Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part seven (final part) of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
I have never seen anything so terrifying in my life. I stumble back, my heart lodged in my throat. The creator looks human, but he has a presence about him, something so powerful I have an almost overwhelming instinct is to flee, and the only thing that keeps me rooted to the spot is the thought of Josh, of what will happen to him if I fail.
"You came to find us." the creator says.
I nod. My throat seems to be stuck shut. Shadows dance over the creator's face, making him appear not fully present, as though he is half ghost. I take a deep breath and force myself to speak.
"My friend is cursed. I have come to ask you to heal him."
"We do not help humans," the creator says in a loud, grinding voice. "You forfeited any right to our help eons ago."
"We can't be blamed for what our ancestors did!" I say. "Please, I'm begging you. Josh needs your help."
The creator looks quizzically at me, seemingly thinking about it.
"Few would have the courage to find us," he says eventually. "For that, I will strike a bargain with you. Humans earned their curse - we will not take that away. However, we can give you a gift: a gift of power. If you accept it, you will have the power to shift the curse from one person to another. You could move your friend's curse to someone else."
"But... but then someone else would be cursed."
"And your friend would be saved. Careful, for while you will be able to shift the curse to others, this power will protect you - you will never be able to get the curse. If you are to shift it, it will have to be to someone other than you. This is all I will offer you. Take it or leave it."
I stare in horror. I thought I would do anything to save Josh... but what right do I have to condemn others to that fate, simply to save the man I love?
Tears splash down my cheeks as I teeter on the edge, knowing that what I decide will change my life forever. I can't live without Josh. I can't do it... Yet even as I think of saving him, I hear his voice in my head, whispering the words I know he would say if he were here. "Lara, don't do it. Let me go. Don't embrace evil just to save me. Please."
"No," I mumble, but the Josh in my head doesn't relent, and I can't bring myself to overrule him, for I know he is right. If I do this, I am as bad as the creators.
"No," I say loudly, before I can change my mind. "No, I can't do it."
Without waiting for a reply, I stumble out of the clearing, blinded by tears. My only wish now is to get to Josh, to spend what remaining time he has together. My body shakes with sobs as I push on. I was so sure I could save him, so sure the creators would help.
I will never know how I found my way back to the tree where Jane and I confined Josh - not when I was lost in my own head, in a haze of despair and suffering.
I crawl inside, hoping Jane is asleep, not wanting to face explaining right now. The lamp is still on; Jane and Josh are sitting side by side, waiting for me.
I freeze. Josh shouldn't be down here - we locked him at the top for a reason; the curse makes him dangerous, whether he intends harm or not.
"It's ok, Lara," Josh says, seeing my puffy face.
"It's not ok!" I wail, flying into his arms. I don't care if he hurts me, I just want to feel his arms around me. He wraps me gently into his embrace, but I barely feel it. The second his skin touches mine, my vision fades, and I am back in the clearing. The creator is there, speaking.
"Our prophets told us of the day when a human would come and redeem their whole race - one who would choose good over power. That day, the curse would be lifted from all humanity forever. No longer will you have to live in fear, for your ancient crimes are finally forgiven."
The vision fades, and I find myself staring into Josh's eyes. "I'm fine, I'm safe," he says, stroking my face. "They lifted the curse from me."
I don't know what I say - a strange mixture of speaking, sobbing and laughing comes out of my mouth and I am kissing and hugging Josh, delirious with relief and happiness.
When I finally come back to myself, I see Jane over Josh's shoulder, beaming at me.
"I was wrong," she says. "There isn't anything you can't do, Lara."
I look back at Josh and see the rest of our lives together. And I find that I believe her.
The End
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