Chapter Doctor Black

When Annabell opened her eyes, she was instantly blinded by a single ray of sunlight. The beam aimed right at her face over the treetops. She groaned and rolled over, covering her head with her arms to no avail—she was in the middle of the ray.

Solem go away… please…

The whining didn’t help, and finally she turned fully over on her stomach. The ground was cold from the night, and she lost her breath when a root pushed the air out of her lungs.

So that’s why my shoulder hurt.

Annabell was so lost in thought that she hadn’t considered if her escapades on the earth were noisy. A slight giggle sounded, and she jerked up just to come face to face with Miriam. Her sister was trying to stifle a laugh, but it was a poor job.

“Good morning, sis,” Annabell whispered. Joshua was still asleep on the other side of her.

“Hey,” she replied, and softly rubbed her right shoulder.

Annabell had forgotten that Miriam would feel the pain from her, and it pained her to be reminded. She tried hard to think of something else when she asked, “How long have you been up?”

“I just woke; you pushed a stick over to me when you rolled around. Almost poked my eye out,” Miriam said and held up a small twig.

Annabell was fairly certain that there was no way that the twig could have poked out an eye. Nonetheless, she felt guilty for it, and gloom spread as she looked down.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered. It was so different to be humble and apologizing—yet she didn’t truly mind.

“Don’t worry about it, I was partially kidding,” Miriam said. Annabell looked up and saw her sister engrave something into the soil. Her blonde hair framed her face, which made her look so youthful compared to herself. The most unbelievable part for Annabell was that they were twins—she hadn’t known what to expect, but she was convinced that this wasn’t it.

A slight moan from Joshua made both of them explode into giggles. Annabell crawled over beside Miriam and together they started drawing something. It wasn’t until Miriam suddenly got extremely quiet that she looked up again.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Miriam’s eyes widened, and she looked at Annabell.

“It just struck me that I’m not at Villa Hertz, and I don’t mind!” she exclaimed. Her face erupted in smiles, and Annabell couldn’t help but to follow.

“I can’t believe I have a sister, it’s so odd to think that just a few days ago—I was nothing more than an orphan, and now I have a family!” Annabell matched the excitement she recognized in Miriam.

“That’s downright cute, girls. However, could you please be quiet while I sleep? Not everyone could sleep for your thundering snoring last night,” Joshua grumbled.

Annabell and Miriam broke out in giggles at his whining until finally he gave up and sat up.

“Fine, I’m up,” he said and stretched with a yawn, “We probably should get moving anyway.”

Annabell rolled her eyes at Joshua.

she thought to Miriam. They shared a look and rolled their eyes. ’

Annabell tried to focus on something else, than yesterday’s events. Before they had busted out Miriam, they had almost acted as if they were in a relationship. Granted, she didn’t know how a couple was supposed to behave, but what they had done yesterday seemed pretty close.

As she tried to focus on something else, she wondered about Blake. The guy had disappeared yesterday evening, and she never heard him come back. She looked around but couldn’t see him anywhere.

“I see that you’re all up,” his voice came from behind her.

“Hey… Where were you?” Miriam jumped up and ran over to him. Annabell watched as he laid an arm around her shoulders. As soon as they touched, his face seemed to get some color back.

“I was trying to look for something to eat—nothing is nearby as far as I can see. We’re literally in the middle of a field, with no food. Even the trees are boring old oaks.” He pecked Miriam’s cheeks.

“Haven’t you slept at all?” Annabell asked, something was off about the way his dark eyes took in everything.

You’re just being paranoid now, Annabell. Stop ruining things for your sister, “Nah, I thought it might be better if one of us held guard instead of sleeping,” he said with a faint smile. Annabell thought it sounded like a snide remark, and as she looked towards Joshua, she had a hunch that he thought the same.

“Will you need to rest before we continue then?” Miriam asked. Joshua mumbled something that Annabell couldn’t hear, but it sounded suspiciously similar to a protest.

