Chapter 4: Trapped

The girl leaned against the lockers that lined the continuous hallway, arms folded and eyes dead focused. This was ridiculous. She’d been avoiding the poltergeists for four years. Four years! Of course they had to catch up to her now, right after the professionals had finally shown up. How poetic. Nothing like going down in flames of glory, except, oh wait, no one even knew she existed. Fantastic.

She slammed her fist against the locker next to her and a hot pain flared through her hand. She clutched it and glared at the locker for what felt like the thousandth time.  A fifty-five. They all said that, that’s all they would ever say, Spirit Traps were built on repetition.

She turned sharply away from the locker, shaking her head violently. She had to focus. The only way out of a spirit trap was to trick it into doing something new.

She’d already tricked it once so Alice could escape, there was no way she would be able to do it a second time. Especially since she had exposed its weakness, it would do everything in its power to make sure she never got out. That was the trouble with Absolutes, they learned and adjusted. The universal ‘screw you’ to anyone who managed to open a door to the outside once, but needed another exit later.

She slid to the ground, the metallic sound still resonating through the hallway and the fire of pain still burning in her hand. She leaned her head back against the lockers and sighed. She was trapped, and nothing less than a miracle would get her out.

At least she’d managed to get Alice back through before the Trap had caught onto her presence. The girl couldn’t even imagine how much harder it would’ve been if the Trap had realized that Alice was caught in it too. That really would’ve been impossible! Of course the Trap being solely focused on her had delayed her aid to Alice, but hey, you win some, you lose some.

She slapped her cheeks. She wasn’t going to escape again by getting distracted, she needed to focus. Last time she’d gotten Alice to run away from the center of the Trap so confusingly that it ran out of pathways and had to give her an exit, but now all the pathways looped back to the center, so that was out of the question. Unless? No, that wouldn’t work, she wouldn’t be able to get through the halls quick enough for it to work. She could always? No, that was impossible too. But, what if-

Then it hit her. Only when she had sat in absolute silence for a few minutes did she really take note of the lack of sound. It was silent! That was it! That was her way out! The girl shot off the ground, excitement tickling her ears and fingers. There was a chance, granted a slim one, but a chance all the same, that she would be able to escape.

She listened closely. For a whisper, a breath, a shuffle, a ringing. Nothing. She was giddy, excited, ecstatic, flippant, overjoyed. She didn’t know what you would call it, but whatever it was, she liked it. There was no noise, which meant the power source was missing. The poltergeist was gone! If she could force enough of her energy into the core of the Trap it would collapse around her, unable to replenish its strength from the spirit that created it.

The girl couldn’t stop herself from laughing as she stood and sensed out where the center of the Trap was. Lights flickered everywhere, begging for her attention as she walked towards the center. Undoubtedly it knew what she was doing. It wasn’t everyday someone sensed where the most distorted part of an alternate universe was and headed towards it, but there was nothing it could do to stop her. With no power source it had no defense, other than the fact that it was actively working to devour the girl’s soul and powers. Though she could work past that.

She began to express pure energy into the physical plane that surrounded her, feeling the power heavy on her skin. She wasn’t going to let this parlor trick get the better of her. There was still a life line connecting her to the real world, and she was going to use that to her advantage. As long as Alice was on the outside, the girl could draw in as much power as she wanted from the real world, saving her power for the moment that she came in contact with the core.

The conflicting energies of the Trap and the real world began to clash with each other. As long as the girl was coated in real world energy she should be fine, but the energy she had laced along her skin was burning off. The closer she got to the core, the more she could feel the heat. She changed her tactic, concentrating the power along her skin like a protective film; she could feel the fire, but it wouldn’t affect her physically.

After a few minutes of walking she finally found the center of the Trap, a giant sphere twice as tall as she was and glowing brighter than the sun. The girl shaded her eyes with one hand and reached out with the other to touch the orb, she instantly recoiled from the heat. It felt like she’d placed her hand on a hot stove, and she wasn’t eager to do it again. She did anyway; same reaction. That sucked. She had been hoping she would be able to keep her lining of protection as she tried to get to the center of the core, but she had to get rid of it to pass through.

She dispelled the energy around her hands and placed them against the orb, fighting the instinct to draw back from the pain and searing heat. With the coating or without it she would get burned, at least this way she could force her way through the sphere. After a moment of hesitation her hands went through the glowing barrier. The pain was unimaginable. It felt like her hands had been skinned and doused with salt and lemon juice, but she bit her tongue and kept pushing through.

Self control, that’s what it’s all about. She just had to keep a positive attitude and not think about the pain. Just block it all out, that was the key. At least now she understood why this wasn’t common practice among spiritualists. Anyone else would’ve died ages ago, but she wasn’t anyone else.

She kept pushing forward, slowly dispelling the energy lacing her skin and pushing it through the glowing ball of pain. She was only halfway through but it felt like her whole body was on fire, like she was being burned alive. Not that she knew what that felt like, but she figured this was pretty close. The pain was overwhelming, but she had to keep it out of her head, she had to keep her mind sharp. That was the only way.

She bit her tongue again, closed her eyes, and, with a surge of defiance, dispelled the rest of the energy and threw herself through the orb. She tried to protect herself with her own power once she was completely through, but she wasn’t fast enough. Fire roared through her body, scorching her very soul and ravishing her skin. The girl’s eyes flashed open momentarily, just long enough to see that she was surrounded by nothing but blinding white light. The feeling of salt and lemon juice returned, only this time focused in her eyes with an added bonus of thousands of needles.

