Destiny of a Good Deity

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

She could smell the smoke flooding her nostrils as she came close to the building where Dan worked. She looked up to see it rolling in the sky like black clouds on their way in for a big storm. When she moved even closer, she could see that chaos had ensued around the building. Fire trucks and police cars were all over, and emergency personnel had the area roped off as they went about trying to rescue those inside. There were people gathered around outside, some of them praying that their loved ones would be the next brought out and some practically incapacitated by the torrents of tears that racked their bodies.

Mya used her supernatural abilities to block out all of the sounds so that she could scan the scene without interruption. Everything slowed down as she ran her eyes across the building, searching inside for her subject. She could see through the people and the trucks and the building. She could connect in a psychic way with her subject once she found him.

Dan was at the far end of the building. When she found him, she closed her eyes and concentrated, waiting for the signals. She could hear his heartbeat, slow, steady, and most importantly, alive. She could see him now in a room at the far end of the building. He was lying on the floor, not moving. He was obviously unconscious. She took in all the sights and sounds and smells in the room. A heavy odor floated about. Mya sniffed, and panic seized her—the smell was gas. Her eyes moved back to the front of the building where the fire raged. That was where the rescues were taking place. There was no fire yet at Dan’s end of the building, so there were no uniforms there.

Mya was going to have to get him out of there herself. That would mean switching off her powers and going in to save him like a human. Otherwise, the rescue wouldn’t even count. She took a deep breath, concentrating on all of the visual and sensory information one last time. Then she closed her eyes and switched off her supernatural abilities.

Even as an ordinary human, Mya was quick on her feet. She darted toward the far end of the building and entered from the parking lot. Everyone’s attention was currently concentrated on the commotion at the other end of the building, leaving this part unattended.

She heard the faint sound of singing as she sprinted through the empty lot and into the building. She looked around to get her bearings. The smell of gas filled her nose and her human lungs. She could still hear the singing. It was a soft voice, and it echoed down the corridor. It was something soothing and pretty like a lullaby, not in English but in a language Mya didn’t instantly recognize.

“Hello?” she called out. The only answer was the sound of her own voice bouncing along the walls. She located the room where she had seen Dan and tried the door. It was locked. She looked around the hall, and her eyes fell on the glass cabinet of a fire emergency compartment. She shouldered the glass, and as it shattered and cascaded to the floor, she grabbed the hammer inside. She took it and hit the door handle as hard as she could. The hammer only bounced, sending numbing vibrations all the way to her shoulder.

“Damn it!” she muttered, suddenly remembering that she was an ordinary human now. Summoning all of her strength, she raised the hammer and brought it back down on the handle. This time, it gave way. She kicked the door in and stormed into the room. It was a storage room, small and filled with gas fumes. The open door provided an inlet for the fresh air and an outlet for the gas. The rush of clean air caused Dan to stir. Mya covered her mouth and nose with one of her sleeves as she darted toward him.

“Dan! Can you hear me?” She tapped lightly on his face.

He’d gone still and silent again. She tapped his shoulder then and asked once more, “Dan, it’s Mya. Can you hear me?”

He didn’t respond. They needed to get out of there. Holding her breath, she tucked her arms underneath Dan’s from the behind and dragged him outside the room into the hall.

There was still no one around. This part of the building was completely isolated. She had no help now. Dan was breathing, but he was dead weight. She couldn’t carry him outside the building.

She heard the singing again and looked up to see a young Asian girl sitting on the ledge outside the balcony of the parking garage. Her legs dangled, and her long hair flowed out into the wind. Suddenly her big eyes darkened, and she stared straight at Mya with an absent expression. Her lips continued to move, and the sound that flowed out hung on the wind. It was a lullaby.

The hair on the back of Mya’s neck stood up, and she shouted at the girl, “Get down from there!”

The girl kept singing.

At first, Mya worried that when the fire reached her, the girl would panic and jump from the building. But the more she looked at her, the more she realized that the girl didn’t look human. She looked more like a spirit…a ghost.

“Get down! Can you hear me?” Mya tried again. There was still no reaction from the girl. Mya turned her attention back to her charge on the floor.

“Dan, please answer me,” she said with desperation in her voice.

He stirred again.

“Oh my God, come on, wake up!” She shook his shoulders. There was still no response, so she shook him a little more violently.

Dan grumbled and opened his eyes.

“Dan, Dan, can you hear me? Can you see me?” He nodded. “Thank God!” Mya said, helping him up to a sitting position.

They heard the singing again, and Dan looked up. Still disoriented, he jumped to his feet then staggered and slumped down again.

“Riko! What are you doing? Come down here!” he yelled.

The girl he called Riko kept whispering that strange lilting song. Mya helped Dan stand. He swayed and leaned against the wall for balance.

“Riko!” Dan called out again.

“We need to get out of here, Dan. You smell the gas?” Mya asked.

Dan snapped back to reality but still looked at Riko.

“She came to my office and stood there with a strange look on her face. Then she started walking down the hall like she was in a trance…like a zombie. I called out and followed her. The next thing I know, I woke up with you slapping at my face.”

They heard a squeaking sound from the door at the end of the corridor. Mya raced to the doorway and watched as their only way of escape slammed shut.

“Damn! She lured you here. We have to get out of here. How many other exits are there?”

“That was the only one.” Dan gestured toward the closed door, panic beginning to color his face.

“What the hell is going on? Who wants you dead, Dan?”

He shook his head and winced. In the dim light of the corridor, blood streamed from his right leg and pooled on the floor.

“I don’t know…”

“You’re injured,” Mya said, crouching to take a look.

“We have to get out of here. Gas is everywhere. It’ll only take one spark to send us into oblivion,” Dan said.

“The other end of the building is on fire,” she told him.

“What? Okay,” Dan puffed, trying to keep his composure, “this is definitely a setup, although I’m not sure killing me will benefit anyone. I’m just an accountant. I balance other people’s money, but I don’t have any more than my salary. Why would anyone want to kill me?” He turned around, back toward Riko, and said to her, “If you don’t get down, we’ll leave you here, Riko. Zach won’t come for you this time.”

“What?” Mya asked.

Dan shook his head. The girl kept singing.

“Dan!” They heard Zach’s voice echoing from outside.

“Oh, crap!” Dan said as he realized what was happening. “Holy crap. This wasn’t for me. The setup was for Zach.”