Blake squeezed her slightly, before answering, “I’m fine. Though, if you have anything to eat, I wouldn’t oppose to that. I’m famished.”

Joshua hadn’t uttered a word, but Annabell saw him pull out some bread from his bag. She was surprised to see that it was the crusty old bread and not the new one they bought in Kokab.

“I would give you some fresh bread, but we have to eat this first,” he said. Annabell saw him hide a smug smile before he continued, “There’s no need to let anything go to waste.”

“Thanks,” Blake said. They all watched as he took the bread, and broke it down to four smaller pieces. After that, he devoured it so fast that it was unbelievable.

He looked up at them and cleared his throat. “That was awesome. I’m all ready to go now – what about you?”

Annabell had lost her appetite, so she shook her head, “I’m not really hungry.”

Blake looked towards the two others, who muttered, “Me neither.”

Not long after, they were on the run again. The breaking off camp had gone by seemingly fast, and now they all had time to process everything to themselves. Annabell walked between Miriam and Joshua, but not a word was said.

Miriam thought to her.

‘Yeah, I’m just… a bit freaked out I guess… I think there might be a lot of testosterone in the air.’

‘I agree, I’m a bit freaked out too, not quite sure why, though.’

Annabell was shocked to discover that Miriam was freaking out—her sister did a good time hiding it as she walked hand in hand with Blake. In fact, she did a good job not complaining at all. Surely, the hard field must have been worlds apart from what she was used to.

“So, what’s the plan?” Blake interrupted her train of thoughts. He was addressing Joshua, who ruffled his hair before answering.

“The plan is to get to Yildun, and corner an Elder for answers,” he said. Annabell knew he was faking his confidence. It was clear in the way he avoided looking up, along with how he didn’t elaborate further.

“How will we know that they are there?” Blake asked.

“There’s always an Elder present in the main star temple. When they travel among Astron, they never travel all of them,” Joshua replied. Annabell was reminded of her previous encounter with Errai – he was an Elder. A shiver ran up her spine as she thought about him.

“And if they’re all there?” Blake questioned, “What if they will surround us and put the girls lives in danger?”

Joshua looked away, but Annabell felt a sort of anger build. She stepped forward, and stopped Blake, “If we find ourselves in danger, then we have to fight. I’ve already explained this part to Miriam.”

“I just don’t see how it can be a risk worth taking,” Blake said and grabbed Miriam’s hand.

Annabell saw the gesture and had to count mentally to ten before replying. Her jaw clenched and unclenched until she finally was able to respond in a normal tone of voice.

“Through Star reading we have acquired enough knowledge to be certain that this is the right path. We can’t do this alone, and the Elders was put there to help and protect Astron,” she said, her voice more calm than she felt inside, “Whether we like it or not, we have to help fulfill the prophecy.”

Blake was silent after that, and the rest of the walk was coated by a tense silence. Annabell didn’t dare open her mind to Miriam, and she tried to busy herself with things so she wouldn’t listen in either. She was afraid that she might have stepped overboard, but she didn’t like how Blake insinuated that they were putting Miriam’s life in danger on purpose.

When Miriam’s stomach growled loud at them all, they took it as a sign that it was time to take a pause. She couldn’t suppress the laugh that resounded, and she didn’t mind when it broke the silence. It didn’t take long for them to start bantering freely again.

They were surrounded by only grass, and only the occasional red flower waved in the slight wind. It seemed like a peaceful place to take a break. Annabell helped Joshua prepare a small picnic on the ground.

“This is so romantic.” Miriam sighed. Annabell didn’t respond—she was busy making a point to avoid meeting Joshua’s eyes. She fought against the blush that crept, slow but steadily, towards her cheeks.

The fresh fruit and bread from yesterday teased her taste buds. When Blake declined eating, she didn’t mind. The memory of his devouring earlier was enough to make her lose her appetite again.

