The Dark Before The Light

'You're being quite talkative today,' Acacia thought.

'I suppose so. Although I can't divulge every detail, I trust the general picture is becoming clearer,' Daemonis replied.

'Yes, it is,' Acacia confirmed. 'Was Ciflith responsible for the war eighty years ago?'

'No. And that's enough questions for today,' Daemonis stated, his tone final.

Acacia grumbled under her breath but felt a small measure of satisfaction from the answers she had managed to extract. She refocused on her surroundings, glancing over her shoulder. The protective wall was no longer visible, confirming they had covered a significant distance. She looked at her group: Vincent and his followers were already ahead, with Tosic trailing slightly behind. Maximus was predictably by her side, unwilling to leave her. She quickened her pace, and Maximus matched her stride.

They continued walking, and time seemed to stretch into an eternity. Despite the long trek and the persistent sun, Acacia felt no exhaustion; her stamina remained strong. Maximus appeared equally unfazed, as did Vincent and his group. Only Tosic occasionally paused, taking brief moments to catch his breath and re-energize himself.

"Let's take a short break for thirty minutes, then we'll keep going," Acacia announced. Everyone stopped, moving towards the shade of a worn-out, abandoned car, taking deep gulps of air. Acacia observed Vincent, who looked perfectly fresh. 'I see why they were so fast. They don't tire easily and rarely need breaks, or perhaps they simply fly when out of sight.'

After thirty minutes, Tosic announced, "Let's move. We shouldn't waste any more time."

They all nodded and resumed their journey, taking occasional short breaks. They'd hide in abandoned buildings to eat their rations and sleep for the night before continuing the next day. This time, they took fewer breaks, pushing deeper into the city. Acacia took to the air, soaring above the group, following their progress from the sky. As she descended back to the ground, darkness began to settle over the landscape.

"This place is far enough!" Tosic yelled, his voice cutting through the dimming light. "Spread out to the left and right and start digging! Make sure the holes are deep, very deep, before you bury the crystals. We'll meet back at this spot." He handed each of them a shimmering crystal. The group nodded, producing small shovels, and fanned out, beginning to dig in various directions.

Maximus offered Acacia a small shovel from his bag. She accepted it gratefully and moved to the left side with him, ensuring they were still visible to Tosic in the distance. She knelt and began to dig, scooping out sand with surprising force and speed. Maximus knelt beside her, his own shovel moving just as efficiently.

Once the hole was sufficiently deep, Maximus dropped the crystal inside, and Acacia quickly shovelled the sand back, refilling the void. Maximus stomped on the ground to flatten the disturbed soil. She gave him a thumbs-up, and he reciprocated the gesture.

"Alright, let's head back," Acacia said, turning to leave, but a pained voice stopped her. Maximus tensed, immediately on guard as they scanned their surroundings. Acacia's eyes finally landed on a figure crawling from an alleyway, leaving a trail of blood, a hand pressed to their stomach. The person weakly raised their head, gasping in recognition.

"Celeste?" Acacia tilted her head, confusion clouding her features as she looked down at the injured woman.

"Uh, this is a little embarrassing, but please… I don't want to die," Celeste pleaded, her face contorted in a pained grimace.

"What happened to you?" Acacia asked, slowly approaching. She saw that Celeste's stomach was bleeding profusely.

"I was hungry, but I almost became the meal," Celeste panted, and Maximus, without a word, moved forward, carefully lifting her into his arms. "Maybe this is my punishment for abandoning Zephyra for all those trivial, vain things."

'I didn't realize they were close,' Acacia thought, studying Celeste's bloodied form.

"You can wallow in self-pity later. Let's get you treated first," Acacia said, taking a deep breath. She felt Behemoth stir uneasily on her neck, and she instinctively tightened her grip on him, a silent warning as her gaze lingered on Celeste's bleeding abdomen. She immediately turned and practically ran with Maximus towards Tosic. "We have an injured person!"

