I'm awake, I don't remember seeing the dark lady, so that must mean I just passed out. I need to ask her if I can really get stuck in the dark like the old man said.

It looks like I'm in a hospital, a hospital with soldiers on gaurd apparently.

I feel something heavy on me. I look to my side and see that they chained my arm to the bed. I turn to my other side and see the old man lying right next to me. There must be a shortage of beds. His arm is chained too, but his face seems relaxed, He must be recovering. I can see the stiches on his waist. Hmmm, it looks like he's blowing on them. Maybe that helps with the pain. It's hard to beileve he's even alive right now. A normal person would of died from a cut like that, but maybe people who can do, miracles is what those soldiers called it, maybe their tougher than normal people. I wonder if I could surive something like that.

I’ve been stitched up myself as well, but unfortunately my miracle doesn’t help with the pain.

“Wait until I get out of this bed, I’ll dig a deep grave, bind you and bury you there. Ask for forgivness while your suffocating to death over and over. Perhaps that will save you from being stuck in the dark forever.”

He’s smiling now, maybe because he knows that I'm aware he can actually do that to me. I might be able to beat him in a fair fight, but what if he sneaks up on me and puts me back to sleep like he did when we first met, and I wake up buried alive…. I need do something now.

“Please, the dark la-“

“don’t waste time begging now, spend it asking for forgiveness. That is the only thing that can save you from the hellfire you are heading towards.”

Dammit, I guess that mean’s I’m going to have to fight him again….maybe kill….I wonder if could do that, even if I had to.

It seems like up close his breath affects me immediately, but the further I am the longer it takes for his power to affect me. I just need a moment to focus and concentrate to hurt him from a distance. I might miss a little and just hurt instead of kill him, but when he’s bleeding I can just throw rocks at him, or if I have enough energy cut him again. Leaving him alive and running away…. what if he just keeps chasing after me… I’ll decide what to do if I beat him if I do actually beat him.

The last time I cut him I felt drained, I don’t think I could do that twice in a row, atleast not easily. And the last time I had the element of surprise, now that he knows what I’m capable of maybe his own strategy will change.

The dark lady hasn’t spoken to me yet, I wonder why.

A man is walking towards our beds, in full soldier uniform. There is a unique symbol on his coat lapel, maybe that means he’s a higher ranking soldier than the ones we saw before. He looks a lot like most of the people on the street outside the house did, pale skin, brown hair and brown eyes. He fits the bill of a soldier, taller and more muscular than I am, but not as abnormally tall as the old man is. Unlike most soldiers he’s not clean shaven, and his hair is longer, reaching his ears. His thick beard makes me think that higher ranking soldiers don’t have to follow all the same rules about appearances. His uniform isn’t very tidy either, seems a bit disheveled.

“State your name, age, and if you possess one your miracle” He said in a booming voice, but his body language and tone makes it seem like he's annoyed to be here.

The old man started to speak

“Khalid Ormous. Like many people from where I am from I don’t know exactly what day I was born, but I say I am 55 years old. I am a breath changer”

“And you” the soldier said to me, sounding even more disgruntled.

“I…. I can’t remember my name. I was in an accident recently, and I’ve found it hard to remember certain things. I don’t remember my age either, but I do know my miracle, I’m a transmuter”

Khalid turns his body to face the soldier, and lets out a painful sounding moan and he repositions himself on the bed. Almost sounded fake.

“He is lying to you sir, he is apart of a local gang of thieves, their always causing trouble. I’ve run into him before, he thinks he can fool you by claiming to not remember anything. Look at what he’s done to me, he almost killed me for some coins, an old man who has barely enough for himself.”

“What?? No I’m telling you the truth, I can’t remember my name or age. But I never tried to rob him, we were having a discussion”

The soldier looked suspicious.

“And what were you discussing that lead to you giving that old man a very deep cut, and why would you be having that discussion in an abandoned building”

I can’t tell him about the dark lady, I can’t risk her abandoning me, and this guy will probably think I’m crazy anyways.

“We uhhhh we wer-“

“He dragged me into that building because he knew no witnesses would be present. When I refused to give him my money, he attacked me. His lies are laughable, as if I met him in an abandoned building to have a discussion, he can’t even come up with a convincing lie!”

Dammit, this isn’t going well. I need to come up with a better story now. Why isn’t the dark lady helping me!

The soldier turns to face me.

