The Lone Sailor Soldier - Part Four
"Jessica. Jellyfish. Eel. Sea urchin. Squid. Umm..."
"May, that is so corny!" Jessica smirked, nudging May with her elbow. It was an early Friday morning, and Jessica, May, and Aurora were walking to school together.
"'I'. I can't think of anything for the letter 'I'," May went on, pretending to ignore her.
"Ice cream," Aurora supplied.
"'Ice cream' doesn't live in the ocean!" May cried, and the two burst into giggles.
"Did you guys finish the homework assignment we got yesterday?" Jessica asked, trying to change the subject. She could feel where this was going.
"Icky!" May sang.
"Illegal!" Aurora added.
"India!"
"International!"
"Welcome and thank you for flying Jessica International Air," May said in a professional voice.
"How can you two be so hyper in the morning?" Jessica asked, rubbing her eyes. It always seemed to take longer walking to school, than walking from it.
"I always wake up early," was May's prompt answer.
"I ate Rainbow Sugar Puffs for breakfast," quipped Aurora. "And plus, it's Friday."
"You know, I completely forgot," Jessica said.
Their large school loomed into view. As it was still early, few students were milling about.
Jessica looked around. "Do you think Molly's here yet?"
"I think she said she had an art project to finish," May answered. "Why don't we go check the Art room?"
The girls agreed, and they walked around the school, entering through a side entrance - a short cut to the Art classroom.
"Here it is," May said, when they reached the closed door at the end of the hall. She put her hand on the doorknob and gave it a turn. It stuck. "Hmph," May grunted, pulling harder.
"Let me try," Aurora said. When May stepped aside, she put both hands on the knob, and a foot on the doorframe for support. "Errrgggg!" she said through clenched teeth as she pulled.
"You guys!" Jessica exclaimed, then reached over Aurora's shoulder to knock. "Ever think of trying that--?" she cut herself off when the door swung open. Even before the room came into view, the girls knew something was eerily wrong.
The room was pitch-black, even though no classrooms in the school were without long windows, and it was bright outside. But not only that... they could feel this darkness. It was thick and oppressing like a fog, only worse.
Jessica looked at May and Aurora, who looked back at her with puzzled expressions. Taking a deep breath, Jessica tentatively stepped into the room. "...Molly?" she said softly.
Nothing. May followed Jessica, taking a step inside. "Molly?" she called. Before she even pronounced the second syllable, a sudden burst of heat blew them back into the hall.
Instinctively shielding her face by throwing her arm up over her head, May stumbled backwards and felt her body collide first with Aurora's small frame, then with the hard tiles of the school floor.
May quickly sat up. The heat was gone, but the darkness remained. There was definitely something in there. "What do you suppose--" she started to say, but Aurora shook her head and motioned back to the door. May looked up to see Jessica braving the darkness again, and walking back inside.
"Jess, wait," May scrambled to her feet and felt Aurora doing the same behind her.
"Come on!" Jessica's voice sounded muffled by the dark, but May was able to catch a glimpse of her friend gesturing for them to follow.
Trying to summon as much courage as possible, May gripped Aurora's hand and lead her into the room, after Jessica. They had gone in a few feet when she realized it was quiet. "Jess?" she called. No response. Futilely, she looked behind her. The rectangle of light she expected to see from the open door was not there. At least she could still feel Aurora's hand, and hear her breathing. But...
"Jessica?" Aurora called, and her voice seemed to echo, as if they were in a room a lot larger than the regular Art class.
There was a deep rumbling, and immediately after, that same blast of heat that knocked them off their feet. "Eep!" May cowered, turning her body to shield Aurora - although that was a futile attempt, as now the heat seemed to be coming in from all sides, accompanied by the roar of fire which was rapidly becoming louder.
"Jessica!!" May yelled over the noise, and saw Aurora doing the same, even though she couldn't hear her.
"Jessica! Jessica! Where are you?!" May screamed until her throat was hoarse.
She stopped suddenly, when the blackness around them began to dissipate - or rather, an evil, pulsing, red and orange light began to take over. It surged and infused the darkness in waves, like slow-moving fire. And then - screaming. A cry of agony. Jessica's voice, almost inaudible above the maniacal roar of flames.
May wanted to cry out for her, but the heat was becoming too oppressive. Behind her, the muted thump of a falling body - May whirled around to see Aurora collapsed on the floor. As she knelt to reach for her, there was a wave of heat that seemed to come from directly behind her, and then it felt as if her back was on fire. May fell ontop of Aurora, crying and writhing in pain. She struggled to turn around, to see what it was...
A dark figure, distorted by the heat waves, was slowly approaching. May squinted through her tears, trying to see better... it was tall, humanoid yet monstrous... as it got closer, May caught the glint of white eyes.
The figure was moving. It was raising a hand to her and the unconscious Aurora. It spoke - a clear female voice...
"Die!!"
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"Aaahhhhh!" May felt herself falling through air and suddenly she hit something hard. Rough. Cement... she sat up, dazed, her cheek stinging.
"Are you all right, dear?" As her vision cleared, May realized she was outside, at a bus stop just a block away from her house. But... the fire? May blinked a few times, and saw that the person who had spoken to her was an old lady sitting on the bus stop bench, holding a newspaper. Several other people were looking at her with concern, as well.
"Erm... yes, I just..." May stood up, and when she realized she didn't know what happened, she sat down again.
"You fell asleep while waiting for the bus," the old lady said gently, smiling slightly. "You were in such a deep sleep I didn't want to wake you."
"I guess I had a bad dream," May said, scratching her head. Then she remembered to brush the loose gravel off of her cheek and clothes.
"Stayed up too late last night, I suppose," the lady chuckled.
"Yeah," May lied. Then she stood up again. "What am I doing here? I've got to get to school! Er--bye!" Not wanting to explain herself any further, May turned and ran away from the bus stop - and the people whose looks of concern were turning into... well, May wasn't sure what, but it did look as if they were starting to doubt her sanity.
She turned the corner just as the door of the first house on the street opened and a person stepped out. "Hey, May!" a young male voice called, and she stopped to see Aidan running down the driveway towards her. "Good timing, eh?"
It was then that May realized she was still partially stuck in her dream - she stared at Aidan for a few moments, blinking, feeling confused. But Jessica and Aurora and Molly and... but...
Her head cleared when Aidan reached the front gate, and stepped out onto the sidewalk. "Hi Aidan," she said, grimly biting the bullet. "Are we still up to visiting the culture center later?"
"Of course," he grinned. "Gotta psych you up for the chess tournament next month!"
Next month. May never thought she'd have to stay in this place for so long. It was the first time it occured to her that this was becoming a permanent reality.
"That's right," May said, linking her arm through Aidan's. "People will remember this for a very long time." Hopefully.
~Continued in Part Five~
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<~Back to Chapter Three / Back to Sailor Aqua's Realm / On to Chapter Five