“Do you want to rest a bit, Blake?” Miriam asked, “You look tired.”

Annabell looked over, and she had to admit that he did look exhausted. He was busy sending worried glances around them, which she found funny. There had been no reason so far for them to be concerned about being caught. Granted, there was no guarantee, but she thought he was overreacting.

“I’m fine, love. I’ll just stretch my legs for a bit before we continue,” he said. He rose from his spot, and looked around once more, “I think I’ll just take a look around.”

She didn’t know what he wanted to look at, they were sitting in the middle of a grass field, and the view was clear from all around. She shrugged it off because she didn’t know if he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts for a bit – Annabell knew how that felt.

“I don’t trust him,” Joshua muttered after a few minutes.

Annabell whacked him on the back of his head.

she thought.

“You don’t trust anyone,” she scolded.

Miriam was looking at the ground, not saying anything. And the sight made Annabell sad, she went to slap Joshua again, but he saw it coming and ducked out of the way.

“I can’t help it. You’ve started trusting everybody. Need I mention the situation with Cole and Kato?” he snapped back.

Annabell was about to lunge for him, aiming to hit him hard, when Miriam interrupted, “Who’s Cole and Kato?”

“That is sort of a long story,” Joshua answered and averted his eyes. Annabell shot him a sour look.

You and your capacious blabbering mouth, Joshua… Boys are idiots!

“Can I know?” Miriam asked.

Annabell sighed; she might as well tell her. She skidded over beside Miriam and lowered her voice.

“Cole was this guy we met on our way here and Kato was his dog. He lived in the middle of the forest, and we were lost. So when he offered to help, I appreciated that. Joshua didn’t trust him though,” she explained.

“What happened?” Miriam urged.

Annabell hadn’t wanted to report that part—the chagrin of her poor judgment still burned inside. She knew that she had to though because it wouldn’t be fair to her sister if she didn’t know the dangers they were facing. With a sigh, she answered, “He turned out to be a Black Hole in disguise.”

Miriam gasped loudly, her eyes widening in horror, “They exist? I thought the book was partly made up—pure fiction.”

“I didn’t believe it either. And when he attacked us, that was the last thing I had suspected,” Joshua said.

“But… What happened?”

Joshua ran a hand through his hair, making his blonde hair messier than before, “Basically, Annabell had to save my butt. That’s all I remember.”

“Does that mean that you think Blake is a Black hole too?” Miriam asked.

“I’m not saying he is. I just don’t trust him. If it makes it any better, I’m not sure I entirely trust you either,” he answered.

Annabel threw a small rock at him at that comment, “Jerk. That doesn’t make anything better, you dumbass.”

Joshua shrugged and turned his attention towards his half-eaten apple.

Miriam had gotten unusual pale after that, Annabell cursed Joshua and laid an arm around her sister.

“Don’t worry, he didn’t mean it like that,” she said. Miriam nodded slightly and focused on the banana.

“Should we get going soon?” she asked.

Annabell agreed and started to pack the food away. She heard Miriam shout for Blake but didn’t hear any reply.

“We can’t really afford looking for him,” Joshua said. Annabell shot him a look, “What?” he whined. “He knows what direction we’re heading, so he can easily catch up with us.”

“Just wait a few more minutes,” she said. To which he grumpily agreed.

When Blake hadn’t arrived after a few minutes, they agreed to start slowly. Annabell couldn’t honestly justify waiting anymore and Joshua’s mood kept decreasing every time she demanded that they waited.

They started steadily, walking in between flowers that waved aimlessly in the wind. Miriam kept looking behind them, to see whether Blake was anywhere in sight.

Annabell thought in an attempt to comfort her sister. Miriam nodded but didn’t respond.

The sound of hooves running over the hard ground made them all stop and turn. A figure ran towards them, and it didn’t take long before Annabell recognized a frantic Blake. When he reached them, he panted heavily.

