Remnants of Worlds

Chapter 3 - The Beginning

Annabel hugged her knees tightly, staring blindly at the stormy gray sky while she let her mind wander. The day had barely started, but she already felt so tired. After that creepy dream and that video, she could not get her thoughts and feelings in order. She felt so helpless, so clueless, so confused, that she wanted to scream.

The biting wind made her shudder, reminding her that going out in just her tracksuit was not her brightest idea. It was already March so there was no more snow, but the weather was still chilly.

Something brushed against her shoulders and she glanced at it, staring with shock at the warm winter jacket that was now wrapped around her. For a second, she wondered if she somehow used her powers to conjure it from her room, but then she heard a sigh and looked up. William gave her a reprimanding look before taking a seat next to her.

“Please take better care of yourself. We can’t afford for you to get sick,” he said, zipping his own jacket and looking at her. “Something on your mind?”

“You can say that.” Anna huffed a laugh, leaning her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her, resting his chin on her head and letting out a long breath. She expected him to ask her what it was, but he remained silent and just held her. “Say, if we survive Ozias, what do you want to do?”

“Hmm, that’s a good question,” he murmured distractedly, his fingers tightening on her knee. “I want to go somewhere quiet, away from all the fighting and the politics. Just you and me.” Annabel smiled for a second, her chest filling with warmth as he nuzzled his cheek against her hair. “What about you?”

“When I thought ‘I want to make a difference for the Ascendants’, this was not what I had in mind.” She laughed bitterly. “Being responsible for people’s lives is much harder than I expected and I don’t think I’m suited for it. You know, the humans think I’m the leader of the Ascendant Order now. All because of that transmission you made me record.”

“If anyone among us can fill those shoes properly, it’s probably you,” William replied quietly, his hand caressing her hair gently. “You are young, determined, and coming from a good, law-abiding family. You are powerful and people have seen you fight for them in New York. Not to mention, when you speak, it’s hard not to pay attention to you.”

“Well, Etheera does know how to—”

“Not Etheera. You, Annabel,” he interrupted her. “There is no doubt that Etheera can be intimidating. But when you speak, you speak from your heart. Your dedication and honesty come across clearly, without sounding fake. Sometimes, I forget that you’re just eighteen.”

“Nineteen.” Annabel corrected him. “My birthday was last month.”

William froze, a look of horror overtaking his face.

“Are you serious? Last month?” he gasped. “I didn’t—”

“It’s alright, everything has been so crazy, even I forgot about it until it passed.” She chuckled, pushing her head up. His expression was like the one her mom once made when she realized she had missed the social event of the year because she had been in a hospital. “I didn’t celebrate it last year either since I was at the Compound. Stop looking at me like that, it’s not a big deal.”

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her onto his lap. His hot breath tickled her cheek and as he hugged her closer, she could feel his heart beating fast, too.

“It’s important to me,” he whispered with a defeated sigh, his hands sliding between her blouse and the jacket and rubbing her back gently. “I want to celebrate every little occasion with you. And your birthday is the most important date of the year for me.”

Annabel smiled, hugging him back.

“We’ll celebrate next year.” She promised, kissing the top of his head. William tensed, and it took her another few seconds to realize what she had done. Moments like these were so peaceful, so simple and perfect that they made her forget all the craziness surrounding them, the danger and the death that drew nearer and nearer until one day, he was going to come. And when that happened, there might not be next year, next month, or even tomorrow.

“Yeah,” William finally said. “We’ll definitely do that.”

Annabel was still searching for the right words to change the subject when static came from the radio hanging on her belt, followed by Mary’s shaky voice.

“Anna, can you hear me? If you can, please come to the Control Center ASAP.”

Anna frowned at the note of panic in Mary’s voice, unclipping the radio from her belt and bringing it to her lips. They had found several of those in one of the storage rooms and since they had to minimize the use of their powers, this was the easiest and fastest way to communicate. And since those things were short-ranged, they couldn’t be traced like phones. They were noisy though, especially when somebody decided to contact you in the middle of the night.

“I’m here. What is it?”

“Just come to the Control Center as fast as you can. You have to see this.”

An unpleasant knot formed in her stomach and Annabel looked at William, who had the same worried look on his face. They headed toward the roof’s door and slipped inside, making their way to the Control room as fast as they could.

They found Mary sitting behind her computer again, her fingers running over the keyboard as numerous windows popped up with notifications. She didn’t even turn as the door opened, only raising her head as they stopped by her side.

“You might want to sit down for this.”

