"I'll take your word for it, Pearl Crier." The voice whispered into her ear, the wind tickling her ears.
Before Aaliyah couldn't release the breath she's been holding and bath in the relief that was coursing through her veins like a wildfire, the earth began to tremble.
She lost her balance and fell back with a Yelp, just as the earth in front of her began to crack like an earthquake had just hit it, and then a large portion of the land was ripped off the earth.
Aaliyah was flabbergasted at the sight that formed a slope. It had been ripped off on one side and had stopped very high going above the trees too. But the other side was still secured to the ground.
The sight was incredible.
"Run," The voice instructed.
And Aaliyah didn't need to be told twice. This was her way out. One she could never have figured out on her own. The strength came from nowhere again, and she ran under and into it like hell was following her in the back. She ran into the darkness underneath it and didn't even care.
She just kept running straight and away without stopping.
That was until she saw a red light coming from afar. A little in front of her.
She moved toward it, anticipating she would step into something familiar. Somewhere she would be able to breathe properly without fear of anything... but she was wrong.
Had this voice tricked her? No!
Aaliyah found herself inside a cave. A cave that was boiling from its walls, and the ground was burning her feet. There was a large cliff in front of her that stretched all the way down the cave, and underneath it was a bright and hot light coming from it.
Coupled with how hot the cave was, she could imagine what was under the cliff. God, it was burning ferociously.
Her breathing hitched up badly, and she looked around and saw a small wooden bridge that could help her cross to the other side of the cliff.
And although it looked old and cranky, it was her only choice.
Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the supports and placed a foot on it. A very loud crank followed as if it was going to snap at that moment. Aaliyah stepped back immediately, holding her chest.
The bridge was gonna snap at any moment.
Another option was to look around for another way to exit the place, she walked around and thoroughly checked everything and every corner but she could find nothing. The longer she stayed, the more dehydrated she became, and her feet felt like they had begun to melt.
Every step was torture.
Then, an idea popped into her head. She shook her head to get rid of it, but it was the only thing she could think of at this point. At the other end of the cliff, she could see another long road like the one she walked through to get here.
Getting across this bridge was her only way out, and she couldn't turn back. She was afraid she would lose this chance, or end up running into a bigger problem than this.
Standing in front of the wooden bridge, she had only one option left.
Her initial idea that could lead to her death. And with the intense fire burning down there, it would be the most painful thing ever.
The length of one end of the bridge to the other was more than a hundred feet, and she didn't even let herself think about it again. She was tired of thinking. Thinking would only make her hesitate the more.
Sweat kept rolling down her forehead, and she dashed forward with long steps. Aaliyah began running on the bridge, sprinting with all her might. The bridge swayed and made that loud noise like it was about to snap, but she did not stop not decrease her speed.
Her eyes were on the price.
An earsplitting growl suddenly came from under the cliff, shaking the bridge even more. Aaliyah was terrified and lost focus for a second so much that she tripped and staggered, almost going over the support and falling to her death.
She grabbed the sides for support as the bridge began swaying even more, the cranky sound growing louder and louder by the second.
Again, she steeled her mind and dashed for the end of the bridge. The smell of victory wafted into her nose, and she pleaded with nature to give her a few more seconds to go over the other side before it snapped off.
With every step her hope grew...and so did the noise.
A few more feet and the ropes gave out. The steel it had been tied to them was torn off, and one end of the bridge gave out a loud banging noise as it came down, with Aaliyah following in its fall, screaming out her lungs.
Her hands and legs flared in the air, right before she caught the steps of the bridge. The whole thing went down and crashed into the walls, the other escape end still hanging on to its ropes.
Aaliyah groaned as she was also knocked into the wall, but she quickly ignored the pain and began climbing up as fast as she could. She didn't have the heart to look down and see whether she would see whatever it was that had growled like the monster it was.
All she wanted was to be safe.
The ropes at the other end tearing off had her gasping, and she climbed even faster putting everything on the line. Her dress had already been torn badly from all she's previously gone through, so it never got in the way as she pushed beyond the limits of her weakened self till a hand finally appeared over the cliff.
Her body followed, and she climbed up and rolled to safety.
Nothing felt better than being back on solid ground.
Without further Ado, she stood up and dragged herself into the path she hoped... would take her somewhere she could survive.
Her fingers were crossed as she moved. She was at her last drop of strength and only hanging on by a thread.
When a warm breeze touched her face, she knew she had made it back.
The sun was rising right behind him, casting its heavenly light behind him and leaving everything within his path in darkness... including him. His long hair was being caressed by the wind, and the scene in her eyes made him look like a god.
A devilishly drop-dead handsome God that had just stolen her breath.
He stared back at her, and It was the first time in her life...she was seeing an expression on his face, and she couldn't help but smile. Weird how she could see him very clearly even though he was shrouded in darkness.
But most importantly, An expression on Alastair's face? Sure this isn't the voice again?
"Aaliyah," His lips moved, and that enthralling deep voice called her name for the first time since she knew him.
###############