"Injured? Well, if it isn't Miss Former Leader herself," Tosic said, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "Just put her down." Maximus gently lowered Celeste to the ground. Tosic immediately tore a long strip from his shirt and efficiently wrapped it tightly around Celeste's waist. "I don't think she'll last until we get back."

"Please... I don't want to..." Celeste panted, her voice weak.

"Don't speak. Conserve your strength," Tosic instructed, scanning the desolate surroundings. "Is there a pharmacy nearby?" Acacia quickly surveyed the dilapidated buildings.

"I don't think so," she replied.

"You truly are a burden, you know," Tosic sighed, looking down at Celeste. "You always did as you pleased, claimed to be the best, stuck with the strong, and abandoned everyone else. Yet here you are, begging to be saved."

Acacia heard a soft hum and looked up to see a blue barrier shield shimmering into existence above them, like a vast bubble, its colour shifting with the reflection of the sun. 'That was quick,' she thought.

"We're finished!" Vincent exclaimed, approaching with a bright, triumphant smile. The rest of his group slowly gathered, their hands and feet covered in dirt. Vincent's expression, however, immediately changed when he saw Celeste. "Oh no! We need to help her!"

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"How exactly?" Tosic challenged. "Even if we run, we can't reach home instantly. Unless a miracle happens, she won't last that long. And her bleeding won't stop."

Suddenly, something tapped Acacia's head. It tapped again, and she looked up, feeling droplets of water filtering down onto her face.

"Dammit! It's raining! Quick, find shelter!" Acacia yelled. Maximus gently lifted Celeste, and everyone scrambled into an abandoned restaurant, panting as the rain intensified, drumming heavily on the roof.

"Just our luck," Tosic muttered, rubbing his temple.

Acacia felt a shiver ripple through her arms and legs as a sudden wave of chilly air washed over her. She rubbed her skin, glancing at Vincent, who was talking to a man from his group, though the drumming of the rain made their conversation inaudible. Her gaze flickered to Celeste, who was growing paler by the minute.

"I really do have horrible luck," Celeste murmured, her hand still pressed firmly to her stomach.

"What attacked you?" Acacia asked, moving closer to Maximus.

"Some kind of monster... I don't know. It just fled suddenly, and I managed to... escape," Celeste panted, her voice weak and reedy.

'Was that because of them?' Acacia's eyes darted to Vincent for a brief moment before snapping back to Celeste, her head tilted slightly to catch every word.

"I really don't want to die... please." Celeste coughed, tightening her grip on the fabric of her shirt. "I don't want to face her... not like the fool I am, like the fool she'd expect."

"Just try to hold on," Acacia said, "if the rain stops quickly, we can get you home sooner."

A sudden quiet descended upon the abandoned restaurant as Maximus gently laid Celeste on the floor. Acacia sank onto one of the rickety chairs, sighing heavily as everyone else settled in. She folded her arms on the table and buried her face in them, feeling the cold kiss of raindroplets filtering through the cracked ceiling. Her skin felt chilled, a stark contrast to the growing warmth of her own breath. A soft shuffling sound reached her ears, then the distinct movement of legs. Her eyes widened as Behemoth began to nuzzle against her cheek.

"Why are you comforting me, or are you just hungry?" Acacia whispered, feeling his scaly face press against her cheek before he moved back to his usual resting spot on her neck. Acacia glanced at Behemoth for a moment. 'Such a strange creature.'

Acacia shifted, her gaze falling on the pouring rain outside the window. Her eyes glazed over for a moment, lost in thought, before she buried her face in her arms again, drifting into a brief, shallow slumber.

"Mommy! Mommy! Will you come to my award ceremony?" A younger, more vibrant Acacia tugged insistently on her mother's dress, her eyes wide with hope as she watched her mother meticulously style her hair at her vanity. "I won the spelling competition, and the school wants to celebrate!"

"When is it?" her mother asked, her attention fixed on the curling iron steaming her hair.

"In two days! You'll be there, won't you?" Young Acacia's gaze was filled with awe as she stared at her mother's perfectly coiffed hair.

"Your brother's tennis game is on that day," her mother replied, slowly ceasing her curling. She switched off the iron, satisfied, and placed it back on the table.

