Thief of the Eclipse Short Story – Part 9: The Hovel
It’s the second Tuesday of the month and you know what that means – the next segment of the Thief of the Eclipse short story!
Click here to start reading at the beginning. Below is a brief refresher on the story up to now (contains spoilers):
Zelena captured the memories, but now she’s trapped in the mind of the man she thought was her friend and must confront her greatest fear.
And now, part 9.
Thief of the Eclipse Short Story – Part 9: The Hovel
“You’re not real. Usha is dead,” Zelena stammered.
The adult version of Usha shrugged. “Who’s to say what is real and what is not?”
A twelve-year-old Zelena ran up, followed by a teenage Usha who carried a thick stick and cursed at the younger girl.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry! It was an accident!” the young Zelena cried. Teenage Usha grabbed for the younger girl’s arm and swung the stick with her other hand. Zelena, tripped, fell towards a pile of rusty metal, and shifted for the first time. Unbalanced by Zelena’s sudden movements, Usha fell into the rusty metal and collapsed onto the ground, a rod protruding from her skull.
Young Zelena screamed. She scrambled over to her sister and shook the limp body, but Usha was dead.
“This time you’ll be the one to die,” adult-Usha said. She pushed Zelena towards the corner the younger girls had occupied moments before. A hammer materialized in Usha’s hand.
Zelena tried to shift over and over again, but her power wasn’t working anymore. She was as helpless as the twelve-year-old girl. She was the girl. Zelena realized this time she really would die.
In the distance she heard a familiar voice, calling her name. It was out of place. It shouldn’t be here. This was wrong. Too dangerous. Something wasn’t right. She was just a stupid girl, what did she know.
Suddenly a piercing whistle filled her whole being. It was more painful that anything she’d ever felt. She frantically covered her ears, but that didn’t block out the sound. The image in front of her shattered, falling away like a broken looking glass. It hurt too much to wonder why. Then everything was gone; the sound the image, the pain, and she was surrounded by darkness.
— to be continued —
Come back the 2nd Tuesday of next month for the next part of this story. Subscribe to the blog via email in the box on the top right of this page and be one of the first to read new stories when they are posted!
