Zombie and the Beast

- 14 -

"I would give anything to have been wrong," said Minho after Lara had explained everything to him.

She flexed her fingers and buried them in the fabric of her t-shirt. The heaviness and gray tinge were long gone, but not the worries that had come with them.

"It's ok," said Lara after a while. "Now at least I know there is hope. Everything that's in this room is so incredibly powerful... If we use them, we can only succeed. We just need to think of the best way to do so," she added, trying to make him feel better.

"You're right. I'm just glad it ended as soon as you stopped healing yourself. I don't think my heart could have taken seeing you turning to stone like that." He looked down and then around the room. "I would never have thought those gifts were this powerful... It's amazing."

"I know. I can't believe how lucky we are that you had these."

Lara rubbed the bridge of her nose and stretched. For the first time since she'd woken up in her coffin, her body didn't feel uncomfortable anywhere, just tired. It was a strange but very welcomed feeling. Minho yawned.

"Let's sleep on it," he said. "I'm sure we can think of something once we're well rested."

Lara smiled. "Good idea. We can try breaking your curse tomorrow."

They walked downstairs together after locking the door of the treasure room. Minho smiled ruefully.

"I know no one ever comes here, but I could never lose the habit of locking the door. Sometimes I wonder if it's a sign that loneliness has driven me crazy."

Lara laughed. "I wouldn't worry about that. Everyone I know, me included, has at least one weird habit. Mine's to talk to myself when I do something difficult. And to get mad when people dog-ear a page in a book."

"That sounds pretty normal to me too," said Minho with a smile. "I can't stand it either."

They kept walking until they reached a guestroom next to Minho's bedroom.

"Will you be alright?" he asked after showing her around the room and the bathroom. "Do you need anything else? There are extra pillows and blankets in the drawer under the bed."

"I'm fine, don't worry," said Lara.

"Goodnight." Minho smiled and closed the door gently.

Lara sat on the bed for a while, thinking of the day's events. So much had happened in so little time that she found it hard to process everything. She shook herself to get rid of the overwhelming feelings battling for her attention and stood up.

"Let's get ready for bed," she said.

After retrieving her backpack, which she had forgotten in the Symbiorist's office, she took a short shower. It was an ancient model that worked with rain water warmed up through uncountable symbols engraved on the metal pipes. She welcomed the distraction, as studying the symbols kept her mind away from the heaviness and fear she'd felt as she'd started turning to stone. Afterwards, she stared at herself in the mirror, not quite alive but not as dead-looking anymore. She touched her cheek, and pushed her hair back, getting on tiptoes to look at skin closer. The crystal had really helped a lot. She bit her lower lip nervously. If she only found a way to break Minho's curse, she was pretty sure she could heal herself until she was completely alive. She wished she felt as confident about finding a solution as she had let Minho believe earlier. She grunted and went to bed.

Lara's night was filled with strange,vivid dreams. One second she was eating melon outside with her parents, laughing at one of her father's odd jokes, the next, she was a stone statue, screaming but never heard. Moments later, she was late to meet the Great Priestess and couldn't find her way through unending stairs only to suddenly be standing in a crystal cave, trying to explain to a Dragon why its bones were gone. She startled awake a few times, confused and soaked with sweat.