“What is it?” Annabell asked. He was clutching his knees, trying to communicate with them.

“Problems…” Blake pointed behind him. She followed the direction and let out a gasp. The source of the sound was aiming straight for them. A man on a horse was fast approaching.

“Dr. Johansson?” Miriam gasped.

“Who?” Annabel asked.

“It’s Blake’s uncle.”

“That’s …

…

… uncle,” Blake panted while shaking his head violently. He looked back, and yelled, “Run!”

Everyone took off. JAnnabell felt her arm being pulled by Joshua, who once again was dragging her along with him.

This is showing to be a unfortunate habit…

“What do you mean he’s not your uncle? I know that man… he’s my mother’s… boyfriend,” Miriam yelled.

“My uncle… can’t ride,” Blake answered in between breaths.

Annabell didn’t know why they were running—they had no real chance of getting away from a horse. As the yells from the man came nearer, she could see that Joshua had realized the same. On instinct, Annabell broke free from his grab, and ran around to Miriam, putting herself between the rider and her.

The man stopped and jumped from the animal. Annabell had never seen him before, and he blatantly ignored her as he focused on Miriam.

“You shouldn’t have fled, Miriam,” Dr. Johansson said. They could hear the menace seeping through his words, and his pitch black eyes seemed to bore holes into their holes. Annabell felt helpless, and she wished for nothing more than to run away. She couldn’t move, she was paralyzed with fear as she saw the man advance on her sister.

“You made a wrong choice following us,” Blake spat as he pushed Miriam behind him. Joshua picked up a large branch on the ground and walked to stand beside the other guy. Annabell wanted to thank them both, and she sent prayers of gratitude towards the Stars.

“You boys think you can prevent me from taking her home?” Dr. Johansson laughed.

Surveying them carefully one by one, he crouched down, in a way that didn’t seem possible for the middle-aged man.

“Get away from here, Annabell,” Joshua warned.

Annabell didn’t need to be told twice, as soon as she regained her ability to move, she grabbed Miriam’s hand and backed away from them. Dr. Johansson head snapped up towards them.

“Such a clever girl, you managed to find your twin sister, I see… A shame you won’t get to know each other,” he taunted.

Before they could move, he charged at them in an inhuman speed. Annabell heard Miriam’s scream, and quickly tried to protect her from impact. She closed her eyes and pulled her close, but the sound of two people colliding forced her to open her eyes. Blake was wrestling the man on the ground, Joshua was standing in front of them, throwing away his broken stick. He turned around to ensure that they were okay, before joining in on the fight.

Annabell couldn’t take her eyes away from them. The moving mass of boys versus one man was intimidating to look at. She worried for Joshua, and it took all her might not to join in. Her hand found Miriam’s and she clenched it tight to gain the strength to remain passive.

Annabell cringed at every punch and kick the boys took. Blood seeped from the corner of their mouths, and they spat simultaneously. One ducked while the other warded off the relentless blow from their brutal enemy.

When Dr. Johansson rewarded Joshua with a bone-crushing hit to the jaw, Annabell was about ready to rush in.

“Stay back,” Blake warned her. He was lying on the ground and holding out a hand to stop her, “Miriam is hurt, when you get hurt.”

That stopped Annabell, and she stayed in place. Blake leaped off the ground and grabbed Dr. Johansson by the collar. He swung the man around before releasing him. Joshua followed Blake’s lead and kicked the shin, causing him to trip and fall.

Annabell could see the frame turning duller, and greyer than before. It reminded her of something, and with anxious eyes, she looked towards Miriam.

A single uppercut punch later and Blake fell on the ground. Joshua tried to stop Dr. Johansson, but he wasn’t interested in him. The man carelessly flicked Joshua away like a rag-doll.

