Bound and Broken Pt.4
Rae awoke elsewhere in the world. She was lost now… Gone, and she knew that she had transcended the material world… Loa had taken her life… It had ended. Rae sat up, knowing she was in the land of the dead… Amazons were in lines, walking down to the volcano, the entrance to Eternity. She figured she should join them… Somehow she was strangely calm. No fear or sadness was in her heart. The only emotion present was her sorrow for leaving the island behind, her friends… She somehow… In a deep dark corner of her heart pitied Loa as well…
She was damned.
******
Loa awoke in a hut, bound in a chair. She looked around the dark interior, searching, wondering where she was. Then the breeze picked up and swept through the small space. That smell…
She was back on the Island.
"Damn." She cursed underneath her breath. What a hell she had gotten herself into…
Suddenly she heard movement. She knew before she saw. The others were coming to judge her now. She recollected the events in the clearing. She felt nothing, no remorse, no pain… Nothing. What was there to be sad about. Something deep within her told her she was right. She still felt she was. Who cared? She didn't.
Then, the cloth that was the hut's door was pushed aside and the Queen walked in.
"Oh, if it isn't the mighty Queen Cyan…" Loa spat.
"Silence, girl!" she yelled imperiously. "This is no longer a game!"
"Whoever said it was?" Loa replied.
The Queen stared down at her with hate in her eyes. She lifted up a hand and smacked Loa-Hard.
Loa didn't even flinch.
"You have killed on of our own… Do you know what the punishment for that is?"
"Spending eternity in this Hell…?"
"Death."
"So be it." Loa said, eyes expressing the force and conviction that lay in her soul.
Cyan smiled, a cold, ruthless one. "That would be too easy, Loa. Too easy. You are to go find Rae in the Amazon Land of the Dead and bring her back to us."
"Hah! Never. I'll slit my own wrists."
"With what?"
"I don't care! I will never take back what I have done! I have no remorse!" she cried.
Cyan looked at her. "You know what…? Either you go get Rae in the Land of the Dead… Or you stay here for the rest of your meaningless existence." She growled.
"Nonoshiri." Loa said. She cursed under her breath, and then finally turned inward and thought.
…If I get that worthless baby than I get off of this island…
"Fine."
"Good." The Queen said coldly. She untied Loa's bonds. Loa stood up and shook.
"Weapons?" she raised a question.
"Here." The Queen handed Loa the bloodstained daggers from the clearing. Loa frowned, but took them all the same. "You must travel to the spirit realm. Ordinarily you would have to go through the ritual to journey through, but your heart is not pure enough to take the journey, therefore, the combined efforts of the Amazons will guide you."
"Whatever." Loa muttered.
Soon after she was led out to a dais that had been set up in the village square. She was placed upon it and the Amazons began to gather, Most stared at her with cold eyes. Hate and anger was projected towards her. All Loa could do was yawn and laugh. So silly these Amazons were. Corde was standing near the huge bonfire. As Loa directed a glance in her direction, Corde looked down. Loa shrugged… Everyone had their own path.
As the fire glowed even more brightly in the night, Ashana came up to the dais and gave a vial to the Queen.
"Drink." She thrust the vial under Loa's nose.
"What is this?" she asked, staring at the liquid.
"No more questions. Do it."
Loa threw back the bitter gall in one gulp. Just as the liquid burned a path of fire down her throat, she dropped the glass vial onto the dais' surface, where it shattered. As she barely made out the sound, she could feel consciousness slip, and then the only sounds that echoed in her ears was her heartbeat and the endless sounds of the Amazons chanting.
*******
Loa awoke in a strange, barren land. She wondered if she was in the right place. She rose, and brushed off her ninja clothes, which she was still wearing. They were bloodied and dirty, but that was hardly a concern. She began her trek towards the volcano… When she had been an Amazon, Labris had told her Eternity lay in the volcano. That was probably where Rae had traveled. As she walked, she thought.
Her main concern in this all was to get away from the Amazons. She had come to hate their ideals… Hate their way of life… Hate the concept of an Amazon. As she traveled down the rocky terrain, her mind wandered back to the clearing. Why had she done the things she had done? Why had she taken Rae's life? Part of her said to not care… Part of her… Felt just a little sorry. Well, that was taken care of. She was retrieving the burden.
