"So... you have an idea of escape?" Lori asked.
I nodded, and said, "I have been hearing a voice... a voice that wanted to be free. It has also been helping me. So, my theory is that we find the owner of the voice, we will find a way to escape."
"Are you sure you are not delusional?" Lori scoffed.
"What else have we got?" Percy shot back, "We might as well as try this out, and who knows: we will find out plenty of clues as well..."
I didn't even bother to thank Percy, just nod at his direction. I don't want him having ideas.
"Right..." Lori remained skeptical, "But how do we find the owner of this voice?"
Percy looked at me, wondering as well, but I smiled as if it were the easiest thing.
"If she reached to me, wanting to escape, she will damn right lead me to where she is. So, follow me and everything will be fine," I said confidently. That's what happens in the books right, the people there are just to slow to figure that out.
"And if it proves futile?" Lori asked disdainfully, her arms crossed.
"Any better ideas?" I came back, staring at Lyla. She looked away first, as she said resentfully, "No."
"Then..." I said, closing my eyes, and suddenly memories that were not mine barged into me.
~~~
"Hey, Eve, c'mon, let's go..." A boy said.
"Yes, Adam..." Eve, the girl said.
Adam... and Eve?
Adam and Eve were the religious story of the first two humans ever to live on this Earth, the story being too many versions even... no, especially for religions, that the truth of the first humans have never been really known.
Flashes led me to see them fooling around and in love, the Garden of Eden itself, then Adam dying... the angels of Eden giving hints that eating the apple of Eden could give her power to cure Adam, and of course she ate it...
Another flash of memory showed me that she did have the power and fooling around later, he was cured, he was also...
"Thank you, Eve..." Adam said, a wicked smile on his face as a bright light was glowing around him.
"What's... what's happening?" Eve asked.
"What do you think? I'm going to be a God!" Adam exclaimed.
"What?!" Eve shouted.
"Yes, you 'cured' me, cured me for my lack of power!" Adam said.
"So... so that means you..." Eve stammered.
"My dear, I pretended to be sick... so that you would eat the forbidden apple and be gifted... gifted with the power to make me what I was supposed to be..."
"When have you become like this? It was just you and me..." Eve started.
"So?" Adam said, unimpressed, "In the end, we were slaves of God, going to die when God will live forever. Now, the angels have shown me the way, no more being the slave and being the most powered one that I'm destined for!"
'It was the angels fault...' Eve thought.
More flashes later... and the human population under Eve grew, (the fooling around had to lead to something...) creating a mixture of angels and mortals alike. But... Adam was no longer the person he was before becoming God.
So, Eve, in her enraged mind, tried to do a coup d'etat... and failed.
"I'm disappointed in you," Adam said coldly, holding a gemstone, a very familiar gemstone.
"Not as disappointed as I am," Eve said back.
"Hmph," Adam said, as Eve's essence slowly went inside the gemstone.
And ever since...
~~~
"Krista! Krista!" Percy shouted.
I immediately woke up, and my eyes flared open looking at a concerned Percy and an annoyed Lori. He offered his arm to me, but I swatted it away and stood up.
"I know where to go, let's go," I said with a smile.
"Are you sure you are alright?" Percy asked, concerned.
"Please... don't worry about me," I said.
"Yeah, the mortal's right, lets just get out of here..." Lori said.
Percy wanted to say something but a look from me silenced him.
Then, we were walking around. It's kind of like an adventure video game, it is full of terrains, hills and of course, enemies.
Each way we turn, the Umbra are at our heels. We could get rid of them, but our stamina is being drained... wait, am I thinking this as a video game? Haah...
"Are you sure we are going the right way?" Lori asked as she stabbed another Umbra, "They seem to be swarming..."
"I'm pretty damn sure... and of course the Umbras are swarming, aren't they the main citizens of this emerald?" I asked snarkily.
"Tch..." Lori said.
"Hey, isn't that a house?" Percy asked, pointing to a distance.
Lori and I looked at that direction, it was indeed a house.
"What is it doing here?" I asked.
Percy shrugged, "You do know that people trapped here don't immediately become Umbras. Look at us," he said gesturing to himself, "So, it's possible that someone made that house."
"Huh?" I said, "I'm tired, so I would like that we rested here, can we?"
"Yeah, I'm tired," Lori agreed with me for the first time in forever, "Let's go in."
I was the first at the door. I knocked, but no response. So, I just opened the door, for an Umbra to jump onto me.
"Eeek!" I screeched, but before the Umbra took a step closer, it was stabbed.
By Percy.
"Thank you," I said, and then went inside, this time with my taser ready.
"There could be more..." Lori said, so we searched the house. There was nothing, and so we retreated to the kitchen.
"Ahh... food," I said, and taking Pringles, I could feel my health points rising.
"You were really hungry, huh?" Percy said with a smile.
"Yep, can't keep going without food," I said.
"Ugh... mortals, I will never understand them," Lori said in disgust.
"It's OK that you never understand us," I said evenly, "This was never supposed to happen."
"Speaking of 'this was never supposed to happen,'" Percy said with conviction, heading toward me and grabbing my shoulders, "What were you thinking?!"
"Wha-what?" I asked.
"Doing something as foolish as returning the power to the gemstone, and if we weren't here, you could have... no way, I'll never want you violated," Percy said, the last few words mumbled.
"Percy," I said firmly, "I never wanted the power, I don't even know why I was chosen."
I'm the heroine, that's why I was chosen. But I can't tell Percy that.
"Haah, there's a reason for it. Maybe you are a religious nut, having God's-"
"It's not meant to be," I cut him off, "Mere mortals like me were never supposed to have this type of power. Power's a thing earned, not given. In fact, I don't deserve this."
"Don't say that," Percy insisted, "Of course, you deserve this..."
"I'm not," I said curtly, "Because I'm not even fit for such a thing..."
Silence followed before I said, "Let's go."
Then, Percy did something completely unexpected. He kissed me.
I immediately pushed off him, and shouted, "What were you thinking?!"
He blushed, "When you said you weren't fit, I never believed that. In fact, you are fit in more ways than one..."
"But you still didn't need to do that. Let's go!" I said, more insistently, and left without waiting for another reaction.
'Why did he kiss me? The white lotus effect?' I thought. Ugh.
Lori managed to catch up with me, and she was scowling at me.
"I don't know what trickery you did, but stay away from my man..." Lori warned, incensed.
"I'm trying..." I mumbled, but Lori didn't seem to hear that.
Then, my eyes spotted something, "Ahh, this is it!"
"What?" Percy asked.
I pointed to a cave. Eve's memories showed me this godforsaken place, so...
'Save me... Help me escape...' Those were the words.
Can it be done?