With slow steps and a horrifying laughter, he advanced towards Blake. Annabell was torn between wanting to stay with Miriam, helping Joshua, and fighting the man—Joshua won without trouble when she noticed that he wasn’t moving. She pulled her sister with her, but let go of the hand, to check on him. She was relieved to see that he was still breathing.

“Stop it!” Miriam screamed. Annabell looked up to see that she was still focused on the fight. Tears streamed down on her sister’s face. She tried to go to her, but her head was attacked by several thoughts that weren’t her own.

She cringed, and covered her ears to no avail—Miriam’s thoughts were screaming inside her mind. Annabell was helpless, she couldn’t move. Forced to see what was happening, her heart broke when she saw Miriam charging towards the man that was beating Blake.

As soon as her hand touched his body, the man jerked backwards. She watched as he inhaled deeply, and Annabell struggled to hear what words was being said. Miriam took a step back as the man slowly dissolved into a black mist.

‘What’s he doing?’

‘Help.’

‘His hands, arms.’

‘What is this? Annabell, help me.’

Annabell couldn’t respond, but she broke through the paralysis and with everything she had, she attempted to find the correct power source. She needed to divert the monster’s attention, and she knew that if she could replicate what happened with Cole, it would work. With a grunt, she forced her hands away from her ears and stretched them out in front of her. Only a minimal light sprung from her palms, but it worked—the dark shape was now focused on her. She tried to stay strong, but she trembled with fear as she saw Miriam turn towards Annabell. The mist swayed past her and neared Annabell instead.

The feeling of being ripped apart from the inside was all that Annabell could feel. Her vision darkened, and she was left alone—so alone. She wanted to die. There was nothing to live for anymore. Her mind was blank, and she felt detached from herself, from everything. Darkness was the only thing in her reality – nothing else. She didn’t even exist, did she?

Annabell was on the verge on giving up, when she heard a bird. At least she thought it was a bird. It was a signal, small but strong. It was off-key, and slowly she could feel herself coming back. She followed the tone with her mind until she regained consciousness. The mist was right above her, and now she could distinct the sound to be a scream. Miriam was screaming.

Disorientated, she looked up to find that the mist was slowly disappearing. Miriam was standing with her hands into the center of it all. Her whole body was glowing in a blinding light.

Her thoughts came hastily back to Annabell.

‘Don’t want to lose her…’

‘I’m burning.’

‘It hurts!’

‘It’s working.’

‘Just a bit more…’

Annabell reached out to her the moment that the fog was all gone. She had to catch Miriam, when she collapsed on the ground.

“Miriam!” she called. Her sister’s face lit up, and the blue eyes found her. A dreamy smile formed on her lips before she slowly closed her eyes. A single silver tear slipped out and fell down on Annabell’s hand that was beneath Miriam’s head.

Annabell looked around with tears in her eyes. She needed help, when she saw who was coming straight towards them; her face erupted in a big smile.

—-

The pounding on the inside of her skull woke Miriam up. She groaned, and tried roll over, but she couldn’t move.

Have I suffered another attack? Ma, don’t strap me down… I want to be free…

She opened her eyes and gulped loudly. Right above her was an enormous animal. It was white, and it took her some time before her sight focused enough to realize that it was a lion. She tried to scramble away from it, but its mighty paws held her still.

Is that a Star Lion?

“Don’t worry… You’re safe,” Annabell’s voice sounded. Miriam found her sister who was stroking the fur of the lion gently, “They won’t harm you.”

She looked around to discover a small group of lion’s sprawled around herself and her friends.

“What are they?” she asked. She had a hunch, but she wanted to be sure. Once more, she took in the animal that was standing above her.

“They are star lions, they won’t hurt us,” Annabell explained and came to sit beside her.

“What happened?”

“You killed Dr. Johansson, he was a black hole,” Joshua interrupted. Miriam looked towards him, and saw that both he and Blake were sitting in the outskirts of the little clearing. Trees surrounded all of them, and she was grateful for the shades. A cub was growling at the boys, but as soon as Blake moved, it ran off.

