Here's the next chapter.

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Human

Why in my dreams am I always running, but this wasn't any dream was it. It was a nightmare and it was real. I can still remember the pain I felt in my legs as I forced them to move faster across the cold hard earth. A boy was running, not to far ahead. Edwin. He'd look back sometimes to make sure we were still there. Then I looked to my left and saw a girl, her hair flying wildly and her grey eyes full of fear. Nadira.

Suddenly she cried out and fell. We couldn't afford to stop but we couldn't leave her. Edwin and I rushed to her side. There was an arrow sticking out of her right ankle. It had gone all the way through to the other side and it looked unbearable.

"It doesn't look too bad." I went to try and pull it out but something shocked me, forcing me to pull back my hand.

"What is it?" Edwin asked in concern.

"Nothing." I lied. "Nadira bite this." I handed her a stick and she put it between her teeth. "I'm sorry but this is going to hurt." I snapped off the end of the arrow and then quickly pulled out the other side. She gasped.

"See, not so bad." I said, ripping a strip of fabric from my skirt and tying it around her ankle. "Can you stand?"

Nadira gasped at the pain but tried to push it away as she attempted to stand. Her ankle immediately buckled under her.

"I can't." She cried.

"Come on. I'll help you." I could hear yells in the distance, whoever shot her was getting closer.

"No." She pushed my hand away. "Just go. I'll only slow you down."

"We'd never leave you." Edwin argued. "How could you even ask that of us?"

"I won't be the cause of your death Edwin, or you Joone. You both mean too much to me. We don't all have to die."

"None of us have to die." I yelled and knelt down with my back to Nadira. "Get on."

"What?"

"I said get on. I'm carrying you." I explained. "And don't you even think of saying no. We are in this together, until the end."

Nadira nodded and Edwin helped her onto my back. She was lighter then I thought she'd be and it worried me. None of us had eaten properly for days now and I didn't know when we'd get to eat again. Even sleep didn't seem like a possibility.

Edwin ran along side us this time, watching Nadira and making sure she didn't fall off. I tightened my grip on her as I felt her loosen hers. Her chin rested on my shoulder. The wound was already taking its toll.

"You stay with me, Nadira." I called back to her.

"I just feel so tired." She whispered in my ear.

"Don't give into it." I ordered. "We need you."

"What?"

"You heard her." Edwin spoke beside us. "We can't do this without you."

I felt my shoulder grow wet as Nadira cried her silent tears. Sometimes we wait all our lives for someone to tell us that they need us. Having someone that needs you gives you the will to go on, for them.

"I need both of you too." Her voice was quiet but we heard her. I almost smiled but then I heard large crashes from behind us. They were getting closer.

We moved slower now and that wasn't good. If we were going to survive this we had to be smart and fast. My heart fell though and dread flooded me. Even if we did manage to loose our pursuers one of us wasn't going to make it out of this forest. At least not as themselves.

"Joone." Nadira whispered in my ear. "I'm scared."

"It's good to be scared." I told her. "We all are. Sometimes being scared can save you. Being scared is human. Don't forget who you are."

"I don't understand."

"You are Nadira Singh. You are best friends with Joone Tellar and Edwin Clester. You love to dance and smile. Secretly you fancy Edwin." I could almost hear her blush but I spoke softly so he couldn't hear us. "You taught me to sing and showed me how it felt to be loved. Sometimes I think you care too much about people but that's what makes you Nadira. We've done some pretty stupid things together but we've always been all right. I don't want any of that to change. You are Nadira and nobody else. And you're human."

"Joone, why are you telling me this?" I could hear fear in her voice.

"Keeping on feeling Nadira, don't give into it."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. I know you can feel yourself changing. You have to fight it."

"This feeling, it's so strange. It's taking away my fear Joone. Isn't that good?"

"No. It's taking away who you are. You can feel yourself forgetting." I tried to keep her here. "I know you can."

"What's happening to me?" I could feel her tears hit my shoulder.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't take the arrow out in time." I felt like my heart was going to break in two. "It was on the arrowhead and now it's inside you. It's a kind of poison that slowly takes away everything that makes you human. That's why you have to fight."

"How?" She asked, afraid.