Her mind went blank and she lost her grip on the energy she had summoned to protect her. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t feel. She tried to block everything out and failed. She didn’t even know what she was doing. Then something sparked inside of her, leaving her with the feeling she had been doused in ice cold water. Her mind was clear.

One moment she had been surrounded by heat so powerful it scorched her bones and light so bright it burnt her eyes, the next she was standing in darkness, completely fine. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dim lighting of the night. There she stood, completely fine, pain free, with a hand outstretched towards that creepy a*s metal door that Alice insisted on walking through everyday. Typical. She ended up in the one place in the school she truly hated. She couldn’t be too mad though; anywhere was better than where she had been only seconds before.

The girl felt energy shifting behind her. It was either an exorcist or a poltergeist, and chances were high neither of them would be happy to see her. She turned to confront whoever it was, hoping that it was the former, but found herself catching the last glimpse of a smiling shadow walking behind a pillar, then vanishing. That couldn’t be good. Shadows were never good.

Speaking of not good, where was Alice? The girl couldn’t sense Alice’s presence anywhere. She spun every direction searching for any strand of energy that belonged to her, but couldn’t find a thing. That was doubly not good. She couldn’t be dead, right? That would’ve made things much more complicated. So where was she?

A surge of energy swept through the building, the girl had to brace herself from being knocked off her feet. An explosion sounded from a few halls down, followed by a short, high pitched scream. A thought lodged in the girl’s head: Alice was in trouble. Well, that was better than dead. She sprinted through the concourse until she reached the hall right next to the cafeteria. She took a sharp right and rushed towards the hall she could feel the most energy flowing from.

She passed one corridor, than another, her breath burning in her lungs. She reached out her senses, hoping to find some of Alice’s power. This time she found it immediately, a bright pulsating energy that radiated like a brilliant flame. Why hadn’t she been able to find it earlier? That was really weird. Nevertheless, she held onto its position, focusing her attention on the third opening in the hall. She rounded the corner and came face to face with a disastrous scene. Alice was pinned against the wall by one of the poltergeists, two of the exorcists lay unconscious in the other room, and the other two, a boy and a woman, were surrounded by the remaining two spirits.

The girl took quick note of the situation. It appeared the exorcists had managed to subdue five of the remaining seven poltergeists before they had been overcome. That was good. The girl didn’t think they would’ve been able to get rid of that many. However much she didn’t believe it, the evidence was right in front of her. Only three remained and, the girl smiled to herself, they weren't even the strong ones.

However, the boy was obviously a novice; he wouldn’t be able to take on one poltergeist, much less two. The woman was clearly experienced, everything from the look on her face to the movement of her body said that she was a force to be reckoned with. But her powers were hazy and sluggish, almost sickly looking, so she was going to be of no help. Neither of them would be able to get to Alice.

The girl stopped in a fighting stance and started to summon energy from the surrounding area, hoping that she would be able to defeat the remaining spirits with one attack. The energy didn’t move. She gasped, remembering that her powers in this universe were dependent on Alice. She wouldn’t be able to do anything unless-

She looked around hurriedly for a clock and caught a glimpse of neon light on a wall in the other room. The numbers blinked condescendingly from the darkness.

11:59 pm

The girl couldn’t breathe. It was too late.

12:00 am

All was lost.

Author's Note

What do you think of the perspective?
Is it too weird that I don't use any character names or does it give a nice effect?
Did you like the chapter?
Where the descriptions good?
Any other input?

Reviews

[Sarah Wilson]

Ha! I finally found something. You did mention the trap not being anywhere near her, as well as there not being any spirits anywhere near her. :P You know you're good when that is literally the only thing I can find in 4 chapters!
What fate befalls the mysterious girl!

[Zoë]

Oops, yeah "There was no sign of the trap anywhere near her." This should say "There was no sign of the trap, it had vanished completely" basically meaning that it was destroyed. Nice catch, I never noticed that.

As for "There were no signs of any spirits anywhere near her." while that should say poltergeists instead of spirits, it is correct. What where you saying the problem was?

The better question is, have we met this mysterious girl before :P

[Sarah Wilson]

It wasn't clarity, it was just the way the same phrase repeated so closely. Just sounds better to rearrange the words so they don't repeat so closely.
ooooohhhhhh intriguing!

[Zoë]

Ah, I got you. But yeah, I've already changed that first sentence, I just haven't posted the update on here. Also, I forgot to ask, is everything clear even though we don't know who we're following? Like, does the chapter still make sense?

So far no one's been able to figure out who mystery girl is. Though I have a feeling you may be able to figure it out :)

[Sarah Wilson]

Yeah, I was thinking maybe it was Nia but I wasn't sure. It just seems like she knows a lot about the exorcists and seems to gawk at the powers of all the characters. I thought maybe when she was killed or whatever happened to her in the prologue she was sent to the spirit world where she serves Alice as her spirit like how Ki served her... If that makes sense.

[Zoë]

You've got the right thought process going, but youre not 100% correct (you're like 90% accurate, which is fantastic)!
Just one thing, Nia isn't actually killed in the prologue. Now, whether shes alive or not still remains to be seen, but shes still very much alive when that prologue comes to an end.
Also, it's less of 'serving' more like 'forming a bond with' but that'll be explained later :)

[Sarah Wilson]

Whoot! i was close! lol