Soul Sisters Vol. 1

The phrase is "It's up to you". Well, that's what most parents say when it comes to decision making. But parents are liars. Deceiving, too. They lie just like the rest of the Earth, yet they'd never own up to it.

It was never up to me whether I sacrificed others. Wasn't my decision.

Well, maybe it was. I mean, when you're in a fight-or-flight situation it's different. Wanting to live is an immediate instinct. It's not like I meant to-

I take a deep breath.

I'm in a dead wasteland. Stranded - on my own. The grass is deceased, gray and ominous. It's almost like straw, or yarn. Some bits of the ground is visible - stubby rock-hard ground. Barely any trees are around, and when there are trees, they're just stumps.

In the far distance, there's a dark castle. My goal.

'Pull it together, Amber', I tell myself, putting one foot ahead of the other. My next mission begins soon.

I start up my walk again and begin marching towards the castle, my breath steady.

Usually nobody would want to come near the castle. At least anyone sane. I shouldn't even be in its vicinity, but here I am. Running isn't an option.

Chills run down my spine.

I continue walking, slowly coming up closer to the castle. I stop for a second. 'The others need to know.' I pull my sweater sleeve up to my elbow, revealing my Glushek Watch. Glushek just translates to "sequin" in some fancy language. I tap the screen of my Glushek and watch it light up a pretty blue. Swiping left, the screen transitions like flipping sequins. It turns to a hot pink color showing my contacts. Six exactly.

I tap on the top one labeled Gianna. It starts recording my voice. I start walking again

"I'm just near the castle," I speak. "I'll meet you inside." I send the recording to Gianna and pull my sleeve back down.

Gianna is my best friend. Well, we used to be. Through time something tells me that our relationship isn't the same since. She's turned colder, and wasn't was friendly. Maybe it's the missions that changed her. I mean, it would change anyone else.

Now I'm on the grounds of the castle. The bricks are a black, ashy color. It feels impossible that they're still standing, since they seem like they could fall at any moment.

I walk to up to the large bulky doors and let myself in. Quietly though. Something always tells me that I could always turn back if they don't know I was there.

I look into a long and dark hallway. That's where he is. I walk down, shutting the door behind me. The farther I get, the darker the hall is. It's so dark I have to squint and cross my fingers hoping I don't bump into anything.

When I reach the end, I feel for a door. There it is. The Shadow Lord. I open the door and walk in, letting the doors slam behind me on their own.

The room is pretty big, with one area covered in a desk with bunches of screens, showing the halls of the castle. At the desk is a swivel chair, where he's sitting.

Finally, he turns around to face me. I stare him back, already feeling sweat build up.

"I finished your task earlier, Master. I had the Shadows collect the people," I say. I wait for a response.

After a moment, the silence is still there.

"What is my next missio-"

I stopped as soon as he started talking.

"Nothing."

What? What did he mean, what? He needed me for the shadow energy. He needed to collect it. I was starting to get panicky. What was he planning?

"Nothing? I don't understand, Mas-"

"Shadows!!" He slammed a button on his desk, and an alarm sounded over the entire castle.

Then it hit me. He wanted to get rid of me. This would be it.

"Wait.. no! Don't do this, please!!"

It was too late. The Shadows were already blocking the doorway. They were black magic creatures with dark skin and shadow energy coursing through them.

They were heading towards me. "This can't happen!" I backed away, bumping into the Shadow Lord. Then I felt a cold hand on my arms pulling me back. I struggled against him, trying to get out. But I already knew there was no escape.

"Gianna, help!!" I was crying now. The tears spilled down my face. I tried to pull away and get to the ground. But he was so strong. It wasn't even a struggle to keep me strained.

A shadow suddenly was coming closer to me. They had a block or something. Some kind of object. "No... No don't do this!!"

Suddenly, a shock went through my body. I shook from the pain, screaming. A taser? I immediately fell, the Shadow Lord letting go of me. I hit the ground hard, and my vision went out.

Suddenly, I wake up. Everything was blurry for a second. Im laying down in a bed, covered in a small blanket. Someone was hovering over me, sat on the edge of the bed.

"Am! You're finally up!"

Am is my nickname Gianna gave me. She gave it to me when we were 9. I don't know how she came up with it, but she's the only one who calls me it.

"Yeah."

She looks off for a second. "Are you okay?"

I think about it. "Yeah, for the most part."

I try thinking back to what happened. "Where am I?"

"Your old bedroom," Gianna answers, tucking a curl of her red hair behind her ear.

Gianna is pretty even to my height. She has wavy red neck-lengthed hair. She wears a small striped crop top tee shirt with pink and blue colors. She wears these skin-tight Jean leggings too.

I sit myself up. "What's gonna happen to me now? To us?"

Gianna laughs softly, like it's a joke. Am I missing something. How long was I out?

"I tried talking him out of shadowizing you. He said he has a new mission for us."

I hesitate. What mission would have to be done for me to not be shadowized?

"What does he want us to do?" As I say that, I kick my legs out of the bed and stand up. I touch my cheeks to feel my stained tears, realizing it's only been a while.

"I'm not sure," Gianna answers me a little disappointed. "He said he'd talk to us when you woke up."

I get chills. "O-okay."

"We better head over to his office now." Gianna says, standing up now. "Come on."