The Dark Stone

"What is this?"

I stared at the boy who was connected to a tube that helped him breathe. At the bottom of the container, along with many switches, was a monitor that showed his vitals.

I couldn't grasp this situation. 'Is he an experiment?' I thought. I was partially tempted to release him, but I feared that I don't even know what I am dealing with.

I walked closer to observe everything in detail. The fact that I was being chased by something that has no description in the entire animal kingdom completely left my mind. After all, it doesn't happen everyday that you stumble across something like this. But then again, my existence wasn't normal to begin with. It was still a mystery to me and now I had another one to drive me insane.

I ran my fingers through the knobs and switches on the control panel. Suddenly, I heard footsteps approaching and the echo of people talking. I stopped abruptly and in a hurry, accidentally, pressed a button.

My entire soul wrinkled like a roasted brinjal. I didn't want to wait to see what I did. I started to look for my way out. The footsteps that I heard were advancing.

I found the switch to open the door through which I entered here. I rushed to press it, but I heard a sound. I looked back and the fluid in the container had completely receded. With a clank, the container slid down and the boy fell with a thud.

I don't know what I was thinking, but I ran to him.

"Hey! Are you okay? Wake up." I whispered to him. He was unconscious and didn't respond. The footsteps were approaching faster now.

"Maybe they heard him falling." I had to get out of here. I didn't know who these people were. What if they fined me for breaching in? Looking at how expensive this place is, I knew I wouldn't be able to make up to them even if I worked my entire life.

I had no choice, but to drag him out of here. I grabbed his waist, put his hand over my shoulder and dragged him outside from where I came in.

I walked out and the room disappeared as if all of it never happened. Had I not been holding this boy, I definitely would have believed that I was daydreaming. But here he was, as real as flesh to remind me that I saw all of it.

I put him down and tried to wake him up, shook him several times, but in vain. He just wasn't responding.

'What if he never wakes up? Did I kill him?' A dread passed over me. Maybe I should have left him there. Then, at least those people would have done something.

I was busy thinking about all the ways through which I could wake him, just then I heard a monstrous voice, "There you are." The voice was heavy and throaty.

I looked at the source and froze. I completely forgot why I was running away! I saw that creature, which I was better off not seeing, and my mind stopped working.

'What do I do?' There was no one around to whom I could call for help. I looked at the boy and then at her.

'If I don't do something, she will kill us.'

When faced with death, you do start thinking irrationally. And so was the case with me. Without thinking anything, without any plan, I ran towards the creature.

My act was so foolish that even the creature was taken aback for a second and I can't blame her. What the hell was I thinking?

She was quick to recover from the shock and advanced towards me with her skeleton like hand, she tried to grab me, but I dodged and ran past her. I ran as far away as I could from that boy and she followed. Soon I was out of breath and could run no more. I really regretted not going for morning walks when my Grandma used to tell me to.

"You've run out of tricks, little girl. I have been waiting for this day ever since you appeared. Where is it?" her voice was like powerful sound waves that could make your ears bleed.

"Where is what?" I had no idea what she was talking about.

"You better not play innocent with me. I know why you came here and I won't let you succeed."

Really? She knew why I was here? How the hell does she know when I myself didn't know about it.

I was thrown off balance by a stone and fell down. I was exhausted and too hurt to stand up again. The creature ran towards me and lunged. My heart was racing and I felt completely helpless.

Unexpectedly, I felt a sudden surge of energy-a warmth that soon spread across my entire body. I felt my wounds healing and a very bright bluish-black object emerged out of my neck.

It was radiating bluish-turquoise light. The light surrounded me and the creature collided with it as if it was a wall. It was shielding me.

'Was that object inside me?' I wondered. But it didn't matter as long as it was keeping me safe.

With the last hit, the creature dissipated into ashes.

The light receded back inside the object and it floated around my neck. It formed a chain and got wrapped around my neck like a necklace. I observed the object- it was a gemstone. A very beautiful bluish-black stone.

I snapped out of my shock and remembered that I had left that boy in that alley. My wounds have been healed completely. I got up and ran off.

...

"What am I going to tell Grandma?" I stood outside Dr. Xavier's Orphanage, just like I stood here one month ago when I had nowhere to go.

I was holding the boy. He was still unconscious. I brought him here because I had could think of no other place.

He was heavy and I couldn't hold him forever, so I entered the orphanage without thinking about the consequences.