SURVIVE (THRIVE: Book Two)

Chapter 77- In the Eye of the Storm

"Arsen, slow down!" Nixi screams as she chases him down the hall. My heart is pounding as I rush back into the dining hall, where everyone else has surrounded Cleo's unconscious body.

"I don't know what you did, but thank fuck." Roxie states exhaustedly "We need to take advantage while we can and take her out."

"I agree." Aurora agrees, rolling her over and positioning her in her lap.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I say nervously "Now?"

"What about Ember?" Magnus asks, coming out of the kitchen where he had been hiding during the fight.

"Nixi and Arsen have got this, it's now or never," Roxie states anxiously.

"For god's sake," I mutter, moving closer, but suddenly Magnus grabs my hand, stopping me.

"No way, you're not going too," he says worriedly.

"You saw what she's capable of, and I'm pretty sure she was holding back," I state, pulling my hand away, sitting beside Roxie "We've got this."

"Marissa, are you in or out?" Aurora asks eagerly.

"Out," she sighs "You saw what Nixi did to me the other night, water and lightning don't exactly mix, I'll do more harm than good." she explains, sounding defeated "Don't hold back."

"We won't." Aurora nods confidently, gripping Cleo's head as Roxie and I place hands on her shoulders.

Thunder is rumbling in the sky as we begin to appear inside, the ground beneath us is stone, slick, and wet to the touch. We look around nervously, but Tatia is nowhere in sight.

"Breeze?" Scara asks, sounding surprised. I look at her, confused, only to realize she and Mahina are staring at me worriedly. I look down and realize that under my usual white dress, I'm covered in inky black paint, and now my hair, although short, is solid black. I look down at my hands, and the symbols are still there.

"We spiritually merged, I guess I can't be surprised," I state, gently touching my forehead and feeling light bumps.

"We don't have time for this, where's Tatia?" Aurora asks nervously. Knowing my abilities have followed me here, I focus, and suddenly a portal opens behind me.

"I'm guessing she isn't going to just show herself, maybe if we invade her mind a little she'll come out." I shrug, stepping through the portal.

When we make it inside, three girls seem to be talking in a small secluded room.

"Alright, look," A girl sighs as she paces across the room. "I believe in the divinity of the spirits, don't get me wrong. But what you are describing seems more like a dream than an actual experience," she explains, seeming frustrated.

"My god, tell us how you really feel, won't you?" Another sighs as she pokes at some charcoal.

"I'm not trying to be an ass; I'm just trying to understand whether this is real or just some mental response to that stunt you pulled yesterday," The first girl explains nervously.

"I'm telling you, it was as real as us standing here. Dreaming can be realistic but believe me; this was far beyond anything I have ever seen." the third explains, trying to make her understand.

"Okay, let me at least pretend to believe you for a minute; how can you prove it?" she asks, sounding somewhat condescending.

"Not to be blunt," the skeptical one begins, "You said that you could go back through meditation. Why not try and do that with us?" she explains, seeming eager.

"Wait, what?" The first says in confusion.

"I think that one's Tatia." I explain "The one that's acting kinda skeptical is Calista and the one explaining visions is Gaia."

"What do you mean?" Gaia asks cautiously as she rubs the dark dust off of her fingers.

"You've told us you can feel strong energy sometimes during sermons and things like that; maybe that's how you connect with souls." Calista explains carefully, "You said that the souls of the dead can go into your mind space or whatever that place is; what about two living souls?" she asks curiously. Tatia and Gaia exchange nervous and hesitant glances as they try to process her idea, and seem to become eager.

"I think it's worth a try." Gaia smiles as she sits cross-legged in the center of the room.

"Have you ever tried anything like this before?" Tatia asks nervously as she comes to sit beside her.

"Not once," Gaia states bluntly, holding her hands out to both of them.

"There's no time like the present," Calista states eagerly as she sits beside them, forming a circle as they join hands.

"Okay, how do we get started?" Tatia asks cautiously, her palms becoming sweaty with anticipation.

"Just close your eyes," Gaia says calmly, beginning to relax, "And leave the rest to me." As they fall quiet, we know what's happening. This was the first time the visited the Gate together.

"They look excited." Scara sighs "It's sad how things change."

"We've all done things we aren't proud of," Mahina states, stepping out of the memory "But how they went from this to body snatching and sacrificial magic, I have no idea." As we return to the Gate, we realize it's started to rain, and the thunder is growing louder; she isn't happy we're going through her things.

"Let's keep going," Mahina states confidently, focusing, placing her hands on the ground and opening another portal. Before we can step through, we briefly see Tatia running on Talon cliff through a storm, falling to her knees and letting out the most soul-piercing scream imaginable. Suddenly, she's struck by lightning, her body covered in static. As she stands up, she turns to see Gaia behind her, utterly terrified at what had just happened. She looks down at her hands, seeming to come to a realization. Gazing at the sky with determination, she claps her hands above her head, and another strong bolt of lightning strikes the mountaintop near them, in this moment, she realizes she is in control.

"Get out of my head!" We suddenly hear Tatia scream from behind us, and we quickly duck out of the way as she shoots a charge at us. Scara counters and begins charging at her with fire, and Mahina thrusts her hands into the ground, creating a tremor of light that cracks in her direction, rocking the earth beneath our feet. Looking for an opening through the crashing lightning that surrounds us, I focus and my marks begin to glow as I clutch my chest. Surrounding myself in a dark aura, I start to levitate. Mahina is putting up a good fight but inevitably gets stuck down. Determined to end this, I see Scara knock her back. I throw myself forward, tackling her to the ground and pushing her into the tremor of sacred light Mahina had created. The combination of my shade and her light seems to burn her and she winces in pain beneath me. Somehow, my instincts take over and I grip her forehead, starting to scream as the dark smoke surrounds us, and suddenly the emblem on my hand illuminates, so blinding that I can't see. Just as I feel I can't handle the power anymore, I black out.