Vaalbara; Visions & Shadows (30 page)

             
“My vision is going to come true.” I turned back to Raighne, running towards him to try and offer him some protection but I knew I wasn’t going to make it in time. “Cover your ears!”

             
The explosion of sound was deafening. I’d forgotten to cover my own ears and could already feel the blood trickling out of them. The trees screeched; the ferns and other plants burned.

             
I grabbed at my ears but blood seeped through my fingers while my heart was literally torn from my chest.

             
I now knew why I couldn’t scream. I didn’t have time to think of it now, the park and everything around me was being torn apart and there was nothing I could do. I heard people screaming not too far away and knew that I shouldn’t look.

Pieces of earth, massive chunks of land, just fell away. People fell into gaping holes, as the ground gave way beneath their feet.

             
“Alchera.” I could hear Raighne calling me, his voice filled with alarm, but I couldn’t break away. I was entranced in this horrible nightmare.

             
A tree whipped passed my head, its massive branch missing my face by mere inches.

             
“Alchera, we have to move. Dammit!” I felt Raighne pick me up, running towards more frantic voices. Familiar voices.

             
“Sky! What is happening to Sky?” I heard Carlo’s frightened tone before I saw them.

             
“Let me down.” Raighne wasn’t listening. We got closer to the group. His attention was fully with his surroundings and the disasters happening around us.

             
“Raighne, put me down!”

             
“You are bleeding, I need to look at you.” I pushed away from Raighne to get to Sky.

             
“I’ll be okay. Sky, look at me.” I held her blood streaked face in my hands. “We need to move now. Can you do that for me?”

             
“I can’t block them out. It hurts, Alchera. My heart…it physically hurts.” I looked up at Carlo’s concerned face, then at Lee’s. Lee nodded firmly, and then picked Sky up as if she weighed no more than a feather.

             
“Let’s move, people. If I say stop, you stop. If I say run, you run. You leave no one behind.” Lee’s military voice boomed over the group, as he took control of the situation. After all, this was what he’d trained for. He gave me a brief smile before we started moving in the opposite direction of the chaos.

             
“Carlo, stay with me. Translate the signs.” Lee was in battle mode, adamant to keep us all alive. It was horrible to see Sky’s blood smear against his back as he moved.

             
With Lee and Carlo guiding us, and Alandra and Evin protecting from behind, we made our way through the rubble and scores of frightened people. Cars were crashing everywhere as the road began to lift. The ground quaked violently, making it difficult for us to take a step.

             
Sarah started to lag, totally out of breath. At this rate we weren’t going to make it.

             
Carter shimmered away. I felt him leave. Raighne glanced back, not slacking his pace one bit.

             
“I was right,” he muttered. “He did not change after all. At the first sign of danger he leaves.”

             
“Stop!” We all froze behind Lee. He was peeking around the corner of a half-wrecked building. “Looters.”

             
“Don’t they realize what’s coming?” Carlo was mystified by what he saw.

             
“Another word for them are idiots. We have to cross the street, hopefully they won’t notice us.” Evin picked Sarah up just as Lee shouted for us to run.

             
We ran, not stopping until we came to a dead end…or so it looked. There were cars piled up against one another forming a barricade. We were going to have to climb over, but Sky and Sarah wouldn’t be able to.

             
“What now?” I glanced behind us to make sure the looters hadn’t noticed our presence, but we weren’t that lucky.

             
They came running towards us, guns in hand.

             
“Lee…the looters!” Panic filled my voice.

             
Lee came running around me, his rifle aimed. Jason followed in his steps.

             
The looters started shooting at random; bullets sprayed like they were coming from a power hose. Before Lee and Jason could retaliate Raighne waved his hand, turning their own bullets back on them. His face was strained, his gray-blue eyes ice cold as the looters fell to the ground one by one.

             
Eamar broke the silence. “We cannot climb over this barricade, not with Sarah and Sky in the state they are in.” Eamar placed his hand on Raighne’s shoulder. “Move it.”

             
Raighne seemed anxious, as if his father was asking too much of him. Moving away from the group, he set his firm shoulders in place and moved the first car, as if it was made of air. Tossing the car aside, he turned to the next when Carter appeared in the middle of the street.

             
“Come quickly, I have found the Vatican. I can shimmer us there.” He was covered in dust - his once black shirt was now gray. He also had a gash on his forehead, where some of his hair stuck to the already crusting blood. “Move! This is happening everywhere!”

             
We ran to him, hastily forming a circle. Sarah and Sky were trying their best to stand on their own. I got separated from Raighne and landed between Doug and Eamar.

             
We reappeared right outside the Vatican. I didn’t waste time to see if Carter was okay. I sprinted into the already half-ruined building, not caring about any dangers it may hold.

             
“Alchera!” Raighne and Carter both called out my name.

             
I ran down one passage after another. I stumbled and fell, but got up and carried on. The building started shaking fiercely, parts of the roof falling in as portions of the walls collapsed around me. I ducked into a room; a chunk of roof just missed me by inches.