"Think of Edwin." I told her. "Think of all the good times we had together. Remember how it felt to be happy. Remember how it feels to love someone. You're crying because you're scared. Scared is human."

"Maybe it would be better just to forget." Her voice changed. She didn't seem scared anymore. She sounded calm.

"No. You have to stay with us. You are Nadira and I don't want you to forget. Please."

"Put me down."

"What?"

"I said put me down." She pushed herself off my back and we stopped. Edwin looked confused between us.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"We don't need to run." Nadira said, almost smiling.

"Of course we do." Edwin said looking to me. I was silent and I stared at the ground. Then I looked up.

"The arrowhead was poisoned." I explained to him. "It's changing her, making her one of them. A monster. Morphed by a greed for power. Right now we aren't exactly powerful. But they are. She'll want to join them now."

"No." Edwin couldn't believe it. He looked back to Nadira; a cruel smile had made its way onto her face. "Nadira?"

"Who's that?" She tilted her head. Our eyes widened in shock.

"You, you are Nadira!" Edwin yelled. "Our best friend."

"Friends?" She spoke the word as if it were vile and disgusting. "I don't need friends. They do nothing but hold you back. They make you care and get you killed."

It was as if Nadira was still somewhere in there but using this girl's mouth to talk. Anyone else would have missed it but I understood the secret message. She was telling us to run and save ourselves before it was too late.

"I know you're still in there." I took a step towards her. "Remember all those things I told you. Remember your fear."

"Fear?" She looked confused, almost as if she were remembering. But then her wicked smile returned. "Feelings are for the weak. They let you down in the end. People play off your emotions to get what they want."

"I know what you all want." My hand went to my neck where the crystal still hung. "But I can't give it to you."

"You made this harder for yourself. We want this to end as much as you do." Her words were smooth and carefully chosen. "We can end this, together. All we want is that crystal and we'll let you live."

"Liar!" Edwin yelled. "You have no intention of letting us go alive. We're liabilities."

"Edwin." I was surprised at the passion in his words.

"To give you the crystal now would be to betray all those who gave their lies to keep it from you."

"She stole it from us. It is rightfully ours." The monster spoke from within Nadira.

"It was never yours because you don't deserve it. You'd only use it for destruction and to cause others pain for your own gain. Is that really what you want, Nadira?" He tried to speak to his friend, who was slowly fading away.

I hadn't realized but Edwin understood the power of the crystal. He knew why I had stolen it and he supported my decision. Sometimes I regret what I did. I brought pain to a peaceful people and caused their demise. I shouldn't have gone to them. I shouldn't have gotten them involved. It's my fault, all of it.

"I know you have it Joone." She was now speaking directly to me. "I know you regret taking it. You've caused so much suffering. Just give me the crystal."

There was a kind of hunger in her eyes, a hunger for power. She could sense the power that it emanated but she could not see it. She was so close to achieving her goal but I wouldn't let her.

Then Nadira smirked and cloaked figures grabbed Edwin and I from behind. We struggled to get free but it was no use. The tallest of them came up behind Nadira. Large clawed hands hung by his sides. His face was hidden under his hood but I could tell that even his face was undergoing this monstrous change. Would this happen to Nadira as well?

There were six of them in total, including Nadira. Though I didn't want to include her. My friend. I used to trust her with my life but now. I don't know if I'd ever truly be able to trust her again, not with that monster inside of her fighting for complete control.

"Well done." The tallest one behind Nadira ruffled her head. "Very well done. So you're the little piece of filth that stole the crystal." He came over to stand in front of me. "Hand it over."

"Never." I refused.

"You will give us the crystal. Whether you want to or not." He nodded to the man behind me, holding me in place. He let go of one of my arms but still held on tightly to the other. He took a small knife from his belt.

"I will ask you one more time. Give us the crystal." The tall one in front of me commanded.

"Not even if you said please."

"Fine. Cut off her ear." He ordered the man with the knife. He put the blade to the skin behind my ear, cutting into it deeply. I was shocked into silence.

"No!" Edwin yelled behind me and stamped his foot down hard onto the toe of the cloaked figure holding him. The sudden surprise gave him enough time to wriggle free, and steal the knife from the cloaked figure's belt. Then he did something I never thought he'd do. He charged Nadira.

