Lahnthean Aria

2

The day tired Kiran out.

One of the professors surprised their class with a difficult exam, another assigned a research paper that would cost Kiran money to print out, yet another gave the class a ton of reading materials to go through while he was out on an academic conference. Kiran was calculating how much of her measly allowance she would need to spend while she was walking down the path to the campus gate when she noticed a familiar ponytail bouncing in front of her.

She recognized the owner's clothes and realized it was Alessa.

They worked well together in group projects but Kiran didn't think they were "friends." Alessa was the role model, the campus hottie, the unattainable college girl. And Kiran?

The only ones who knew her were the professors who gave her good grades for her efforts, and the few friends she had were outside the well-off social circle that often surrounded Alessa. Approaching one of the most popular girl on campus could make Kiran seem like a status seeker.

Then again, Alessa was friendly. Perhaps she wouldn't think that way about Kiran, and wasn't that what was important?

Kiran stretched out her hand to tap Alessa's shoulder when she lost her balance. She lurched forward and almost crashed onto Alessa. Thankfully, she leaned away quickly enough to fall back on her behind.

Shrieks, yelps and screams erupted from the students around them. For a moment, Kiran thought they were overreacting to how she almost crashed onto Alessa but she soon realized that the ground underneath her was moving.

Earthquake!

Kiran stared wide-eyed at the concrete pavement trembling violently around her. It was as if the earth was trying to throw everyone off of its surface. The surrounding trees were shaking. Their leaves and twigs rained down on the people crouched below them.

Kiran started to feel dizzy. Her insides squirmed and the sparse meal she ate hours before dared to rise up her throat. She looked in front of her and found Alessa crouched in front of her.

She seemed just as terrified as everyone in the walkway.

Kiran wasn't sure why she did it, but she reached out her hand to hold Alessa's.

Alessa looked at her and squeezed Kiran's hand in response.

The loud beats of Kiran's racing heart wasn't enough to silence the sounds of tin roof and stone crumbling in the distance. She squeezed her eyes shut in hopes that it would stop the nausea and the piercing headache she was having.

A loud scream snapped her eyes open. It was followed by a strong tug forward as she saw Alessa sink into the ground.

Kiran managed to pull her back before she completely disappeared. She was looking down over Alessa as she dangled against the edge of the cracked pavement when she realized what had happened.

The ground in front of Alessa crumbled, creating a deep sink hole that devoured the students in its vicinity. The screams and shrieks grew louder as students desperately tried to save themselves from the continuously growing mouth of the deep pit.

Alessa shrieked as she slid deeper into the sink hole, pulling Kiran along with her.

That woke Kiran from her petrified state. She pulled Alessa back up, trying to maintain some sense of balance amidst the still ongoing earthquake.

She wasn't sure how she did it, but she managed to pull Alessa out of the crater and back onto the still trembling concrete pavement supporting Kiran's weight. Alessa was starting to regain her bearings when the ground underneath her cracked open.

It was as if the gaping pit was trying to catch her.

Kiran instinctively pushed Alessa away from the cracks. She was right over it when the ground gave way, leaving her falling into the pit.

"Kiran!" Alessa called out as she grabbed Kiran's arms to stop her from falling. She would have found their position amusing if the earth wasn't shaking. She and Kiran just switched places!

Kiran was dangling from the edge of a growing sink hole and Alessa was crouched over her, desperately holding her arm to save her.

Alessa tried to pull her up.

Kiran, knowing that she had a lot more weight than Alessa, kicked her feet against the walls of the sink hole to push herself up. The earth gave way with every kick she made. She almost pulled Alessa down with her at one point.

Alessa cried out in pain. Her hands were growing weak and her arms felt like it was being ripped off of her body.

Fear finally flooded Kiran's veins as she saw the panic on Alessa's face. Alessa wouldn't be able to pull her up. Her grip was weakening too. It was only a matter of time before she and Alessa let go of each other's hand.

She could actually fall into the sink hole and die!

"No!" Alessa shouted, glowering at her as if she saw what was running through Kiran's mind. "I'll get you out!" She gathered all her remaining strength to pull Kiran out of the pit.

Kiran tried to reach out for the edge of the sink hole using her free hand, hoping to pull herself up too.

Their team work managed to get Kiran half-crouching over the edge of the pit. Kiran let go of Alessa's weakened hand so she could finally climb over the concrete pavement. Most of her body was already lying next to Alessa on the ground when she felt something cold grab her ankle.

Kiran gasped, surprising Alessa. They managed to stare wide-eyed at one another as Kiran quickly slid back into the hole and fell back-first into a dark abyss.

***

Kiran squinted as a chill swept across her skin.

The scent of freshly cut grass filled her senses, piquing her curiosity. She groaned as her consciousness pushed away the comfortable sleep that she had been confined in. Something extremely cold suddenly touched her neck, making her gasp and snap her eyes open.

Everything was blurry, but she could make out a dark starry sky and a silhouette of a person hovering over her. A cold breeze caressed her skin. She winced and blinked several times until her vision cleared.

The silhouette transformed into a young man with a rowdy mop of pitch black hair. He had piercing, glowing silver eyes, and lips that were pursed in a thin line of distaste.

He was swathed in layers of clothing; a maroon scarf wrapped around his neck, and a long black cape hiding the rest of his body.

Kiran felt the ice cold item sting against her neck. Her eyes followed the man's extended arm and realized that he was holding a sword with a glass-like surface in front of him; its blade pressed dangerously close against her throat.

"Izhneoh akhe-ha?" he said in a deep icy voice that sounded like he had just declared himself a threat to Kiran's existence.