Quoted By:
You watch the dance for a moment, swaying to the beat of the drums before you realise what you’re doing and halt yourself. You’re not some weak-willed maiden, to be swept up in hysteria and lose her wits. The others might be, and they certainly don’t realise how ridiculous they look, but you’re not about to let your own reputation get tarnished through associating with this madness.
With a decisive step forwards, you plunge into the churn of dancing bodies. Grabbing a girl at random, you push her apart from her dancing partner before slapping her once, hard, across the face. She drops like a stone, a thin ribbon of blood seeping from beneath her mask, but the blow does little to bring her back to her senses. To the contrary, she lies where she fell and writhes, her hands crawling all over her body. Turning away from the undignified display with a snarl of disgust, you turn your sights on the musicians instead.
Shoving bodies aside, you advance on the drummers and waste no time in kicking aside the first set of drums that you see. A great cry of anguish rises up as the music falters, but you pay it no heed. As you’re turning to the next set of drums, someone slams into you from behind and drives you town to the ground. You wrestle with the squirming woman, rolling over until you sit astride her. It’s Alicia, although there’s no recognition in her blank eyes as she struggles.
Without thinking, you place your hands around her throat and squeeze. Her hands flap at you, knocking your mask askew as you tighten your grip. You carry on regardless, dimly aware that the sound of drumming has stopped. In its place, you hear a deafening chorus of birdsong and the sound of beating wings. One final swipe from Alicia’s hand knocks your mask free completely before she arches her back, letting out a guttural cry before slumping back down.
Slowly, on unsteady legs, you rise upright and look around you. The dance has fallen still, all eyes gazing towards you in muted horror. You meet their gazes defiantly, staring out until the girls timidly look away. It’s only then that you turn your gaze skywards, to face the great eclipse blazing down upon you.
-
It takes a great deal of effort to open your eyes, to force your aching body back into consciousness. A weak, watery sunlight fills the sky above you, the first signs of morning bearing down on you like a lead weight. You’re dimly aware of faint signs of movement around you, although you don’t quite understand what that might mean. Bracing yourself for the worst, you slowly sit up and look around.
A forest clearing. The charred remains of a bonfire. Broken, flattened drums. Countless young woman sprawled out in various states of consciousness. Each detail slowly sinks into your mind, but they don’t connect to form a cohesive picture.
Your head is pounding.
[1]
