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EVERLY
Oh, what the fuck is happening? I can't move my body. I'm no longer in control. I can see and hear, but I can't speak. I see my guys; I feel them too. But I can't tell them how scared I am. I'm kind of glad I can't feel my legs because we walk for what seems like forever. In the distance, I see the sea. It calls to me, drawing me towards it like a lasso around my heart.
Am I dreaming? If I am, this is new. No, not dreaming. My guys look really concerned. As we continue, I see the cliff from my dreams. Oh shit, shit, shit. No. this can't be happening. This has got to be my dream. Please help me! I feel, but don't see. My guys no longer walk with me. Oh crap. This is it. This is where I lose them. It was them all along, the shadows in the mist in my dreams. Karl, Leyland, Garrot. It was them I leave behind. No! My body stops just feet from the edge.
“Daughter, thank you for coming.”
I had no fucking choice, did I? The woman before me is familiar in ways that aren’t possible. Daughter? She's my mother?
“Ah yes, release. There you go, your body is yours again.”
My weight returns to me and I shake my limbs loose. The crab moves a little on her head, and I reach out to touch it. Fuck me, it's real. Turning around, I see my guys fighting against hordes of Selkies through what looks like a screen of some kind. It’s like looking up at the surface of the sea from beneath it.
"Shit! Let me out of here, I need to help them," I scream.
"No, sweet child. They’re good warriors. There’s no need to worry. Poseidon is close to finding you, we must get you ready," the woman says calmly.
I know the guys can fight, but my instincts are telling me I need to be with them. "I need to help them!" Fucking bitch better let me get to... "How close is Poseidon?" I ask her, fear bubbling in my stomach.
"Exceedingly. You must awaken all of your powers now, child. I am sorry." Before I even have a chance to react, her hand shoots out and hits me in the centre of my chest.
"Argh!" My body flies through the air, and I land with a thump in the grass. Ouch. I look down at myself to see I'm glowing. Soft pink, earthy brown, electric blue, and sparkly silver radiate from my skin. Feeling like I'm burning, I try to scream out in pain, but nothing comes out. It's like I've been thrown into a vat of acid, and my body is being melted. Fuck, it hurts! The world starts spinning. I turn my head to the side and empty my stomach onto the grass beneath me. Inner lights flash behind my eyelids and with it comes peace. The pain fades away. I'm left panting on the cool ground.
My guys. I feel you. I wipe the back of my hand across my mouth. The spot where Gar marked me between my breasts stings. “What the fuck did you do to me?” I get out before my head spins and the world goes black.
LEYLAND
Hearing Everly scream makes me climb faster, pushing my body to its limits. Forty feet above me bright lights sear my eyes. Inner lights, our inner lights. Shit, what’s happening?
An agonizing pain between my shoulder blades make me lose my handhold and I fall. I'm sixty feet up a vertical cliff with the sea crashing against the base, splashing me with its cold, wet fingers. The air whistles passed my ears as I fall to what surely has to be my death.
I love you, Everly Davis. I am so sorry. The pain in my back redoubles. I cry out as white-hot pain slices through my spine. “Argh!” Suddenly, I’m no longer falling. My body is jerked up painfully. Everly. I feel you, sweetheart. I'm so sorry I failed you.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see massive white wings flapping against the wind. Have I been grabbed by a huge bird? The muscles in my back contract on their own and the wings come into my view again. Swivelling my head, I realize those wings are mine. They’re attached to my back.
Holy fuck, I’m a bird? Why is my cock hard? I concentrate on my back muscles and sense the extra appendages. Tensing the muscles makes them go up, relaxing them makes them flap down. With that realization, I begin to fly. My goal: the top of this cliff where my Everly is. I must get to her; I have to save her. I’m coming, my love.