rabbit hole of madness

They were all around her. She had lost them. For now. It seemed like she was falling deeper and deeper into Alice’s rabbit hole of madness. This had already seemed ludicrous to her. Now it was just beyond belief. And for whatever godforsaken reason, she still believed. But she supposed that was what faith was. To believe in something without any conclusive proof or evidence. She had lost them. But they would be circling the walls. They would be around the city. She knew she shouldn’t fear shadows. But these ones weren’t attached to anything, and they had felt malicious. She did not want to have anything to do with them. But when they had lunged at her shadow, she felt a scream cuddling in her throat. She knew she would be next. She ran. She looked at the ground. Her shadow lay crippled. How could a shadow be crippled. Again, faith. Belief. In something that defies all that you can see or have been taught. It felt crippled. She felt as if a part of her had been taken away. She raised a hand to brush her hair away from her face, and a few tears away from her eyes, the other arm was still curled around her knees, and stopped. She had been looked at her shadow, which had, it seemed feebly, responded as she moved. But there was no hand on the shadow. Just an arm that broke off into a stump. Another scream was brewing in her throat. She gulped it back. From far away, she had a rumbling. That was how they would hear it. She heard beneath it. Laughter. Silence. Raging roar. Whatever was out there was looking for her. She felt a presence lifted from the city. She felt the malicious beings moving away. She slowly got to her feet. Acqlimia looked out the window and sighed. The sun was bright. There seemed to be no shadows circling about. She gritted her teeth, grabbed her backpack, and made her way to the blinding sun outside. Disoriented, a little dazed, she closed her eyes. Consulted with her inner compass. It was still erratic, but she had figured out when to trust it. And there seemed to be that feeling of comfort every time she did. Growing stronger. So she felt, hoped, that she was on the right path. She trekked along the roads and narrow alleys. People did not stop and stare, she wondered why not. Was the haze growing stronger? That thing that took over their minds, and mounded them to have these mortals see only what they could process. But why would she seem normal to them? She figured she looked like one of them. She looked the color of their skin, with brown, and not blue eyes. But why. She shook her head. For now, she needed to focus.

Hūr got up and stretched. Both forces were drawing ever closer. They would be here soon. He knew which one he wanted to find him first.