~~FLOM: Chapter Sixteen--Melded and Shimmered~~

I shut my eyes instantly, and I felt a rush of heat and the world flashed in front of my eyes in a sudden bright glow. I was thrown forward, ramming my head into something hard. I curled up into fetal position, feeling burning fragments rain down on me. I trembled, starting to sob and cry. Finally, the light in the room faded, and something gently nudged my leg. I curled up tighter, but then I heard a very familiar voice: "Open your eyes, Mitchie."

I opened my eyes, and looked into the eyes of James. He smiled tenderly at me, and pulled me close to him holding me tight. I cried harder, and he rubbed my back gently. "I'm so damn sorry I yelled at you. What happened here?"

I shook my head, still unable to reply through the tears that fell down my face. He angled my head and made me look up at him, whispering very softly, "Mitchie, I love you."

He kissed me very deeply.

I trembled at the touch of his lips, but found myself relaxing into the arms and lips of the geeky young man who couldn't get over how lost I would get in games. I relaxed into his touch, breathing easier and getting calmer. He held me tightly, and kissed me again and again.

Finally, when I had stopped crying, he broke the kiss and smiled softly at me. "Come on, let's get out of here. I'm pretty sure the cops will be here before long—it's not like a gigantic explosion goes all that unnoticed."

I smiled weakly, and he pulled me to my feet and ran with me out of the house, heading to nowhere.

Yet somehow, I had the feeling that wherever we went, we would find somewhere that was right for us.

Of course, I wasn't entirely surprised to find ourselves end up here, in the middle of nowhere at a dirt cheap motel. And when I say "cheap", I really am not kidding. I could hear people having sex through the paper thin walls around us, and when you're a virgin with one of the few guys who has ever gone near to you, that's quite the thing to listen to. Needless to say, I spent a good while awkwardly curled up in the blankets while, only a few inches away from me, James surfed the channels on the small TV. After successfully finding something that wasn't in Spanish, he put down the remote and sighed. "Of course…..It's a rerun of The Simpsons."

I mirrored his feelings. While I quite liked the Simpsons, you do tend to get really bored of them after around the fifteenth time you see the same episode….

I shrugged, and decided there wasn't really anything else but this so I just started watching. He slid down further in the bed, eventually resting his head on the pillow next to mine. I looked over at him quickly, just wanting to see what he looked like again. Unfortunately, his eyes met mine, and he gave me a long grin. "Like what you see, darling?"

I blushed furiously, and looked away from him. "M-Maybe…."

He reached over, and turned my face back to his, my chin in his hand and his thumb caressing my lips. Eventually, he pulled me closer to him and he kissed me very softly. "Oh really…..Only maybe? I like what I see quite a bit, beautiful one…."

I kissed him back again and again, trembling. Finally, I pulled back, biting my lip. "You keep kissing me and I really think I might just…."

He smirked at me, pulling me close again. "Might just…?"

I pulled away and curled up tight in the bed, shivering. I couldn't think right now. It was way too much. He was doing stuff to me that I wouldn't understand….And really wasn't ready for.

He looked at me patiently, understanding showing in his cool gaze. He waited for a while, until he spoke very softly, "Did I go too far for you? I really didn't mean to push you kiddo."

I shook my head nervously, biting my lip. "No, no, it's okay…."

He still looked at me worriedly before pulling me close and hugging me tight. "Relax, okay? I will never push you, okay?"

I sighed, nodding. "I trust you…..Can you please let me go, though? I want to try and get some sleep…."

He nods. "Wait….Before you do, can I ask you some things?"

I nodded. "Alright….What do you want to know?"

He paused for a few moments, just thinking quietly. Eventually he spoke, forcing the words out: "Do you know anything about people called the Gifted?"

I think my heart realized it wanted to go for first place in a race, and my stomach decided it would love to learn gymnastics. So I just stared at him, and asked very quietly, "How do you know that name?"

"Because I am one of them….." he said slowly, his eyes focused on mine.

"I am one too…." I whispered back.

He reached for me, and pulled me tight to him in a long hug. "I figured you were…..It made the most sense, based on how much that has been going on in your life. You've got a lot of things going on, don't you?"

I nodded into his chest. He rubbed my back gently, kissing my forehead. "I'm the only hope the world has for keeping the Tulpas away…."

He stiffened faintly. "Tulpas? Do you know anything about the name Abalam…? She is a Dark One, but usually if you know about Tulpas Dark Ones really don't take very long to find out about them."

"Abalam…?" I asked. I didn't know that name. I pulled back, and frowned up at him. James relaxed when he saw the confused look on my face, and he shook his head at me. He clearly wasn't in the mood to say anything.

