POV: Sarah

  It was over two hours later when Sarah trudged her way out of Dr. Rigas’ office. The only way she could describe herself was emotionally exhausted with every thought and feeling moving at a crawl. In fact, she was so tired she was barely able to recognize the large man standing in her way.

  “Sarah,” he said without the regular stiffness she had gotten used to. “I heard you went through an episode.”

  She grit her teeth. Was she so pathetic that word had spread around that quickly? Her beast, who was the last thing she wanted to hear from, told her that to an apex predator, vulnerabilities meant death. In the wild, showing vulnerabilities lead to injury, injury led to less prey, less prey led to starvation, and starvation led to death. Whoever thought nature was nothing but love and life was dead wrong. Nature was brutality, a circle of life dedicated to struggle and devouring those under you. Everything from the largest of elephants to the smallest blade of grass was a part of this cycle, a fight for life where a single mistake could lead to a drawn out and painful death.

  “And?” she almost growled.

  He took a step back and raised his hands placatingly. “Just wanted to check on you and take you somewhere you can take a break.”

  She wanted to snap at him but recognized her beast’s influence. She closed her eyes and took a breath like Dr. Rigas’ instructed. Four count in, hold for three, breath out three. The beast is her and she is more than her beast. Although still unstable, she was in control. Maybe a brake was exactly what she needed.

  She nodded, “yeah, I’d appreciate that.” She looked down, not being able to meet his eyes. “Sorry for snapping at you, I’ve had a bit of a morning.”

  She was surprised when he actually laughed, it wasn’t long but he did, she wasn’t sure he could even do that. The Logan she knew was the prime example of a stoic soldier, save for the outburst when she woke up on the private plane, which at that point she didn’t blame him. The most she had seen was the occasional smirk with Miyuki, but that was it. She took a closer look and found him more…relaxed?

  Other than his outward appearance, another difference was that whenever she was around him, her beast warned her that he was an apex predator and she shouldn’t fight him unless she wanted to lose. That feeling was missing. Her beast still knew there was no way she would win in a fight, but the possibility of being beaten to death was no longer there.

  “Don’t worry,” he smiled, “you actually saved me from a bit of a situation myself. Come on, I’ll show you one of my favorite spots in the world.” Without another word he started down one of the halls.

  It took a second for her to catch up. “Where are we going?” she asked hoping for somewhere peaceful and not another fight.

  “Its a place for meditation that I think will be useful.”

  She wasn’t sure being left to her thoughts was the best idea at the moment. Hey, whats the worst that could happen? Her mind wonder too far and making her want to rip her skin off again? Nah, that won’t happen…hopefully.

  *********************************************

  Sarah instantly took back any of her worries as she gazed, slack jawed, at the epitome of natural peace before her. If the psychedelic crystal light show she just walked through wasn’t enough to make the trip worth it, the pool and waterfalls confirmed it. She could only call it a sanctuary and was exactly what she expected from a hidden cave in Shangri-La.

  Something about the water called to her saying that it could provide the peace she so desperately needed. She was going to walk to it until Logan stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. That was when he told her what she needed to do before even stepping foot on the amazingly soft looking moss. It was far from the first time she had to do some sort of ceremony before entering a holy place. Her heart panged as she remembered the places her mother took her during her studies.

  After emptying her pockets and doing the bow, she stepped forward and sunk her foot in the inviting vegetation. The moss was as soft as she imagined while being stiff enough not to make walking on it difficult. She paused when she reached the pool of impossibly clear water. Was she supposed to get in and go to one of the rocks or just stay on shore?

  She was going to ask Logan who stood next to her but stopped when he held his finger to his lips. She looked around to see if talking would disturb anyone only to find the area empty save for them. Still staying silent she raised an eyebrow.

  He smiled at her silent question and motioned her forward. Taking that as permission to enter, she stepped into the cool water. The deeper she walked the cleaner she felt and more some sort of mana swirled around her. She still wasn’t used to seeing the ethereal energy that somehow both filled her vision and didn’t block anything. Both the special water and mana made the action more than just the cleanliness of taking a fully clothed dip, it was like she was somehow being purified of every stain and blemish that had piled up.

  She morbidly marveled at her current state. Before all this she was just some fresh graduate on her first real dig and now she was surrounded by beings who were born from human imagination while also manipulating modern humanity’s interpretations to match their current societies. She had almost laughed when they claimed to use muses to give inspiration to some of the greatest authors in history just so they could hide easier. Even Dungeons and Dragons was under a heavy influence with much of its expanding mythos being written by beings in disguise.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  When the water reached sternum high, her wondering mind refocused when she sensed something change. She didn’t know whether it was more like there was resistance in the air itself or that the mist was filling her lungs too much. This effect was most likely the reason for the area, why it was important she had no clue. Either way it became uncomfortable to just stand where she was let along go further.

