Page 6 of Scars Like Wings
What was I going to do? They had rifles, bows and arrows, and even freakingswords. They hunted me. And I was stupid enough to not even try to hide my tracks. They clearly wanted me to end up like Mom. They wanted me to hurt. They wanted me to bleed. They wanted medead.
What was I going to do? What was I going to do?What was I going to do?
I grabbed Mom’s necklace and gripped it tight, hoping for answers. As I held it, I noticed that my hands weren’t shaking, not nearly as bad as I was feeling against my back.
The quartz.
I placed both palms against it. It was warm to the touch. I felt distinct vibrations, too. They were a soothing hum coming from deep within the quartz. I turned around to face the stone. Above me, I could trace the vibrations running through each fractal inside. The hums grew more powerful and complex in thecenter. It was even brighter there, where I felt and saw the center pulse and pump more vibrations out. It looked just like veins leading to a beating heart, like the quartz was alive, breathing, thinking, deciding.
I had been around crystals all my life. I was born surrounded by them. My room was full of the crystals I had collected. I doodled them in school when I was bored. I loved them. But I had never felt anything like this from any crystal before. Had I just never noticed it before? Were all crystals alive like this? Why was I noticing this now? What did it mean?—?
Down below, I could clearly hear the crunches coming closer. They were only a few feet away now. I could hear the clicking of their guns and other weapons throughout the cavern.
If they found me, it was over.
Suddenly, the quartz pulsed strongly. Its light was brilliant as it hastened, faster and faster. The vibrations contained a tingle now against my fingertips. They were electric and hot, rushing with power at an ever-increasing speed. It wasn’t a painful feeling. Far from it. Each pulse made my fingers buzz. They went from my fingers through my arm into the very heart of me. Each pulse grounded me. My back arched, feeling tiny stabs there. The feeling was like the rocks at the entrance of the cave cutting into me. But this felt like something beginning. Pulling my hands away, my fingers itched with energy. My whole body was full of something raw and glorious, yet oh so familiar to me all at once.
Before I was a part of this world, they were there. My mom loved to tell the story; it was one of her favorites. When she became pregnant with me, she didn’t crave a certain food or want to rest her swollen feet; she wanted to find crystals and surround herself with them. While Mom had always been in love with shiny things like jewelry, she became obsessed with crystals when she started carrying me. The day I was born, Mom wasout in the woods wanting fresh air when the time came. She stumbled on a cave full of crystals that lit up brilliantly from the inside out. It was perfect, she knew. Then I was born. Mom always said the crystals lit up the cave, shook the earth, sent sparks flying around the cave, and then my cries. The crystals dimmed. The shaking stopped. The sparks faded like fireworks. And there I was.
Crystals and gemstones had always been there for me when I needed them the most. They welcomed me into the world. They were my confidants as I whispered my secrets to them on my windowsill. They brought me peace when I was having a bad day. They supported me. I knew crystals better than I even knew the woods. I knew them before I could walk or talk. Even when I didn’t know the name of a particular gem, I knew them to my soul. Crystals had always been there to keep me going. Here they were again.
The quartz gave one more parting pulse before dimming. Its vibrations quieted to a delicate murmur. Its warmth dissipated. The heart of it still beat softly. It was still vibrant. But it was different now.
Below, the footsteps crunched closer to me.
A voice inside made itself known:Do what it takes to survive.
I took in a breath. With the energy coursing through me, I flexed my fingers. Twitched them, really. A tiny action.
Suddenly, the crystals started to quake. The whole cave shook with tremors. Instead, the crystals broke apart into shards of heavy, sharp stones. They were swords, floating in midair. They hovered there for a moment. I could feel them, like an extension of myself. It was exhilarating. I had to bite my lips to swallow my giggles of joy. The footsteps came to a stop as the large, still-lit swords stayed suspended in air for a moment. Hesitant.
I exhaled.
Another twitch of my fingers.
They rained down.
I heard a man curse as the crystal shards descended. A bone-shattering crack echoed throughout the cave. A cry of pain soon followed.
Another cry, this one from a woman, rang out as a stone sword pierced through something wet.
My stomach churned.
“Thathasto be her!” a husky male voice boomed throughout the cave. “Move in! Find her! Take her out like we did the female dragonspawn!”
For a moment, the briefest moment, I had felt a tinge of guilt. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. But hearing him talk about my mother like she was some animal to be hunted… Like she wasn’t a person… Knowing they wanted to do the same to me…
The crystals became larger, longer, sharper. And they fell faster and harder. The cave’s shaking grew stronger. As I pushed on, my back felt like several hands were clawing at it, leaving open marks down toward my waist. I bit down hard on my lip to hold in my cries. My legs wobbled under me.
Focus. Stay alive. You can deal with the pain later. Do what it takes to survive now. That voice again.
It made me push myself harder.
Another wet sound. Then a loud splash as something heavy fell into the water. Another cry of agony with more curses. My shoulders were going painfully numb. Tears flowed down my cheeks. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.
The sound of a radio coming to life sliced through the cave. I paused the crystal storm. The hunters’ approach stalled from what I could hear from my hiding place. I turned around and leaned against the pillar.
A moment.