Oh shi- I'm not close enough to catch one the gaurd railings. I fall quickly getting ever closer to the floor. Before I fall to the level of the sixth floor I managed to position myself close enough to catch the railing.
Yes!
POP
With my right hand I manage to gtab it from above, pulling myself onto the floor, landing with a violent THUD!
My vision gets dark and grainy as the air is forced out of my lungs causing me to wheeze for a couple of long agonizing moments.
The moment I stop gasping for breaths I let out my loudest scream.
My little maneuver must have popped out my shoulder but not just that, my back is in a world or hurt from the fall damage.
Gravity must really be pissed off with me today, huh?
Come on, get up gosh darn it! I can't let Hank's efforts to be in vain.
After a minute or so of writhing in pain I muster up the strength.
I just have to run up five floors. Most of the people who've made it this far are basically superhuman, but by now they're far too exhausted to keep running.
WHOOSH
I channel my inner Hank and run as fast as I can. I'm ignoring the hurt that's permeating through my flesh.
In my periphery vision are people just whooshing by. I pay them no attention as my sole focus is running. I hear panting and the sound of people collapsing.
The situation is the same as flight of stairs Hank and I were on. It's amazing how he through me so adjacent.
I won't waste his efforts!
I'm leaving the fifth floor.
On the fourth floor now.
I've gone through the third.
I'm so close to-
Whistle
A sharp pain spreads out from my left shoulder blade. "Urghhh" the sound I make as I fall to one knee.
Was I impaled by an arrow?
Everyone here has "good character"- my ass, it's dog eat dog out here. Curse you silver haired lady, what happened to not letting us get hurt!?
I get up, not even bothering to turn to look at my assailant, I just focus all my energy and my every breath on getting further and further ahead.
Come on keep going, you're almost there.
My vision gets blurrier and blurrier till eventually I can't make out heads from tails, but despite that I keep running.
I'm beginning to feel woozy and unwell and with every passing moment I'm more disoriented than the second before. It as if I've just woken up confused from a deep sleep.
Everything is pitch black. I can't see a thing.
Man I don't feel well I should stop and- NO! I HAVE TO KEEP GOING! I can't stop here, not for myself or even for Hank. Whoever shot
Step step step.
Just then myegs give out and my body slumps to the floor.
Damn!
"WELL DONE, IN TENTH PLACE YOU HAVE EARNED YOURSELF TEN POINTS!"
Those are the last words I hear as my consciousness fades.
"That poison did a number on this kid" says a voice.
"Who'd even do such a thing? The boy's in a miserable state because of it." Says a different voice.
"Some people are just monsters." The first voice says in a solemn tone.
Why does this feel so familiar?
Ah, yes. Because of what happened with bub and pam. De ja vu is a weird thing isn't it? The only difference between then and now is that I can actually hear what's being said.
So I was poisoned huh? Well that sucks.
When I slightly open my eyes I see a beautiful blonde lady with beautiful light colored skin staring down at me.
I also see a man with a very dark complection and a head smoother than egg looking straight at me. He has very strong eyebrows.
Their attire is slighty different from the other staff. On their shirts I see the symbol of the guild but that's not what's peculiar. They're not dressed in all black like the rest of them; as far as I can tell they're wearing all white.
It seems I'm in some sort of medical bay since how my clothing is different; like the type patients wear. I'm also hearing the sounds of screams and beds shaking that's just more evidence. Another reason is I'm lying in a bed looking at a ceiling that is as low as it should be.
This almost feels like a horror novel.
Gulp.
How haven't they noticed that I'm awake? Their faces are so close to mine that I can barely even see this rooms white ceiling.
"Why are your faces so close?" I say.
"You're awake!?" Says the female medical personnel in a nervous tone.
Why did she say it like that? Now I'm the getting nervous.
"I-is it a bad thing?" I ask with sweat dripping down my face.
The dark man proceeds to say: "You were one of the lucky ones."
Wait what?
"The others weren't so lucky" he continues.
Did people die? What the heck is going on!?
"Oh you look quite troubled, I suppose my phrasing was a little poor. I meant to say your condition is much better than the others."
I sit up on the bed fighting a burning pain for every inch I rise. "What exactly happened" I ask.
"Several people where poisoned."
My mouth fell agape with shock. Before I could say anything he continued.
"Many of the test takers where put out of commission. Some where poisoned at the beginning of the race while others show signs of being poisoned towards the final stretch, like you."
"So that arrow the that in my back was..."
"Which arrow?" The man says with a confused look on his face.
"Well you couldn't have missed it, it feltime there was a star shaped hole at the back of my shoulder." I say whilst pointing the thumb of my now patched up right arm straight at my back.
The both of them give me a strange look. After deliberating what this could possibly mean. I take the weird hospital clothes off and make sure to point my back them.