  She looked back to Logan who still remained on shore for instruction. She had entered the pool a lot further than she expected since he was a good fifty feet from her. When he noticed she was looking at him, Logan did a series of motions that she thought she understood. If she was reading it right she was supposed to dip herself into the water and climb on one of the rocks.

  Like cooling off in a backyard pool she sunk down and completely submerged herself, the strange water near-instantly making her feel more refreshed than any long shower. She was planning on just doing a quick down and up but stopped at the new sensation by staying under the water a few seconds to just enjoy herself. As she floated under the water her whole body started to de-stress, every muscle that was tense since her episode relaxed.

  The Sarah that rose from the water was definitely different from the one that went in. She had entered the water depressed and amazed, now she was calm. At that moment she joined Logan and made this hidden wonder one of her favorite places in the world. She had the sinking suspicion that she would be a repeat customer whenever her beast threw her to the edge. Maybe she wouldn’t end up killing someone in a feral rage after all.

  She proceeded to climb the nearest rock and sit cross-legged on the flat top. That was when she hit her the next hurdle, she didn’t know how to meditate. She knew she was supposed to calm her mind and go all tranquil, but knowing and doing are two very different things. The brief hope of Logan giving her a hint was crushed when she looked to the shore only to find him sitting the same as her with eyes closed. There goes that hope.

  Resigning herself to floundering her way through the exercise she closed her eyes and tried to meditate. Breath in four, hold for three, breath out three. Breath in four, hold for three, breath out three. Breath in four, wonder what the hell she was doing, breath out three. Breath in four, hold for three, breath out three. Breath in four, hold for three…and give up.

  She sighed. Yeah, not working. Her body nice and calm, yes; her mind only briefly relieved, also yes. The closest she could compare it to was that she was somehow too tired to relax properly. It was like when someone got off a sixteen hour flight and immediately tried to do Yoga. It was possible for someone experienced which she very much wasn’t.

  The longer she sat in silence trying to do whatever it was she was supposed to the more bored she got. What she wouldn’t give to have her phone back and all the distractions that came with it. Maybe her dad was right about her generation and their “phone addiction.” It was one of those you never know what you have till its gone moments for her.

  Her mind quickly started to wonder to the insanity that was her new life. That was when she realized how little amount of time it had actually been since it all started. If she did her math right, it was only six days. It hadn’t even been a week since her entire life was overturned and her friends and family was told she was dead. She had been so tired, distracted or worried for her own survival that only then did she really think about what she had done to her family. As she realized that, a fist of guilt hit her right in the gut.

  Her loving and caring parents thought their only daughter died on the other side of the world. Her mom was probably blaming herself for giving her the dream of being an archaeologist like her. Her dad would fall into his work and disappear for a while like he did whenever he entered a depression. It took almost a month for him to come out when the family dog had to be put down so she didn’t want to imagine how long it would take for him to drag himself out of her loss.

  She felt worse when she got to her brother. Although aggravatingly annoying, he wasn’t all bad. More than once he was there for her when she was having a hard time for one reason or another. The poor kid was still in high school and his grades would probably tank for a while, maybe ruining his chance to get into one of his first choice schools. He was smart in his own way and was a Harvard legacy from both his mother and sister so he should probably make it there, but that was no longer a guarantee.

  Her only hope was that the message Logan had her write would help them and that whoever they use to send the letter had done it right. She knew how valuable final words could be to the ones left behind, and since she never made a will, that message may be the last time she ever contacted them. She did her best to keep quiet as tears started falling.

  As much as she wanted to break down again, her beast nudged her and gave her some strength. She then realized that somehow, her tiger wasn’t angry at her. She flinched back until she felt the sadness it was feeling. It was the same mourning of a lost family that she was going through. Her beast somehow curled itself around her and filled her with courage and a sense that if they can keep moving toward, she’d be fine.

  The beast is her and she is more than her beast.

  She was frozen like that for a while. A woman and her companion sharing their sorrows and finding comfort in each other. She didn’t know how long it took before the two recovered enough to pull themselves out of the dark place they sunk into. She wiped her tears away and opened her eyes.

  The first thing she saw was the tranquil water with barely a single ripple, it’s glass-like appearance displaying its impossible purity. The second was Logan, now standing, on the shore with a concerned smile who motioned to follow him. It took a second to pull herself together enough to nod and start to get up. As she reflected on her truly calmer state, she knew she’d be a returning customer to the sanctuary over then next year her training entails.

  Just as she was feeling better, with even the hint of a smile at the corners of her lips, reality decided to kick her in the teeth. When she shifted to slide gracefully into the water she quickly discovered that her legs were completely asleep. The numb limbs immediately failed in their one job of navigating her through the world and with a yelp caused her to fall face first into the water.

  She really couldn't tell over the rumbling water, but she would’ve sworn she heard someone laughing. She hated her life.