It had been a few short months since we had last been on the island. The three of us had collectively decided to go back to look for anything left. Some had left the island with what Chen promised them. Others of us hadn't. You see, some of us were promised vague entities. Power. Knowledge. Acceptance. But some of us had been promised real tangible things. Things that had been lost. Taken from us for… a long time now. We were the ones going back. It was an odd group. The masters of Metal, Shadow, and Mind. None of us would admit to what it was we were looking for. Maybe out of sensitivity, or embarrassment, or simply to spare the others a sob story. I had no need to intrude on any of their reasons. So I didn't. The curiosity ate at me, but I have boundaries on how I use my powers.
We had been walking in silence for a while. Dark shadowy passageways tend to do that to people. Shade was at the lead because he could better sense if danger lie ahead of us in the darkness. Karlof and I walked behind him, bored and rather distracted.
"Not to intrude," I spoke. "But are we sure we're headed the right direction? None of us can know for sure, but depending on what we're looking for, some locations maybe be more ideal than others."
"Even if it wasn't, I'm not sure we could find our way back out of this place," Shade grumbled.
"First of all," I began. "of course we could find our way out, I have a photographic memory."
"Oh, right. Mr. Hot-shot-mind-reader can do everything," Shade rolled his eyes.
"Second of all," I ignored him. "I'm just asking if it's smaller, or larger. Are there any… special conditions it would have to be kept in-"
"Karlof is not looking for giant metal man if that's what you're getting at."
"Thank you," I sighed.
"It is very important that Karlof finds the item," He continued.
"Why is that?" I asked.
His eyes shifted to the floor. "Has to do with my family."
"Big surprise there," Shade mumbled.
"What. You knew Mr. Hot-shot?" Karlof mocked.
"It's the only reason any of us are here."
"Why would you assume that?" I questioned.
"Look." Shade spun around to face us, stopping the groups progress in doing so. "Chen's got dirt on everyone's parents. He's the one who started the serpentine wars, and our parents were the ones who died in them, so we all have questions that need answering." His face softened as he turned back around. "It's the only thing that could get anyone back to this awful island anyway," He mumbled as he continued walking.
Karlof and I shared a glance before following him again.
"We've been wandering down this tunnel for quite some time," I continued. "Maybe we should turn back and try another route?"
"There's a turn just up ahead," Shade insisted. "Maybe that means something."
"Yeah," Karlof shrugged. "Maybe it means waste of time."
"We can stand to see what's around the corner," I pushed him. As we did, our eyes landed on a dim lit hallway that held several closed doors, including one at the end. "Check all the doors," I instructed.
Karlof started on the doors on the right, I took the left, and Shade walked to the door at the end of the hall. My first door was locked. So was the second. It didn't sound like Karlof had results any different.
"What kind of sick joke is this?" All eyes turned to shade at the end of the hallway, looking in disgust at whatever lie on the other side of his door. Karlof and I both made our way next to him, peering into the room to see a dark chamber with one central light illuminating something… peculiar to say the least.
Shade had already entered the room in a fit of anger to get a closer look. "This is messed up."
"I don't suppose this is what anyone was looking for, is it?" I took a few steps further into the room.
Shade turned to face us again. "That's a real person in there. What the hell kind of mixed up mind comes up with this?!"
Karlof now stood beside him looking up at the sphere. "I have a feeling Chen didn't like her too much."
"Or maybe he liked her a little too much," I sighed. In front of us stood what looked like a giant snow globe. In the center stood a girl, about our age dressed in a purple dress, simple but with an air of elegance to it. Her streaked blonde hair sat just above her shoulders, cradling the curves of her face. Her eyes remained closed and her lips seemed to frown ever so slightly. Her skin was pale almost to the point of transparency. You could see veins along her arms, and even some under her eyes. A collection of large scars sat in the crook of her right arm ranging both in size and hue. Her whole picture seemed faded, like an old porcelain doll on the verge of cracking.
I stepped closer to her glass prison and attempted to use my powers on her. Her mind was empty. There were no thoughts.
"You getting anything Neuro?" Shade asked.
"Nothing." I concentrated a bit harder. There were no memories for me to access, no images I could see, but as I continued I was hit with a powerful feeling.
Weakness.
I opened my eyes and looked back up at her for a moment.
"We should get her out," I instructed.
"We don't even know if she could be alive," Shade protested.
"She's alive," I assured him.
"You don't know that."
Karlof walked up to the sphere looking it over for a moment and clenching his fist. "Well," He shrugged. "Only one way to find out."
His fists were sent through the glass, and a rain of clear shards came down around us.
If you don't know, I have a tumblr (parachutingkitten)! If you'd like to ask Whisper any questions, you can do it there!