The Ascent of Skye

She sat on her bedroom floor with her stuffed brown bear clutched in her arms gazing at the rain that bounced violently against the window. The whispers of her mom’s phone conversation, “I just don’t know what else to do . . . I know . . . yes . . . right . . . I know she’s been through . . . I’m scared . . . I’m worried Skye won’t get through this,” wept through the door and caused two silent tears to run down the tracks of the young teenage girl’s face. Skye squeezed her bear tighter and spoke in her own whisper, “I don’t want to be in this world anymore.”

A knock at her bedroom window startled her. The black figure of a raven perched on the window sill. The raven pecked at the window once more beckoning the girl over. Skye pushed to her feet curious and took a step over with her brown bear being held upside down by one of its legs. The raven pecked again and nuzzled an object beside it to hit against the window’s glass.

“What is that?” Skye whispered to herself. “What did you bring me?” Skye questioned the raven as she debated her next action, which was to raise the window. Skye eyed the raven as she reached for the object, rectangular in nature and wrapped in a soaked brown paper. Skye tore away the wrapping to reveal an ordinary brown wooden box. She turned it over and around on its sides confused. “What is this?” she asked the raven, still perched on the window sill. She turned the box over again and purple etchings appeared on the top face of the box with a question, “Do you really want to leave this world.”

“Yes,” replied Skye, “I do."

New purple etchings swiped from left to right replacing the first writing; “I dare you then to open the box,” and a latch that had not been there previous was now evident and a seam ran down the middle of the box.

The raven watched intensely. Skye flicked the latch and the box sprung open. Skye reflexively stepped back and dropped the box but it did not fall to the ground but stayed suspended in air. The box turned vertical and enlarged to the size of a door. Skye squeezed her bear to her chest. Purple light reached out and engulfed Skye and her bear and pulled them into the box. The raven flew in after. The lid to the box clunked closed. The box vibrated in space, and then shrunk and shrunk until it disappeared, leaving an empty bedroom with an open window.

Chapter 2:

“Get up. Get up,” the distant voice of a woman echoed and faded away.

“Do we have to worry about this one,” the grotesque form of a goblin asked another.

The other goblin hit the cage with an electrified stick but the bear inside made no recognition of the noise or the goblins and continued to lay with her head down facing the back brick wall of the dungeon.

“Nah,” said the other Goblin. “Ever since we killed her cub, she’s had no fight left in her. This one, on the other hand,” and the goblins turned to the dungeon cell directly across from the bear, “the boss says to torture this one.” The Goblin slid the dungeon cell door sideways and pressed a button to flare the electricity of its torture stick.

Skye screamed in pain. She had no idea where she was or what was happening, only the immense pain as electricity hit her. Skye looked up to see their grotesque form of her torturers. Another hit of electricity and another scream. “Why are you doing this!” screamed sky. “Please stop. Why are you doing this?” and the screams of Skye filled the dungeon.

Skye was bent over on her knees, her hands grasping the back of her head as she tried to protect herself and endure the torture. The bear shifted her head to look back as the painful screams began to pain her. She looked back further and caught the flickering shadow of Skye’s form, and in the shape of the shadow she saw the form of her baby cub.

The bear roared.

“Ooooooo,” said one of the Goblins as it looked over at the furious bear.

“I don’t think she likes that,” said the other goblin with a sly smile.

The bear lunged at dungeon bars. The goblins laughed hard, and continued the torture. Each time the stick touched Skye the bear saw the form of her cub in the projected shadow. She rammed the dungeon bars which started to bend outward.

“She’s getting pretty angry,” one goblin said and they both laughed.

The bear plunged at the bars and this time broke through them. She smashed into and crushed one of the goblins and then bit off the head of the goblin holding the electric stick. The bear took in the form of the bent over Skye. She sniffed Skye. It wasn’t her cub but from that moment forward it no longer mattered, it might as well be, for the bear would let no further harm come to Skye. The bear nudged Skye with her nose and Skye began to unfurl, unclasping the hands from her head and pressing to all fours. The bear placed her nose under Sky’s torso and arms and helped her to a standing position.

A circle of white light entered the room, and the face of a woman bended with the light and spoke, “Skye, child.”

“Who are you?” asked Skye.

“There isn’t time for questions Skye yet I’m glad you made a friend. The bear’s name is Mika, and trust me, she is your forever faithful ally,” said the face in the light, and with that Mika nuzzled Skye.

“Who are you? Where am I?” shouted Skye to the face.