“I killed him?” Miriam gasped when Joshua’s words registered into her mind. All of them nodded and looked at their animal companions.

“You saved us Miriam,” Annabell said.

“I’m not even sure what I did. It hurt so badly,” she mumbled. Hiding her face in her hands, she felt someone nuzzle the side of her head. Looking up she saw the biggest of the Star lions bowing to her. She was in awe. Mesmerized she reached out a hand, itching to run her hands through the beautiful white mane. The animal bumped towards her hand, and she felt the air leave her lungs.

It’s amazing… So soft…

“It’s so soft!” she repeated out loud. A broad smile showed on her face as she looked towards Annabell.

“I know, right?”

“Have you met them before?”

“Yeah, back when I - we - almost drowned. They saved us, and helped restore our strength,” Annabell said. She grinned widely, “You should see the cubs though—they are cuddly and great.”

Something wet flicked across Miriam’s forehead, and she looked up to see the Star Lion lick her. When her pounding headache disappeared she was about to explode with gratitude.

“Thanks,” she said. The Lion bowed its head before walking over to the rest of the flock.

“I still don’t understand how they came here,” Joshua said. His face was swollen, and dried blood covered the corner of his lip.

“How did they find us, and how did we get here?” Miriam asked. She was curious herself.

“They carried you here. When the Black Hole attacked me, you saved me by sticking your hands into the center of it,” Annabell said. She started to play with her thumbs as she continued, “You collapsed after the Black Hole had disappeared. Then they appeared.”

Silence engulfed them all, and Miriam was speechless when all of the lions came over to bow at her and Annabell. She couldn’t explain it, but she felt out of place. They shouldn’t be paying respects to her; it should be the other way around.

Not long after, the Star Lions departed, leaving Miriam alone with only her sister and their boyfriends for company.

She was staring after them with a said expression when she asked Annabell, “Will we see them again?”

“I hope we do. With our luck we probably will,” Annabell answered.

Miriam didn’t respond; instead she focused on the boys. They were still battered up, “How come they didn’t heal you two?”

Joshua shrugged, “They would barely let us follow you. I don’t know what their deal was. We had to walk behind at a distance for a chance to follow.”

Miriam found that odd, they were the good guys, right? She rubbed her eyes, and when she looked up again, everything was blurry.

“I feel d-dizzy,” she stuttered.

“You should relax for a bit, we won’t travel anymore today anyway,” Annabell said.

Leaning back, Miriam closed her eyes; it hadn’t even been a day since she left Villa Hertz. She wondered what had happened to the real Dr. Johansson. It must have been awful for Blake to undertake family like that. Even if it wasn’t technically his uncle. Thinking it over, she realized that Blake hadn’t said anything after she woke up. She was tired, and couldn’t find the strength to ask him about it now. Making a mental note to ensure that he was okay tomorrow, she breathed out.

Annabell’s voice sounded in her head.

she thought back.

’I genuinely thought I had lost you back there. I was scared, I… I don’t want to lose you, not now when I finally found you.

Miriam replied. She could feel the exhaustion sneak up on her. She yawned loudly, and got comfortable – as much as she could on the ground.

Before succumbing to the sweet temptation of sleep, she heard a soft snoring from Joshua. He must have been pretty battered up too. Annabell’s hand was holding hers, and her sister’s other hand stroked her hair softly. Despite being on the run and so exceedingly far away from home – she for once felt truly and utterly satisfied.

She felt a sense of belonging, and nothing seemed to be able to bring her down. It was something she hadn’t felt before.

Annabell’s voice rang through her mind. She wanted to answer that she loved her too, and perhaps she did. She wasn’t entirely sure, but it was totally forgotten when she found herself in a beautiful dream filled with magnificent Star Lions that played with her beneath a beautiful sky filled with northern lights and falling stars.