“Listen, with the war going on we don’t have the resources to investigate every penny snatching story. But the wounds on that old man were deep, you crossed a line I can’t ignore. Khalid you are free to go, once the doctors have cleared you. You on the other hand, once you have healed enough to travel you will be transferred to the courthouse prison, pending your punishment”

Dammit! The old man must have known that would be the next step if the soldier thought I was guilty. I’ll be trapped in a cell, and he’ll have all the time in the world to figure out how to kill me in there. Maybe he’ll burry me alive right there, using some power I don’t know about.

“Sir, you can’t do this. He doesn’t have any proof either, please”

“The premier has elected marshall law, so as long as the war continues I have authority to deal with low level crimes myself. My ruling is final. You look well enough, lets get you into that cell soon”

Another soldier comes by the bed, and salutes the man talking.

“Sergeant Williams, the colonel is looking for you”

“I wish you a fast recover” he says to the old man, before leaving with the other soldier.

I look over to the old man, he’s smiling even more than he was earlier. I’m screwed

My world goes black. Finally.

“Seems like Khalid is wiser than he used to be. When he used to answer to me he was quite aloof, kind of reminds me of you actually. I guess forcing him to kill and betray so many people hardened him, who would of known. Humans are so malleable.”

“Why didn’t you help me back there, he convinced the sergeant I was a theif, I’m being sent to a prison. If he doesn’t kill and trap me while I’m there, who knows what the judge will sentence me to. Your supposed to help me, I can’t kill that child if I get stuck in the darkness, which by the way you never told me about. Is that true?!?!”

“I can’t always just give you orders you know, I need to take in what’s happening myself, formulate my plans, figure out what your feeble body is capable of and if my plan will end up killing you, since like you said if you die too many times you’ll end up stuck here, and that’s not good for me.”

So it is true.....what else is she not telling me.

“But I’ve come up with a plan, its perfect, Khalid will die and you’ll be free to go after that child.”

“And my mother”

“Yes yes all that too. Now listen, Khalid thinks he’s so clever, but you really impressed me in that last fight. I was half half on you actually being able to cut him from a distance, I don’t think you could do it twice in a row, but it was enough to put him on his knees. He knows he can’t beat you in a fair fight, so his plan must be to wait for you to get locked up, then somehow get his breath into your cell. I don’t know how he plans on getting you out of there and burying you alive, but he’s shown he’s clever enough that we have to assume he has a way. So its simple, we have to break out of this hospital right now and kill him, thereby negating the prison scenario entirely!

She makes it sound so simple.

“I am in what seems to be a military hospital, filled with soldiers that I am assuming can all do miracles too. Your brilliant ‘I can’t always give orders I need time to plan’ plan is to just walk out of here?”

“Your always complaining, back when Khalid was my slave he would just do as he was told and trust me. That’s why I was able to train him so well, now most breath changers can’t do one tenth of the things he can. I could make you that strong too, if you just did what I said without complaining.”

It is nice to know that not every breath changer can just knock me out whenever they feel like it. But maybe she has a point, If I can get stronger than it would make it that much easier to find my mom....and the rest of my family.

“Okay so what exactly do I have to do. But I’m agreeing to this on two conditions. One we don’t kill anyone, unless their trying to kill me I guess. Two, we wait until the nurses bring my food, I haven’t eaten in like a whole day.”

“Sighhh you still need food I keep forgetting, fine. The killing part…definitely. Definitely not going to kill anyone. I can’t stress how peaceful my plan is”

“Forgetting? You do know how humans work right? And you better not be lying, you need me just like I need you, so if I don’t play along sure I won’t find my mother but you won't get that thing from my mother either.”

“Wow getting clever I see. Fine, we really won’t kill anyone getting out of here, but that would have been a lot easier. And oh my I know exactly how humans works, pretty soon you’ll be so connected to the darkness it will provide all the energy you need, no more time wasted eating or drinking or sleeping”

Okay so no ones dying WAIT WHAT

“DID YOU JUST SAY THE DARKNESS WILL FEED ME”

“Feed, power, strengthen, drive, the darkness will unlock your potential, make you powerful enough to do what you need to do, for me. Now hush, listen to my new, peaceful, plan…”

The sun is starting to set now. I finish scarfing down the meal the nurse gave me. Its probably awful, but when you haven’t eaten in a whole day anything will taste great. What she said about not needing to eat eventually…. I have to find my mom and get rid of her before I get to that point. And I need to really avoid dying, can't even imagine what it would be like being in the dark forever...

Her plan isn’t as terrible as I thought it would be.