“You have fallen Skye. You are in the dungeon of the Phantom, a trickster who often takes the shape of a raven and feeds on sorrow. I need you to move now Skye. Get to the staircase. Run. The ground you stand on won’t be here for much longer,” and with that the circle of light imploded and disappeared, and the ground on which Skye and Mika stood began to rumble. Down the far end of the dungeon, the floor’s bricks began to collapse into a pit of lava.

Mika nudged Skye and they began to run. The staircase lay ahead. Mika nudged Skye again to run faster. Floor bricks fell away as soon as Mika’s back legs touched them. Skye missed her step and began to tumble but Mika ducked under her and Skye fell on Mika’s back just in time for Mika to jump to the staircase as Skye held onto her fur. Skye slipped off Mika’s back and the two stared at the lava pit that was once the dungeon floor.

Chapter 3:

A circle of light entered next to them and again the face of a woman bent the light. “You can get out of here Skye, but I’ll need you to fight. Are you willing.”

Skye heaved a big breath and affirmed, “Yes,” while nodding. It had been sometime since she recognized that feeling of fight within her.

“Then,” said the woman’s voice, “I give you the Sword of Sorrows,” and a sword passed from the light to the hands of Skye. “Wield the sword. Get out of this dungeon. Recognize that box at the top of the staircase. That is a port key. That is your way home. Get ready. Goblins. The goblins are coming,” and the light left again to reveal a herd of goblins descending the staircase toward Mika and herself.

Skye looked at the Sword of Sorrows and tightened her grip around the hilt. Fury filled her. Memories of her torment flooded her and she raised the sword in a battle scream. Mika raised to her hind legs and roared with Skye. Then the two began to ascend the stairs. Skye sliced through goblins as Mika plowed them into the lava. Together, side by side, Skye and Mika fought their way to the top.

Chapter 4:

A screech of a raven but the form of a phantom appeared behind Mika as Skye stepped toward the box. Mika turned and growled and caught the phantom in her claws who was clearly trying to get to Skye, and Skye turned and raised her sword to join the battle against the phantom, but a circle of light appeared in front of her and the woman of the light stopped Skye.

“I need to fight the phantom,” yelled out Skye. “Move out of my way.”

“No, replied the woman. I need you to do something else.”

“What?” Skye questioned sharply trying to look past her as Mika wrestled with the Phantom.

“Give up the sword,” said the woman.

“What,” Skye questioned softly and puzzled.

“Child,” said the woman. “You needed the sword, and now you need to let the sword go.”

“Why?!?” protested Skye. “The sword has made me strong!”

“The sword of sorrows is filled with sorrow. It served your fight. Hold it too long and it will consume you. The phantom is not interested in you. It is interested in sorrows. Throw it and the phantom will follow it and give you enough time to escape. Let it go.”

“No! I need the sword,” Skye protested.

The woman stepped halfway to the side. “Mika cannot hold off your phantom. If you do not let go of the sword, Mika will perish. You will be the phantom’s forever prisoner.”

Skye caught sight of an exchange of blows between the Phantom and Mika.

“I can't!” Skye shouted in anguish and almost tears.

“You can Skye,” the woman spoke in a comforting tone.

Skye eyed the sword. She looked past the woman to see Mika losing the battle, and with love in her heart for Mika she threw the sword towards the pit. The phantom screeched and flew after the sword.

“Go,” the woman of the light shouted.

Mika ran over to Skye who grabbed the box. In purple etched letters the box asked, “Do you wish to return to your world?”

“Yes!” Skye shouted and she placed her hand on Mika. A seam and a latch appeared on the box and new etchings said, “Then I dare you to open me.” Skye flung the latch free. The box suspended in air and took the shape of a door and purple light engulfed Skye and Mika and pulled them in. At the last moment the phantom flew in through the door in the form of a raven.

Skye was back in her bedroom with her bear in her hand a raven at her window with a box on the sill. Skye jumped to the window and slammed it shut and the raven eyed her once and grabbed the box in its claws and flew off.

A white light circled in Skye's bedroom and the full form of the woman of the light appeared

“Who are you?” Skye questioned.

“You will see me again," said the woman of light, "some years from now in the reflection of your own appearance. You showed us how to survive, but I have traveled through time and space to show you how to live. We needed to have fight, and we needed to give up always fighting, to ascend the depths of our sorrow, to live a life we can call, 'happy'," and with that the woman of the light kissed Skye on her forehead and melted into the heart of Skye.

~Somewhere in a cave far away a bear who lost her cub awakened from hibernation with dreams of a young girl she knew her spirit went to protect, and in dreams they were forever bonded.~