Deciding I might as well trust him, I grinned faintly and curled back up against him. We lay down and we fell asleep together.

I woke up in Minecraft again. I was once more curled up with someone, except now I was curled up with Herobrine. I looked up at his eyes, and his empty white eyes smiled very deeply at me. "Good morning, Mitchie. Have a good time with James?"

I shuddered, and nodded. He grinned at me, before he sat up. "Want to go get a bite to eat? I do believe you're hungry."

I nodded weakly, and he helped me to my feet. He led me out of his barely lit room, into a hall blindingly lit by Glowstone. I tried to go for a block of Glowstone, but his hand grabbed me and stopped me. "Don't even think about it, Mitchie. Every block of Glowstone is now sitting on solid obsidian. There's no escape for you."

I bit my lip, and asked very quietly, "What happened to me when I tried to escape?"

"You fell into my bed. I made a bedroom right below yours, so I knew you would eventually find your way down to me."

I sighed, shaking my head. "Well, you have to give me points for trying to get out, right?"

He smirked at me. "I do, and that's the exact reason why I haven't hurt you yet. I am pretty impressed with you for figuring it out so fast. I could hear you muttering though…."

I bit my lip and shook my head. "Hey, you really annoyed me."

He laughed. "I know. And I love you because of it. You really have so much spunk in you."

I looked at him, and he just grinned wider. "Do you really want me to kick you?"

He chuckled, rolling his eyes at my attempt to be angry at him. "You won't hurt me, beautiful. You find me quite charming."

"No, I really do not…." I replied, feeling a little desperate.

"Yes, you do. I did brainwash you, but you know I'm irresistible don't you?" he smirked at me, loving how I backed away several feet in a vague attempt at escape. "I'm the only one who will ever love you this way. I will never ask you for anything, I will always help you, and I will never hurt you the way James would. You know that, no matter who he is, James did hurt you. He did yell at you. He did not understand you. I will never do that to you."

I slapped him, hard, across the face.

He didn't fight me or even seem surprised at all. He just smiled and shook his head, before taking my hand in his and gently kissing it. "You are so beautiful little one. And you amuse me so well…."

"Go away…." I whispered. "Please go away, I don't want to do this any more…."

"Did you ever want to do this, beautiful? I'm afraid you don't have a choice—ever since you were born, I was waiting for you to age enough that I could take you and make you my wife."

I stared up at him. "No, no….I don't want this. I really don't want this. If you say you understand me, won't you understand that I want my life back?"

He shook his head, smirking at my attempt. "Oh kiddo, I wish it worked that way. I love you very much, but there's only one thing I can not do for you, and that is ever let you go."

I looked down. "Please, just leave….."

He sighed, and hugged me tightly to him. "Be quiet, okay? I want you to come with me and be happy. You mean the world to me. And not only because you're the only one who can complete my mission."

"And your mission is to destroy the world and absolutely everything and everyone I love?"

He laughed, his chest rumbling against my ear. He rubs my back soothingly, and moves me up so he can kiss me deeply. When he finally pulls back, he smiled and said to me, "You are truly an amazing young woman. Oh, I am so happy I chose you…."

Now I'm just confused. Why did he like me so much? Because I hated him? Because I was apparently an idiot that was easy to brainwash?

No….

Because I was damned good at Minecraft.

Minecraft is my game. Minecraft is my life. And if ANYONE can play it, it's me.

Maybe he sensed my resolve, but the next thing I knew he was saying to me, "You want to fight me, don't you kiddo?"

I glared up at him, and gave him a single nod. He laughed. "Good luck then, beautiful. Go ahead. Fight me. Fight me I just dare you."

"I'll need to get back to my base if this is to be fair. You do want it fair, right? Or are you too much of a coward to face me?" I asked, my eyes narrowing at him. He smiles widely.

"Yes, of course I want it to be fair. Now go kid. It's time to play. I'll send a guide to you soon."

I nodded at him. "Thank you. Now get your butt away from me fast. I do not want to see you again."

He grinned, and ran away down the hall. A few moments later, a weird looking kid ran up to me. "You need a guide, Miss?" I nodded, and he held out his hand. "You gonna fight him, Miss? You're brave, Miss. Not many can stand up against old White Eyes. He's really powerful, Miss."

While he was monologuing about my bravery, the kid dressed in a leather tunic with a lion skin around his waist and flaming red hair was busily leading me down the hallway. I was almost running to keep up with him, but he didn't seem to care as he just kept right on talking.

Eventually, I found myself outside the massive building. The kid let go of my hand, and he let me go. "Good luck Miss! You won't be too far away from home."

I nod, and started to run.