the worse lingered in my mind.