As she walked up the steep sides of the volcano, she could only think of the hate that had burned in the Amazon's eyes. And yet, it did not affect her…
She had made it. She was at the cone now, and in smoky air, she could see a figure moving towards the inside of the volcano.
"Rae!!!" Loa yelled.
The figure turned, and Loa, gritting her teeth ran towards it.
As she came into Rae's view, Loa could sense the tension.
"Why the hell are you here?" Rae said, her voice was emotionless.
"They sent me… They forced me." Loa's tone matched Rae's in emptiness.
"Well, just go back. I'm not coming."
"Um, excuse me, Miss Rae, but I did not come to the gods-forsaken place to be told by a brat like you that you don't want to come home."
"Go away." Rae said, tiredly, then turned and began walking again.
Loa clenched her fists. She wished she could hurl that cocky little thing into the volcano and be rid of her, but there were prices.
"Come back!"
"Why?"
"They want you."
"So?"
"You know, you're nothing but a self-centered brat."
"Why do you care?"
"I don't!"
"Then leave!"
"If I do I can never get out of that hole of an Island."
"I'M self-centered?"
Loa fell silent for a moment, and all Rae did was stare at her, hands on her hips. Suddenly, Loa sensed something behind her. She whirled around to see a huge creature.
Loa grunted as the thing swatted her onto the ground. She hopped up and turned to Rae.
"A little help?"
"Um, no."
Loa drew her daggers and cursed. "You and your Amazon idiocy." She screamed as she cut the monster to shreds.
When she had finished, she turned, out of breath, and tired, to Rae.
"You either come willingly, or I drag you out."
"Yeah, okay."
"Try me."
Rae began to walk towards the volcano again.
Loa had had enough. She sheathed her daggers, and then ran and tackled Rae. Rae fell to the rocky ground with a loud thump. She was unconscious. Loa checked to make sure everything was in order and then heaved Rae over her shoulder. Then she began the trek back to the portal.
******
Somehow… They had made it…
Loa had returned Rae to the Amazons. To her home…
It had been two weeks since the events. Loa had left the village, but was still on the Island. Rae was recovering from her experiences. The first day she had felt strong she had taken a walk. As she walked towards the village square, she was caught by Saran.
"How you feeling?" she asked.
"Better." Rae smiled. "How's Tama? Has he recovered fully?"
"Yeah… He's gonna be okay." they had walked for a few more moments in silence. They walked past Falcon and Kaia and waved hello… The silence grew thicker.
Finally Saran ventured the question everyone had been dying to ask. "How do you feel about… You know… Loa…?"
Rae faced Saran, all seriousness. "Loa? Hmmm… I feel nothing towards her. I want nothing to do with her. She's a psychopath… She's a loon. Let her be."
Saran had just nodded, and then she had left with a final parting comment. "I hope you're all right, Rae…"
Rae had just nodded. She felt like she needed to get something off her chest… She knew where to go.
*******
Loa sat on the cliff. Back at the origin of the nightmare. She was throwing pebbles into the restless ocean below. She was listless. She continued to lob the pebbles into the ocean… Not caring. She had decided to stay on the Island, on her own for awhile. Returning to her master was not a good idea at the moment… And besides… The solitude suited her…
Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by footsteps. She turned abruptly to see….
"Rae." Loa said.
"Loa." Rae replied.
Loa turned back to the sea, and Rae stared at Loa's back, her hands on her hips.
"So you're still here…?"
"Evidently."
"Why?"
"I don't know. I like the scenery."
"Why did you do it?" Rae finally said.
"What?"
"Don't make me…"
"Whatever."
"How can you just sit there and say those things??"
Loa tossed another rock into the sea.
"Don't you even care a little bit?"
No reply… Just another plop as the rock hit the ocean's surface.
"Are you even listening…?"
"Frankly… No." Loa shrugged.
"You know what?!" Rae said, indignant.
"What?" Loa asked tiredly.
"I don't even know why I tried to do anything for you. Bringing you on this Island was the worst mistake I ever made."
No response.
"I don't even care… You're not even worth my effort. I should of left you where I found you…" Rae said, and then Loa heard her stalk off into the forest…
Another rock, then another… The sky was dusky now…
Finally Loa whispered. "You're right… You should of."
She turned her eyes up to the sky, and then cast another pebble to the water.
____________________________________________________
It's all over.....