Anna threw her an impatient look, but then pulled the second chair and sunk into it. William remained on his feet, crossing his arms while staring at the screens in anticipation.

“This happened no more than fifteen minutes ago,” Mary said as her fingers ran over the keyboard. One of the monitors flashed with a new window then a video took the full screen, showing the now familiar black trees of the forest surrounding the lake, their creepy glow and dead branches making a shiver run down Anna’s spine. “This is the feed from the military camp around that lake. I’ve been using it to keep an eye on what’s going on there. Keep watching.”

Annabel leaned forward, biting the inside of her lip as she stared at the screen. It showed part of the temporary camp the humans had built around the forest with the two lines of barricades and people walking around, armed to the teeth. She wasn’t sure how much they knew about what was going to come from that rift, but if they realized the full extent of the danger, there wouldn’t be any living things there. Just tanks and maybe a few bombs.

Anna was just wondering if Ozias could actually withstand the blast of an atomic bomb when she noticed the movement among the trees. At first, she thought it was a wraith, there had been a few of those running around since that night and very often they would attack anyone who made a loud noise. She had seen videos of the creatures tearing people apart like they were paper, but those same recordings usually disappeared from the internet minutes after being uploaded. If it wasn’t for the program Mary was running that found them, they wouldn’t have known about them at all.

Anna narrowed her eyes at the figure that stepped through the trees, realizing with surprise that quickly grew into horror, that it was a man. He was tall and well-built, with dark skin and wavy dark hair that was barely reaching his ears. There were several gray strands in it, but instead of making him seem old, it gave him a look of wisdom and authority. Despite the cold, he was wearing simple leather pants tucked into high boots and an old-fashioned shirt that was hanging open in the front. His dark eyes studied everything with curiosity and there was this nostalgic smile on his face.

The humans manning the barricade spotted him immediately, all running to the closest barricade and aiming their weapons at him. Somebody shouted for him to stop and raise his hands in the air while more and more soldiers appeared, bringing more guns and shouting in alarm. A loud siren filled the air, drowning the voices in its piercing cry.

Annabel recognized him immediately from Etheera’s memories. There was no way she wouldn’t, even if his face was covered with shadows like it was in her nightmares.

Ozias stopped for a moment, tilting his head as he watched the humans with a thoughtful expression. Somebody had brought a megaphone out and now a voice rose above the mayhem.

“Get down on your knees and put your hands where we can see them! Last warning!”

Fools, Etheera’s voice echoed in Anna’s mind and she would have jumped in surprise at her sudden appearance if she wasn’t too busy watching the humans open fire when their demands weren’t met. The sound of the alarm faded into the background as gunfire replaced it. Dust and wood filled the air, creating a small cloud that swallowed Ozias’ figure. They hit him with everything—rifles, grenades, there were a few rocket launchers passed among the men that made the ground explode and send earth and trees flying everywhere.

Even as the humans stopped shooting, Annabel’s ears kept ringing. She realized she was holding her breath while they waited for the dust to settle. Seconds dragged painfully slow until the flurry of particles finally cleared, revealing a deep hole in the ground where all the ammunition had hit. And in the middle of it, stood Ozias with a stone-cold expression and eyes that burned with fiery anger.

Mary leaned back in her chair as if trying to get further away from the image, but Annabel couldn’t move a muscle as she watched the man raise his hands, shadows seeping from his fingers. The darkness dashed toward the barricade and in a blink of an eye, the frozen humans disappeared into it, their cries and screams of horror and pain making Annabel jump. The camera went black, but she continued to stare at the screen, her heart beating so fast that it was making her dizzy.

Mary reached for the keyboard again, bringing a map to the screen.

“That’s not all,” Mary whispered as if afraid that being too loud may bring them the same fate. “Look.” She zoomed in on the satellite map of the country and Annabel stared at the black circle that had appeared in it. “That black thing that killed the trees and everything, it spread into a ten-mile radius of the rift. It was two miles before. And…” She zoomed in even more until they were close enough to see the ground. At first, Annabel thought she was looking at the weird black earth that had devoured hills, rocks, and everything in its path. But there were a lot of pale things that stood out against the complete blackness.

It was bodies, Annabel realized with horror. Faces frozen in agony or limbs scattered aimlessly around. There were so many of them lying on the dead earth that her stomach twisted and bile rose in her throat. Just like that street…

Time is up, Etheera spoke again, and this time Annabel jumped, locking eyes on the black screen of the monitor where her reflection was staring at her with scared eyes. The other gods should have sensed him arriving, too. Round them up, we are going to face him.