A/N: Hey there. This is a story I am really looking forward to sharing. I have wanted to publish this for many years, and although I do not have it written, basically every detail is mentally planned out. This will be centering around one OC, Lloyd, and Morro, and is to some extent, a self-insert. There will be some dark themes, and I will start the rating at T but can definitely increase it if requested. Thanks for reading, please comment if you have a few seconds :)
Stars glittered like diamonds over an inky black sky, and misty clouds drifted through the air, slowly and eerily. The glow of streetlights illuminated a giggling group of girls, walking in unison out of a dark alleyway. They were talking rapidly, but ignoring the fact that one seemed to be trailing behind the rest.
The girl in question was several inches shorter than the others, barely reaching five feet. Her hunched posture and slow walk reflected more than a tinge of nervousness.
"Guys… We shouldn't be here. You know that."
"Oh, come on. We're going home, right? Just...taking a few shortcuts along the way."
"These alleys aren't safe. You know that, Alex!" The shorter girl briefly straightened, almost looking intimidating, and picked up pace so she was walking next to the group.
"Oh, come on! It's okay, we told our parents we'd be back by eleven. It's barely nine. Suck it up, Aura." Alex rolled her eyes and kept walking. Aura, for the millionth time that day, wished she were taller.
"I'm not saying, we should go home, I'm just saying that we should be safe," she retorted. A gust of wind howled sharply from behind them, and strands of Aura's dark hair flew into her face. She cursed before pushing them back and shoving her waist-length braid underneath her hoodie.
"Alright, that's it. I'm leaving early." She stormed off, ignoring the protests of her friends.
"I'll tell everyone you're a baby, and you're scared of the dark!" Alex shouted back. Aura scoffed.
"You really think I care about what anyone at school thinks of me? Um, no. I'm not dumb. I'm walking home. Thanks for dinner and the movie. Good night." She swiftly ran out of the alley, exhaling with a sigh of relief once she saw a highway. Alex had nearly hit a nerve. No matter how much she tried to love the dark, a tiny part of her insisted that she should be afraid, terrified, of what lurked beyond the silken shadows.
Suddenly, the sky began to lighten, and a bright beam of green light momentarily flashed through the clouds. Aura stopped in her tracks, and then started running. She knew the way home, more or less, and whatever that light was, it couldn't possibly be good.
Never mind the fact that she had been starving for a source of magic in her life since she was three years old.
She slowed to a jog and started walking along the shoulder of the highway. It was okay. She was okay. The other girls would be fine. Even though they could be jerks, she still found herself worrying about them, and hoped that they hadn't run into the green light in the sky.
Aura jumped with a start when she realized that the ground was rumbling and shaking underneath her feet. You're fine, she thought. Earthquakes weren't common in this area, but hey, they were still possible.
Before she could convince herself that it was true, the world ripped in two in front of her eyes. A tear slowly appeared in the fabric of reality, hovering in the air in front of her face. She slowly backed away, frozen with fear, as the tear reached the ground. A man stepped out.
More of a teenager than a man, really. His dark clothing was torn and tattered, and a strange green glow emanated from him, his hair limp and jagged around his face. As soon as he saw her, his melancholy green eyes flashed bright red. Aura was instantly overwhelmed with a sense of danger, and she turned and ran once more.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she tried to power through it. A few more minutes, she thought. Just a few more minutes and this crazy night will finally be over. She imagined being safe and warm in her bed, and urged herself to move even faster.
The man reached out and grabbed her, staring into her hazel eyes with a deranged glare.
"Where am I? I- I- can't-" He stuttered, trying to find the right words. Effectively distracted, the pause gave Aura the chance to rip out her arm. She punched him in the jaw, hard enough to push him back a step.
The punch went straight through his head, and Aura stumbled back, gasping wildly. What in the world? Not knowing what to do, she ran, and ran, and ran like her life depended on it. Before she made it off the highway, she felt something tighten around her chest. Looking down, she only saw air. Suddenly, she was being yanked backwards, faster than she thought possible. When her head cleared, she was staring at the man once more.
"What do you want?" She had meant to yell, but her voice came out as a croaky whisper. "I don't have money." She couldn't outrun him. This much, she was sure of. The only left was to try to outsmart him.
The man glanced at her, and then smiled. It appeared that he hadn't smiled in a very long time, and the sinister grin was incredibly unsettling.
"Oh, you'll do just fine," he whispered. "The perfect instrument to begin my revenge." Aura found herself roughly shoved through the otherworldly tear that was still floating in midair. A blue light emanated from it, and she fell through.
At first, she was submerged in swirling shades of blue and purple. After a few seconds, she was enveloped completely in the inky darkness of unconsciousness.
When she awoke, it was to ragged breathing. it took several moments to realize it was her own. Aura felt cool, smooth rock through her thin t-shirt and realized she was upright against a wall. She slowly slid down, sitting on the cold floor of what appeared to be a prison cell. She jumped up, remembering everything that had happened.
Her bickering friends. Leaving by herself. The strange man. The rift in the air...
Aura finally jolted to her senses, thinking about the gravity of her situation. She scanned the small cell, involuntarily shuddering as she spotted a small bug crawling across the floor. When she glanced at the same spot again, it was gone. She hoped it had been a trick of the light, or lack of it.
"You're finally awake." A smooth, unfortunately familiar voice spoke from the corner. Aura whipped her head around to see her captor standing amidst the shadows. She screamed, the shrill sound echoing across the walls of the small room. Her lungs felt numb, just like the rest of her.
"Yell all you want," the strange man said. He had an eerie quality, something that Aura simply couldn't place her finger on. "No one will hear you."
Aura backed into the farthest corner, closest to the door, only to scream once more when the man flicked and appeared directly in front of her.
"You're going to be here for a while," something maniacal danced in his blood red eyes.
"Don't count on it," Aura retorted sharply.
"We'll see." He abruptly walked out, lifting the large, heavy door almost effortlessly. It slammed with a thud as he left, and the words echoed in her mind as a tear dripped to the floor.
Thanks for reading!