11: Search.
In the subtle quiet room, Ciara woke up to find herself lying on a bed. She turned her head slowly to the side, the walls were brown and archaic and the room was filled oddly warm for her liking as well.
She felt incredibly tired and could barely move her body, her hand slowly travelled along a line on the bed and immediately stopped, she slowly raised it up, confused as to what she had just laid her hands on.
He slowly moved her fingers across the figure's face, trailing across its forehead and slowly reached towards the base of the nose. That was when she realised that it was a human being and most likely a female.
She panicked slightly after the sudden realisation, fidgeting as she slowly pulled away her hand from the person's face. Her heart continued to pound heavily as she constantly tried to get up from the bed, but it was all to no avail.
That was when she heard the yawning of the woman who had been resting on the bed which she was on and her heartbeat immediately doubled its rate.
" Hey there? You awake?"
Those words left an instant spark in her which turned her fear into a feeling of relief. She knew based on the tone of speech that whoever she was, was an other-worlder and therefore, wouldn't harm her or so.
" Where am I?" She asked, looking up at the young lady who was towering above her.
" Be back in a minute, just rest for a bit longer." She said, quickly turning around and running out of the room.
She lay there on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling as everything that happened before she arrived at her current place flashed through her head.
" Was he the one who saved me?"
The last moments of her consciousness had her thinking the most, he was indeed what she had thought of him to be but she didn't want to build any form of resentment between the both of them.
" What does it even matter anyway." She mumbled with a loud sigh as she slowly lifted her right hand and placed it on her chest.
She did so because it was the only way for her to be able to see the bite mark which he had left on her hand but it had suddenly disappeared. Then the young lady from earlier came running into the room, breathing heavily. She quickly placed her hands on Ciara and began to heal her.
Her energy was slowly revitalised and the life and colour of her eyes began to return to its original state. Her body didn't feel heavy anymore and she was able to easily look at her and see that she was panicking.
Even if the person before her was an other-worlder just like her she simply couldn't bring herself to trust her yet. It was long before her mana was revitalised enough for her to get up from the bed and stand on her feet once again.
As soon as she stood up, the lady pulled her by the hand and ran towards the door as fast as she could. She was barefooted and struggling to gain her footing as she pulled along.
" Hey wait up." She called out, prompting her to stop.
The lady turned towards her with her intense gaze indicating the fear and worry that was building up inside her. Her eyes were slightly widened and unnoticeably twitching while her entire body continued to tremble greatly.
" Is anything the matter?"
" Where am I even? And what's with your weird attitude, you show up in the room and now you're suddenly pulling me along with you without telling me anything."
" I was asked to look after you when he brought you back..."
" Who's he?" She interrupted.
" Zach Schneider, the blue flame user. He took your friend with him and went off, I don't know where to though." She replied, continuing down the stairs, leaving Ciara behind.
Those words left only but a single picture in her head, the burning forest where she found him. Whoever it was that left him In that condition was the person who brought her here and apparently, he had the hybrid as well.
" Aria! Kyle! Harv! Rose!" She kept on calling name after name but there didn't seem to be any response, the house was as silent as it could be.
That was when she continued further down the building, and Ciara, confused as to what was happening quickly followed behind her.
When they arrived at the underground room, the first thing they saw was Fred still lying on the floor with his right hand held out. His skin was slowly turning red and he was sweating profusely.
Ciara quickly knelt by his side in an attempt to check his condition while the other lady continued to search tirelessly for the others who were supposed to be in the room but it was all to no avail.
Tears slowly began to stroll down her cheeks, nothing was making sense to her anymore and her heartbeat quickly began increasing. She kept on calling out their names, her voice cracking more and more each time she did.
" If you guys are hearing me then know that this isn't funny at all." She said, wandering deeper into the building.
Ciara wanted to go help her but Zach had already turned into a red hot oven and needed medical attention as soon as possible. She mustered all the strength she could to lift the upper half of his body off the ground and then began to pull him along with her. It wasn't the best way to convey him, but it was all she could manage.
When she reached the beginning of the stairs she stopped to think of a better way to lift him up but couldn't think of any. That was when the other lady came back with her expression only worse.
Ciara looked at her sympathetically, pausing with her lips slightly apart and her eyes down while she stared at her. She heard her call out about fifteen different names and could already tell that this was a hideout for some other-worlders whom Zach Schneider had managed to save.
" Please, could you help me get him outside, I promise I'll help you find the others afterwards." She said, putting up a slight smile on her face, trying to elevate her mood a little.
She paused for a moment before slowly walking towards Ciara, bending slightly as she grabbed a hold of Fred's legs and helped Ciara lift him up from the floor.
It wasn't long before they arrived outside the building and there, they saw the massive damage that had been caused to the front yard of the building.
It was quite evident who had left the scorch marks on the ground and the fact that he and the other kids weren't in the house left her thinking that they had been taken hostage once again.
" No, it can't be." She mumbled as she quickly fell to her knees while tears began streaming down her cheeks, " this can't be happening."
Ciara quickly turned towards her after the sudden reaction. The sudden emotional response from her was something she couldn't handle and made her feel a little awkward.
" Hey now, let's not get down on ourselves already, we can still find them if we hurry." She said in an attempt to cheer her up.
She slowly looked up at Ciara with her teary eyes as she said, "You just don't get it, do you?... These people... this world, they'll use us for the satisfaction of whatever they believe matters to them. We're nothing but sheep to their slaughter and they'll whatever it is they want to us without second thoughts."
" I watched my friends get killed and tossed down a dark pit after they were fouled and then served to a deity." She said, sobbing loudly, "It had only been an hour since we were captured but they didn't hesitate to appease their desires without a second thought. It wasn't just them, countless children, eleven years old were also raped and brought to their deaths before we arrived while anyone younger was just taken straight to the second stage."
Hearing all that, Ciara was simply left in complete shock, slowly transferring her gaze to the ground as her thoughts dwelt on what her life had been like before she met him.
All the time when she was forced into rooms but left to see another day with her pride as a woman due to the amount of mana she possessed, all the way to the point where they were headed to the auction and her hero had stopped by to save her.
She looked at her hands as she thought of all the times when she had been completely helpless and useless to herself and all those around her. She didn't want to be strong, no, she wanted to be strong enough.