"But it's just a game! You can go to the next one," Acacia whined, tugging harder on her mother's dress.

"At least he's making me proud. So many important people will be there to see his prowess. I don't think many people will care about your little spelling competition. It'll be a useless award anyway. You should really focus on a sport, like your brother; it might even trigger your abilities to come faster." Her mother finally turned to face her daughter. Acacia slowly released her grip on the dress, a frown creasing her brow. "Don't look at me like that, Acacia. It's rude and unbefitting."

Acacia huffed, spinning on her heel and running towards the door. She cast one last defiant look at her mother. "I hate you!" The door slammed shut, echoing down the long, silent hall as she fled. She stopped abruptly, a strange, metallic scent prickling at her nose. "Is that...?"

"Blood?" Acacia's eyes snapped open, a cold dread seizing her. She raised her head, her vision hazy from the abrupt awakening. Maximus and Tosic were still sprawled on the floor, deeply asleep. But Vincent, his group, and Celeste were gone. A sickening, wet crunching sound reached her ears, and she slowly rose, her movements silent, as she noticed a dark, glistening trail leading towards the male bathroom. The crunching grew louder, more insistent, as she neared the door. Her hand reached for the knob, fingers brushing the cold metal, when a hand, unexpectedly soft, settled on her shoulder.

"What are you looking for?"

Acacia turned her head, very slowly, her heart hammering against her ribs. Celeste smiled back at her, a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Acacia's gaze dropped, compelled, to where Celeste's stomach had been grievously wounded. The fabric was still stained dark, but the makeshift bandage Tosic had applied was gone. Her eyes darted back to Celeste's face. Her golden eyes were now a chilling, vibrant green, and smears of fresh blood traced a grotesque crimson path across her mouth and down her neck.

"I just… I wanted to use the restroom," Acacia managed, forcing a smile onto her trembling lips. "But I heard some noises from it, and you seem... much better already."

"Huh?" Celeste's eyes widened, a flicker of something unreadable passing through them as if a realization had just dawned. "I'm not feeling too good, actually. I just... I didn't want to bother anyone." Her shoulder hunched, and she clutched her stomach.

"I'm sure you are feeling absolutely horrible," Acacia said, her voice was soft as she patted Celeste's head. Then, with a sudden, horrifying swiftness, she gripped the strands of Celeste's hair tightly and smashed her face against the wall. Celeste gasped, a broken sound, as Acacia slammed her face again and again, bone grinding, flesh tearing. Celeste's nose crumpled inwards in a grotesque parody of a face. The wet, sickening crunching sound stopped instantly. Celeste slumped, mercifully unconscious, but Acacia's grip on her hair remained iron-hard.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Tosic bellowed, his eyes wide with disbelief and shock.

Acacia's grip on the hair tightened further. "If you're going to bother pretending, the least you could do is make it convincing!" With a brutal shove, she kicked the bathroom door open. Her face wrinkled in profound disgust and disdain. The floor was a horrific tableau: green feathers lay scattered everywhere, stained crimson with fresh blood. Vincent and his entire group stood amidst the carnage, their bodies now visibly covered in the same verdant plumage, their eyes fixed on Acacia with an unidentifiable, chilling expression. And on the floor, a naked, butchered Celeste lay, her stomach, one leg, and both arms grotesquely gutted out.

"I can explain—" Vincent began, but his words were cut short as Tosic and Maximus, who had just come up behind Acacia, gasped in unison at the horrific scene. "Hunger...it gripped us, just as it grips you. Think about it: when you, with your celebrated intelligence, deem yourselves superior enough to take any life to sate your hunger, you call it natural, necessary. And now? Now we possess intelligence. Does that not place us squarely on your level? Does your own morality not dictate that we, too, have the same right to survive, by the same means you have always employed?"

"If you utter another word, I will make you regret ever gaining that intelligence," Acacia cut him off, her voice dropping to a dangerous, low tone. She turned, releasing her death grip on the false Celeste's hair, letting the mangled body drop to the floor with a sickening thud. 'I need to think. And fast.'