"We've already seen your back, there are no injuries there."
Huh? What a load of-
"I fell like five stories and got shot in the back there's no shot my back is just magically A-okay. Then how do you explain this stinging feeling I have."
Just then the pretty blonde lady hands my a small mirror. I grab it and before I can even try to use it to look at my back, I notice my horrible pale complexion.
"W-what are the these black lines on my face?" I say in disbelief.
"We're not quite sure yet, these marks appeared on everybody who was poisoned."
Turning my gaze downwards I notice it's not just my face, but my hands and feet as well. I'm deathly pale with minute black lines streaking across my skin.
"What the-" I'm interrupted by a loud sound coming from outside the room.
"Well we have to go. It's really amazing that you woke up" says the pretty lady as she walks away.
The man is right behind her.
Why is she making it seem like I was already on death's doorstep?
An immense stinging pain consumes my whole body. It gets so bad that my only choice is to sleep it off.
My mind drifts and suddenly it's engulfed in a sea of black. The calm soothing feeling of falling asleep is replaced by something different, something strange.
It's a sensation so different from anything I've felt before that I can't even find the words to describe it.
Suddenly the dark abyss trandy a bright white void.
It's amazing that I woke up huh?
That wasn't as bad as I thought it was, I guess dying isn't so awful after all. It's not as if I actually believe I'm dead. But there's no other explanation for this.
Maybe I'm having a really strange lucid dream. It wouldn't be the weirdest thing to happen to me this week.
I've decided to explore this endless white, after all exploring is the biggest part of adventuring!
My enthusiasm is quickly drained, as hours go by in seconds. It's all void. The sky, horizon and the ground. Everything is white for as far as the eye can see.
"Hank give me strength" I think as I begin to run with all my might. I said Hank give me strength because he's by far the fastest person I've ever met.
I run through the monochrome world I suddenly find myself in. No matter how hard I push myself or how fas I run, nothing seems to change.
I can't even betell if I have made in any progress because everywhere in sight is perfectly homogeneous, the only thing giving me hope is the ever familiar breeze I feel whenever I run.
It takes a while, way longer than I thought, but eventually I reach a point where I can't force myself to run anymore.
Pant.
Pant.
Pant.
If this is somebody's Idea of a joke; it's seriously not funny.
Just when I'm about to lose all hope of escaping this hell hole, I notice a shimmer of red, far off in the distance.
My legs no longer have any juice in them so I'm forced to grit my teeth, steel my resolve, and crawl till I've reached my destination.
By the time I've gotten there, my breath Is heavy, my body especially my arms are shaky and worst of all, the skin on my palms has peeled clean off leaving only a stinging sensation in place of my flesh.
All this time I hadn't looked up. I was far more concerned about getting here than I was with what was actually here. It makes sense why it was getting hotter the closer I got, it wasn't just due to fatigue, I was literally heading straight into a giant flame.
Sigh.
Even though it's not the giant shiny exit to this place that I thought it would be, I'm still contented with this outcome. Truth be told being trapped in a relam of white drained every ounce of my mental energy.
It's was unsettling and unstimulating to say the least. It's not the only red that exists here. I've left a long trail of blood from my torn palm on the ground I crawled on like a worm.
Growl.
Bloodloss, fatigue and hunger wear me down simultaneously as I hopelessly linger around the giant flame.
I close my eyes and to no one's surprise even with my eyelids shut firmly together all I see is white. This result makes sense after all everything turned white shortly I fell asleep, and your eyes are closed when you sleep.
I accept that there's nothing I can do to change this situation and with that grim realization I wait either for myself to wake up from this horrid nightmare or for my eventual un avoidable death.
My heart fills with dread and anxiety as neither things happen. It feels like I've been stuck here for days, I've been unable to sleep or rest.
No, it's not a feeling. Minutes, turned, hours, and hours turned to days. I do not know how long I've been here. I've been lying in the same spot hopelessly all this time, thinking it was the best course of action, but things have only gotten worse.
I'm hungry and thirsty and worst of all my palms have gotten infected somehow and are dripping with pos.
With nothing to do but wait for death or salvation I decide to focus my mind on the fire that burns ever so brightly.
'Fire.
Fire, fire.
Fire, fire, fire.' I think to myself .
What am I even doing right now? Even my thoughts have degraded to such a pitiable state.
Fire reminds of that power, whatever it's name was. It was truly something special, I'd have never imagined I'd ever use magic. But I got to be like all the heroes I've read about just because of it.
In an attempt to hydrate myself I try to swallow my saliva but my mouth has long since dried out.
With my little remaining strength I tilt my towards my now shriveled right arm. There's no meat on me anymore. I'm skin on bones.
