Smiling, Marah looked up at the stars, bright and beautiful. She reached slowly up towards the tantalizing specks, feeling a laugh bubble up in her chest. She loved this; this happiness and bliss. It was pure, untainted by anything. Her fingers shrank before her eyes as they ascended towards those stars she hungered to touch. What she would give to share their light. Up and up her fingers rose for the heavens, but her singular and sole desire in the world was brought to a halt as her fingers hit glass, shockingly cold and deceptively smooth in texture. The world began to spin and, as if she had become entangled in the misty waves of dreams, she was sucked into a downwards spiral. The stars became streaks, which gave rise into blinding circles of spinning light that swirled away from her. Her smile faded.
Hitting a surface hard as stone, Marah was jolted into reality, only to find that she had not moved at all and in fact lay in a tangle of sheets on her bed. The room was dim, glowing with a faint crimson blush. Blinking, she attempted to prop herself up on her elbows, but fell back, grabbing groggily at her forehead. It hurt to move. Her mind was racing, and she pressed her palms against her eyelids, trying to make sense of things. Suddenly a small, wheezing gasp escaped her lips. Removing her hands from her eyes, Marah forced herself up, though it was painful. Looking down horrified, her rigid, shaking fingers traced the outline of a bruise on her arm where... Where what? Wracking her brain for an answer did not bring her any closer to a conclusion, and she stared hopelessly across the dim expanse of her room to the door.
Realization slammed against her violently, and she nearly fell backwards onto the mess of blankets beneath her. "Kapri... that shot... the teleports... the zelzacks- Hunter." A hand moved instinctively to her lips. The vivid image of Hunter being dragged off, beaten terribly and wide eyes fixed on her own, flashed through her head. He told her not to worry. She felt her heart shatter once more. "Oh my God..." What was she to do? Undoubtedly her bedroom door had been locked, and she could almost distinguish the shadow of a kelzack pacing absent mindedly on the other side. "I'll find a way," she murmured to herself, balling her frail hands into fists. "He's got to be on this ship somewhere."
"Argh!" Hunter winced, poking rather crudely at a long gash along the side of his ribs. His crimson uniform had been torn by blunt weapons and blackened by laser beams to the extent that it hardly resembled anything- let alone the garb of a Ranger. His helmet was gone, but that was the last of his worries now. He studied the intricate bars of the cell trapping him. It was almost like a spider's web, save for the electrical shock it gave off upon touch; he should know- he'd already felt its sting once. Hunter assumed he was in the bowels of the ship, for he was near certain it had been a full twenty-four hours and through it all the area remained dark. Leaning his head back against the wall, he closed his eyes vainly. He knew he would not fall asleep; he'd been trying for hours but to no avail. His mind was too busy racing with fragmented images, memories of sounds, and thoughts of utter confusion. Slowly, he brought his hands up to his bruised and bloodied face, and dragged his fingers down, distorting his features. Those blasted kelzacks had beaten him all the way to the cell. It had been a total nightmare; there was no other word to describe it. 'We were so close,' he thought despondently. 'We were so close to freedom from this Hell.' Angrily, Hunter swung his arm out, hitting the wall violently. He cried out, furious, confused, wounded, and feeling lost. "This is your all-time low, Hunt," he told himself. "How will you get out of this one."
AN: Ah! I am SO SORRY (times a bazillion!). What's it been, a YEAR since my last chapter? I must have killed this story by now, having let it sit idle for so long. My life has been incredibly merciless when it comes to finding the time to update, and for a period of time, my inspiration was gone. I hope I can revive this story and bring it back from the grave. My sincerest apologies to every loyal reader who yelled at his or her computer screen in frustration for my lack of commitment. I would write more now, but I need some sleep. I'll see this baby through! Hope you all can see past the inconvenience and enjoy my brief, but long over-due chapter.
Hitting a surface hard as stone, Marah was jolted into reality, only to find that she had not moved at all and in fact lay in a tangle of sheets on her bed. The room was dim, glowing with a faint crimson blush. Blinking, she attempted to prop herself up on her elbows, but fell back, grabbing groggily at her forehead. It hurt to move. Her mind was racing, and she pressed her palms against her eyelids, trying to make sense of things. Suddenly a small, wheezing gasp escaped her lips. Removing her hands from her eyes, Marah forced herself up, though it was painful. Looking down horrified, her rigid, shaking fingers traced the outline of a bruise on her arm where... Where what? Wracking her brain for an answer did not bring her any closer to a conclusion, and she stared hopelessly across the dim expanse of her room to the door.
Realization slammed against her violently, and she nearly fell backwards onto the mess of blankets beneath her. "Kapri... that shot... the teleports... the zelzacks- Hunter." A hand moved instinctively to her lips. The vivid image of Hunter being dragged off, beaten terribly and wide eyes fixed on her own, flashed through her head. He told her not to worry. She felt her heart shatter once more. "Oh my God..." What was she to do? Undoubtedly her bedroom door had been locked, and she could almost distinguish the shadow of a kelzack pacing absent mindedly on the other side. "I'll find a way," she murmured to herself, balling her frail hands into fists. "He's got to be on this ship somewhere."
"Argh!" Hunter winced, poking rather crudely at a long gash along the side of his ribs. His crimson uniform had been torn by blunt weapons and blackened by laser beams to the extent that it hardly resembled anything- let alone the garb of a Ranger. His helmet was gone, but that was the last of his worries now. He studied the intricate bars of the cell trapping him. It was almost like a spider's web, save for the electrical shock it gave off upon touch; he should know- he'd already felt its sting once. Hunter assumed he was in the bowels of the ship, for he was near certain it had been a full twenty-four hours and through it all the area remained dark. Leaning his head back against the wall, he closed his eyes vainly. He knew he would not fall asleep; he'd been trying for hours but to no avail. His mind was too busy racing with fragmented images, memories of sounds, and thoughts of utter confusion. Slowly, he brought his hands up to his bruised and bloodied face, and dragged his fingers down, distorting his features. Those blasted kelzacks had beaten him all the way to the cell. It had been a total nightmare; there was no other word to describe it. 'We were so close,' he thought despondently. 'We were so close to freedom from this Hell.' Angrily, Hunter swung his arm out, hitting the wall violently. He cried out, furious, confused, wounded, and feeling lost. "This is your all-time low, Hunt," he told himself. "How will you get out of this one."
AN: Ah! I am SO SORRY (times a bazillion!). What's it been, a YEAR since my last chapter? I must have killed this story by now, having let it sit idle for so long. My life has been incredibly merciless when it comes to finding the time to update, and for a period of time, my inspiration was gone. I hope I can revive this story and bring it back from the grave. My sincerest apologies to every loyal reader who yelled at his or her computer screen in frustration for my lack of commitment. I would write more now, but I need some sleep. I'll see this baby through! Hope you all can see past the inconvenience and enjoy my brief, but long over-due chapter.