She was caught off guard and only had time to step back. Edwin swung the knife and I gasped. The small blade cut a thin line into the back of her left hand. She screamed with pain as blood dripped from the cut. This pain was human and for a moment, if only for a moment, she was Nadira. She used that moment as best she could.

Nadira grabbed Edwin by the hand and pulled him toward the edge of the group. It all happened so quickly as she took the knife from him and threw it back towards the man who was about to cut off my ear, killing him. I was released and I ran to join him. Then Nadira stopped and began to shake. The poison was taking hold again.

"Go!" She pushed us away from them. "Run!"

"But…" Edwin protested but I grabbed his hand and pulled him after me.

"I'm sorry." I told her before we ran. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

"It's alright." It was hard for our Nadira to speak. "I forgive you."

The tallest man recovered first and grabbed for us, lunging with his knife but Nadira grabbed him, thrusting him back into a tree. He yelled, but I wasn't looking anymore.

Then we were gone. Running through the forest. I could hear Edwin crying behind me as I held fast to his hand, not letting him fall behind. The shouts of our pursuers rose again and I could tell that they had overcome the shock of the situation and were now hot on our trail once more. Nadira would be with them but she wouldn't be our Nadira anymore.

They shot arrows and threw their knives as best they could at us but the forest was becoming dense and soon we disappeared from their sight. We were smaller then they were so we could slip in and out of the trees with ease. Eventually, when all of the shouting died away we slowed down and I let go of Edwin's hand.

"We have to go back." Edwin turned but I stopped him.

"There's nothing we can do." I shouted.

"She's our friend. How could we leave her?"

"She isn't Nadira anymore. Her last act was to save us. Don't take that for granted." Both of us were breathing heavily. We leant against the trees for support. We were going to have to start running again.

I heard Edwin start to cry again. "We lost her."

I took his arm and pulled him into a tight embrace. "She isn't lost Edwin. She still lives on in our memories. Remember her the way that she was, human. Don't ever forget. Not her smile, the way she talked, or even her name."

"How could I ever forget?" Then he understood. "It's the crystal talking again isn't it?"

The crystal that hung around my neck had certain qualities. I didn't understand it myself but it could glimpse the future. It was always in fragments but it told you enough.

"Joone." He spoke softly. "You mustn't let it show you things. You know how it affects you."

I knew. The magic that it emanated burned me. The first time I had touched it I saw fire. I saw a battle that would end destiny itself. I saw the future and it was dark but there would be light again one day.

"Let go Joone." Edwin spoke again, more forcefully this time. He didn't mean him. He meant the vision now running through my head because of the crystal. "Let go before it consumes you."

Fire consumes and destroys. I gasped and the vision disappeared from my head. I fell back against a tree. There were tears in my eyes and I felt like my head was about to explode. Edwin knelt down next to me and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Don't tell me what you saw." He said. "If you let the visions in again it might kill you. Let me carry it for a while." He stretched his hand out.

I hesitated but then I removed the crystal from around my neck and placed it in his hands. "It's not meant for me." I said. "It's meant for another and I must take it to them."

"Do you know who it is?" He asked, slipping the chain over his head and tucking it under his shirt.

"No."

"And yet you still search for them." He sat down next to me.

"I'll always be looking." I said.

"Be carful." Edwin warned. "Magic is dangerous for you but you'll be surrounded by it."

"That's the crystal talking?"

"Don't get too close or else it will burn you." It wasn't Edwin talking. "Tragedy isn't done with you but you will find love and you will be happy, if only for a time."

"I know." Tears came to my eyes as I thought of the future. "Time is short for people like you and me Edwin. But in that time we can do so much and we can impact so many lives." I looked over at him, his eyes were closed and he had fallen asleep. It was getting dark. I'd let him sleep and I would keep watch.

"I'm sorry Edwin." I brushed some hair out of his face. "Sometimes its as if we had never really been born because no one will remember us. No one will know we existed. This is not a story people will tell but I promise you Edwin. I will remember, even when everyone else forgets."

He looked so peaceful and innocent when he slept. I wish I could have saved him. "Oh Edwin, you should never have let me read your palm."

The memories did not end there. The tragedy wasn't yet done with us. I knew what would come but I didn't want to see it.

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