It's gotten that bad huh?
I force myself towards the fire pulling myself closer and closer to it with what little of my original self I have left.
This isn't a life worth living. I think as I roll myself into the huge roaring flame
Right as I'm about enter, I stop myself.
Damnit I can't give up here!
I have to keep going no matter what. There's so much I haven't done yet. I haven't repaid Mr Fletcher and Ruth for their kindness, I haven't achieved any my dreams. I haven't even done the little things like get good at a skill or make friends. I haven't dropped by at Bub's pawn shop to get good prices on goods and services. I haven't gotten a home of my own, one with amazingly comfy furniture.
I reevaluate my options, I'm going into the fire for a different reason. That being the fact that it's the one thing that stands out in this entire place.
I roll inside.
"AAAAAAAAGGH"
"AGGGGGHHHHHH"
"ARRRGHH"
Even in the fire, my life refuses to cease. I try to escape the fire, regretting my decision but it becomes infinite in volume. I scream and keep screaming until my throat can no longer produce sound.
The only good thing about this is that I'm no longer seeing white.
The pain gets so unbearable that I attempt to use magic to force my way out.
I cannot recall the spell.
If only I could recall the words! No, it wouldn't matter anyways... I can't speak. I can't move. My body is being cooked and I have no other option but let it happen.
My eyes have been consumed by the flame and once more I gaze only a white world. I mustn't even possess a body to burn anymore yet I still feel the pain.
COME ON, I REFUSE THIS OUTCOME!
ᛋᛏᛖᛚᛚᚨ ᚲᚨᛞᛖᚾᛋ
The strange symbols now black in color (they were blue before, a shade of blue that matches the color of the sky.) without their characteristic mystic glow appear in my mind. I try to read out loud, despite the fact there's nothing to read it out with.
The moment I do, an intense power surges through my very being. I feel like I'm exploding with the intensity of a thousand Suns, except it's in a good way.
I no longer feel an awful scorching heat also I'm not seeing all white either.
All I see is the ceiling of the medical bay I was in before I slept. I struggle to get up but eventually I manage to go from laying on the bed to sitting on it.
This pain feels like nothing in comparison to what I was experiencing moments ago.
I look around the room and notice there aren't any medical personnel in this room st all. The noisy patients from before are all fast asleep now.
Man that was horrifying. What kind of messed up dream was that?
I get up from my bed and leave the now peaceful room. I open the door but for some reason I can't step out. It's as if there's an invincible barrier keeping me inside.
For thirty minutes (I know that because there's a clock on the wall) I pound at it to no avail. Even though it can't be seen it can definitely be heard. Despite all the noise I'm making every person in the room is still fast asleep.
I have no other options, this probably won't work. Well it might since it worked in my dream. But here goes nothing...
"STELLA CA-"
Before I can finish, somebody enters the room. Was the invisible barrier only one way? Why couldn't I see the person approaching the door? I didn't even here footsteps, strange.
The person that came in, is a short woman with straight black hair. She has the darkest eyes I've ever seen looking at them is akin to staring into a dark abyss. Her facial features are rounded but sharp, making her appear somewhere between beautiful and cute.
As for her attire, her clothes match her eyes and hair; completely black. She's wearing a black shirt along with dark baggy pants.
In defiance of what I've gotten accustomed to seeing here at the guild her all black attire doesn't include a blue flame any where. So it's safe to say she's not with the guild.
She opens her mouth widely and stretches her arms above he head with both thumbs pointing down at herself before loudly declaring: "I'M ELVY!"
What the heck is going on today?
My confusion must be quite apparent because the next thing she says is: "Your face looks weird."
What! She dares?
I'm about to say her face does look all that either but I stop myself because that would be lie and I'm not too fund of telling lies.
In an effort to get back at her for her suprisingly hurtful remark I say:
"Well at least I'm not the dummy who walked through straight into an inescapable room" I say confidently while gesturing for her to attempt to go out the room.
The smugness is thoroughly removed from my face when she casually strolls through the open door.
"Hehe, your face looks even weirder now"
I can't even retort because I probably am making a ridiculous face.
I try to pass through; and like a knife through butter I go through with no resistance.
'ah oo WHA!?' I can't even form proper sentences. I'm absolutely dumbfounded.
There's no way. I couldn't have imagined it could I? Did I just have a mental episode?
I think I'm about to have an episode if today continues being this strange.
'Are you by any chance working for the guild?'
...
No response. OF COURSE NO RESPONSE; all the guild worker have the flame emblem on their clothing! I think to myself as I rub my hands through my hair in an act of confusion and frustration.
"Yes I am, you have earned yourself 8 points." She says while stretching her shirt collar.
A tattoo of a blue fire is on her neck.
"You're quite the astute kid."