Uncontrollable

Chapter Nineteen

A loud boom exploded from what I guessed was the center of the room.

I squeezed my eyes shut to try to block out the light, but the brightness was shining through my eyelids. The wall against me was shaking, sending my body flying to the floor.

"Grey!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. There was a ringing in my right ear from the boom.

"Sit tight, I'm trying to get it to go away!" The old man's voice screamed back, barely audible over the trembling of the room and my ringing ear.

I squinted my eyes shut even further, trying to block more light out, but it did not help; the light still pushed through them.

The ringing in my ear did not go away; it only increased.

The shuddering of the floor did not stop; it only strengthened.

"It'll only be two more seconds! I figured out how to stop it!" Grey screamed. The movement of the earth caused me to fall from my sitting position onto the floor.

I brought my hands up to cover my ears, but my entire body was quickly thrown up into the air once more as the floor gyrated beneath me.

It felt as if the world was concaving and bringing me with it, spiraling into nothingness.

I slammed into the tiled floor hard, sending pain shooting through my body, little explosions of it pumping it out from the small of my back.

A scream escaped me as the pain intensified. I imagined the pain in my back going away before raising my right hand, it shaking along with the rest of the world.

I didn't see anything happen, but just moments later a warm patch began emanating throughout my body. It started on the surface of my skin, right over where I landed on my back, but it quickly spread over the rest of my body, seemingly sinking through more and more layers of my body. The pain was alleviated, but the spell pushed me even further, sending me into a state of utter bliss.

The world around me seemed to have quieted. The bright white light was still there although it felt less invasive and out of place. It felt as if it was soothing my mind instead of hurting it.

And then the pain came slamming back like a baseball bat.

"Ryder," Grey's voice said. Slowly, I opened my eyes, groaning. All of the light was gone. The world around us shook slightly, although it was nothing compared to what it was just seconds ago.

The ringing in my ears still remained.

"W-what happened?" I choked out through the pain that was threatening to suffocate me.

"Don't worry about it," Grey said in a frantic tone. His eyes were squinted with worry as he stared down at me. "What happened to you?"

"I- The- I was thrown into the air from the shaking, and then I landed on my b-b-back," I managed. Beads of sweat were forming on my face and my breaths were coming in short, desperate puffs.

"Damn it. I need to get you a healer," Grey muttered to himself, placing a hand on my arm. "This may hurt."

I felt the familiar sensation of my body being transported from one place to another, and the moment my body touched the floor of the other destination, I began convulsing on the unfamiliar, cold ground.

"I need a healer in here, now!" Grey's voice came, stronger than you'd expect from such a brittle old man. A door slammed behind him, but all I could focus on was the unbearable pain overtaking my body. I didn't think I had the energy left to make my back feel better.

Moments later, I felt a new hand on my arm.

"That was quick," I muttered, my vision beginning to black at the edges.