             
“Madam! What are you doing here?” My head shot up in the direction of the voice. There were four men in the room huddled together. I recognized one of them from the vision.

             
“You!” I pointed at him. “You know Antonio. Where is he?” I got up, moving closer to him.

             
“He is not here. He has gone home to Pompeii, to his family.”

             
“Pompeii?” How was I going to find him now?

             
“They have a vineyard there. Sorry…it is all I know.” The building was caving in around us, trapping me in the room with the men.

             
Amidst the danger, the last few seconds of their lives ebbing away, the men were on their knees, praying. I stood watching them; debris fell on me from every direction.

             
I wouldn’t die praying though. I would die smiling, with an immense feeling of relief. I would be free.

             
But then Carter’s arms grabbed me from behind, and he shimmered me out of the collapsing room. I struggled to free myself from his grip.

             
I was angry knowing that he’d just stolen the freedom I so longer for. We reappeared a safe distance from the building, though he didn’t let go. He held me tightly, his mouth pressed against my ear.

             
“Why?” I was shaking. “You, of all people…why couldn’t you just let me die?”

             
“Hold it together, Alchera. The rest of the group is coming; you do not want them to see you like this. I have to go back for Raighne, he is still inside!”

             
“Raighne!” My head jerked up as Carter shimmered away, letting the wind grab at my clothes.

             
“Raighne!”
I waited for him to answer, though there was only silence.
“Raighne, answer me!”
A loud rumbling noise ended the Vatican, as the amazing structure disappeared into a pile of ruins.

             
I slowly turned my head towards the mess, knowing Raighne and Carter were somewhere inside. Why hadn’t I seen this coming? I closed my eyes, waiting for the tears, but I was left with only a hollow emptiness and the ever present shadows growing bigger inside of me.

             
“Alchera, come.” Alandra grabbed my hand, dragging me away from the site. I didn’t even notice the other bodies lying everywhere, like the Devil’s carpet.

             
“Where do we go now?” Lee’s face was neutral, as if none of this had even touched him.

             
“We can’t just leave them.” Jason looked back at the ruins. “Alchera?” When I said nothing his eyes turned to Evin. “How can you leave your own brother behind?”

             
“If they had survived they would have been out by now. We cannot risk your lives for theirs. We have to keep moving.” Evin looked at me, his eyes filled with sorrow for the loss of his brother, yet here I was feeling nothing for the man I loved with all my heart.

             
“We have to go to Pompeii. Antonio has gone there.” My voice was dead in my ears.

             
“It is almost two hours from here, and that’s by car!” Carlo was shaking his head, holding Sky tightly to him. I glanced around me. Doug and Jason were taking turns carrying Sarah. Eamar stood next to his son, Evin, who was holding Alandra. Lee was beside Carlo once again, who was consoling Sky. Where did that leave me? Had I really lost Raighne? My love for him was the only good thing even left inside my soul. And Carter was gone too, before I could tell him what I’d learned.

             
I’d learned you could not hold on to bitterness forever, there would come a time when you would have to let go and forgive those who had wronged you. Well, so I thought. That was before Awo took them both from me.

             
“No!” I folded over, as I yelled at Awo. “How could You do this to me? You were supposed to be on my side. I’m doing everything
You
want, still
You
keep taking everyone I love away.” I balled my hands into tight fists, looking up at the dark, churning heavens. No one noticed as Carter and Raighne appeared not too far from us.

             
“
You
forced Adeth to turn just as
You
are forcing me to do now. Awo loves all…but creates only evil.”

             
“Alchera, stop!” Eamar grabbed me by my arm, shaking me. “Listen to what you are saying. It is blasphemy.”

             
I yanked my arm free. “And I should care…why?” I was hissing now. “Because
He
is your precious One?
He
took your wife from you!
He
took Raighne, Carter…everyone!” There was only one emotion left. Hatred. 

             
“
You
devote your life to Awo, but do not for one minute expect
me
to fall to my knees and be thankful for all the pain and heartbreak He has caused me. What kind of a God does that to someone he loves? You should have left me in the shack, Eamar. You should have let Carter kill me. I would rather have faced him than the shadows eating away my soul.” I turned away, walking towards Lee when I saw them.

             
I didn’t yell their names, nor did I start running. I just kept walking, as if I was caught in a trance. I tried taking a deep breath, but I couldn’t. My legs went numb just as Raighne took hold of me, folding me into his arms.

             
“You didn’t answer me. I called to you, and you didn’t answer me,” I whispered.

             
“I tried to call you, too. For some reason we cannot reach each other by using telepathy anymore. I thought I had lost you back there.” Raighne pulled away, cupping my face in his hands.

             
I shook my head wearily; I just wanted to give up.

             
“All will be well, my love. Let us get through this quest alive, and then we will deal with what is inside you. All I ask of you is to not leave me in the dark - speak to me when it becomes too much.”

             
I nodded, not trusting my voice anymore.

             
The ground started shaking again, a reminder of what was happening around us.

             
“Can we move?” Lee wasn’t happy standing still. “I’m glad everyone is alive, but I would like for it to stay that way.”